This is set in a world where Pokemon do not exist. There is only Mew and Mewtwo, and I do not own them. If I did, I'd be rich. But I don't, so I'm not. I own Laura and all the humans, and I own Shade and Mewthree and the species name 'Two. I don't own Crash and Burn by Savage Garden, either.
Legend of Mewtwo
The impossibly beautiful dream shattered into a million glittering fragments of thoughts, leaving the catlike creature gasping in pure shock. "He's waking up for the first time, Doctor." There were strange voices echoing all around him. "His brainwaves are going off the scale, sir! Hope we don't lose this one too!" They were most likely working on strange things he most likely wouldn't be able to see even if his eyes were open, not even noticing him. Then a distinctly female-sounding voice said directly to him, "Hey in there, big guy. I know you can hear me in there, dude. Don't go all weird on us, okay? You just got born. Don't die on us now. Y'all hold on and don't you dare go giving up on us."
He opened his eyes for the very first time, studying the scene unfolding before him. The room was kind of small and cramped, with rusty red brick walls. It was filled with all sorts of scientific equipment and fancy supercomputers. There were a great many people standing all around him…humans. He had a feeling that he wasn't included in that group. Then he noticed where he was. He was enmeshed in a nest of long, snaky tubes. And he was floating in a huge cylindrical glass vat filled with some sort of strange viscous, gelatinous liquid gunk. His face twisted in a snarl of utter disgust and all the scientists there were mostly surprised to not quite hear a low growl of (Oh, yuck!) Doctor Sinclair, a male with wild brown head fur and frizzy face fur, said, "He's psychic. Surprised? Mew was psychic. We created him from her DNA. It looks like our little experiment worked."
That same non-voice echoed his last words; (An experiment?) There was a wet sloshing sound as he stirred in the liquid-filled vat. They looked at him. They knew that it was their creation talking to them without using spoken words. (An experiment, you say? Do you mean me? Well, what am I?) Doctor Sinclair replied, "Your name is Mewtwo, for you were made from the DNA of Mew. From Mew came Mewtwo. From her came you." Mewtwo said; (Then I am just some sort of a lame copy of that funky little Mew thing you just told me about?) The one who had encouraged him to live, who was a small female with long brown head-fur, said, "Is a child a copy of his mother? I think not. You're you, not some lame carbon copy. See what I mean?" Doctor Sinclair turned to face her and snapped, "Shut up, Miss Meisenheimer. I'm the head honcho here. I talk, see?" She snapped back, "How many times do I have to ask you to call me Laura, Doctor Sinclair? Oh, well. I suppose once more can't hurt too much." Doctor Sinclair turned away from her, not wanting to have to deal with her attitude at that particular point in time. Then he said to his creation, "Nope. Heck no, no way and not a chance. No second-rate replica, you! We made you better. We made you stronger. We wanted to see if we could do it. That was our experiment. And here you are." Just about almost overlapping his last few words, Mewtwo asked in turn, (And is your experiment over, now that I am here?) Doctor Sinclair replied, "It's only beginning. Now that you're here, the tests and stuff begin."
The female, Laura, stepped in and growled, "Sir, I think you're making a big screw-up here. He's not just an animal you can run your stupid little experiments on. I mean, look at him! He can talk. He can think! Don't pull any guinea pig stuff on him, man. Listen to me if you value your butt. And as for your tests…Have you considered asking him for permission to do them?" But it was far too late. The big ultimatum was out in the open. Mewtwo realized that to the vast majority of them he was just some sort of a glorified lab rat. It was a very disturbing revelation, yet not quite altogether unexpected. His mind was whirling. They want to cage me and run some sort of tests on me. No. No way! This cannot be! They made life itself and they didn't see beyond their triumph. I'm just a thing to them. They are going to pay for what they would do to me! He calmed down and thought, I think I have some kind of power. Let's see if I can use it. He closed his eyes and envisioned the big slime-filled vat shattering all around him. He felt something like an ethereal arctic wind passed through his white-furred body, making him shiver slightly. Then he felt a lightning bolt of power that had suddenly been released sear his mind and he heard the sound of shattering glass. The disgusting, sticky liquid fell away from him in a loud splattering rush, replaced by a lighter-feeling gust of cool air. The calm air carried the stinging reek of hospital antiseptic. He wrinkled his smallish, feline nose at it. It smelled like a herd of elephants trapped in an extra-hot sauna. Basically, it stank-bad.
Then he got a good look at himself. His furry belly was rock-hard, his tail was thin, and it looked a little bit like a worm. He had short, thick legs and his feet were positively enormous. His knobby shoulders were angled upward and outward, adding to the look of deformity. His arms were stick-thin and he had huge grotesque triple-toed paws that were utterly without any kind of claws. He said, (Whoa, I am so ugly!) Laura stepped up and said, "No, you're not." She jumped back with a weird squawk when he began to shake the smelly slime out of his slick fur. Then he used his power to such a vast extent that his destruction of the vat that had contained him mere moments ago was nothing. He rose off the ground and just plain hovered. He took a moment to wonder at the fact that he was no longer on the ground. Then he said silently, (Sorry to break it to you this way, guys, but I think it's about time you knew. MEWTWO AIN'T NOBODY'S LAB RAT!) He felt a wildly screaming hurricane of pure rage blossom within him. He fairly rocketed up and barely regained control of himself before giving the ceiling some grief with his head. Then he thought, Yes! Anger fuels my power! That is so cool! Let's see if I can't give these jerks some grief with my special abilities. He envisioned utter chaos taking place before him, the scientific equipment flying around the room in a deadly vortex as the supercomputers exploded like metal-based howitzers. Again, the cold wind shook him from within, the lightning flashed in his head, and again his vision became real. Panic swept the room. Doctor Sinclair, so high and mighty before, now begged for mercy. Mewtwo's answer: (No. You're not going to be manufacturing any more of me. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!) He then rose higher, hovering above an inferno born of the mixing of strange chemicals, and gave Doctor Sinclair a withering glare. He looked down at himself. His furry body was burning with electric blue light. Was that a manifestation of his power? Cool. Without really having to think about it all that much, he focused on his right paw. The electric blue light quickly concentrated there, flowing down his right arm as if sucked in. Doctor Sinclair spoke aloud, saying words he couldn't quite hear. He cupped the ball of light that formed in both paws, holding it back, and then spoke. (No more talk.) Then he released it.
The power was like a song resounding from within Mewtwo's body, a thunderous orchestra playing in million-part harmony, drowning out all sounds from outside him. He wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. He was invincible, untouchable. Mewtwo, after all, was God! And he held in his mind an unlimited number of thunderbolts that he could use to strike down all of his enemies, no matter where they tried to hide from his great wrath. If the ceiling caved in on him at any point during his rampage, his psychic shield would protect him from it. His shield could protect him from anything at all. Then a strange sound cut right through the wildly magnificent symphony of his invincible, unstoppable power. Somewhere, someone was crying. The roar of the flames hadn't so much as fazed him, and now the muffled sobs of some unknown person cut through his thoughts? That was rather strange, to say the very least. He followed the sound, very curious about it.
Laura crouched in a corner, curled up in a tight ball. She shielded her head with her arms and wept with sick terror. Had she truly helped to create such a terrible creature? So strange a creature she had worked to make! And, however intelligent, so powerful! Mere humans were never meant to meddle in such things as life itself! In the end, how could Mewtwo regard her as anything but an intruder? Lamenting her mistake, she shut her eyes, awaiting the fatal psychic strike or deadly electricity sphere that surely had to come.
To her surprise, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She looked up and promptly forgot her shamed sorrow in favor of shocked fear. Mewtwo stood before her, holding back the many encroaching flames like Moses upon the parting of the Red Sea. She was twice as surprised when she felt a familiar voice speaking words into her mind. Mewtwo held out his big three-toed paw to her and said in a determined voice, (Come with me if you want to live.) She slowly stood up and took his outstretched paw. He pulled her closer and said, (Hold on. The ceiling's going to collapse. My shield will protect us, though. We'll be home free in just a minute.) Laura gasped in shock as she felt herself rising off the burning ground. Encapsulated inside a big blue energy bubble along with Mewtwo, she was floating. The ceiling came down in a massive avalanche, but it fell all around her, not on her. Soon she could see the sky through the smoke all around her.
Hovering at roughly a hundred feet above an island, Mewtwo said, (We're on an island? That throws off my calculations. Listen. I'm going to float you to the nearest land. But as for me, I've got to do something about this fire here. I got carried away, so now I'm going to see if any others survived. And I'm going to float a bunch of seawater over the fire to douse it. Maybe I'll see you again. Maybe I won't. I'll be around here, though.)
He found no survivors. Save for the female he'd floated to safety, everyone had to be dead. Mewtwo sat down on a broken pillar and thought a bit. Wow. How did this go so wrong? I meant to just destroy their lab as a warning not to mess with stuff that was beyond their collective league, but instead I killed. I have to learn to control my abilities. But how could he? He heard a sound overhead, like something whacking air over and over in rapid succession. He looked up and saw the source of the sound. It was a large helicopter. It touched down on a patch of smoking rubble nearby. A male dressed in a light brown suit stepped right up to him and said, "Those fools wanted to control you." Mewtwo replied; (What makes you think I consider you to be any different from any of them?) The male said, "They thought you were less than intelligent. But I, Giovanni, the one and only supreme leader of Team Rocket, know better than to think that about a magnificent creature such as yourself. Working together as equal partners, we could rule the world. I can also teach you to focus and even strengthen your powers. What do you say? Partners?" Mewtwo replied slowly, (Okay. Partners it is.) The male, Giovanni, laid a gentle hand on Mewtwo's bony shoulder. He unconsciously flinched at the light touch. Touch apparently enhanced psychic contact, so he suddenly found himself looking out from behind the male's eyes. He saw himself in a new light. In this male's mind, he was an awesome creature with godlike power. No one could beat him or stop him. He could rule the world with an iron fist, for he had great potential and power to back it up. That only made Mewtwo feel like it was an even better idea to go with him. Giovanni had to be pretty smart and strong to get to the high position he was at. A smart, strong person could keep his promise to help Mewtwo learn to control his power. That meant he had to trust Giovanni for now. Well, he thought, It's definitely worth a try with this guy here.
