I don't own these characters; they belong to Disney. I don't own this concept; it came from Bubblegum Crisis 2040.
This chapter title is from a song by Adema.
14: "The Way You Like It"
Gemini was not a happy man… not that he ever seemed like a happy man. He brooded as usual in his dark office. He caressed his shaking Pepe with his good hand while waiting for a certain employee of his to come into the office with some answers. Something was wrong and he did not like it when there were bumps in his plans. Bumps in his plans meant he would have to do something others might find irrational.
Like making sure your sister loses an eye? his mind asked him, as if it did not know what he did when things did not go his way. He shook his head. No, when things did not go his way, he was more irrational than that. He did things that were just a little crazy. "Like destroying my sister's hopes and dreams, even when she isn't a threat to me anymore," he said aloud.
He shook those thoughts away, partially disgusted he even acknowledged his sister was a threat at one point in time. It's not like that. He just needed to make sure she knew he was superior. She always refused to acknowledge that and he put her in her place.
He shook the thoughts away again, not wanting to get sidetracked. He would rather not think about the past and focus on the future. After all, the past was dead, gone, and he had come out on top, so he was not about to allow his future to crumble right before his eye. He had fought too hard and too long for everything to go wrong now.
He was taken from his rambling thoughts as Drakken entered the office. Drakken was grumbling to himself and frowning deeply as he came in. The frown remained as he stood before his boss. Drakken silently resented the size of the short male's desk and office in general. It was like being summoned into a dark throne room.
"You called for me?" Dr. Drakken inquired, barely disguising his annoyance. He folded his arms across his chest and squinted just a little at Gemini.
"I called for you almost ten minutes ago. Where the hell were you?" Gemini growled. The little bit of patience he had was long gone. He was not interested in exchanging anything that resembled pleasantries. He just wanted the answers to his questions and then he wanted Drakken out of his sight.
"I was working on something," Drakken answered through gritted teeth. He would like to get back to his work, too.
"You work for me, doctor. I don't think I have to remind you," Gemini stated in a smooth, but cruel tone, knowing he was getting to the scientist with those words. He leaned back in his chair, a smug look in his jet black eye.
Drakken growled as his scowl turned into a full fledge sneer, looking like he wished for nothing more than to set his boss on fire with his mind. He bit back the words he wished to say. He was so close to his goal, he was not about to let anger screw him out of what he believed was his destiny. Taking a deep breath and calming down, he was sure he could stand Gemini's attitude for a few more minutes as long as he continued to think about what he was going to do to his boss later on in life.
"Now, I want to know about that military Bebe. Why the hell are there military Bebes even being made?" Gemini demanded.
Gemini had never given the okay for military Bebes to be on the market. There was a reason for that, but it would seem that his company made moves without his knowledge. This was once again screwing up his plans. He would not allow that. He did not want to give the government any reason to start poking around his operation, so he needed to know about the military contract in order to work on a way out of it before it slipped him up in someway. And, no, he was not being paranoid, like he knew most people would insist he was.
"There was a contract between the military before you took over the company," Drakken answered. Well, that was what someone on his team told him anyway. He did not make it a point to keep up with such nonsense. He was a scientist, after all. He thought it was a good thing that the military had Bebes, but that was for personal reasons and he did not see the need to share.
"A contract before me?" Gemini decided he would look into that. He shifted gears then, wanting to get into another matter that was driving him to distraction. "Why the hell did the media actually cover that Bebe going out of control?"
Drakken shrugged. He could not figure out why the hell Gemini kept asking him about these things. Yes, he was the head of the Bebe division of the company, which made him in charge of a huge chuck of the place, but he was a scientist. He did not keep up with everything else aside from the production of the Bebes. He had people who kept him in the loop about things going around the company and people who did special little jobs for him to keep certain things quiet.
"You never know anything. Why do I even keep you around?" Gemini wondered aloud.
"Because I'm one of the few people alive who can keep the Bebes going. You know how complicated they are and I'm the only one that you know that can maintain them," Drakken answered smugly. Despite it all, Gemini needed him and it would be like for as long as Gemini needed the Bebes.
"I wasn't looking for an answer," Gemini snarled, fury burning in his eye.
"I know, but you know that the Bebes is what keep this company going. Now, the Bebe went berserk, yes, but we're working on figuring out why that was. You don't have to worry about the media covering it because soon we'll have figured out the problem and have fixed it. This will all be a bad dream," Drakken said.
"You better fix it," Gemini huffed, pointing a threatening — and fully loaded — finger at the scientist.
