Okay, this Christmas I got myself a Laptop and so have been using it all this time, rather than be confined to my PC. As a result I've managed my longest chapter and in a shorter time than I usually would.
This latest chapter is sort of a flash back like chapter 3. I plan on writing that will better explain the characters life before and during the fall of Rapture and how the Big Brother was created.
WARNING This chapter contains racial slurs and depictions of redemptive rape. I should also mention the reason why this chapter is so long is because I've done a recap again of Raptures history. If you think this was unnecessary please say
Meeting Tenenbaum
Rapture 1959, nearly eight months after the New Years Eve Riots
It all went to hell after that, the New Years Eve riots marked the beginning of Raptures collapse. Just one hour away from the count down leading to the new year they struck. Atlas's followers; all lower-class citizens who had all been forgotten and abandoned by the rich and upper-class.
Tensions between the two classes had been brewing for years as the poor and poverty stricken served no purpose other than for the rich and powerful to strife and excel at their cost. That was until eventually somebody in the lower ranks decided enough was enough and so rallied the lower denizens in to a large and bitter stirred up mob movement of revolutionists who would strike hard at the upper-class and Ryan himself.
This man who would strike the first blow and plunge the city in to chaos was a man named Atlas; a working family man from Ireland above who felt he and all the others in his rank had been lured to a false utopia on lies and false hopes.
They struck first at the Kashmir Restaurant where a ball for the rich and Rapture's elite was held. Without warning they attacked with home-made shot guns, bombs and some of the most lethal Plasmids on the market. The carnage that night was unimaginative, the mob showed no mercy or discretion to who ever they targeted.
Whether they were somebody who had profited from their misery or just someone who lived in arrogant bliss of the reality of things didn't matter. The mob had long been rattled and out for blood.
This one act of mass violence and mindless rioting set off a powder keg with devastating repercussions. Civil war erupted throughout Rapture with Atlas's followers fighting on one side and those loyal to Ryan on the other. Caught in the middle were the citizens who took drastic steps to protect themselves,their businesses and families.
At first weapons in a supposed utopia like Rapture were rare but the people found ways to fashion and build them from various components and items found throughout the city. Splicing later became an ideal means to defend and arm themselves, this then elevated the Plasmid business and the improvements of these gene altering serums suddenly sky rocketed.
It did however also see the increased demand for Adam needed for the production and marketing of Plasmids. And for that Ryan finally resorted to recruiting every young girl in Rapture by force as Little Sisters.
Before, the Plasmid business was marketed by Frank Fontaine, a clever business man and notorious Gangster who also ran Raptures smuggling ring in which he first acquired his wealth. When told that young girls were needed to mass produce Adam by nurturing within their bodies the sea slug that produced the gene altering stem cell, Fontaine established what he called his Little Sister Orphanage.
Poverty stricken parents unable to provide or care for their young daughters eagerly gave them away to the Little Sister Orphanages believing they were sending them off to a bright future; were they ever wrong. Nobody ever questioned or enquired in to Fontaine's motives, especially as this charitable act was only offered to girls and not to boys. Nobody ever thought to ask why girls, why not for the future men of Rapture...?
Once there at the orphanage the girls found there were no classrooms to attend, no teachers to educate them, and no bright future waiting for them in the end. What there was was an operating table and a newly discovered type of gastropod mollusc species ready to be planted within their stomachs and begin producing large quantities of a revolutionary gene altering drug that would lead to a utopia's ruin.
Eventually Ryan saw Fontaine for the threat he posed to him and ordered his immediate arrest. The result was a shoot-out that ended in Fontaine's death and Ryan seizing his business for himself. This marked one of many betrayals Ryan would make to his own philosophical beliefs; mainly the ruling hand of authority taking one man's work and property for themselves.
With Fontaine Futuristics and the Plasmid business under his control Ryan then sought to expand on production and quality. To do this he needed more Adam than what the Little Sisters obtained along with Fontaine's business could produce;for that he needed more young candidates for Little Sisters
At first the methods involved ranged from snatching girls who were orphans themselves or ones who wouldn't be missed from families who couldn't care less. Some were even stolen and sold by low life scum for the odd buck or two.
But after the New Years Eve riots and the civil war that began to tear Rapture apart, Ryan found the perfect excuse to recruit every young girl of Rapture. Arguing that Rapture needed them and that they would contribute in pulling the so called great chain. Whole families watched in distress as daughters and sisters were taken away from them.
Adam then had never been at its highest in production and the Plasmids Gene altering Tonics that followed were top of the line. Yet still with every young girl spewing out the gooey substance produced in their stomachs it still wasn't enough to meet the ever increasing demand. That was until an amoral bastard by the name of Doctor Yi Suchong devised a solution to further increase production. And a depraved and obscene solution it was.
Suchong had discovered that Adam already coursing through the Splicers bodies could be recovered and recycled after their deaths by extracting their blood and having the Little Sisters consume it through ingestion.
Inside their bodies the slugs they carried would then filter out the Adam and discard the blood. That added to what was already brewed by the slugs made each girl glow with the richness of Adam. This process became known as Harvesting and all that was needed for it were the dead stiffs themselves, some drastic means of brain conditioning to train the girls for this task and a bloody big syringe to draw out the blood.
And in a place like Rapture dead bodies were never in short supply. Even before the civil war broke out citizens were spliced up enough to be violent, dangerous and willing to kill for anything. Domestic disturbances, violent muggings and public brawls that usually ended in a brutal homicide became more than what the the boys in blue of Rapture could handle. Yet all over the city the violence left the girls plenty of bodies to harvestthe Adam. Of course this depraved means was well in effect even before the New Years riot.
Able to literally sniff out the Adam the girls were instead sent out on to the streets and in to the hallways to seek out these dead stiffs and reacquire the Adam from their cold inactive bodies. Each girl carried with them a syringe type device that was a combination of a long syringe needle to be thrust in to the body, a garden hose handle to extract the blood out through it, and babies glass bottle to contain the blood for the required consumption.
People who bared witness to the girls performing this horrific act on the streets, in the hallways and possibly in their homes felt their stomachs turn with revulsion and shock. But possibly the ones more troubled by it all were the parents and relatives of the girls taken by Ryan. Many saw and watched their beloved ones draining the blood from these corpses that were just left to rot away on the pavements and such. And many who attempted to reclaim their child and stop this despicable act were asking for trouble or worse; death. For the boys back at the lab weren't stupid enough to just send these girls out in to the streets alone.
People's addiction to Adam drove them to what ever lengths were needed to acquire more for themselves; hence one of the many reasons for the outbreak of violence as they fought one another for any they believed the other carried. And knowing what these girls were carrying when they started roaming the streets signalled the mother load of all Adam that was just available to anyone with the will and savagery to take.
Steps were taken to safe guard the girls, approaching one was made a criminal offence and punishable of imprisonment. But the lab boys however came up with the right answer and so they whipped up a nasty surprise for anyone who dared to even approach these girls; The Big Daddies. Brutal, lethal, fearless Golems of genetically altered humans concealed within a modified armoured deep sea divers suit.
These mean bastards were made for only one purpose and that was to safe guard the Little Sisters from harm at any cost. Mentally conditioned by what was called the protector program they would protect them from anyone who threatened their lives with lethal force and merciless ferocity. They never tired, never feared, never thought and never deterred away from the task they were forever condemned too. To mess with one meant certain death for anyone stupid enough to try and yet people foolishly did for the Adam.