It seemed like Mewtwo was standing in another lab before he knew it. He was restrained as metal sheaths were clamped over his body. He fairly snarled, (What is this? AAHH! Get off! Get off! What are these things for? YIKES! Get them off me!) Giovanni replied, "Calm yourself, partner. This is armor. It'll protect you from attacks and the headpiece is specially designed to amplify your psychic powers. The restraints are to keep you from moving around too much. This thing is all automated, so you have to keep very still or you may get hurt accidentally." Mewtwo quickly calmed himself back down. He didn't want to flip out and end up totally humiliating himself in front of his new partner. He held completely still and just let the computerized arms slip the armor onto him. After a few relatively long minutes, he stepped away from the machine that had put the strange armor on him. He moved around just a little bit and then said, (This is fantastic! It fits me perfectly! I can feel such strength flowing through this armor! I feel like I could lift boulders and throw them for miles! But…well…I can't feel your thoughts. Everything is so…quiet. I can't move anything around with my mind anymore. Where is my power?) Giovanni replied, "This may come as a bit of a shock, but you don't know how to use it. You have the power, but you can't control it yet. Your destruction of the lab is evidence enough to prove that. You were using it unconsciously and instinctively. The armor is designed to block your power when you use it that way. For a time, you will have no power. But you will soon learn to consciously control your power. The armor is designed to only allow you to use your power if it's consciously controlled. As your mastery of your awesome power increases, you will begin to no longer need the armor's controlling capabilities. When you have mastered your power completely, you will then receive a new suit of armor. The new armor will only protect you, not block or focus your power. Controlling and focusing your great power will then be left completely up to you, pal." Mewtwo said, (If you put it that way, yes. When do I start?) Giovanni replied, "You start right now. Let the learning exercises begin!" Mewtwo chimed in, (Yes! Bring it on, man!)
Being powerless terrified Mewtwo to no end. It was like suddenly being blind or deaf. Out of a burning desire to learn how to control his awesome power, he worked with the armor night and day. In his stupidity, ignorance and inability to control himself, he had accidentally killed people. No matter what it took and how long he had to work at it, he wouldn't let such a horrible thing happen ever again. He was willing to try anything, do anything to learn to prevent a second fatal accident from happening again. People had died because of his inability to control his power or his temper. Being dangerous just didn't quite suit him, no matter how much or how hard he tried to rationalize it. He was supposed to have the power. But he didn't really want to have it. It was his destiny to be that powerful. He was meant to have to live his life in that way. But he desperately wanted to choose how he would live his own life. So he hated it with a great passion.
He was given living quarters that had been designed to fit his needs. He had a chair, the rear of which was cut out to accommodate his tail. His bed was specially contoured to allow him to sleep in it without any discomfort. Out of curiosity, he began to learn human habits. He took showers in the morning and made sure to brush his fur before bedtime. Intrigued by human habits, he preened before the mirror in his room sometimes. But no matter what he did, the fact that he wasn't human screamed at him all the time. He wasn't one of them, he would never be one of them, and how could they accept him in their group, seeing as he was…different? He tried speaking aloud to lessen the species gap, but found that his vocal apparatus was ill suited to the task. So that was out. He would have to prove that he was an okay person by honing his dangerous power to its very maximum.
Day by day, week by week, he made slow progress. Soon, he could control his power with great precision. He could levitate a herd of bulls clear across a county and he could flip a coin with his thoughts. He had already known he could conjure fire, but now he could control it enough to set a feather on fire from a hundred feet. He learned how to channel energy from place to place. He could crash out a huge lightning bolt from inside himself and he could give someone static cling. He learned how to float himself around with great precision. He could turn in midair on a dime, zip around in any given direction, weave through the air like an all-purpose fly and travel at the speed of a fighter plane. He learned how to not read minds and how to control someone's mind. Soon he could crash out lightning bolts while floating around, conjure fire while floating around, control multiple minds at once and float both himself and others around at the same time.
As soon as Mewtwo's mastery of his power was complete, he was given a new suit of armor as Giovanni had promised. Then the battles began. He had proven his skill with his power, and now he was to prove his skill in battle. Soon he was a holy terror in battle, as he had always known he would someday become. He won them all, every single one, and battles ceased to be a scary thing to worry about in his honest opinion. Stunningly easy victory after stunningly easy victory merged one into the other as he blazed his way through his opponents like a psychic steamroller in motion. The longest battle was a mere thirty seconds, in which he took pity on his enemy and let it think it had a chance against him. He toyed with it a little bit, feinting and parrying futile strikes before having enough and ending it once and for all with a very slight taste of his awesome power. It was easy. Every battle was easy. He didn't even have to do any more than the barest minimum.
Mewtwo loitered around the arena after yet another battle, periodically kicking at his leg protector in a halfhearted attempt to scratch an itch. He'd just won. For the fiftieth time, he'd trashed his opponents. It was getting to be boring. Giovanni stepped into visibility high above, in the audience foyer. He said, "Good going. You are so amazing. With your power, I will soon rule the world." Mewtwo replied, (You will soon rule the world? You will? Hey! Hey, time out! What about me, then? You said we were equal partners!) Giovanni laughed at that. He said, "Partners? Did you really think I would go fifty-fifty with you?" Mewtwo growled, (Wait a minute! We had a deal!) Giovanni said, "Does a man make a deal with his gun? Does a man make a deal with his warplane? It's time for you to wake up to reality, 'partner'. I have a bit of a true story for you. Listen up, okay? A long time ago, all the scientists of the world were manufacturing organic weapons. They made many, many tailored viruses and deadly bacteria. But they decided that more was needed. They started to work on the pinnacle of all organic weapon development. A creature whom no known weapon could touch, who could deal with any enemy at lightning speed, who could counter the enemy's plans the very moment they were thought of. The research went on for decades on end. Eventually, a huge breakthrough was made and a new, deadly creature was born. A deadly creature with enormous psychic power, great strength and great intelligence entered into the world. Do you know who that creature was, partner? Do you?" He laughed and mused aloud, "Mewtwo. Your very name speaks of the fact that you came second. Born out of man's genetic tinkering, natural you aren't. You ever wonder why? Why do you possess such awesome destructive power…unless the scientists who originally made you wanted you to have it?" Mewtwo got the innuendo and gasped, (Oh, man! No. No way! No way! Don't say it. Just don't say it!) Then he found that he didn't really give a care. He said, (Yeah, I'm a weapon. No, I'm so much more than that. I'm the ultimate living weapon, baby! Don't you know it! This cat can kill anybody!) Then he turned to his erstwhile partner and continued, (There's just one little thing you should know, 'buddy'. I may be a living weapon, but no one controls me. Upon my creation, I swore that I would let nothing and no one control me. I answer to no one, let alone to you, you big, fat ugly bum. I respect no one's authority save for my own authority and I choose to say I AM OUTTA HERE!)
In mere milliseconds, Mewtwo had slammed straight through the roof and was rocketing through the stratosphere. The speed he was going at tore the armor right off him. Soon, all he wore was his helmet. He touched down on semi-rough concrete. He removed his helmet and threw it down, then looked around. He thought, Here again? What strange force moved me to return to my birthplace? The fire that had ravaged the place where he'd been born, the fire he had given birth to, had long since died. He wondered; I can use my power with great strength and great precision. Does that mean I can use it to build a home for myself from this wreckage? The only way to find out was to try. He closed his eyes and concentrated, using his power in the way he'd been taught. The awesome, all-pervasive blue glow that went with his power enveloped him as it began. Rubble whirled around him and reformed into the building it had once been. It was like the building was collapsing in reverse. At the center of it all, Mewtwo stood untouched. Soon the building stood all around him in its former glory, although it was completely devoid of human occupants. That was fine by Mewtwo. Humans stank. He quit using his power and promptly collapsed. That was a shock to him. He was totally worn out. He thought, Hey. I have limits. They're pretty huge limits, but they're limits nonetheless. That was his very last thought before he inexorably slid into the dark depths of oblivion. If he spent some time asleep, he would most certainly return to full strength very soon.
He spent the next three days fast asleep, slowly but surely recovering from the massive strain that reconstructing the building had placed on his mind and body. On the dawn of the third day, he awakened; feeling both renewed and delightfully refreshed. He had a plan concerning what to do next. He'd take his revenge on the world and the human race as a whole. From what he'd just seen, humans as a whole were mean, nasty, prejudiced, manipulative and generally corrupt. From what he'd seen, the world in its entirety was a dark, cruel, horrible place. That world didn't deserve to exist anymore, in his opinion. Well, he'd cleanse the planet of humankind as a whole and bring the surviving races together to create a world of pure joy and light, of wondrous beauty and peace. A new, wonderful world… He suddenly stopped in his mental tracks. A world like the one he'd seen in the dream he'd had before awakening for the first time. Had his facial structure permitted him to smile, he would have done so. Remembering that dream was one of the comforts he had. He'd make a paradise. He had to get rid of the old before he could bring in the new. The thought of what he had to do made him sick, but he had no other choice if he wished to make his dream into reality. He had to destroy the human race. It would make him just about die of guilt, but he'd do it anyway. There was no way around that.
Mewtwo climbed a spiral staircase to reach the top floor of the building he'd resurrected. As he walked, he thought, Wow. I didn't know the scientists who made me were doing their work in a mansion. This is such an awesome place. And it's home. It's my home. He looked at everything he could possibly see, indulging in pure curiosity, as he never had before. Soon he stood on a balcony high above a cliff where waves crashed and roared. He looked up at the huge blue sky, then down at the lapping waves around his island home. And he had an idea as to what to do to start with. It would be a bit of a stretch for him, but if he could levitate a herd of bulls and rebuild a mansion from scratch, he could certainly do it. Calling on all his power, he raised a single paw high into the air. The whole world seemed to stop right in its tracks, anxiously waiting for him to give his next command. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he began to move his paw in a small circle. The clouds in the sky also began to move in a circle. He moved his paw slowly at first, but then faster and faster until his paw stirred the air at a relatively lazy speed. By that time, the sky was roiling with huge, ominous dark clouds. He looked upward again and he would have smiled, had he been physically able to do so. He had just created a truly massive hurricane. This very special hurricane, the biggest ever in the history of everything in the whole world, would move out from the island under his guidance and rid the world of the evils of mankind. His plan was well underway now.
The woman shouted into the radio, "Mayday! Mayday! This is the ferry Freebird! I've lost my bearings and am taking on water! Last known position is somewhere off the coast of Panama! I've got passengers with me! I could use a little help here!" A voice crackled over the radio, "We copy, Freebird. What is your current position?" The woman replied, "I don't know! I don't know!" Then she paused. She could see something through the rain. She cried, "Sweet mother of mercy!" Then she continued, "The land! I-I see it!" Her joy turned to horror and she shrieked, "Holy guacamole! Too close! I'm too close! Everybody get ready for impact! We're gonna crash!" Then she went off the air for good.