Drakken nodded. "Is that all?" he asked in a clipped tone.
"For now," Gemini dismissed Drakken with a wave of his metallic hand.
Drakken wasted no time exiting the office. Once he was in the safety of the elevator, he shook his head in regards to his shortsighted boss. He knew Gemini did not see the value of the Bebes completely, which he figured was because Gemini was not a scientist or even an engineer. Drakken supposed it was good Gemini had taken over the company and not his sister. Drakken knew the younger sibling would have figured out the brilliance behind the Bebes and possibly used them in the way they should be used. Gemini was just using the Bebes as a tool for a finished product instead of the finished product.
Idiot, Drakken insulted his boss in his mind as he got off of the elevator and went to his office.
His office was the envy of many of the offices in the building, especially with the wonderful view that he got looking out into the water of the Go Bay. He did not believe the office or the view did his genius justice, though. He frowned, throwing himself into his cushioned leather chair.
"There's no reason Gemini can fit about five of my office in his. I should have an office the same size. And the way he always throws it in my face by calling me into there over every little thing. I'll show him. I'll show everyone what Bebes can do," Drakken grumbled.
He booted up his computer and stared at the screen with a frown. He wondered where in the world it could possibly be. He had tried narrowing it down, but he knew from everything he had already done he would be searching forever if he continued doing things this way. He got a thought as he remembered Gemini's whining about the military Bebe.
"I thought for sure I'd be able to do it with that military Bebe. Instead, it went haywire just like the rest of them. It might've gone crazy even faster than the others. I need it and, for me to get it, I need to find the lab. Where could the lab be?" Drakken asked as he continued to stare at his computer screen, brow furrowed as he sat in deep thought.
As he thought about the Bebes, his mind wandered to the Knight Sabers. After all, where there was a berserker Bebe, the Knight Sabers were never too far behind. They were there the ones to bring down the Bebes. The Knight Sabers were always there.
"The Knight Sabers. They're always first on the scene. I dangle a little bit of bait in front of them and they show up like clockwork. There has to be some way that I can use them without them knowing it," Drakken muttered. He was sure he could figure out how to use those armor-wearing vigilantes to find it, but he was not sure how just yet. He knew he would think of something, though. He was a genius after all.
-8-8-8-8-
Tara kept herself busy checking up on Vivian's computer systems. She just wanted to make sure the security was top notch as always. She also wanted to do it before Vivian asked her about it because Vivian would pester her indefinitely until she dropped everything to make sure the system was all right. She sometimes wondered if Vivian was a queen in a past life from the way the she acted.
Tara did not mind the maintenance once she started. It was just getting her started that was the problem. But, now, she was into things and she had snacks to tide her over. So, she was definitely in her happy place.
"Tara?" Felix called as he appeared in the doorway.
Tara jumped from the break in her silence and turned to see who disturbed her. Her heart had jumped into her throat, but she relaxed when she saw it was just Felix. While her body tried to catch up with that information, she threw on an anxious smile.
"Hey, Felix," Tara said with genuine happiness that brought a smile to Felix's face.
"Hey, I was hoping you wouldn't mind me observing you for a little while. I want to learn more stuff about computers. Besides, Aunt Vivian asked me to do this first, but I couldn't do and that's why she got you," Felix explained, still smiling as he spoke.
Tara shrugged, thinking nothing of it and saying nothing about his little confession. She moved her chair over a little and then turned her attention back to her job. Felix parked himself next to her, leaving a little bit of space to avoid making her uncomfortable. They were quiet for a while with her working and him watching.
The air around them was comfortable, almost soothing. Felix inched over a little closer to Tara, who did not say anything. She focused on the screen in front of her while Felix slowly became more focused on her rather than the screen. He moved over a little more after a few seconds since Tara did not say anything. Soon, he was practically at her elbow, watching her as her fingers glided across the keyboard.
She moved like the keyboard was a part of her, Felix noticed. It was something about the people around his aunt, he thought. They had a way of making extensions of themselves: Tara with computers, Betty with machines, Shego with her bike, and Kim just made it seem like the world was an extension of herself. He had never met someone so full of life and energy before; it was exhausting to watch Kim move sometimes. He got that feeling right now with Tara and the console.
"You must really like computers, huh?" Felix said.
Tara yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin for the second time that day. She had not realized how close Felix was. As she turned to face him, she basically fell into the sky. His deep, blue gaze practically mesmerized her. Then, she realized that she was staring.