The first line of these metal sons of bitches that was produced was called the Alpha Series. Although strong and deadly they weren't without their faults. For starters the protector programme that was still in its earliest development would only allow them to commit themselves to one individual Little Sister. And yet even it had its flaws.
But during the civil war however Plasmids were not the only thing that saw improvements in production. New types of stronger and more endurable Big Daddies stepped off the factory conveyor belt as the number of Alpha Series either deteriorated or became obsolete. Yet these new models saw one vital improvement.
The protector programme had advanced and allowed for these more advanced and dangerous types to commit themselves to any and every Little Sister. The various models that differed in appearance and means of attacks were mass produced and listed as Bouncer, Rosie, Apache, Spartan and Lancer. Prototypes of other variants yet to be set loose or even make it off the drawing board were also considered.
But out of all of them only the Bouncer and Rosie were deployed through out most of Rapture while the rest were assigned to key areas and sectors. Yet still as authority and order vanished and the daily routine of Rapture life came to a halt, these iron brutes soon saw themselves fall to own knees as the endless waves of Splicer attacks they fought off left them with damage and injuries that went without the necessary treatment and maintenance repairs needed to keep them going.
And the Splicers would just keep coming and coming until they got what they wanted and then moved on to next one and the Little Sister that accompanied it.
But yet not everyone who would carry out these attacks did so for the Adam, far from it they actually aimed to rescue the girl. And their motives for doing so was simply that they were related to them. Parents, siblings or any other family member that sought to reclaim their daughter or younger sister. Yet most fought alone as no one else would help and risk their lives other than for the Adam. And always they would fail, they would die and the girl would look on with no sadness or knowledge of who this person was or had been to them.
Yet somewhere out there there was one person who strived not to rescue one but as many as she could; if possibly all. She was not related to any of them yet she risked her own life to help them. She was not a mother herself yet something inside her cold heart had been awakened by them.
But more importantly, she did not know any of them personally but.. She was the one responsible for what had been done to all of them. And for that she sought redemption and devoted herself to making amends for her mistakes; even if it would come at the cost of her own life.
Before, those that knew her or had heard of her referred to her as the Kraut or The Nazi Scientist. A misconception based on the fact that she spoke in a German accent and those that assumed it was her nationality were still motivated by bitterness, hostility and the ill memories of a great terrible war fought against her assumed nation, guilty of war crimes and atrocities that were committed.
Yet the truth of it was all that she was not German but in fact was of Jewish heritage, And like many of her race she herself was rounded up at an early age and placed within one of their notorious death camps. She escaped the fate however that befell many of her kind as her keen developing scientific mind was noticed by their science elite. Eagerly and secretly they recruited her and took her out of the death camp, putting her to work for them.
She had survived all at the cost selling out her heritage, her beliefs and her family. All for the sake of survival. Worse still the work she was given brought out the worst in her as she then performed experimentations on her own race with no guilt or shame, but cold scientific curiosity.
Eventually the war ended and Germany lost, what followed next was a search and arrest of war criminals but more importantly a race between the US and USSR to acquire all of Germany's top scientists and the scientific knowledge they possessed.
Although her name was not on any of their lists, her face and her role in the experimentations was known to each of them and it was enough to for both sides to bring her in and question her importance and relevance. And for that she disappeared from sight and off the face of the planet.
What became of her next was unknown but eventually by some means and connections she found herself in Rapture and beyond the grasp of the world powers that sought her. Here she became part of its science elite, acquired some of the finest accommodations the city had to offer. And earned the respect of her fellow co-workers.
Yet there were those who weren't shy of commenting her with crude remarks and insults of her life back on the surface and the mistakes they made of assuming what she was. The Kraut they all called her, The Nazi Scientist. She however gave them no satisfaction as she had long learnt to cope with such ridicule by detaching herself from any emotion, even if some of it was in error. All that mattered to her was science and the mysteries of it she had yet to solve and discover back on the surface.
And soon she would make the scientific discovery of the century. While on an errand to Neptune's Bounty; Raptures main fisheries and also the centre of operations for Fontaine's smuggling ring. She spotted a smuggler in Fontaine's employ known for having had his hands crippled in the war above. Upon closer inspection she noticed to her astonishment that he had full control of them and eagerly she approached and enquired over his miraculous recovery.
He explained that when unloading crates containing the recent contraband, he was suddenly bitten by a strange sea slug he found attached to the crate. The next day he awoke and found he had suddenly regained full use of his hand.
Intrigued by this tale she then held out hope that he had held on to it and as luck would have it for her he did. From examinations she carried out she discovered that the slug produced within its body a stem cell that could not only repair damaged cells but also resurrect dead ones.
Fascinated by this she approached the Rapture board of science with it with the belief that this new revolutionary discovery she had made would deeply benefit mankind and mark her name in the history books. Instead she was turned away with doubt and criticism over her absurd claim.
Frustrated and furious she turned to the big businesses of Rapture in the hopes of finding some one who fund her research in to further study of the slugs. But all turned her away convinced that there was no profit to be made from it. Soon her fury turned to misery and disappointment as no one was willing to take her seriously until she was approached by the one person who actually saw promise, profit and more importantly a way to further capitalise his monopoly and strangle hold on Rapture.
That person was none other than Rapture's top gangster, Frank Fontaine. And for the woman who had had dealings with him in the past; hence her trip to Neptune's Bounty that day. She knew she was asking for trouble, but still she was desperate and anxious.
Putting his whole smuggling ring at her disposal, Fontaine's men brought in the equipment and chemical resources to further her research. Although she loathed working along side his men they did deliver on their part. From further studies she found that the cells; now dubbed ADAM could also genetically modify and rewrite human cells
However despite the number of slugs gathered from the sea bed, they all together could only produce an insufficient amount of Adam and so Fontaine tasked the woman with devising a way on how to increase production. And through her research she discovered that if each slug was combined with a host it could produce twenty to thirty times the amount of what they normally could.
The question was however what to use as hosts, since various types of animals were rare in Rapture the only thing that was available were the citizens themselves. Earlier tests however showed that adults were clearly not suitable as they either died from some reactionary shock to their systems or went immediately insane.
Younger people, particularly pre-teen children however proved more suitable for the job. But further tests showed that out of the two genders, young girls were the ideal subject as boys started to exhibit the signs of insanity the adults did. No explanation was given of course as to why it was the girls never suffered any of side effects.
Soon Fontaine's Little Sisters Orphanages were up and running and the girls who had been secured had no idea of the fate that awaited them. All were marched in to a surgery room and tied down to a waiting operating table where the woman and someone else who was brought in to assist stood waiting to administer the operation.
The process was simple, cut open the girls stomach, place the acquired gastropod mollusc inside and then seal them back up. What then got off that table was never considered a child again.
Its skin was pale white as though all the blood within it had been trained out of it. Its voice when ever it spoke sounded human but seem to echo within itself, and its eyes. They glowed bright yellow, so much so that you'd swear that their eyes had been plucked out and replaced with light bulbs. It was then given a name; A Little Sister.
Mental conditioning followed next to keep the girls in a stable and productive manner. Through regurgitation they produced large amounts of the gooey green substance of Adam. Soon the Plasmid Business was born along with Fontaine Futuristicsand the woman finally made her name; Brigid Tenenbaum.
Those who had doubted and mocked her in the past were left with their jaws open at her success. The businesses that had turned her away before watched envious as Fontaine Futuristics profited greatly from her discovery. From then on it seemed her future and reputation was secure, but something she could not foresee would happen. Something that would change her life and the person she was.