The ship pitched up against the rocks, wounded and doomed. Massive waves broke over the rails and tore it to pieces. The people who had been aboard the boat (four men and women in all), struck out for the nearby land. They had a pretty easy time of it, too. Soon they stood atop a large pile of rocks that marked the beginning of a sheer cliff. The woman who had been piloting the ship yelled over the roaring storm, "Hey! Folks! Look over there!" There was a huge inlet carved in the rocks. It looked like a monstrous cave. Wherever it led, it was shelter. So they slowly began to make their way over toward it. No matter what happened next, it would be good to get out of the terrible, slashing storm. And none of them knew what lay in store for them. Nor did they know whose island they were on. After all, how could they possibly guess what wonders and terrors lay in store for all of them? But they were nonetheless on a high-speed collision course with destiny. Once they were inside, away from the wind, the waves, and the storm in general, they did introductions. The ship's pilot introduced herself as Hannah White. A young man named William was wringing the water out of his hair and clothing. And a pair of newlyweds, George and Laura, sat on the ground, dazed. Laura, still clad in her soaked, ruined wedding dress, fairly clung to her husband. Hannah tried to figure out what to do next. She was supposed to be the leader, but she had no idea what to do. Then someone called out, "Hey! Yo, lady! Check it out! There's a staircase over here! And I can see light at the top!" By an unspoken general consensus, they ascended the staircase. A crudely hewn stone archway opened into a grand ballroom. Everyone looked around with awe, save for one. Laura looked around with pure confused shock. Her name had once been Laura Meisenheimer, and she had once been a scientist. The place she was in now looked exactly like the place where she had worked long ago. But that place had been destroyed. And here it was. Was it possible? Had none of it really happened? If she were to run up to the lab, would she find Doctor Sinclair and the crew continuing their ongoing work on Project Mewtwo? She could feel a bubble of explosive excitement swelling inside her mind and heart. It burst and she ran, nearly tripping over her wet wedding dress and wincing as her wet hair whipped around her face. She yelled, "Doctor Sinclair! Judy! Yo, T.J! It's me, you guys! It's Doctor Meisenheimer! Hey, everyone! Are you all deaf or something? Hey! Hey! Jim, are you up there somewhere? Doctor Laura Meisenheimer is in the house! Are there any new developments in Project Mewtwo? Hey, guys! Answer me!" George, her husband was totally confused at her shouted statements. He'd known his new wife had once been a scientist, but what in the name of all sanity was Project Mewtwo? But he acted quickly, running after her, grabbing her and stopping her shouts. He said, "Hush up, please. We don't know what we're dealing with here. It could be someone nasty. Until we find out just what's really going on here, we have to keep quiet and not let whoever's here find us tramping around in his house. You got that? I sincerely hope you do." Laura replied, "Okay. I just went a little hysterical there and I'm very sorry for that." They quickly rejoined the group, which clumped together into a fairly large wad of scared people. Moving along slowly and quietly, they began to explore the huge place.
As they moved through the seemingly abandoned mansion, George whispered to his wife, "Just one thing. I know you used to be a scientist; you used to work somewhere very like this place and the people whose names you called were once your colleagues. But there's just one thing about what you said that confuses me. What is Project Mewtwo?" Laura whispered, "I mentioned it aloud? If it were still in effect, you'd have to be arrested on terms of national security. But Project Mewtwo is pretty much defunct right now, so I can tell you everything you could possibly want to know about it. But where should I start? Where do I start this tale? Oh! Stupid me! I'll start at the beginning and when I get to the end, I'll stop. Here goes nothing. Listen up." As Laura led them up the spiral staircase, headed for where the lab had once been, she said, "Our original DNA sample came from a fossilized bone that had once belonged to an extinct exotic, legendary creature. The archaeology expedition down in Brazil had just brought it back from the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the very same legendary creature whose bone it had been. The creature was catlike and also very small. The legends of the Amazon Rainforest told of the creature being psychic in a major way. I thought of it as a sort of tiny fairy kitten, so I started to call it Mew. Soon everybody was calling it that. The project became known as Project Mewtwo. Why did we call it Mewtwo, you ask? We were breeding a second creature from the remains of the first, so the name seemed to be perfectly logical to us. We'd first called the project Mew Number Two, but that eventually got shortened to just plain Mewtwo. It took many years to design the type of creature we wanted and make it psychic. It took years more to create a viable embryo. A lot of the embryos spontaneously aborted themselves after just a few short days. They tended to grow to full term in mere weeks. It-he was born using a 'cold hit'. Cold hit is our term for growing and designing a whole living creature from just a tiny DNA sample. Nobody really thought that our cold hit would amount to much of anything. Even Doctor Sinclair himself was pretty sure that we'd fail miserably. But to our wonder, our joy, our horror…we actually succeeded. We'd had a heck of a lot of false starts and failures, a whole lot of poor, pitiful creatures that had died just as they awakened for the very first time, or while they were still just little fetuses or even seriously tiny embryos. But this one grew, awakened…and stayed."
Laura paused, then sighed. Everyone sat down atop the spiral stair for a rest. She gazed into empty space wistfully and said, "The very moment he first opened his eyes, we could tell that he was everything we had dreamed of…and so much more. He was very intelligent, very powerful and very psychic. He was magnificent! But Doctor Sinclair had made a terrible, terrible mistake. We all had shared in that mistake as well. He was far too powerful for us to control. And he was very, very hostile. Not even two full minutes after awakening, he destroyed this place and killed everyone…with just one exception…me. He spared me. I had been kind to him. I had tried to make Doctor Sinclair understand that we had created an intelligent being…and he saved my life as a gesture of gratitude. Since that day so very long ago, seems longer than it really was, I haven't even thought of Project Mewtwo once. But being back in here gives me a heck of a lot of questions. Especially since this place was completely demolished back then… What could possibly rebuild this place and make it be as it had been before it was completely destroyed? Does that mean something strange is afoot? Is he still alive right now? Is he okay? I'd like to thank him for helping me live through the total destruction of this place. Is he here? Mewtwo-my one and only feline savior-where are you?" George reassured her, "A big mutant cat can't go all that far in this here world without somebody noticing him. You'll find him again, Laura. One way or another, you will find him once again. Soon."
Just as she fell silent, there was a loud crash. It startled everyone and they all looked around. At the top of the staircase was a huge door. Hannah said in a low, hoarse whisper, "Let's see what just made that sound. Help me with this door here. It looks like it'll take all of us to open it. When I say pull, we all pull at once, okay? This stupid thing must weigh a whole ton at the very least." Everyone quickly gathered in front of the huge door and picked handholds wherever handholds were readily available. Moving slowly and silently on well-oiled hinges, the door opened before their combined strength. They opened it about three feet and they all peeked around it. Everything was as dark as midnight on a new moon, but bright sporadic flashes of lightning lit things enough to see. The big room that the huge door opened upon was just like a large stone-based veranda. Three walls were made of glass, and they looked out on a boiling, churning mass of clouds. Standing in front of the gigantic window was what looked a little like both a cat and a man. Laura said softly, "Everyone, that is what was born from Project Mewtwo. We named him after the project, not having any better idea as to what to call him. His name is Mewtwo and he's kind of dangerous." William piped up, speaking for the first time, seeing as he now had something to say, "That's just fine, lady. But what's he doing?" Laura replied, "I honestly don't know. Your guess is just as good as mine here."
Just then, Mewtwo, still oblivious to their presence because he wasn't bothering to scan for any uninvited guests, raised his right paw in the air and began to move it around in a slow circle. Everyone save for Laura quietly gasped in awe as a blue glow enveloped him. They all watched as the storm around the mansion began to roil more strongly. Hannah gasped, "The hurricane…it's his doing!" Laura piped up, "I know why. He wants to cause wholesale destruction. No-he wants to destroy Humanity!" William said, "We gotta stop him." Hannah finished, "You're right, dude. We have to stop him somehow. I'll lead the way in. Laura, I know you want to lead. I'm the captain here, so just do what I say." Upon saying that, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. She'd made the initial challenge. She hoped that she had the courage and the strength to back it up with.
Mewtwo spun with feline grace as a female voice called his name. He looked and saw a small, soaked group of humans standing before him. The one in front, a female, said, "We will not permit your hurricane to destroy Humanity." Mewtwo raised both paws and pointed at them. As the blue glow gathered around his furry body again, he said coldly, (Not like it matters much to me, humans. I can kill all of you with a mere thought. It wouldn't be too hard for me. You threaten my plan. I can kill you just like I killed my creators before.) The leading female said, "Go ahead, then. We're calling your bluff." The blue glow around his body intensified and gathered down into his paws as he prepared to create an energy ball. But he stopped before he sent it out to seek their deaths. Hannah egged him on, saying, "You can't do it, can you? You can't kill!" The blue glow around his body intensified to very close to white as her words enraged him. He really didn't want to kill her just for talking, but he was sure that he had to do it. If he backed down at that point, they would take advantage of his weakness again. They were humans and humans always did that sort of thing to him. All humans were exactly the same. Humans were humans, and deserved to get exactly what they gave. Except for…her…
Then a woman in a white dress stepped up. She looked strangely familiar. He got a powerful sense of recognition when she spoke. Her voice… Why did he feel like he knew her voice from somewhere? She said, "Don't bait him like that, Hannah. You really don't want him to get mad at you. He's a pretty okay fellow if you don't set him off. So just be nice to him if you value having a butt and a life. You're really cruising for spontaneous combustion, talking that way, you know that?" Hannah replied, "But he's going to-" The other woman promptly cut in, "We know. We know what he's planning to do. Chill out. Just back off and chill out. Let me handle this. Do it right now. Hannah White, you will back away from Mewtwo right this very instant. You will do as I command you to. Back away from him right this instant. Just move your stupid little butt. If you don't do exactly as I tell you to… Well, I just have one thing to ask you. Don't you like living?"
Hannah obeyed the other woman's command. The other woman stepped closer and said, "Hello, Mewtwo. It's been a long while. Remember me? I'm Laura. You rescued me." Unafraid, she walked up to Mewtwo and laid her hand on his shoulder. She said, "You must have been through some pretty awful stuff to come to hate Humankind so much." Mewtwo replied; (That's right. My life's been just one long list of betrayals.) Laura said, "I know how that feels. That sort of thing happens to more people than you think. It happened to me, for instance. People mistreat other people because of fear, plain and simple. Fear of others because they are different. And you must have gotten it far worse than anyone else in all history ever has. But don't worry about that. Different is just another word for special. Different means special. But most people don't see that, even when it's blatantly obvious and right in front of their faces. It's actually one of our society's greatest weaknesses. We should welcome difference, not fear it." Mewtwo was shaking because of an emotional storm brewing inside him. He said, (I was planning to destroy all Humanity. But now that you're here-all of you-I can't do it. It's easier to kill a nameless, faceless group. It's hard when you know whom you're killing.) Laura replied, "Proven fact, Mewtwo. It's hard to kill." Mewtwo said, (I had a stint with Team Rocket after we parted ways. I heard from their leader that I was a biological weapon.) Laura replied, "That was it, but only at first. But we tossed that out the window about halfway through." Mewtwo fairly bristled. He snarled, (That doesn't change a thing! I was still meant to be a weapon!) Laura said to him in a calm voice, "You don't have to be just a weapon. You are who you choose to be. You know what that means. Don't you? You're only a weapon if you want to be a weapon. Do you really want to be a weapon?"