Blinking, Tara quickly turned away, feeling a hot blush stain her cheeks. She did not notice Felix also looked away. A pink flush invaded his cheeks while he noted what lovely baby blue eyes Tara possessed. He felt like he could get lost in them forever.
"You know, you need to stop kidding around and learn how to do this!" Tara barked, trying to get over her embarrassment.
"Uh — yes!" Felix agreed for lack of a better thing to say. He now felt embarrassed not just for staring, but for not being able to do what she did.
"I shouldn't have to waste my time doing things that your aunt ask you to do in the first place!" Tara huffed, now laying it on thick since she started. Never mind the fact that this was her job before Felix came along and she really enjoyed updating the systems to keep them protected.
"You're right," he agreed again.
"I mean, if you're so good at fixing stuff, why can't you do regular computer maintenance?"
Felix was not sure that logic worked, so he decided not to answer. Tara seemed to be done with her tirade and now allowed what she said to sink in. She balked and looked a little terrified, putting her hands over her mouth for a few seconds.
"I am so sorry! That was all so rude of me!" Tara apologized, slowly moving her hands to go back to the computer keyboard. Oh, he's going to think I'm an ass!
Felix blinked hard from her sudden change. He started laughing really hard. One moment Tara was a little spitfire, the next she was a polite and thoroughly embarrassed young woman. It was too much for him, so he could not help laughing.
Tara frowned and was about to ask what was so funny. Instead of getting indignant because he seemed to be laughing at her, Tara started chuckling, too. Maybe he realized she had panicked and it was a little funny. After a couple of seconds, they were both laughing rather hard.
"Come on, let's finish this up," Tara said after almost a minute of giggles filled the office-like room.
Felix nodded. They went back to work with Felix paying just a little more attention to the computer than to Tara that time around. His eyes did wander every once and a while, checking her out from what she could tell. A small smile curled onto Tara's lips as she continued on with maintenance.
The pair went their separate ways once Tara was done. They departed the office with slight blushes on their faces for reasons they could not figure out. They tried not to think about it.
Tara went home and showered. She then tossed herself on to her bed while grabbing one of her many laptops. She mostly spent her money on computers and computer equipment. Most people would never guess just how much she knew about computers. Hell, most people would never guess how much she knew in general.
"It was nice hanging out with Felix. I wonder why Vivian never mentioned him before. He's a nice kid and everything," Tara sighed.
She referred to him as a "kid" mostly because she did not know his real age. She guessed he was about her and Kim's age, but she could not know for sure. He never hinted to how old he was and Vivian never mentioned it.
But, then again, Vivian never said much about anything. They did not even know she had a nephew until he showed up. He's sweet. She could see some of Vivian in him, but he thankfully lacked the mood swings that his aunt possessed.
"I wish he'd talk more about himself…" Tara muttered to herself.
Her fingers wandered along with her mind, typing things into her computer. She glanced down to see what she was doing and was actually surprised to see that she looked up information on Felix. She shrugged and figured it was a good place to start. She wanted to know more about him, after all, and it did not seem like he or his aunt would say much.
The first thing Tara noticed on the page that came up was a picture. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she stared at it. Felix was seated in his wheelchair with two blond women flanking him. According to the captions underneath, they were Doctor Vivian Porter and Doctor Rebecca Renton with Felix Renton. Vivian was clearly much younger in the picture, but Felix looked exactly the same. Tara glanced at the date and saw it was taken almost ten years ago.
Tara's brow furrowed and her eyes went wide. "What the hell?" she blurted out.
-8-8-8-8-
Vivian sat at her computer, strolling through places she was not supposed to with a drink to the side of her. She glanced at the drink, her third of the night. She briefly wondered when her drinking her gotten so bad, but she dismissed that as something caught her eye.
"What the hell is this?" Vivian wondered aloud and then she reached for her drink. She took a gulp as she read on.
Her breathing increased as she tumbled through the hidden files. Her eyes widened as she read on. She slapped her drink on the counter, shattering her glass and cutting her hand.
"That bastard! He couldn't possibly just move those engineers from the Dragon Line to look for the lab. The lab is gone! It's gone!" Vivian screamed at the screen as her body started shaking.
She shook her head. No, that lab's gone, she mentally tried to assure herself. It was dead and buried, as it should be. It had to be.
"Who the hell would be stupid enough to look for that thing?" she growled.
She shook her head. Of course, he would be stupid enough to look for that thing. She could still remember how proud he looked when it was completed and how smug he looked that time it… She shook her head, trying her best not to think about it anymore. It haunted her memory… but, then again, most of that time haunted her. Ghosts surround me with screams and blood and terror. It would always be so.