As part of her job in creating the Little Sisters, Tenenbaum found herself having to work along side them during the conditioning. Their freakish appearance along with their poor hygiene, greasy hair as well as traces of Adam drooling down her mouth was unsettling to Tenenbaum.
Despite the way they were brainwashed in to being nothing more than efficient cattle that produced Adam, they still very much behaved like children. Singing, playing and smiling. At one point one girl came and sat on her lap, she pushed her away repulsed at being touched by the freaky ghoul and filled with anger at the monstrosity.
But suddenly a revelation that disturbed her made her realise it wasn't the girl she hated; it was herself. Somehow, some way inside her cold heart these girls were awakening something in her that had been dead since her time in the death camp. Something others considered beautiful but in her an abomination; Maternal Instinct.
It made her face the horrible truth and reality of what she had done to these girls, how she had brutalised them and what she had stolen from them. Guilt and self loathing ate away at what she considered her sole as something else grew inside her; a conscience.
And it was that that drove her take action over what she had done, she marched straight in to Fontaine's office and pleaded with him to stop the further production of Adam and close down the Little Sister Orphanages. She explained further how what they were doing was criminal and inhumane, even explaining the startling discoveries she had made of the effects of Adam.
Fontaine however who sat behind his office desk took a puff of the cigar he smoked and said "When the hell did you suddenly grow a conscience Kraut?"
That meeting marked the end of their partnership and Tenenbaum's dismissal from Fontaine's employment. Knowing of course that he would not let her walk away alive, Tenenbaum then left her home and went in to hiding while every citizen in Rapture came to regard her as an insane and dangerous woman.
Eventually the following events that had lead up to know had come and gone; Fontaine fell and Ryan seized his business. The number of Little Sisters increased and the New Years Eve riots broke out, Rapture fell in to civil wars and the Little Sisters numbers increased even further. And by now Rapture had become a mad house with nothing but death and violence eating away at it.
The War between Atlas and Ryan had tipped in Ryan's favour thanks to twisted efforts of Doctor Suchong. As the war had reached a stale mate between the two, Ryan used a trump card he had been saving for this emergency. The Adam he had been supplying to his men and the citizens who sought to protect themselves in the conflict was tainted with drug that made them submissive to a mind controlling pheromone that Ryan would then release out in to the city.
With this Ryan now had at his disposal an army large enough to overrun the followers of Atlas and turn the tide of battle against him. It should have marked the end of the war, but Atlas was still on the run with some of his men, and Ryan who still wished him dead allowed his mob to run loose throughout the city.
This careless act would finally lead in the city it was today, a violent and savage place of death, rape and other of unspeakable atrocities. Never mind the so called war that still went on between Atlas and Ryan. Turf wars between slum lords and top dogs now raged on. Splicers with their twisted faces and insanity stalked the hallways for easy prey.
The citizens still sane and unspoiled by the effects of Adam barricaded themselves in what ever dwellings or areas they occupied or controlled. Though their weariness of raids carried out by Splicers made them cautious and hostile to anyone who wandered near them.
As for Ryan however, he stayed cooped up safe and cosy in his office at Hephaestus; the heart of Rapture. He no longer cared about how his city had fallen in to anarchy. Just that Rapture was safe from threats from the surface and that he was still in control.
Yet in this time now there was one thing in Rapture that did not stop, one part of the daily routine of activity and production. The Little Sisters and their tasks of harvesting Adam from the dead. The civil war had left countless bodies for them to harvest, though it remained unclear however if the labs that collected and processed what they gathered were still manned and operational.
Possibly however it was thought that the girls simply lived in the air vents that they used to move throughout the city. They stayed in there until summoned by the one thing more dangerous than a Splicer that they trusted; The Big Daddy. Like the girls they continued with their jobs of escorting them around the city during their rounds and protecting them from the Splicers that still craved Adam.
Yet Tenenbaum, who had been active since the civil war strived to rescue as many of the girls as she could. During her time in hiding she secretly worked on a way to undo their mental conditioning and kill within them the slugs without the need to extract them surgically that would result in death. To do this she developed a Plasmid she called Release.
She was out now walking the streets, on the lookout for more to rescue. Accompanying her was a reactivated Alpha series brought out of storage. Its designation was subject Gamma and had been conditioned by Tenenbaum to act as her personal body guard as well as the muscle when dealing with the girls own escort.
They both stood in the shadows of a five star restaurant they had entered. It was a large room filled with many overturned chairs and tables with an open bar in its centre and the usual large windows that looked out on to the city below, as usual water leaked in through one of the large pains of glass. The lighting in the room was dim as many of the lights had blown out, yet light from the ocean outside illuminated much of it.
Both stood silent as they watched the Bouncer stand vigil while its Little Sister did her job and gathered from a dead waiter on the floor the Adam. Tenenbaum held back her ill thoughts at those and her self responsible for the depraved act the child performed. Focusing on the task at hand she turned to Subject Gamma and motioned to begin.
Gamma took up position and aimed the Gatling gun her carried in his left arm at the Bouncer while Tenenbaum meanwhile headed to a secluded corner with a German P08 Luger in one hand and the Electro Bolt Plasmid active in the other.
She brushed a few strands of her long brown hair out of her face while taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She was in her early thirties with a slim healthy figure, her face although not glamorous had a certain fairness and possible attractiveness to it. Regardless of the fact that she had spliced herself, she had managed not to go overboard and defile her body with the various harm and disfiguration that befell all Splicers.
Her eyes however were possibly the one thing about her that would catch anyone's attention. Despite her change of heart over the past year they still had that cold sharp and intelligent look in them. Yet still that coldness was something essential for survival in Rapture.
Her clothing definitely said she was upper class; a fine stitched coat dress all women in he league wore. It reached as far as above her knees, revealing her fine if not perfect legs legs.
She watched as the girl finished draining the Adam out of the body and began to consume the blood, pretty soon they would move on and miss their chance to strike now. So she gave the signal to strike now.
Subject Gamma struck first. The armour piercing rounds in his gun shot off, impaling the Bouncer and inflicting damage to it. It viewed Gamma in its sights and charged directly at him. Tenenbaum who had been standing by paralysed it with her Electro Bolt Plasmid and aimed her Luger at the Bouncer.
Being an actual marksman with it she fired at the cables and valves of the huge Cylinder on its back, cutting off its life support and the fuel needed to power the huge drill on its arm. The effects of the Plasmid soon wore off but still it charged at Gamma swinging its huge inactive drill at him.
Gamma who had exhausted all his ammo didn't waste time reloading and instead dropped his huge gun and countered with his own drill attached to his right arm. The huge metal brutes went at one another, bashing and beating one another relentlessly. The Bouncer was heavier but Gamma was quicker with the blows but not as durable as his opponent. Clearly this little tussle would have improved business at the restaurant; dinner and a show.
As the two fought, Tenenbaum crept up on the girl, she seven years old with red hair. Her screams at her approach drew the Bouncer's attention and Gamma took advantage of it. Revving up his drill he drove it in to Bouncer's side and finally killed it. It fell to to the floor with the lights emitting from its porthole helmet going out as it lay dead on the ground.
Its Little Sister who had watched burst out crying over her slain protector, she attempted to run to it side but was grabbed by Tenenbaum "No please wait!" the girl struggled but she held on, trying to restrain the child in the hopes that she would calm down.