Mewtwo relaxed visibly at that, seeming to droop like a withered flower. He replied, (No.) Laura said, "Then you aren't a weapon. You can be anything you want. But there's something I'd like to explain to you first. The circumstances of your creation, the secret of your birth…it all means nothing. I know you pretty good, Mewtwo. Your thoughts and feelings were always pretty readable to me. Don't blame yourself for that. You weren't projecting or anything. I just picked up the subtle nuances in your behavior in the short time we spent together. In all, we've spent about twelve minutes together. But I was able to read you anyway. It's a talent I have." She paused for a few seconds, fidgeting nervously, then said, "I'm sorry I diverged there. I tend to go off on tangents. As I was saying… People come from many different places, in many different ways. Society in general doesn't get it, but individual people do. It's not who you were that matters, it's who you are. And how you came to be doesn't even come up. And there is a place where all are equal, no matter who you are or where you're from. People come from all over and are the same. That place is located in a small town in the United States of America. I was born there, depressed and very suicidal. But, with help from many other people, I lived through it. Here I am, alive and kicking. So you see…appearance and origin have come to mean nothing to them. There are places where everybody is treated the same. If they would accept an alienated woman who messes around with DNA, a down-and-out aspiring artist, a serial slacker with no motivation and a former psycho with a killer reputation, they will certainly accept a two-legged telepathic cat. All people aren't the same and difference is actually a good thing. Now that you know that simple fact, will you believe my words? Will you try to trust me? I have one request. Let's stop looking at what's different about us and start looking at what's the same." Mewtwo laughed aloud. Then he said, (Of course. I'll do just that. And let me come with you to America. But first I'll get rid of this stupid hurricane. I made it, so I'll destroy it.) He held up his paw and concentrated. And the hurricane stopped. Just like that, it stopped. Laura said, "Thank you so much. You'll not regret it. Everything will be cool now. Okay, everyone! Problem solved! Let's go see about finding a way off this stupid old rock and back to civilization!"
Soon they all stood outside. All of them, four normal humans and a big seven-foot tall two-legged telepathic cat, stood in a group. Mewtwo towered above them all. His purple eyes swept the featureless waves like a searchlight. No land in sight, save for that upon which they stood. Laura and the others, who had introduced themselves to him, held a quiet conversation off to one side. They thought to hide their words from his hearing, but he didn't need to hear them. Had he been completely deaf, he would still have heard them. They were discussing possible strategies for getting off the island and back to civilization in general. The discussion quickly grew heated, but calm was maintained. They didn't know that he heard, so he heard some very unflattering references to himself.
"Maybe we can salvage the Freebird," Hannah suggested. William replied, "Nope. I say no way. Not a chance, either. The ship got smashed against the rocks like an eggshell. There won't be any pieces bigger than a toothpick. Bye-bye Freebird. Try again, lady." Laura said, "Is there anything here we can use?" Hannah replied, "Unless you propose taking the wooden banquet table that we saw on our way in and using it as a life raft, which is a totally stupid, lame excuse for a plan if I ever heard one, no." William piped up; "I don't suppose Wonder Cat there has a spare boat, does he?" Laura snarled, "Don't ever call him that, you narrow-minded nimrod!" George cut in, "He's absolutely right, you know. We're overlooking Cat Boy, there." With that, he pointed over at Mewtwo.
Laura smacked him over the head. Husband or not, she was not about to stand by and let him badmouth her feline pal. Then she said, "Listen up, you guys. His name is not Wonder Cat, nor is it Cat Boy. His name is Mewtwo. Remember that well, all of you. His name is Mewtwo. Don't call him any bad names. Don't ever call him bad names. How would you like it if someone insulted you on the basis of the fact that you were different from him or her? Call him Mewtwo. That's his real name, guys. So call him Mewtwo."
There was a very long pause, as everyone just stood mute while George rubbed his sore head. Laura said, "Let's all get back to the matter at hand. We have to get our sorry butts off this island somehow. But how do we do it? That's the big question. Anybody have any ideas?" William replied icily, "Just the same one as what George said before. I say we get rid of Fur Face there, cannibalize whatever wood there may be in that kooky dung heap we just left, build ourselves a little life raft with it and then scram." Laura simply kicked him straight in the off-limits area. He promptly fell down, gasping for air. She snarled, "Anyone else care to join him down on the ground? No? Then I suggest all of you listen up. We're all going, we're all going together, and we're taking Mewtwo with us. Any questions?" Hannah asked, "Just this one. Answer me this. How do you propose we get off this island?" Laura answered, "I'm at a total loss over here, guys. Don't look at me for all your answers. We have to brainstorm a little something to get us all out of here safely and in one piece. But, until we figure something out, I want you to know this: we gotta try to figure out a way to get our butts out of here without leaving Mewtwo behind. If you insist on leaving here without taking him along with you, then you can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to sabotage all of your attempts to leave this island. No one, that's no one, leaves this here island without bringing Mewtwo along with him or her too. I'm not going, you're not going, and neither is anyone else. I wouldn't even let my own mother leave without him. Do you hear me? He more than deserves to get that second chance and new beginning I promised to him back there. I won't let him down and I won't let you let him down either. Okay? He is coming along with us…or else."
Mewtwo decided to get them off the island. He wouldn't ask them or tell them. He'd just do it. He closed his big eyes and concentrated. Unnoticed by Laura and her friends, the blue glow enveloped him. The conversation stopped as the four humans felt themselves rising off the ground. Hannah shrieked and struggled. William froze. George looked around in wonder. Laura looked directly at Mewtwo, smiled and said, "Ah, dear friend. Again I owe you very much." Then she turned and barked, "Hannah! Freeze!" She did. William broke his paralysis and fairly bellowed, "Hold it! Wait a minute! He can fly?" Laura replied, "He's not really flying. He's levitating himself-and us. This is how he rescued me from the burning building. It's like I said. All we dreamed of…and more."
Beginning to lose their fear and just plain enjoy it, the four flew onward beside Mewtwo. Hannah was doing the backstroke. Laura spread her arms like a bird. George just sort of floated, watching everything. William posed like Superman. Mewtwo hung in the sky in the midst of Laura and her friends, looking like he was sliding along on his belly. He gave her a wry sideways glance that was full of wry, ironical humor. (They sure seem to shift their opinions awfully quickly,) Mewtwo said, (Is this normal for humans?) Laura replied, "I guess you could put it that way. And yes, this is normal. So you don't have to worry too much about all of us. We're not too afraid of extreme heights or of not being in contact with the ground. We've also seen everything you can do. So we're pretty much ready for anything you can possibly throw at us now." Mewtwo said, (Is that so, Laura?) He coiled his power within him and prepared to release it. He continued; (Anything I can throw at you, huh? I think I'll just have to take you up on that bet. With my special power, I can do just about anything. Check this action out.) With that, he swept them screaming below the waves. Surprisingly, they did not drown. Mewtwo said, (My shield can keep us safe and dry underwater. One major drawback, though. There's a limited air supply in here, so we can't stay down here very long. And even that isn't all there is to my power. One… two… three… TELEPORT!) They were suddenly back up in the sky. Mewtwo said, (It's all based on simple line-of-sight stuff. Basically, if I can't look at it, I can't teleport myself over to it. And there's still more stuff that I can do. And there are still more things I want to show you. Excuse me, please. Does anyone have a bandanna or a spare sock or something like that?) Hannah had a bandanna that she no longer had any use for. She held it out to Mewtwo. Instead of taking it from her, he asked, (Would you please be so kind as to drop it and let it fall, please?) She did exactly as he asked her to. As it fell toward the ocean far below, it burst into sudden and violent flame. Mewtwo nodded happily, confirming that it was indeed he who had set it on fire. He said, (I don't know how I do it. I just do it. And I can also do something else that is very like it. You saw my energy spheres, but this is different. Behold the power of thunder!) Moving like a pitcher in baseball, he heaved a super colossal lightning bolt across the sky. Then he said, (You really thought you'd seen everything I could do, huh? That for your expectations concerning my limits!) As everyone watched, Mewtwo seemed to shake all over. In their minds, they heard his laughter. He seemed proud, happy to show off, and amused at their complete amazement. George piped up, "I bet if there was anyone below us to see this spectacular demonstration, they'd be flipping their lids right about now. Yo, big cat, are you doing anything to insure that we won't be picked up on anybody's radar and misidentified as a group of enemy aircraft going in for a bombing run?" Both Laura and Mewtwo understood that George didn't really mean it as an insult. His lighthearted reference to Mewtwo as 'big cat' was like a little nickname. Mewtwo just looked totally blank. He evidently hadn't understood the question. That was a first in that department.
It was then that they all became aware of the surface-to-air missile speeding their way. All that saved them from certain and total annihilation was Mewtwo's quick reflexes. He threw up a shield and swooped straight downward. The missile, which was fortunately not a tracking missile, arced over them all and then crashed into the sea so far below the lot of them. Mewtwo released a huge mental sigh and said, (That was way too close!) George fairly shrieked, "Don't just hover, big cat! We've been targeted! We gotta get our sorry butts out of the sky-pronto!" Mewtwo replied, (Okay, then. Hang on to your hats, folks. I'm going to take us on a little Mach 3 cruise now.) With that simple warning, they were going well past the speed of sound. They were virtually undetectable as they cruised mere inches above the surging waves. Mewtwo said in a totally fake calm voice, (We're going to reach land in just a few short seconds, okay? Then we'll be perfectly safe from those funky old missiles and anything else airborne that might possibly decide to go after the lot of us. Aircraft, birds, bugs and anything else airborne included.) Sure enough, they were on land in just a few short seconds. Soon they stood on a small beach. The beach was nothing more than a simple thin strip of white sand between the ocean and a dense jungle. They could hear birdcalls, monkeys and all sorts of cool jungle sounds.
Hannah and William sat down on the sand, worn out by the sheer terror of the flight. George and Laura roamed around the beach, looking for any signs that would tell them where they were. Mewtwo had decided to relax a bit. He now stood knee-deep in the surf, watching minnows swim in the shallows. He chased after them, pouncing and almost catching them but not quite. (Come here come here come here, little minnows,) he said. Hannah watched him frolic. He reminded her of a young child, but he also reminded her of a cat staring at a fish tank. Laura followed a strange pattern imprinted in the sand. After a few feet, she said thoughtfully, "Hmmm… Tank treads? What in the heck would a tank be doing on a beach?" Almost as if cued by her rhetorical query, a strong, compelling voice barked, "Freeze!" A group of camouflaged soldiers burst forth from the jungle. William, Hannah, Laura and George were roughly herded together at gunpoint. The soldiers had generally overlooked Mewtwo because he was in a crouch. In a crouch, he looked like an albino panther. He stood and fairly sprinted at the soldiers. As he charged, he snarled, (Let them go or by the blackened bones of my creators I swear to you-Let them go! Now!) The familiar blue glow enveloped him and he created an energy ball. Just as he prepared to hurl it at the soldiers, one of them grabbed Laura and used her as a human shield. He pressed his gun to her neck. He said, "I'll shoot her. I swear I will. Back off and stop with the glowing power thing. Do it now. You hear me? Back off or the woman dies!" Laura begged, "Mewtwo, please…" He did what the soldier demanded. He dropped his shield and let the energy ball dissipate. William, being handcuffed, snarled, "Stupid hairball ain't good for nothing." As they were taken away, Laura kicked him yet again. They were separated from Mewtwo as they were dragged along. The instant that they were separated, Laura began to shout, curse and struggle.