"I can't let him do that. I have to do something before that lunatic kills us all," Vivian stated, making a fist with her injured hand. She did not even wince as her blood poured from her clenched hand.
-8-8-8-8-
Felix made it to Betty's garage early in the morning. It was a little chilly. He could see his breath. The sun was barely up, but he was an earlier rise… and a night owl as well. He just did not require that much sleep.
He rolled into the back of the shop where Betty stayed. He shook his head as he caught sight of his mentor. Betty was passed out on the sofa with an empty alcohol bottle in her hand as well as a couple of other bottles on the floor. With a sigh, he just stared at her for a while.
"Do they all carry this pain?" he wondered. He was not even sure who he meant by "they." He wondered if he should even include himself in "they."
He shook his head. This time to clear his mind of such thoughts, figuring it was a bad time to start being a philosopher. He made his way over to Betty and started nudging her awake. Betty grumbled in her sleep, taking heavy swipes at the air, hoping to get whoever was bugging her to go away.
"Hey, it's time to open up," Felix said.
"Go away!" Betty snarled.
Felix chuckled. "Aunt Vivian had the same reaction when I woke her up this morning. You two drink too much," he chastised her, going so far as to shake a finger at her. She had her eye closed, so she did not see the finger wag.
Betty grunted because of her anger. "There's no such thing," she muttered. Hell, most of the time, she did not think there were enough hours in the day for her to get enough drinking done.
"Of course there is. Come on, I'll make some coffee and we can start opening up," Felix said with a smile that could be heard his voice.
Betty growled, but that did not stop Felix. He had already gone through this all once today anyway with his aunt. He had woken Vivian up from a drunken stupor. Actually, she was passed out on her sofa, too. Will had helped him take care of Vivian and get her ready for the day. She was surprisingly energetic once she was showered and caffeinated, moving as if she had a purpose. Felix doubted that bit of history would repeat itself with Betty, but he was confident he could at least get her to work.
Once Betty was showered and caffeinated, she was still grouchy, but he noticed she was almost constantly that way. Betty got to work with the few items around her desolate, out-of-the-way garage. Felix always wondered why Betty had chosen such a spot to set up her business. Not helping matters, it was in a relatively bad neighborhood too. He was surprised that she ever had business.
"You sure do like working on machines," Felix commented as Betty worked on a pickup truck.
Betty shrugged. "It's a living."
"I doubt it. I mean, you show everything special attention. It doesn't matter if it's a hard suit or even this old truck. You treat them all the same." Felix patted the rusted pickup gently.
The one-eyed woman did not respond. Felix expected as much and silently went back to assisting Betty. She was focused, but he could tell her eye looked beyond her work. He sighed again. It always seemed like Betty was looking through everything. He wondered where she looked and what she saw, but he had a feeling he did not want to know. After all, his aunt had a similar haunted look and he knew at least some of the reasons behind that. Some was too much as far as he was concerned.
-8-8-8-8-
Vivian made her way through the busy downtown area of Mega-Go City. She navigated the streets like a shark, moving with a purpose through a sea of people. She strolled into an alleyway, off of the crowded main street. She did not seem concerned about the danger that more than likely lurked in the narrow, filthy passageway.
She ignored the sound of clanging trashcans that did not sound too far away. She walked up to a dusty metal door at the end of the alley and knocked. It would have stunned anyone that the sound of her small, delicate fist hitting the thick, heavy metal could be heard by anyone, but the door opened seconds later.
"Hello!" a disembodied voice that sounded female rang out into the dimly lit area.
Vivian chuckled. "Hello," she replied to the air as far as she knew.
Vivian wondered who — or what — she was speaking to. The door closed behind her as she stepped inside. There was no one there to open or shut the door and that did not surprise her.
She took a moment to look around what she was aware was an appliance repair shop. The place was small and dark, as if it was closed. It could possibly be closed. Vivian was not sure if the store had regular hours or enough customers to remain open anyway.
"Are you here for the doctor?" another disembodied voice asked. This one made it clear where it was coming from as a light from a radio came on.
Vivian smiled and approached the radio. "I am looking for Doctor Freeman. Where is he?" she asked in a polite voice, as if she did not find it weird to be talking to a radio at all.
"The doctor is downstairs in his workshop."
Vivian nodded and looked at the back of the shop where there was a counter. The counter moved to the side, revealing a case of stairs. Vivian wasted no time going back there and down the stairs. She walked down a long corridor and came to another door. She knocked again, but the door did not open that time.