"Please we are trying to help you, please don't resist," eventually the girl worn out started to settle in Tenenbaum's arms, she gently brushed her hair as Gamma approached "Easy we are here to help, please come with us."
Still holding on to the girl Tenenbaum then stood and addressed Gamma "Herr Gamma, let us head to the nearest vent before anybody else comes."
The Alpha series Big Daddy stood having taken some damage from the pounding it had received from the Bouncer
Tenenbaum examined the dents and tears in its body and could see she and Herbert would have their work cut out for them tonight fixing him up. Sooner or later though he'd be going the same way many of line had.
He looked at her for a few seconds before turning around and heading off to retrieve his gun before taking up the lead. They were a failed line of model and the reason why they were replaced by the stronger and more efficient ones that followed.
They stood nearly ten feet tall with large arms and legs. Unlike the Bouncer that appeared as a large hunchback, the Alphas shape still resembled a large man. They had no armour plating over any of their body other than the armoured helmet that was placed over their heads, it slid all the way down their chest and back while it rested on their shoulders. This deprived them however of the ability to turn their heads. Two cables connected to the cylinders on their back were both connected to opposite sides of their helmets while a single oval shaped porthole allowed vision for the thing inside.
As Gamma retrieved and attempted to reload his gun, he was suddenly struck by a volley of armour piercing bullets that tore their way in to him. He roared in pain but could not retaliate as the injuries he sustained paralysed him and eventually just as the Bouncer had, he fell as well.
"Herr Gamma!" Tenenbaum cried as her escort itself now lay dead, the sound of sniggering then brought her attention to three Splicers who had entered the restaurant and had gotten the drop on Gamma. Each was armed with a gun of some kind, one with a typical Tommy gun, another with a home made shot gun.
The one that stood in the middle however appeared to hold in his hands a U.S. WW2 rifle that had been modified to accommodate the various types of ammo as well as its magazine storage and damage output. Judging by that, his clothing and posture there was no doubt in her mind that he was
once a U,S, soldier and possibly a veteran of the second world.
He was tall, square jawed with a muscular build and wore standard U,S combat pants and boots, a belt with a gun holster and knife attached around his waist . Around his neck his old dog tags hanged and he wore also a green military vest that exposed his large arms. All over his bare flesh weren't just the repercussions of Adam but the old war scars of bullet wounds, slash marks and grenades that had blown a little too close.
He caught sight of Tenenbaum with the girl "Well now what do we have here, a dame that ain't too bad, a brat with our favourite kind of junk and a bar with some booze and liquor. Three things I could do with right about now."
"She ain't too bad looking Sarge," one of the two that stood by his side said "I mean she ain't Jasmine Jolen but she ain't as messed up as most dames we've seen around."
"Damn right private, we're going to have some fun tonight."
Tenenbaum however tightened her grip on the Luger and her hold on the girl as she whispered in to her ear "Be ready to run for the door and to the nearest vent."
As she whispered this the third Splicer stared at her face and suddenly sussed who she was "Hey Sarge I know her, she's the damn Kraut that found that Adam stuff."
Hearing that raised the Sergeants eyes, especially the word Kraut as old prejudices and racial bitterness still boiled within him "The Kraut you say corporal, so we've got our selves a damn Nazi boys."
"Don't like Nazi's eh boss? The Splicer enquired.
"You ever fought in the war private?" the Sargent asked back " I sure as hell did, stormed the beaches at Norway, saw a lot of fine young Americans get shot or blown to pieces by the Krauts. Saw many more killed on the way to Germany, nearly got killed myself dozens of times. Shit I got the scars to prove it, And all I could do to feel good was kill as many damn Nazi's as I could.
Now here we've got Raptures biggest one... And I'm still a little pissed off about it all. Hell I think I'm owed a little something. Something I think you Kraut are gonna give me and I'm not talking about what the brats got."
Tenenbaum aimed the Luger, knowing with concern what the soldier was implying "Come any closer and I will shoot."
The sight of the gun only heighten the Sargent's aggression and excitement yet still he kept his cool "Yeah I saw loads of those during the war. Gathered up quite a collection, only for the damn MPs to confiscate most of them."
"I can guarantee you will not be adding this one to it, leave now while you can," Tenenbaum threatened back, desperate not to show fear that would only encourage the Splicers to act now.
The sergeant only laughed as he looked at both his lackeys, before looking right back at Tenenbaum and sending forth from his hand a powerful gust of wind that knocked both her and the girl hard against the wall. The wind made possible by the Sonic Boom Plasmid he possessed.
Tenenbaum phased a little from her blow to the wall struggled to regain her bearings while still lying on the floor, she saw the girl lying unconscious and struggled to crawl to her but realised suddenly to her alarm that the Luger was no longer in her hand. She looked around and saw it just a few feet away from her.
She struggled to retrieve it but found the sergeant's boot pressing down hard on it. She desperately tried to pull it free but instead felt his other boot knocking her flat one her back. The other Splicers laughed at the cruelty and amusement while one of them gathered up the girl.
Tenenbaum meanwhile lay on her back with a mild concussion from the blow to her head, her vision was blurry but she could make out the form of the sergeant standing over her, removing his belt and placing his rifle on the floor as he prepared to carry out the foul act he done to so many.
"Okay Kraut now your gonna learn why the U.S. Kicked Germany's ass," with no further hesitation he jumped on top of her and pinned her down. She struggled hard to resist but the sergeant was too strong. Using both his hands he ripped open her coat dress and then held both of her hands in his left one. As he held them pinned above her head his right hand reached for her blouse and tore it from her. Exposing her chest and the under garments that covered it.
Tenenbaum screamed in despair "No! Get of of me!"
"Fat chance Kraut," he sneered as he looked her over and then slugged her in the gut to stop her squirming so much "Yeah you ain't Jasmine Jolen but your still good enough for me."
"At least let the girl go. Do that and I wont resist," she' was serious, having vowed to do what ever it took to rescue the girls she had so wronged. Even if it came at the cost of her dignity and her body; this sudden sacrifice which she was not prepared for at first. She would make, feeling it was fitting for the whole mess she alone had made.
But alas Tenenbaum knew what the sergeant would say "Now why would I want do that, besides... I like it when they struggle."
While the two Splicers watched, eager for the sergeant to finish and allow them their eagerly awaited turn. The one that held the still unconscious girl turned for the bar "Hey Rob," he called to third Splicer while placing his gun on the bar work top "Get over here and hold this brat while I fix myself a drink...Rob...Rob..?" The Splicer looked towards his silent friend and saw good reason to start worrying "Sarge!"
The sergeant was about to remove the already distressed Tenenbaum's undergarments when his privates wailing caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder to see what he was bellyaching at and looked at Rob "What the fuck!"
Both of them including Tenenbaum, stared at a strange figure that held Rob from behind. Neither of them, not even Tenenbaum had any clue what it was. It looked like a Big Daddy but none they had ever seen before. It was dressed in similar gear and armour but still had the physical form and size of a normal man.
Quietly it had crept in to the room without any of them noticing and grabbed the third Splicer from behind. Its left arm was wrapped around his waist and arms while its right hand held his neck. After having chocked the life out of him it released its hold and let him fall to the floor. Stepping over him next he then walked slowly towars the other two Splicers and Tenenbaum.
"What the fuck is it Sarge," the private cried "What the fuck...?"
"Shut up you cock and grab your gun!"