Time passed. The four of them were eventually released. And they knew why they had been arrested. They had inadvertently stumbled upon a secret military base. Upon being released, Laura demanded, "Where is Mewtwo? Tell me! I know you have him. I demand that you release him now! I will not be denied! Release Mewtwo now! Now! Now! Do it right now, before I get really mad! I demand freedom for my best buddy, Mewtwo!" The general replied, "Are you talking about that cat creature you were with? Ah, yes. It's a fine specimen at the very least. They're looking it over even now. I imagine it'll give them years of fun." Laura snarled back coldly, "Listen up, brainless one. Mewtwo is not an animal. Mewtwo is a he. And I demand his prompt release." The general replied, "No way, lady. Give up such a precious find? Never! Now go!" The four ran into the jungle at top speed. Once they were out of all his sight, though, they immediately doubled back.
They mugged four soldiers who had passed by in a Jeep, tied them up and stole their uniforms. Leaving four soldiers tied to a tree clad only in their underpants, they drove back to the base. They passed the guards with no problem, seeing as it was midnight by that time and no one could see anything very well. As they slowly drove toward the loading dock, Laura closed her eyes and concentrated. She focused on one thought with all her mental might and tried to send it to Mewtwo. She thought to him with all the strength of body and mind that she could muster: Don't be afraid. Help is on its way. Far away, she was sure Mewtwo heard. They parked the Jeep next to a big truck and got out. They strolled into the base through the deserted loading dock and immediately grabbed wooden clipboards off a large pile of cardboard crates stacked near the big metal door. Keeping their heads down and acting like they knew what they were doing and where they were going, they began to explore the base. They had no idea of the base's layout, but Mewtwo had gotten her thought-message and was sending out a psychic beacon to guide them to him. Laura, for one, was on the verge of complete panic. After a few long minutes, they reached a lab. There was a large cage sitting in the corner. Mewtwo sat in that cage. He turned toward her and gave her a quiet, wry look. She stepped closer, barely suppressing a feeling of utter revulsion at the sight of her semi-feline pal, who was far more human than some humans she knew, caged like a mere animal. She looked the big cage over. It had a simple padlock, which would be relatively easy to open. She said, "Yo, Hannah. You got a hairpin I could borrow for a couple minutes?" Hannah did, so she handed it to Laura. Laura replied, "Thanks so much for letting me borrow this." Then she said, "Don't worry a bit, Mewtwo. I'll get you out of here in just a few minutes."
An instant later, Laura was blindly fiddling around inside the lock with the hairpin. Everyone, including Mewtwo, was holding his or her breath. Then the lock snapped open. Everyone sighed in relief. The cage door swung open and Mewtwo stepped out. As soon as he was outside his cage, an alarm rang out. Metal bars slid across every exit. They were trapped. Everyone crowded together. Mewtwo and Laura were at the center. They were in a mind link, discussing possible methods of escape at the speed of light. Sending a stream of thoughts to Mewtwo, Laura said, This base is just a little one-story building! There is nothing above us but the ceiling and air! No one will be hurt! There will only be property damage and no injuries whatsoever, so let's blast up through this here ceiling and just head right off! Mewtwo replied quickly, (Right you are!) They were enveloped in Mewtwo's bright sphere of blue psychic energy. Mewtwo looked up and, at his psychic command, a huge invisible fist punched a large hole in the plaster ceiling. William gasped, "Wow! You can talk about power, but this something else entirely! I've never seen a cat do that before! Ever!" Laura replied, "Go right ahead. Talk about power all you want. You haven't seen squat yet. He can do lots of cool stuff with his power. This great, unnatural power is his birthright, the birthright of his Mew mother and the birthright of the many children that he will someday come to have, I hope and pray."
An instant later, they were rocketing up through that hole and into the indigo-hued night sky. George whooped, "Yahoo! By the time they figure out that we're actually in the air, we'll be long gone!" Laura turned to Mewtwo and said, "Still… We gotta get out of the area and we gotta do it fast. Everyone okay with that? Take us down very low please, Mewtwo. Stop five feet above tree level, if it wouldn't be too hard for you. We have to get moving, so just do what I say and everything will be just fine, I hope. I know just what I'm doing here, I think. We really have no time to argue about anything like chain of command or who-tells-who-to-do-what on this little expedition, so please pardon me if I sound like I'm ordering you around, but…HIT IT!" As per her first request, Mewtwo took them down low, to just barely above the treetops. As per her second request, he hit Mach 3 from a dead stop, taking Laura and her friends with him. Like an incredibly huge low-flying blue comet, they streaked due north, a direction chosen by an unspoken consensus. Everyone whooped and hollered like insane maniacs, really enjoying the ride. Mewtwo kept their speed up and made the blue energies emitted from his shield invisible. He knew when he would do each part of Laura's plan to escape from the general area.
Many miles from the base they had just escaped from, Mewtwo took them up high. They cruised slowly, looking at the landmasses far below. Mewtwo asked, (Does anybody know where the heck we are?) William knew his geography quite well, and it was something along the lines of basic elementary to all of them. He said, "Well, look at that! We're above Brazil right now. The base we just busted out of must have been in, like, northern Argentina or something. We were right in choosing to go north. If we want to reach America, we have to keep going north. At Mach 3, we should get there in no time at all. Home sweet home, here we come, and quite fast, too." Laura piped up, "Hey. Wait a minute, everybody. We're over Brazil now? So we're dead above the Amazon rainforest right now! Mewtwo, the Amazon rainforest is where we found the fossil we made you from. As you may well know, Mew is your mommy-sort of. Mew lived in the Amazon rainforest. That makes the Amazon rainforest your ancestral home. Since you can hit ridiculously high speeds with the greatest of ease, I think we have plenty of time for a pit stop in the jungle. If we go down there, then maybe…just maybe…" She trailed off and looked away from them, directing her gaze downward to the deep greenness of Brazil's rainforests. George sort of flapped up like a spastic bird on hallucinogenic drugs, utterly weightless in the grip of Mewtwo's levitation field, and asked, "Maybe what?"
She said, "I was there, at the excavation site where we found the specimen we sought. There was a general, unspoken, unscientific theory buzzing around the camp right after we found the fossil we wanted. We all felt a presence near us. Something was watching us do our work. What if the little bone we'd found didn't belong to the Mew, but a Mew? We thought maybe there was a live Mew somewhere deep in the jungle, far away but nevertheless there. Judging from the electrochemical reactions occurring in your brain just before you woke up; you definitely sensed the presence of something far away. That proved the 'More Than One Mew' theory for the lot of us. Our plan was to go and find that Mew right after you woke up, Mewtwo. We were going to take you with us as an equal partner in the search for that little Mew. We all had such high hopes for you. But Doctor Sinclair just wanted to run his pathetic little tests on you. He died for his mistakes. My friends died for his mistakes too. In all the time since you rescued me from the burning laboratory, I have only had just one little thing to ask you. Why did you do it?"
Mewtwo would have known the pain she felt at remembering the past even if he hadn't been psychic. His emotions rose to match hers in pain and intensity. He replied slowly, unable to meet her gaze, (I never told you this, Laura. I never told anyone. It was all an accident. A terrible, terrible accident caused by an inexperienced rookie cat unable to control his power. The basis for my hooking up with Team Rocket was…I had to train myself to control my dangerous powers. Oh, I fell for their multitudinous lies all the way. Hook, line and sinker too. I wanted to learn to use my powers correctly. They said they could teach me to do so. Before I even met him, the leader of Team Rocket found my weakness and was able to exploit it. But he used me. He used me. That was my first taste of betrayal and I am now quite sure that I hate it with passionate intensity.) Laura said, "If I didn't understand it before, I do now." She pantomimed making a toast. "To you, Mewtwo," she said, "May you always stay as utterly innocent as you are right now. Your thoughts are pure, your actions are kind and your words speak only love. You are like a child. May you never, ever be forced to grow up and become as mean as everyone else."
Legend of Mewtwo
The impossibly beautiful dream shattered into a million glittering fragments of thoughts, leaving the catlike creature gasping in pure shock. "He's waking up for the first time, Doctor." There were strange voices echoing all around him. "His brainwaves are going off the scale, sir! Hope we don't lose this one too!" They were most likely working on strange things he most likely wouldn't be able to see even if his eyes were open, not even noticing him. Then a distinctly female-sounding voice said directly to him, "Hey in there, big guy. I know you can hear me in there, dude. Don't go all weird on us, okay? You just got born. Don't die on us now. Y'all hold on and don't you dare go giving up on us."
He opened his eyes for the very first time, studying the scene unfolding before him. The room was kind of small and cramped, with rusty red brick walls. It was filled with all sorts of scientific equipment and fancy supercomputers. There were a great many people standing all around him…humans. He had a feeling that he wasn't included in that group. Then he noticed where he was. He was enmeshed in a nest of long, snaky tubes. And he was floating in a huge cylindrical glass vat filled with some sort of strange viscous, gelatinous liquid gunk. His face twisted in a snarl of utter disgust and all the scientists there were mostly surprised to not quite hear a low growl of (Oh, yuck!) Doctor Sinclair, a male with wild brown head fur and frizzy face fur, said, "He's psychic. Surprised? Mew was psychic. We created him from her DNA. It looks like our little experiment worked."
That same non-voice echoed his last words; (An experiment?) There was a wet sloshing sound as he stirred in the liquid-filled vat. They looked at him. They knew that it was their creation talking to them without using spoken words. (An experiment, you say? Do you mean me? Well, what am I?) Doctor Sinclair replied, "Your name is Mewtwo, for you were made from the DNA of Mew. From Mew came Mewtwo. From her came you." Mewtwo said; (Then I am just some sort of a lame copy of that funky little Mew thing you just told me about?) The one who had encouraged him to live, who was a small female with long brown head-fur, said, "Is a child a copy of his mother? I think not. You're you, not some lame carbon copy. See what I mean?" Doctor Sinclair turned to face her and snapped, "Shut up, Miss Meisenheimer. I'm the head honcho here. I talk, see?" She snapped back, "How many times do I have to ask you to call me Laura, Doctor Sinclair? Oh, well. I suppose once more can't hurt too much." Doctor Sinclair turned away from her, not wanting to have to deal with her attitude at that particular point in time. Then he said to his creation, "Nope. Heck no, no way and not a chance. No second-rate replica, you! We made you better. We made you stronger. We wanted to see if we could do it. That was our experiment. And here you are." Just about almost overlapping his last few words, Mewtwo asked in turn, (And is your experiment over, now that I am here?) Doctor Sinclair replied, "It's only beginning. Now that you're here, the tests and stuff begin."
The female, Laura, stepped in and growled, "Sir, I think you're making a big screw-up here. He's not just an animal you can run your stupid little experiments on. I mean, look at him! He can talk. He can think! Don't pull any guinea pig stuff on him, man. Listen to me if you value your butt. And as for your tests…Have you considered asking him for permission to do them?" But it was far too late. The big ultimatum was out in the open. Mewtwo realized that to the vast majority of them he was just some sort of a glorified lab rat. It was a very disturbing revelation, yet not quite altogether unexpected. His mind was whirling. They want to cage me and run some sort of tests on me. No. No way! This cannot be! They made life itself and they didn't see beyond their triumph. I'm just a thing to them. They are going to pay for what they would do to me! He calmed down and thought, I think I have some kind of power. Let's see if I can use it. He closed his eyes and envisioned the big slime-filled vat shattering all around him. He felt something like an ethereal arctic wind passed through his white-furred body, making him shiver slightly. Then he felt a lightning bolt of power that had suddenly been released sear his mind and he heard the sound of shattering glass. The disgusting, sticky liquid fell away from him in a loud splattering rush, replaced by a lighter-feeling gust of cool air. The calm air carried the stinging reek of hospital antiseptic. He wrinkled his smallish, feline nose at it. It smelled like a herd of elephants trapped in an extra-hot sauna. Basically, it stank-bad.