Vivian could hear voices in the next room, so she decided to let herself in. "Hello? Doctor Freeman?" she called as she stepped into the room. It was much better lit than any of the other spaces in the place.
"Who's there?" Doctor Freeman inquired as he spun around from his workbench.
"Doctor Freeman, it's me," Vivian replied with a small smile.
"Doctor Porter! It's been a while!" the middle-aged scientist remarked with a grin as he got a good look at her.
"I'm glad you remembered me," Vivian commented. She meant that literally. He was a little absent-minded last time she checked.
"Of course I remember you. You're just as beautiful as always, too. How's that pretty sister of yours?" Doctor Freeman inquired.
Vivian stopped breathing thanks to the question. She felt a pain take over her throat and chest. She did not need to say anything; her expression said it all. Doctor Freeman offered his condolences.
"She didn't make it out in time…" Vivian whispered.
"A lot of people didn't make it out in time," he added.
"That's one of the reasons I'm here. Drakken is looking for it."
Doctor Freeman eyes went wide eyes and his eyebrows shot up high on his head. "Drakken? That blue maniac?"
She nodded. "He's looking for the lab. I know he is. He's going to find it and let it out."
"We can't let that happen," Doctor Freeman stated with conviction that Vivian could feel in her bones. She nodded. No, they could not let Drakken find that lab.
-8-8-8-8-
Shego was at Betty's garage. Betty was bent over, inspecting Shego's motorcycle. Felix was helping, of course, while also noticing Shego's eyes did not seem to be locked on the bike as he thought they should. After all, he knew Shego cared very much about her motorcycle, but her eyes seemed to be much more concerned with something else very close to the motorcycle. He furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out what that something else was and then a blush stained his cheeks as he finally linked where Shego's eyes were.
"You ride the thing too damn hard," Betty grumbled.
"It can take it. It's a tough bike," Shego answered with a shrug.
"Ridden by a tough idiot," the one-eyed woman commented.
Shego had the nerve to look proud of that. Before she could make a comeback to that, noise distracted them all. Ears picked up on approaching footsteps and eyes all focused out to the front of the garage. They were all surprised to see Tara walking toward them.
"Hi!" Tara greeted them all with a brilliant smile and an enthused wave.
Felix was the only one to smile and wave back. Hell, Betty did not even seem to care about Tara's sudden appearance as she turned her attention back to her work. Shego craned an eyebrow to Tara's presence.
"Never see you around these parts," Shego commented.
Tara shrugged, trying her best to be nonchalant. "I didn't have anything better to do."
"This is great! You can show me those other things you were talking about with the computer!" Felix grinned as he sped off to go get his laptop computer.
Tara raised her hand as if she was about to stop him, but Felix was already gone. She sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Shego kept her eyebrow arched as she took in the younger woman. The biker knew something was up and she was not interested in guessing what.
"Okay, now you can show me everything!" Felix declared, still grinning up a storm as he returned with his laptop tucked underneath one arm.
"Uh…" Tara squirmed. "Maybe later, Felix. I really want to talk to Shego right now."
Felix's whole demeanor fell at those words. His expression pretty much hit the dusty floor and he almost dropped his computer. Shego looked at him and then she looked at Tara.
"What the hell do you want to talk to me about?" Shego wondered aloud. She would not have thought much of it since Tara was not below teasing her or trying to talk her into something crazy, but this was totally different. Tara had sought her out and looked so sullen and serious.
"I just… I need to talk to you," Tara insisted.
Shego shrugged and Tara marched away. Shego followed, not sure why they needed to walk off to have a conversation. Betty glanced up, watching them go. Felix's face fell even more as Tara strolled off.
"Hey, get to work," Betty ordered.
"Right!" Felix replied and tried to lift his spirits as he began assisting his mentor.
-8-8-8-8-
Shego and Tara wandered off pretty far with Tara not saying a word. Eventually, they ended up in front a convenient store. Tara ducked in to get some sugar, knowing it would help put her at ease. She came back out with a honey bun hanging from her mouth and a bottle of orange soda in her hand.
"You gonna talk to me or just get a sugar high?" Shego asked with a frown.
"Um… I was wandering… what do you know about Vivian?" Tara inquired, giving the singer a sidelong glance.
Shego's eyebrow went up again. She wondered if she should just staple it to the top of her forehead whenever Tara was nearby. She eyed Tara as if she was trying to figure out what the blonde was. And then she found her mind asking, what did she know about Vivian? It was a valid question.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: more on Vivian's past and the Knight Sabers shift their mission a little.