The private did so, dropping the girl on the floor and grabbing his gun from the bar work top. He took aim and took two shots in the head before falling to the floor dead just like his friend. The mysterious assailant stood with its right arm raised from where the shots were fired and then watched the Sergeant attempt to retrieve his rifle.
He was just inches away from grabbing it when suddenly it moved out of his reach and flew directly towards the unknown Big Daddy that possessed the Telekinesis Plasmid. He watched as both its hands took hold and broke his rifle in two, right before throwing the pieces away like discarded trash.
Enraged at seeing his pride and joy broken before him with no regard drove the sergeant to reach for the gun carried in his belt holster. He fired of four shots before realising how low he was on ammo, each bullet bounced off the armour around its body and failed to inflict any harm.
Frustrated even more the sergeant then rose to his feet and pulled out the knife he carried also, he charged at his opponent and was knocked back by martial arts style kick. As the sergeant picked himself back up he watched his opponent take up a fighting stance that showed off more of its martial arts skill.
This caused more of the sergeant's racial prejudice to surface "I've seen that type of fancy fighting before in the Pacific; right after we beat the crap out of the Krauts we then got shipped off to fight the Japs. Saw even more fine Americans die at the hands of those yellow bastards.
Is there a Jap inside there, because that would just make my day having my least two favourite types of people in the same room. So what are you... a fucking Jap?"
To the Sergeant's as well as Tenenbaum's astonishment it spoke via a radio broadcast from its helmet "British actually." its voice was male and a definite sign that there was a person in there.
"A fucking Brit! Well then you know..."
"Let me guess..." it... no he cut in, not wanting to hear another of the sergeant's tedious boasts "Your going to give a lecture now about how America had to step in and do all the work for everyone, right?"
"Damn right!"
"Well I'm pretty sure we could have done without your specific help."
"Watch your mouth," the Sergeant spat back "You may look like a Big Daddy but you ain't as big or tough as one."
"Oh you'll find that I'm more dangerous than any Big Daddy; especially when it comes to dealing with garbage like you."
"Garbage! I'll show you who's trash you son of a bitch!" again the Sergeant charged at his opponent, throwing the knife with the intent of distracting him long enough to get in a few first punches.
Instead his opponent caught the knife in his hand and threw it aside at an overturned table next to him were it stood embedded in the wooden furniture. The Sergeant meanwhile who had his fists raised threw the first punch, although bigger and more menacing his opponent was more agile and lighter on his feet despite all the armour and gear he carried, and easily he avoided the first punch.
Again the Sergeant threw another and another, but he just seemed to dodge and avoid each one with little effort which angered the Sergeant deeply.
"Stand still and fight like a man!"
"Okay," the Sergeant suddenly took a blow to his head and another that struck his gut. He staggered back but was not down for the count, his assailant who had dealt him the surprise two blows realised that he had spliced himself with various Gene altering Tonics that greatly strengthened his bone structure and endurance to pain.
The Sergeant then quickly recovered and went on the offensive again, serving a further more of punches that his opponent countered with defensive blocks and deflections that were next followed by his own punches thrown and blows. The Sergeant then held back for a moment while wiping away a trickle of blood from his mouth.
Quickly the Sergeant recovered and went back on the offence, delving out a further series punches that his opponent countered with defensive blocks and deflections. He struck back with his own blows but the Sergeant stepped up his came by watching his moves and going on the defensive himself.
"You ain't half bad you know," he commented to his opponent.
"Thanks, wasn't much of a fighter but I learned how to handle myself. Even learnt a bit more before the war," his opponent responded.
"Well learn this!" the Sergeant again went on the offence and threw another punch at its head. Quickly his assailant raised his arm and blocked the Sergeant's fist, but felt his left one slug him in the gut. The pain wasn't great but enough for him to take notice and be pushed back slightly "Sucker punch!"
The Sergeant then swung again, this time for the head and managed to hit that as well. Making his opponent stagger further back with his head still rattling but not enough that he would not see the next one coming. The Sergeant swung his whole right fist for the left side of his head. Seeing it coming the would-be Big Daddy quickly leaned back enough to let the Sergeant fist fly past and leave himself exposed.
Raising his leg he quickly kneed the Sergeant in his groin; the only part of him that wasn't impervious to pain. The Sergeant then felt his own knees begin to give out with weakness while a pair of fists slammed him in his back and he toppled him over.
"What the hell are you doing!" he cried out in anger at his opponent resorting to fighting dirty.
"Like you I take every opportunity and advantage I can get here," he then reached for the Sergeant and remarkably lifted him up in to the air above his head "And in Rapture you can't afford to fight fair if you want to survive."
He looked around and saw at the far end of the room that part of the the floor had collapsed, leaving a bloody big hole in it; no doubt the result of a skirmish during the war. Aiming the Sergeant in the direction he then threw him directly towards it
"Sergeant... Dismissed!"
The Sergeant first hit the floor and then slid all the way towards the hole. He struggled in vain to stop himself, but eventually he went over the edge and plummeted to the floor below. All that was heard next was his cries and the sound of him slamming in to what ever lay below.
With that sorted the victor then turned his attention to the task at hand and the reason why he had intervened; Tenenbaum. While he had dealt with the Sergeant she had crawled her way towards the girl who still lay unconscious, hoping to sneak away with the girl while the fight went on.
"Wake up, wake up please," she was still shook up from the near rape and still in pain from where she had been punched. But was still focused on her task despite it all. As she tried to awaken the girl she found her somewhat saviour standing over her. She remained sceptical and cautious though of his intentions towards her.
Looking over her he spoke "Doctor Brigid Tenenbaum I believe, you a hard woman to find in a place like this."
She lifted the Luger she had recovered and aimed it at him "Who are you, what do you want?"
"Easy doctor, I'm not here to hurt you," her threw her a shirt he had removed from one of the two dead Splicers to cover her torn clothes "But I'd sure as hell would love to considering the pain and loss you've caused me and the harm you've done to many others."
Tenenbaum needed no second guessing what he was implying as so many before had expressed to her their pain and loss she had brought upon them and those close to them. And always they made clear to her face how much they wanted to hurt her themselves so she'd know the pain herself. She then looked at the glowing porthole of his helmet and spoke what was causing his pain "You have a little one of your own out there like this one here?"
"Damn right, my kid sister! He spoke to her while managing to keep his temper restrained "She's the only reason why I'm still hanging around in this hell hole. I've yet to find her but even if I do, what then. She'll still have that thing inside her and that damn glow in her eyes. And I can't leave here with her until I've done something about it... Or to be more precise, you've done something."
"Me?" Tenenbaum asked, his interest in her become obviously clear..
"I've heard about what you've been doing these past few months. The talk was you were snatching Little Sister off the streets and doing something to them. But the more accurate truth according to the lab boys was you've found a way to cure and remove... or more correctly kill that damn thing inside them and break the mental conditioning in their heads. And all of it on the go, am I right?"
"You are correct," Tenenbaum answered "I was about to do so with this one before those... Brutes!"
"Their dead doctor, I may hate you a lot but I would never allow anyone to suffer that. So if it's not too much trouble I would like to see you perform this so called miracle of yours."
As they talked more the girl awoke and was suddenly alarmed to find the strange woman looking over her. She crawled away and scurried to a nearby corner, fearful of the woman. But at the same time confused at the sight of the thing that looked like a Big Daddy but was not.
"Mr B... Is that you?" she spoke in a nervous and timid voice.