Then he got a good look at himself. His furry belly was rock-hard, his tail was thin, and it looked a little bit like a worm. He had short, thick legs and his feet were positively enormous. His knobby shoulders were angled upward and outward, adding to the look of deformity. His arms were stick-thin and he had huge grotesque triple-toed paws that were utterly without any kind of claws. He said, (Whoa, I am so ugly!) Laura stepped up and said, "No, you're not." She jumped back with a weird squawk when he began to shake the smelly slime out of his slick fur. Then he used his power to such a vast extent that his destruction of the vat that had contained him mere moments ago was nothing. He rose off the ground and just plain hovered. He took a moment to wonder at the fact that he was no longer on the ground. Then he said silently, (Sorry to break it to you this way, guys, but I think it's about time you knew. MEWTWO AIN'T NOBODY'S LAB RAT!) He felt a wildly screaming hurricane of pure rage blossom within him. He fairly rocketed up and barely regained control of himself before giving the ceiling some grief with his head. Then he thought, Yes! Anger fuels my power! That is so cool! Let's see if I can't give these jerks some grief with my special abilities. He envisioned utter chaos taking place before him, the scientific equipment flying around the room in a deadly vortex as the supercomputers exploded like metal-based howitzers. Again, the cold wind shook him from within, the lightning flashed in his head, and again his vision became real. Panic swept the room. Doctor Sinclair, so high and mighty before, now begged for mercy. Mewtwo's answer: (No. You're not going to be manufacturing any more of me. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!) He then rose higher, hovering above an inferno born of the mixing of strange chemicals, and gave Doctor Sinclair a withering glare. He looked down at himself. His furry body was burning with electric blue light. Was that a manifestation of his power? Cool. Without really having to think about it all that much, he focused on his right paw. The electric blue light quickly concentrated there, flowing down his right arm as if sucked in. Doctor Sinclair spoke aloud, saying words he couldn't quite hear. He cupped the ball of light that formed in both paws, holding it back, and then spoke. (No more talk.) Then he released it.
The power was like a song resounding from within Mewtwo's body, a thunderous orchestra playing in million-part harmony, drowning out all sounds from outside him. He wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. He was invincible, untouchable. Mewtwo, after all, was God! And he held in his mind an unlimited number of thunderbolts that he could use to strike down all of his enemies, no matter where they tried to hide from his great wrath. If the ceiling caved in on him at any point during his rampage, his psychic shield would protect him from it. His shield could protect him from anything at all. Then a strange sound cut right through the wildly magnificent symphony of his invincible, unstoppable power. Somewhere, someone was crying. The roar of the flames hadn't so much as fazed him, and now the muffled sobs of some unknown person cut through his thoughts? That was rather strange, to say the very least. He followed the sound, very curious about it.
Laura crouched in a corner, curled up in a tight ball. She shielded her head with her arms and wept with sick terror. Had she truly helped to create such a terrible creature? So strange a creature she had worked to make! And, however intelligent, so powerful! Mere humans were never meant to meddle in such things as life itself! In the end, how could Mewtwo regard her as anything but an intruder? Lamenting her mistake, she shut her eyes, awaiting the fatal psychic strike or deadly electricity sphere that surely had to come.
To her surprise, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She looked up and promptly forgot her shamed sorrow in favor of shocked fear. Mewtwo stood before her, holding back the many encroaching flames like Moses upon the parting of the Red Sea. She was twice as surprised when she felt a familiar voice speaking words into her mind. Mewtwo held out his big three-toed paw to her and said in a determined voice, (Come with me if you want to live.) She slowly stood up and took his outstretched paw. He pulled her closer and said, (Hold on. The ceiling's going to collapse. My shield will protect us, though. We'll be home free in just a minute.) Laura gasped in shock as she felt herself rising off the burning ground. Encapsulated inside a big blue energy bubble along with Mewtwo, she was floating. The ceiling came down in a massive avalanche, but it fell all around her, not on her. Soon she could see the sky through the smoke all around her.
Hovering at roughly a hundred feet above an island, Mewtwo said, (We're on an island? That throws off my calculations. Listen. I'm going to float you to the nearest land. But as for me, I've got to do something about this fire here. I got carried away, so now I'm going to see if any others survived. And I'm going to float a bunch of seawater over the fire to douse it. Maybe I'll see you again. Maybe I won't. I'll be around here, though.)
He found no survivors. Save for the female he'd floated to safety, everyone had to be dead. Mewtwo sat down on a broken pillar and thought a bit. Wow. How did this go so wrong? I meant to just destroy their lab as a warning not to mess with stuff that was beyond their collective league, but instead I killed. I have to learn to control my abilities. But how could he? He heard a sound overhead, like something whacking air over and over in rapid succession. He looked up and saw the source of the sound. It was a large helicopter. It touched down on a patch of smoking rubble nearby. A male dressed in a light brown suit stepped right up to him and said, "Those fools wanted to control you." Mewtwo replied; (What makes you think I consider you to be any different from any of them?) The male said, "They thought you were less than intelligent. But I, Giovanni, the one and only supreme leader of Team Rocket, know better than to think that about a magnificent creature such as yourself. Working together as equal partners, we could rule the world. I can also teach you to focus and even strengthen your powers. What do you say? Partners?" Mewtwo replied slowly, (Okay. Partners it is.) The male, Giovanni, laid a gentle hand on Mewtwo's bony shoulder. He unconsciously flinched at the light touch. Touch apparently enhanced psychic contact, so he suddenly found himself looking out from behind the male's eyes. He saw himself in a new light. In this male's mind, he was an awesome creature with godlike power. No one could beat him or stop him. He could rule the world with an iron fist, for he had great potential and power to back it up. That only made Mewtwo feel like it was an even better idea to go with him. Giovanni had to be pretty smart and strong to get to the high position he was at. A smart, strong person could keep his promise to help Mewtwo learn to control his power. That meant he had to trust Giovanni for now. Well, he thought, It's definitely worth a try with this guy here.
It seemed like Mewtwo was standing in another lab before he knew it. He was restrained as metal sheaths were clamped over his body. He fairly snarled, (What is this? AAHH! Get off! Get off! What are these things for? YIKES! Get them off me!) Giovanni replied, "Calm yourself, partner. This is armor. It'll protect you from attacks and the headpiece is specially designed to amplify your psychic powers. The restraints are to keep you from moving around too much. This thing is all automated, so you have to keep very still or you may get hurt accidentally." Mewtwo quickly calmed himself back down. He didn't want to flip out and end up totally humiliating himself in front of his new partner. He held completely still and just let the computerized arms slip the armor onto him. After a few relatively long minutes, he stepped away from the machine that had put the strange armor on him. He moved around just a little bit and then said, (This is fantastic! It fits me perfectly! I can feel such strength flowing through this armor! I feel like I could lift boulders and throw them for miles! But…well…I can't feel your thoughts. Everything is so…quiet. I can't move anything around with my mind anymore. Where is my power?) Giovanni replied, "This may come as a bit of a shock, but you don't know how to use it. You have the power, but you can't control it yet. Your destruction of the lab is evidence enough to prove that. You were using it unconsciously and instinctively. The armor is designed to block your power when you use it that way. For a time, you will have no power. But you will soon learn to consciously control your power. The armor is designed to only allow you to use your power if it's consciously controlled. As your mastery of your awesome power increases, you will begin to no longer need the armor's controlling capabilities. When you have mastered your power completely, you will then receive a new suit of armor. The new armor will only protect you, not block or focus your power. Controlling and focusing your great power will then be left completely up to you, pal." Mewtwo said, (If you put it that way, yes. When do I start?) Giovanni replied, "You start right now. Let the learning exercises begin!" Mewtwo chimed in, (Yes! Bring it on, man!)
Being powerless terrified Mewtwo to no end. It was like suddenly being blind or deaf. Out of a burning desire to learn how to control his awesome power, he worked with the armor night and day. In his stupidity, ignorance and inability to control himself, he had accidentally killed people. No matter what it took and how long he had to work at it, he wouldn't let such a horrible thing happen ever again. He was willing to try anything, do anything to learn to prevent a second fatal accident from happening again. People had died because of his inability to control his power or his temper. Being dangerous just didn't quite suit him, no matter how much or how hard he tried to rationalize it. He was supposed to have the power. But he didn't really want to have it. It was his destiny to be that powerful. He was meant to have to live his life in that way. But he desperately wanted to choose how he would live his own life. So he hated it with a great passion.
He was given living quarters that had been designed to fit his needs. He had a chair, the rear of which was cut out to accommodate his tail. His bed was specially contoured to allow him to sleep in it without any discomfort. Out of curiosity, he began to learn human habits. He took showers in the morning and made sure to brush his fur before bedtime. Intrigued by human habits, he preened before the mirror in his room sometimes. But no matter what he did, the fact that he wasn't human screamed at him all the time. He wasn't one of them, he would never be one of them, and how could they accept him in their group, seeing as he was…different? He tried speaking aloud to lessen the species gap, but found that his vocal apparatus was ill suited to the task. So that was out. He would have to prove that he was an okay person by honing his dangerous power to its very maximum.
Day by day, week by week, he made slow progress. Soon, he could control his power with great precision. He could levitate a herd of bulls clear across a county and he could flip a coin with his thoughts. He had already known he could conjure fire, but now he could control it enough to set a feather on fire from a hundred feet. He learned how to channel energy from place to place. He could crash out a huge lightning bolt from inside himself and he could give someone static cling. He learned how to float himself around with great precision. He could turn in midair on a dime, zip around in any given direction, weave through the air like an all-purpose fly and travel at the speed of a fighter plane. He learned how to not read minds and how to control someone's mind. Soon he could crash out lightning bolts while floating around, conjure fire while floating around, control multiple minds at once and float both himself and others around at the same time.
As soon as Mewtwo's mastery of his power was complete, he was given a new suit of armor as Giovanni had promised. Then the battles began. He had proven his skill with his power, and now he was to prove his skill in battle. Soon he was a holy terror in battle, as he had always known he would someday become. He won them all, every single one, and battles ceased to be a scary thing to worry about in his honest opinion. Stunningly easy victory after stunningly easy victory merged one into the other as he blazed his way through his opponents like a psychic steamroller in motion. The longest battle was a mere thirty seconds, in which he took pity on his enemy and let it think it had a chance against him. He toyed with it a little bit, feinting and parrying futile strikes before having enough and ending it once and for all with a very slight taste of his awesome power. It was easy. Every battle was easy. He didn't even have to do any more than the barest minimum.
Mewtwo loitered around the arena after yet another battle, periodically kicking at his leg protector in a halfhearted attempt to scratch an itch. He'd just won. For the fiftieth time, he'd trashed his opponents. It was getting to be boring. Giovanni stepped into visibility high above, in the audience foyer. He said, "Good going. You are so amazing. With your power, I will soon rule the world." Mewtwo replied, (You will soon rule the world? You will? Hey! Hey, time out! What about me, then? You said we were equal partners!) Giovanni laughed at that. He said, "Partners? Did you really think I would go fifty-fifty with you?" Mewtwo growled, (Wait a minute! We had a deal!) Giovanni said, "Does a man make a deal with his gun? Does a man make a deal with his warplane? It's time for you to wake up to reality, 'partner'. I have a bit of a true story for you. Listen up, okay? A long time ago, all the scientists of the world were manufacturing organic weapons. They made many, many tailored viruses and deadly bacteria. But they decided that more was needed. They started to work on the pinnacle of all organic weapon development. A creature whom no known weapon could touch, who could deal with any enemy at lightning speed, who could counter the enemy's plans the very moment they were thought of. The research went on for decades on end. Eventually, a huge breakthrough was made and a new, deadly creature was born. A deadly creature with enormous psychic power, great strength and great intelligence entered into the world. Do you know who that creature was, partner? Do you?" He laughed and mused aloud, "Mewtwo. Your very name speaks of the fact that you came second. Born out of man's genetic tinkering, natural you aren't. You ever wonder why? Why do you possess such awesome destructive power…unless the scientists who originally made you wanted you to have it?" Mewtwo got the innuendo and gasped, (Oh, man! No. No way! No way! Don't say it. Just don't say it!) Then he found that he didn't really give a care. He said, (Yeah, I'm a weapon. No, I'm so much more than that. I'm the ultimate living weapon, baby! Don't you know it! This cat can kill anybody!) Then he turned to his erstwhile partner and continued, (There's just one little thing you should know, 'buddy'. I may be a living weapon, but no one controls me. Upon my creation, I swore that I would let nothing and no one control me. I answer to no one, let alone to you, you big, fat ugly bum. I respect no one's authority save for my own authority and I choose to say I AM OUTTA HERE!)
In mere milliseconds, Mewtwo had slammed straight through the roof and was rocketing through the stratosphere. The speed he was going at tore the armor right off him. Soon, all he wore was his helmet. He touched down on semi-rough concrete. He removed his helmet and threw it down, then looked around. He thought, Here again? What strange force moved me to return to my birthplace? The fire that had ravaged the place where he'd been born, the fire he had given birth to, had long since died. He wondered; I can use my power with great strength and great precision. Does that mean I can use it to build a home for myself from this wreckage? The only way to find out was to try. He closed his eyes and concentrated, using his power in the way he'd been taught. The awesome, all-pervasive blue glow that went with his power enveloped him as it began. Rubble whirled around him and reformed into the building it had once been. It was like the building was collapsing in reverse. At the center of it all, Mewtwo stood untouched. Soon the building stood all around him in its former glory, although it was completely devoid of human occupants. That was fine by Mewtwo. Humans stank. He quit using his power and promptly collapsed. That was a shock to him. He was totally worn out. He thought, Hey. I have limits. They're pretty huge limits, but they're limits nonetheless. That was his very last thought before he inexorably slid into the dark depths of oblivion. If he spent some time asleep, he would most certainly return to full strength very soon.
He spent the next three days fast asleep, slowly but surely recovering from the massive strain that reconstructing the building had placed on his mind and body. On the dawn of the third day, he awakened; feeling both renewed and delightfully refreshed. He had a plan concerning what to do next. He'd take his revenge on the world and the human race as a whole. From what he'd just seen, humans as a whole were mean, nasty, prejudiced, manipulative and generally corrupt. From what he'd seen, the world in its entirety was a dark, cruel, horrible place. That world didn't deserve to exist anymore, in his opinion. Well, he'd cleanse the planet of humankind as a whole and bring the surviving races together to create a world of pure joy and light, of wondrous beauty and peace. A new, wonderful world… He suddenly stopped in his mental tracks. A world like the one he'd seen in the dream he'd had before awakening for the first time. Had his facial structure permitted him to smile, he would have done so. Remembering that dream was one of the comforts he had. He'd make a paradise. He had to get rid of the old before he could bring in the new. The thought of what he had to do made him sick, but he had no other choice if he wished to make his dream into reality. He had to destroy the human race. It would make him just about die of guilt, but he'd do it anyway. There was no way around that.
Mewtwo climbed a spiral staircase to reach the top floor of the building he'd resurrected. As he walked, he thought, Wow. I didn't know the scientists who made me were doing their work in a mansion. This is such an awesome place. And it's home. It's my home. He looked at everything he could possibly see, indulging in pure curiosity, as he never had before. Soon he stood on a balcony high above a cliff where waves crashed and roared. He looked up at the huge blue sky, then down at the lapping waves around his island home. And he had an idea as to what to do to start with. It would be a bit of a stretch for him, but if he could levitate a herd of bulls and rebuild a mansion from scratch, he could certainly do it. Calling on all his power, he raised a single paw high into the air. The whole world seemed to stop right in its tracks, anxiously waiting for him to give his next command. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he began to move his paw in a small circle. The clouds in the sky also began to move in a circle. He moved his paw slowly at first, but then faster and faster until his paw stirred the air at a relatively lazy speed. By that time, the sky was roiling with huge, ominous dark clouds. He looked upward again and he would have smiled, had he been physically able to do so. He had just created a truly massive hurricane. This very special hurricane, the biggest ever in the history of everything in the whole world, would move out from the island under his guidance and rid the world of the evils of mankind. His plan was well underway now.
The woman shouted into the radio, "Mayday! Mayday! This is the ferry Freebird! I've lost my bearings and am taking on water! Last known position is somewhere off the coast of Panama! I've got passengers with me! I could use a little help here!" A voice crackled over the radio, "We copy, Freebird. What is your current position?" The woman replied, "I don't know! I don't know!" Then she paused. She could see something through the rain. She cried, "Sweet mother of mercy!" Then she continued, "The land! I-I see it!" Her joy turned to horror and she shrieked, "Holy guacamole! Too close! I'm too close! Everybody get ready for impact! We're gonna crash!" Then she went off the air for good.
The ship pitched up against the rocks, wounded and doomed. Massive waves broke over the rails and tore it to pieces. The people who had been aboard the boat (four men and women in all), struck out for the nearby land. They had a pretty easy time of it, too. Soon they stood atop a large pile of rocks that marked the beginning of a sheer cliff. The woman who had been piloting the ship yelled over the roaring storm, "Hey! Folks! Look over there!" There was a huge inlet carved in the rocks. It looked like a monstrous cave. Wherever it led, it was shelter. So they slowly began to make their way over toward it. No matter what happened next, it would be good to get out of the terrible, slashing storm. And none of them knew what lay in store for them. Nor did they know whose island they were on. After all, how could they possibly guess what wonders and terrors lay in store for all of them? But they were nonetheless on a high-speed collision course with destiny. Once they were inside, away from the wind, the waves, and the storm in general, they did introductions. The ship's pilot introduced herself as Hannah White. A young man named William was wringing the water out of his hair and clothing. And a pair of newlyweds, George and Laura, sat on the ground, dazed. Laura, still clad in her soaked, ruined wedding dress, fairly clung to her husband. Hannah tried to figure out what to do next. She was supposed to be the leader, but she had no idea what to do. Then someone called out, "Hey! Yo, lady! Check it out! There's a staircase over here! And I can see light at the top!" By an unspoken general consensus, they ascended the staircase. A crudely hewn stone archway opened into a grand ballroom. Everyone looked around with awe, save for one. Laura looked around with pure confused shock. Her name had once been Laura Meisenheimer, and she had once been a scientist. The place she was in now looked exactly like the place where she had worked long ago. But that place had been destroyed. And here it was. Was it possible? Had none of it really happened? If she were to run up to the lab, would she find Doctor Sinclair and the crew continuing their ongoing work on Project Mewtwo? She could feel a bubble of explosive excitement swelling inside her mind and heart. It burst and she ran, nearly tripping over her wet wedding dress and wincing as her wet hair whipped around her face. She yelled, "Doctor Sinclair! Judy! Yo, T.J! It's me, you guys! It's Doctor Meisenheimer! Hey, everyone! Are you all deaf or something? Hey! Hey! Jim, are you up there somewhere? Doctor Laura Meisenheimer is in the house! Are there any new developments in Project Mewtwo? Hey, guys! Answer me!" George, her husband was totally confused at her shouted statements. He'd known his new wife had once been a scientist, but what in the name of all sanity was Project Mewtwo? But he acted quickly, running after her, grabbing her and stopping her shouts. He said, "Hush up, please. We don't know what we're dealing with here. It could be someone nasty. Until we find out just what's really going on here, we have to keep quiet and not let whoever's here find us tramping around in his house. You got that? I sincerely hope you do." Laura replied, "Okay. I just went a little hysterical there and I'm very sorry for that." They quickly rejoined the group, which clumped together into a fairly large wad of scared people. Moving along slowly and quietly, they began to explore the huge place.
As they moved through the seemingly abandoned mansion, George whispered to his wife, "Just one thing. I know you used to be a scientist; you used to work somewhere very like this place and the people whose names you called were once your colleagues. But there's just one thing about what you said that confuses me. What is Project Mewtwo?" Laura whispered, "I mentioned it aloud? If it were still in effect, you'd have to be arrested on terms of national security. But Project Mewtwo is pretty much defunct right now, so I can tell you everything you could possibly want to know about it. But where should I start? Where do I start this tale? Oh! Stupid me! I'll start at the beginning and when I get to the end, I'll stop. Here goes nothing. Listen up." As Laura led them up the spiral staircase, headed for where the lab had once been, she said, "Our original DNA sample came from a fossilized bone that had once belonged to an extinct exotic, legendary creature. The archaeology expedition down in Brazil had just brought it back from the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the very same legendary creature whose bone it had been. The creature was catlike and also very small. The legends of the Amazon Rainforest told of the creature being psychic in a major way. I thought of it as a sort of tiny fairy kitten, so I started to call it Mew. Soon everybody was calling it that. The project became known as Project Mewtwo. Why did we call it Mewtwo, you ask? We were breeding a second creature from the remains of the first, so the name seemed to be perfectly logical to us. We'd first called the project Mew Number Two, but that eventually got shortened to just plain Mewtwo. It took many years to design the type of creature we wanted and make it psychic. It took years more to create a viable embryo. A lot of the embryos spontaneously aborted themselves after just a few short days. They tended to grow to full term in mere weeks. It-he was born using a 'cold hit'. Cold hit is our term for growing and designing a whole living creature from just a tiny DNA sample. Nobody really thought that our cold hit would amount to much of anything. Even Doctor Sinclair himself was pretty sure that we'd fail miserably. But to our wonder, our joy, our horror…we actually succeeded. We'd had a heck of a lot of false starts and failures, a whole lot of poor, pitiful creatures that had died just as they awakened for the very first time, or while they were still just little fetuses or even seriously tiny embryos. But this one grew, awakened…and stayed."