"No I'm not all right," he spoke to her in a harsh tone without realising it "I'm only looking for one Little Sister. My Little Sister!"
The girl then seemed to cower more at being spoken to this way. She stared more terrified than before "Your a bad daddy."
"Have you no heart inside there?" Tenenbaum quizzed over its lack of compassion to her.
"Says the woman who lacked one when she started turning these girls in to the freaky ghouls they are!"
"All right!" Tenenbaum struck back with "Yes I did wrong to these girls and this whole mess is my fault. But I'm trying to put some of it right again, mainly saving as many of them as I can. And just a moment ago I was willing to allow my body be brutalised in return for sparing this one.
So don't think you can judge me for my lack of humanity when clearly you seem to be lacking any of it regarding this child."
Tenenbaum then rose to her feet, pulling the Splicer's shirt over her and covering up her torn clothes "I'm grateful for what you just did but if you are not going to help then just leave while I see to her."
She approached the Little Sister but still the girl backed away in fear "Please I'm not here to harm you, I only wish to help."
Still the girl kept her distance, still fearful and unwilling to trust the woman as though she somehow sensed she was the cause of what had been done to her. And eventually Tenenbaum feared she would have to resort to force for the girls well being.
But then she felt his hand on her shoulder, implying that she stand aside. She watched as he knelt down and extended his arm towards the girl. Not to seize her but to offer a helping hand "Come on kid, lets get you out of and go somewhere safe."
As the girl reached out her hand towards his, for a moment he had a flash back of his own sister doing the same once. Once he gained her trust he then encouraged her to take Tenenbaum's hand and allow her to take charge of her while he acted as their escort out of the restaurant.
"What now doctor?" he asked next.
"We must take her to a Vent where I can cure her, then we send her to the Safe House where she will finally be safe."
Watching him raise his right arm, Tenenbaum then saw a blade extend out from a device mounted on it "Lead the way doc."
...
After locating the nearest vent Tenenbaum's substitute escort stood watch while also keeping one eye on her and the girl. He observed her gently rub the girls head while noticing that her hand was suddenly glowing. While she did this the girls whole body began to glow itself, particularly all along her nerves. Then in a bright flash it was over, the girl showed signs she was about to throw up and Tenenbaum held to her mouth a metal canister she carried that gathered up the Adam the girl purged from her body.
While she did their escort noticed that the girls complexion had returned to normal, it was when he finally saw her clear eyes he could see she was fully cured. Even her voice was back to normal as she thanked Tenenbaum and him.
"Neat trick Doc, you not only cure the girl but still get some Adam out of it. But not all it seems?"
"It is that reason why most people will not risk their lives rescuing these girls if they do not get the full amount of Adam out of it," Tenenbaum responded while she whispered something in to the girls ear and helped her climb in to the vent.
"Hidey Hole," she wearily said before finally disappearing in to it.
"What did you say to her?" he asked.
"Where to find the Safe House, she'll be safe along with others I've rescued."
"And how many have you?"
"Not as many as I have hoped. And now with Herr Gamma dead it will be difficult in rescuing more without his assistance ."
"Speaking of rescuing these girls, how exactly dose that work?" he enquired, determined to discover her secret. Though from observing what she had just done and from the reports he had read it wasn't hard for him figure it out now "I'm guessing you use a Plasmid you've developed considering of course the manner in how you just did it."
"Yes but it is difficult to explain though..."
"Let me guess, Genetics aren't my strong point but I do have a relevant understanding of it. Now if I'm right all slugs are prone to desiccation, that means of course they dry out due to dehydration which is of course fatal to something that is mostly made up of water itself. That's why slugs on the surface secrete a mucus to keep their bodies moist and why they always stay in the shade where its still damp when the sun is out. It's why these particular slugs here need to be stored in water or something that is moist when taken out of the ocean. And its how of course your able to kill them.
Now I may be wrong but structurally speaking, like some of the glass structures around here; if you were to like remove the nuts and bolts that hold it all together, or more precise dry out what keeps the slug together and any of its body around it, then it's whole structure would fall and crumble apart. There by killing it and severing its attachment from it's host.
With it gone the girls body reverts back to its original state and what's left inside the girl is expunged from the body by the girl spewing out the remains, which is the very reason why only half the Adam is acquired from it. I don't know you do it but that's my theory, am I correct again?"
Astounded that he had some type of grasp of how it all worked, Tenenbaum complimented him on his intelligence "That is correct, is it possible perhaps that inside that armoured clad and lethally equipped suit there is actually a sharp and scientific intelligence that drives it instead of the usual sociopaths that plague this city?"
"There has to be, I didn't just find this suit lying about or put it together with various gear I found. I doubt anyone else in Ryan's science elite would ever come close to concocting something like it." hearing him mention the Science Elite and his claim that the suit was his own creation hinted to Tenenbaum he was more intelligent and skilled than she first assumed. And possibly he had been in the employ of Ryan.
Her thoughts however were interrupted by another question regarding her means of curing the Little Sisters "One more question doctor... How exactly do you break their mental conditioning?"
"I don't, although the Plasmid has the ability to break the shackles that bound their free will, it can not erase the need to harvest Adam that is still imprinted within their fragile minds. That is why they have to be watched all the time, and only time I'm afraid will perhaps free them of it."
"Good enough for me, I've got a lot catching up to do when I find here. And while we're on the subject I may as well bring us back to the matter and reason why I came looking for you. Now considering what I did back there for you and the girl I would pretty much appreciate it if you could in all you generosity perhaps be so kind as to... Oh I don't know... supply me with that revolutionary Plasmid of yours."
Hearing him make that request however only made Tenenbaum hesitate at granting it as she questioned the reason in doing so. True, this person had saved her and the girl and had allow the girl to go free. He had escorted them both to the vent and had made no claim to the Adam she had gathered.
And it wasn't the difficulty in producing this Plasmid or any mistrust or suspicion she still had. But handing over something like this came with a commitment with certain terms that applied as well in order to possess it. And as unfair as it seemed on her part, rescuing just one Little Sister was warrant enough for her to hand it over to him and so she took a gamble with her life.
"There a are terms and conditions that apply though to acquiring it," sure enough she had hit a nerve with that response.
"I just saved your life and that girls damn it, and your telling me that more is required just to save one other little girls life as well as give it back to her?" he responded aggravated at her reluctance to comply with his request.
"Many more little girls lives could be saved, not just one."
Tenenbaum's words only angered him more to the point he seized her throat and extended one of his blades towards her "If you don't give me what I want I swear I 'll make you regret that I ever intervened back there!"
"Go ahead then, prove that I was wrong to believe you would be different and that you just like those thugs."
The moment was tense for him, she still refused to cooperate and give him what he wanted. He may as well kill her for it considering the crimes she was guilty of. So many people in Rapture would probably praise him for making the filthy Kraut finally pay for all she had done.
But still she wasn't a Splicer or like any other filthy deformed insane freak roaming the city, she was still a human being and despite everything she had done she was the only person he had encountered was willing to risk her life to help others and expect nothing in return; something he realised that he had yet done himself. And taking her life would however make him no better than any Splicer.
But more importantly there was no one else he could turn to should he actually kill her. So he released his grip and sheaved his blade, backing away as his attempt of intimidation and coercion had failed.
Tenenbaum massaged her throat as her gamble had appeared to have paid off "I thought so, despite your means and willingness in what is needed to deal with Splicers you are not as cold blooded or as homicidal as they."
"You don't have to rub it in all right," he replied feeling a little beaten that he had backed down. Weakness like that however could prove costly in the future.
"I have no intention of doing so, but now have questions of my own to ask. For starters; how good are you at dealing with Big Daddies?"
…
Later after escorting Tenenbaum back to the Safe House he followed her in; cautiously though.
"Anyone tries anything Doctor and I swear I wont be as merciful as I was with you."
"If anyone is taking a risk it is I letting you enter this place. I am not as welcomed here as you may think," Tenebaum explained back.
"Yeah I can imagine, I wouldn't be surprised if any of these people living here are related to any Little Sisters."
While keeping his eyes peeled for trouble he examined in the meantime the school itself and how in these chaotic time it had appeared to have faired well. Astoundingly there was no structural damage, water leakage or any other signs of conflict that had ever occurred.
"Of all the places to hold up in; a school," he commented "But then judging by its location, there being only way in or out and the way you've managed to fortify it, it dose make the perfect Safe House. Almost as safe as my place."
As he followed her on he noticed the looks of confusion, curiosity and also concern from everyone they passed who came to see what Tenenbaum had brought back with her this time. It wasn't hard to hear every remark or question they made or asked one another.
"What the hell is that?"
"Never seen anything like it before."
"Some kind of Big Daddy?"
"Hey where the hells Gamma?"
"Didn't she leave with an Alpha Series?"
"What the hell did she do, trade Gamma in for something new?"
"He what happened to her clothes?"
"Did she get attacked?"
Some of their remarks however were harsher and more ridiculing of Tenenbaum.
"What the hell has that Kraut brought back now?"
"This is insane first she brings in that damn Alpha Series, now she bringing in another."
"Should never have let that bitch and her brats in in the first place."
"Fucking Kraut's done nothing but bring trouble.
"What do you expect from a fucking Nazi. Should have dropped the bomb on them just like we did with the Japs!"
"Hey look, the fucking Kraut is wearing somebody else's shirt."
"You reckon something happened to her? Heh heh."
"Who the hell would want to fuck her?"
Among the few who said these cruel things there was one who caught Thomas's eye. Oddly enough he was the only one who held his tongue yet the look hate and loathing he directed towards Tenenbaum showed he harboured more than anyone else.
He in his late twenty, was tall but very slim with long skinny arms that were folded in his chest. His hair was curly and brown and his lips were rather large. He wore also a pair of spectacles that enlarged his hate filled eyes
Tenenbaum who still lead the way towards her room ignored the slurs and insults as she always did. "Your right Doc, you ain't as welcomed here as a Jehovah Witness on Ryan's doorstep. I'm surprised they haven't kicked you out yet, let alone let you move in in the first place."
"At first they all refused to allow me to live here but I was able to bribe my way in with Adam and guns I had managed to secure. Plus learning that I had little ones with me and what I was doing to rescue more convinced some them to aid me in sheltering and protecting them as well allowing more to come here,"
She went on "You are right, some of them here are related to the Little Sisters; parents, siblings or close family members. In fact it was they who convinced the rest to help me and the little ones. They all have hope that they will someday be reunited with their loved one. So far none of the few I have rescued are any of them but they still hold out hope that more will come."
"Seems not everybody is happy to have you or these girls," he pointed out after hearing some of their harsh criticism.
"Truth be told it all came down to a vote really, with more in favour of us staying. Those that were against us though don't hide their hatred and loathing for us."
"In other words their the ones who don't have any 'Little Ones' missing out there and so see no need to have you or them here?" he ascertained.
"Correct."
As they neared Tenenbaums room in the science section he suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of young girls playing coming from a room they were nearing "What's that over there?" he asked as they got nearer.
"That's the little ones room, there are other children here but really their students who attended this school before everything went bad, they are all teenagers from different grades. We're nearing my room, it's just up..." she suddenly stopped and turned to see him standing outside the Little Sister's room "What are you doing?"
Suddenly it dawned on Tenenbaum; he was looking for his kid sister. And since she had already told him she had rescued a few then there was the possibility she was in that room now. Found, safe and cured. And if that was so then he had no further need for her help or the Plasmid. And no further reason to stay in Rapture.
She watched him open the door to their room "No don't open that door..." He simply ignored her and entered. Tenebaum stood still, fearing that her plans to use him were going down the drain. But then she started to realise however that she was being selfish and even callus like she had been before and decided that if she was in there then she had no right to keep him here any longer.
If he did leave however then maybe he would be willing to the girls she had already rescued with him out of Rapture and to the surface where they could live normal lives out in the sun. Which ever way it went she thought perhaps maybe some good would still come out of it for her.
The door opened and he stepped out, she waited to see if one of the girls would step out next with him. Instead he closed the door and was silent for a moment before approaching her.
"Lets keep going doctor."
Once inside her room she walked over to a safe and removed from it the Release Plasmid and then placed it on a a table in front of him. He stared at the glass bottle and the red gene altering serum contained within it.
"So that's it is it, funny when you look at it. Every other Plasmid in Rapture serves no other purpose than to kill or harm. Even ones like the Telekinesis one can be used to injure people by throwing things at them."
"You remember now our agreement and what is expected?" Tenenbaum asked to reassure he did.
"Yes... Until I find my sister, I will rescue any other Little Sisters I find and make sure to send them your way," he awaited Tenenbaum's approval and she gave her answer
"It is yours."
He held it in his hands and hesitated "You know Doctor, for all you know once I leave with this I may just only search for my sister and not lift a finger to help any other girls," he looked her in the eyes and then offered it back to her, he hadn't a clue why he was doing it.
Was it guilt that he would not honour his agreement with her, or self loathing that he himself could be so selfish and callus; But Tenenbaum however was willing to put her faith and trust in him and motioned he take it back.
"I don't believe you will though, I can't see who you are literally inside but your actions earlier say enough about you. There's still humility in you and I believe you will keep your end of the bargain and help any along the way. And its why I'm letting you have it."
"Well Doc if your willing to put your faith in me then I guess I'll take it," reaching in to a pouch attached to his belt he removed a syringe. After sticking it in the bottle and extracting a suitable amount of the Plasmid he then disconnected a tube attached to his arm that fed the Eve supply from his back in to his nerve. Placing the syringe needle in to the hole the tube was connected to, he then injected the Plasmid in to himself.
After a moments shivering of his body adjusting to the serums effects he soon settled and decided it was time to depart "Well, thanks so much Tenenbaum. I'll be on my way now."
"How will I contact you?" Tenenbaum asked, eager to have some means of staying in touch.
"Have you got a radio?"
"Yes."
"Give it to me and I'll rig it so it broadcasts on a signal I can only receive. There's a radio built in to my helmet and one back at my place for you to contact me."
"Good, because I have a request to ask as well."
"What kind of request Doctor...? I've already agreed to do what you asked and I'm not happy if there's suddenly another catch you failed to mention."
"No catch, whether you decide to or not is your own choice," Tenenbaum assured him.
"Then what?"
"Now and then we have to send scavenging parties out to gather food and supplies. Its dangerous enough but since most cannot journey beyond this section, what remains is becoming scarce. You however it appears can move freely throughout this city.
If you would be willing, especially for the Little Ones sake. Acquire food, medical supplies, ammo and other essentials. Particularly also laboratory equipment and such."
"Gathering all that stuff and having to bring it all here is going to take up a lot of my time. Time I should be spending looking for her you know."
"I understand, but we are already running short of food and I fear some of those who wished me and the little ones not be given sanctuary here in the first place may use this to encourage the rest or most to force us out,"
Tenenbaum then heard the unmistakable sound of a sigh emitting from his helmet "I'll see what I can do Doctor, but don't expect a habit of it. Now is there anything before I leave?"
"One last thing," this was a question Tenenbaum had asked earlier but never did get an answer "You have yet to tell me your name."
"I'd very much like to keep my identity quiet for now, seems stupid I know, especially in this day. But still..."
There must be something... What is it everyone else you know calls you, assuming you have allies or friends?" Tenenbaum quizzed.
"I don't really have any of those, I'm just going at this alone and..."
The lab door suddenly opened and in walked three of the cured Little Sisters; ages five to seven. The oldest of them spoke "Mama Tenenbaum your back, is Mr Gamma back as well?"
"No child," she knelt down towards them and broke the sad news "And nor will he ever be I'm afraid."
Each of the girls looked sad at the news, but then they caught sight of Tenenbaums new ally swho hadn't long been in their room.
"It;s him again," one of them spoke.
"Is that Mr B?" another asked.
"No I ain't kid," he responded as he did to the one earlier. But this time he was more considerate and friendlier to them "I'm just somebody who lost his own little kid sister and just wants to find her again."
"So your not Mr B then?" the eldest of the three asked.
"No I'm not, I'm..."
"Big Brother!" the youngest of the them shouted out loud.
"What?" he asked, surprised that she would have any recollection of the word considering they were all conditioned to forget their families or what a family was.
"Yes!" Tenenbaum suddenly exclaimed "Big Brother! I believe that is what you should be called from know on."
"Are you serious?" he responded, not entirely keen on the name "I can't really see the name sticking, can you."
…
…
…
Rapture City 1959 – Present Day
"And yet it did; Herr Big Brother," Tenenbaum teased slightly.
"Yeah... I can't believe I actually took that name. Mind you it has definitely got every Splicer who has heard it walking the streets that ever bit cautious and fearful of running in to me. Some even write my name on the walls "Big Brother is watching'."
"Its pleasing to hear that Splicers now have reason to fear walking the hallways themselves. Thugs, murderers, rapists, even those who threaten the little ones. They are all scum and their all irredeemable for what they do," Tenenbaum then took another sip of her coffee while it was still warm "And yet the one who allows these animals to still run free sits safely on his throne in his own castle."
"You mean Ryan of course," Thomas answered.
"Why is it you wont do something about him, you have the means, the strength and the ability to remove him from his throne and save everybody?" Tenenbaum enquired. Granted he probably could take Rapture from Ryan.
"That's how whole mess started in the first place, with somebody trying to take Rapture from Ryan. And look what he did to keep it from happening," Thomas himself took a sip from his cup of coffee before it too went cold "Now look I'm probably crazy enough to take on the Big daddies and mobs of Splicers. But Andrew Ryan..? Oh no! I'm not one to storm Hephaestus all by my self or even lead the charge to where he's held up and take the fight to him; let alone take Rapture from him."
He looked back at Tenenbaum who looked disappointed but understandable as well. He continued on "Raptures failed Brigid, I doubt it will ever be the same again and in my opinion it was never the Utopia it was thought to be. If anything the one thing people should be doing right now is just finding a way out of this city and back to civilisation on he surface."
"You right of course," Brigid agreed "But there is still so much to do before we or I can leave this city and let the ocean take it back."
Finishing the last of his coffee Thomas then put the cup aside and put his helmet back on "Speaking of back, I better be heading back to my place. I got a busy day tomorrow, Big Daddies to kill and Little Sisters to find and rescue."
As he was about to make his way to the door it opened and Judith stepped through carrying a tray of food "Oh your already leaving?"
"Yes Judith... how long have you been standing outside that door," Thomas enquired, sceptical however that she had only arrived.
Oh not long, I just thought Brigid or possibly even you would be hungry."
"I bet you did," Thomas doubted.
Tenenbaum however approached the woman and took from her the tray "Thank you Judith."
Despite it all, Judith was just one of the very few people in the school or possibly the whole of Rapture willing to put aside the everything with Tenenbaum and offer their support and if they would; their friendship.
As a result the false smile on her face was minor guilt of having ease dropped on their conversation and not contempt she had learnt to bury. Still, she realised she wasn't fooling any of them.
"Okay I'm sorry, I was listening to your conversation," she admitted to the two "I was just curious since we hardly know anything about you."
"Well if you've been listening to every word we've said you've probably figured that I am human and what it is I seek in this city," he took a breather before continuing, though Judith could tell he was being sincere with her "But when I visit next. If you wish to join me and Tenenbaum in our next discussion... Your more than welcome."
Again he made his way for the door but had only taken two steps when suddenly...
"Did you mean it?" Judith asked, sincere herself "Is there really a way for all of us to escape Rapture?"
He was silent for a moment,trying to decide on what he was going to say "I can't be sure yet... there are a few complications as well as a few assurances needed to be secured. But I wont lie, the odds will be stacked against us if it can be pulled off, but I wouldn't hold your breath.
And really I'd appreciate it if you would keep this little secret to yourselves."
"But if it can be, will you take us all with you?" Judith asked, desperate to have at least some hope of ever leaving the city.
"Can't hold out any promises, but I will try."
That seemed enough to satisfy both Judith and Tenebaum. Eager to get going before anything else happened he again headed for the door before...
The door opened and this time in stepped Mandy with a look of urgency on her face, she looked at Thomas and her urgency turned to fury. He looked back for a second and realised with disappointment what the emergency was.
"Oh he hasn't?"
"Oh he has damn it!" the fury still burning in her over his poor choice of judgement earlier "He's back, that damn Splicer you let go is back with more of them. And this time their all outside the main door, demanding we open up and give them everything we've got. Including all the Little Sisters!"
"Oh dear god!" Judith spoke with worry.
"Everyone who can handle a gun or crossbow needs to get to the main doors now," Mandy informed them.
"Did you inform Scott first?" Thomas enquired.
"Yes I did. Everyone who can handle a gun! Plus his room is first on the way here!"
"Shite!" Tenenbaum expressed her dread "He'll probably try to convince the rest to hand the girls over just to keep them out."
"You may be right Brigid," all eyes fell on Judith as she explained further "I didn't want to admit it or tell you but these last few days he's been openly expressing his anger and eagerness to kick you and the girls out. And it seems he's slowly gaining support for it.
And I fear he may use this crisis to gather more or worse. Hand them over as you said."
"The hell he will!" Thomas cut in, dead serious and all. Again he was about to head out the door but this time stop at his own accord as he turned to Tenenbaum "Brigid I forgot to ask, did you ever finish those Plasmids you were working on for me?"
"Yes of course," she suddenly remembered and headed to the safe where she had kept the Release Plasmid along with a few others , but only one she removed "I've only managed to complete this one, the other two are not ready yet."
He took hold of the bottle and examined it "Mandy how many Splicers are there exactly?"
"Including that one from before you Jerk!" he looked at her as she was never going to let him hear the end of his blunder, yet still she could tell he was not in the mood for her attitude "Eleven."
He looked back at the Plasmid he held "Yes, this should do."
"What kind of Plasmid is that anyway?" Mandy then enquired eagerly "Can I finally have some?"
"Its a Plasmid I started working but never had the time or expertise in finishing it. So I asked Tenenbaum if she could... And no you can't have any."