Laura paused, then sighed. Everyone sat down atop the spiral stair for a rest. She gazed into empty space wistfully and said, "The very moment he first opened his eyes, we could tell that he was everything we had dreamed of…and so much more. He was very intelligent, very powerful and very psychic. He was magnificent! But Doctor Sinclair had made a terrible, terrible mistake. We all had shared in that mistake as well. He was far too powerful for us to control. And he was very, very hostile. Not even two full minutes after awakening, he destroyed this place and killed everyone…with just one exception…me. He spared me. I had been kind to him. I had tried to make Doctor Sinclair understand that we had created an intelligent being…and he saved my life as a gesture of gratitude. Since that day so very long ago, seems longer than it really was, I haven't even thought of Project Mewtwo once. But being back in here gives me a heck of a lot of questions. Especially since this place was completely demolished back then… What could possibly rebuild this place and make it be as it had been before it was completely destroyed? Does that mean something strange is afoot? Is he still alive right now? Is he okay? I'd like to thank him for helping me live through the total destruction of this place. Is he here? Mewtwo-my one and only feline savior-where are you?" George reassured her, "A big mutant cat can't go all that far in this here world without somebody noticing him. You'll find him again, Laura. One way or another, you will find him once again. Soon."
Just as she fell silent, there was a loud crash. It startled everyone and they all looked around. At the top of the staircase was a huge door. Hannah said in a low, hoarse whisper, "Let's see what just made that sound. Help me with this door here. It looks like it'll take all of us to open it. When I say pull, we all pull at once, okay? This stupid thing must weigh a whole ton at the very least." Everyone quickly gathered in front of the huge door and picked handholds wherever handholds were readily available. Moving slowly and silently on well-oiled hinges, the door opened before their combined strength. They opened it about three feet and they all peeked around it. Everything was as dark as midnight on a new moon, but bright sporadic flashes of lightning lit things enough to see. The big room that the huge door opened upon was just like a large stone-based veranda. Three walls were made of glass, and they looked out on a boiling, churning mass of clouds. Standing in front of the gigantic window was what looked a little like both a cat and a man. Laura said softly, "Everyone, that is what was born from Project Mewtwo. We named him after the project, not having any better idea as to what to call him. His name is Mewtwo and he's kind of dangerous." William piped up, speaking for the first time, seeing as he now had something to say, "That's just fine, lady. But what's he doing?" Laura replied, "I honestly don't know. Your guess is just as good as mine here."
Just then, Mewtwo, still oblivious to their presence because he wasn't bothering to scan for any uninvited guests, raised his right paw in the air and began to move it around in a slow circle. Everyone save for Laura quietly gasped in awe as a blue glow enveloped him. They all watched as the storm around the mansion began to roil more strongly. Hannah gasped, "The hurricane…it's his doing!" Laura piped up, "I know why. He wants to cause wholesale destruction. No-he wants to destroy Humanity!" William said, "We gotta stop him." Hannah finished, "You're right, dude. We have to stop him somehow. I'll lead the way in. Laura, I know you want to lead. I'm the captain here, so just do what I say." Upon saying that, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. She'd made the initial challenge. She hoped that she had the courage and the strength to back it up with.
Mewtwo spun with feline grace as a female voice called his name. He looked and saw a small, soaked group of humans standing before him. The one in front, a female, said, "We will not permit your hurricane to destroy Humanity." Mewtwo raised both paws and pointed at them. As the blue glow gathered around his furry body again, he said coldly, (Not like it matters much to me, humans. I can kill all of you with a mere thought. It wouldn't be too hard for me. You threaten my plan. I can kill you just like I killed my creators before.) The leading female said, "Go ahead, then. We're calling your bluff." The blue glow around his body intensified and gathered down into his paws as he prepared to create an energy ball. But he stopped before he sent it out to seek their deaths. Hannah egged him on, saying, "You can't do it, can you? You can't kill!" The blue glow around his body intensified to very close to white as her words enraged him. He really didn't want to kill her just for talking, but he was sure that he had to do it. If he backed down at that point, they would take advantage of his weakness again. They were humans and humans always did that sort of thing to him. All humans were exactly the same. Humans were humans, and deserved to get exactly what they gave. Except for…her…
Then a woman in a white dress stepped up. She looked strangely familiar. He got a powerful sense of recognition when she spoke. Her voice… Why did he feel like he knew her voice from somewhere? She said, "Don't bait him like that, Hannah. You really don't want him to get mad at you. He's a pretty okay fellow if you don't set him off. So just be nice to him if you value having a butt and a life. You're really cruising for spontaneous combustion, talking that way, you know that?" Hannah replied, "But he's going to-" The other woman promptly cut in, "We know. We know what he's planning to do. Chill out. Just back off and chill out. Let me handle this. Do it right now. Hannah White, you will back away from Mewtwo right this very instant. You will do as I command you to. Back away from him right this instant. Just move your stupid little butt. If you don't do exactly as I tell you to… Well, I just have one thing to ask you. Don't you like living?"
Hannah obeyed the other woman's command. The other woman stepped closer and said, "Hello, Mewtwo. It's been a long while. Remember me? I'm Laura. You rescued me." Unafraid, she walked up to Mewtwo and laid her hand on his shoulder. She said, "You must have been through some pretty awful stuff to come to hate Humankind so much." Mewtwo replied; (That's right. My life's been just one long list of betrayals.) Laura said, "I know how that feels. That sort of thing happens to more people than you think. It happened to me, for instance. People mistreat other people because of fear, plain and simple. Fear of others because they are different. And you must have gotten it far worse than anyone else in all history ever has. But don't worry about that. Different is just another word for special. Different means special. But most people don't see that, even when it's blatantly obvious and right in front of their faces. It's actually one of our society's greatest weaknesses. We should welcome difference, not fear it." Mewtwo was shaking because of an emotional storm brewing inside him. He said, (I was planning to destroy all Humanity. But now that you're here-all of you-I can't do it. It's easier to kill a nameless, faceless group. It's hard when you know whom you're killing.) Laura replied, "Proven fact, Mewtwo. It's hard to kill." Mewtwo said, (I had a stint with Team Rocket after we parted ways. I heard from their leader that I was a biological weapon.) Laura replied, "That was it, but only at first. But we tossed that out the window about halfway through." Mewtwo fairly bristled. He snarled, (That doesn't change a thing! I was still meant to be a weapon!) Laura said to him in a calm voice, "You don't have to be just a weapon. You are who you choose to be. You know what that means. Don't you? You're only a weapon if you want to be a weapon. Do you really want to be a weapon?"
Mewtwo relaxed visibly at that, seeming to droop like a withered flower. He replied, (No.) Laura said, "Then you aren't a weapon. You can be anything you want. But there's something I'd like to explain to you first. The circumstances of your creation, the secret of your birth…it all means nothing. I know you pretty good, Mewtwo. Your thoughts and feelings were always pretty readable to me. Don't blame yourself for that. You weren't projecting or anything. I just picked up the subtle nuances in your behavior in the short time we spent together. In all, we've spent about twelve minutes together. But I was able to read you anyway. It's a talent I have." She paused for a few seconds, fidgeting nervously, then said, "I'm sorry I diverged there. I tend to go off on tangents. As I was saying… People come from many different places, in many different ways. Society in general doesn't get it, but individual people do. It's not who you were that matters, it's who you are. And how you came to be doesn't even come up. And there is a place where all are equal, no matter who you are or where you're from. People come from all over and are the same. That place is located in a small town in the United States of America. I was born there, depressed and very suicidal. But, with help from many other people, I lived through it. Here I am, alive and kicking. So you see…appearance and origin have come to mean nothing to them. There are places where everybody is treated the same. If they would accept an alienated woman who messes around with DNA, a down-and-out aspiring artist, a serial slacker with no motivation and a former psycho with a killer reputation, they will certainly accept a two-legged telepathic cat. All people aren't the same and difference is actually a good thing. Now that you know that simple fact, will you believe my words? Will you try to trust me? I have one request. Let's stop looking at what's different about us and start looking at what's the same." Mewtwo laughed aloud. Then he said, (Of course. I'll do just that. And let me come with you to America. But first I'll get rid of this stupid hurricane. I made it, so I'll destroy it.) He held up his paw and concentrated. And the hurricane stopped. Just like that, it stopped. Laura said, "Thank you so much. You'll not regret it. Everything will be cool now. Okay, everyone! Problem solved! Let's go see about finding a way off this stupid old rock and back to civilization!"
Soon they all stood outside. All of them, four normal humans and a big seven-foot tall two-legged telepathic cat, stood in a group. Mewtwo towered above them all. His purple eyes swept the featureless waves like a searchlight. No land in sight, save for that upon which they stood. Laura and the others, who had introduced themselves to him, held a quiet conversation off to one side. They thought to hide their words from his hearing, but he didn't need to hear them. Had he been completely deaf, he would still have heard them. They were discussing possible strategies for getting off the island and back to civilization in general. The discussion quickly grew heated, but calm was maintained. They didn't know that he heard, so he heard some very unflattering references to himself.
"Maybe we can salvage the Freebird," Hannah suggested. William replied, "Nope. I say no way. Not a chance, either. The ship got smashed against the rocks like an eggshell. There won't be any pieces bigger than a toothpick. Bye-bye Freebird. Try again, lady." Laura said, "Is there anything here we can use?" Hannah replied, "Unless you propose taking the wooden banquet table that we saw on our way in and using it as a life raft, which is a totally stupid, lame excuse for a plan if I ever heard one, no." William piped up; "I don't suppose Wonder Cat there has a spare boat, does he?" Laura snarled, "Don't ever call him that, you narrow-minded nimrod!" George cut in, "He's absolutely right, you know. We're overlooking Cat Boy, there." With that, he pointed over at Mewtwo.
Laura smacked him over the head. Husband or not, she was not about to stand by and let him badmouth her feline pal. Then she said, "Listen up, you guys. His name is not Wonder Cat, nor is it Cat Boy. His name is Mewtwo. Remember that well, all of you. His name is Mewtwo. Don't call him any bad names. Don't ever call him bad names. How would you like it if someone insulted you on the basis of the fact that you were different from him or her? Call him Mewtwo. That's his real name, guys. So call him Mewtwo."
There was a very long pause, as everyone just stood mute while George rubbed his sore head. Laura said, "Let's all get back to the matter at hand. We have to get our sorry butts off this island somehow. But how do we do it? That's the big question. Anybody have any ideas?" William replied icily, "Just the same one as what George said before. I say we get rid of Fur Face there, cannibalize whatever wood there may be in that kooky dung heap we just left, build ourselves a little life raft with it and then scram." Laura simply kicked him straight in the off-limits area. He promptly fell down, gasping for air. She snarled, "Anyone else care to join him down on the ground? No? Then I suggest all of you listen up. We're all going, we're all going together, and we're taking Mewtwo with us. Any questions?" Hannah asked, "Just this one. Answer me this. How do you propose we get off this island?" Laura answered, "I'm at a total loss over here, guys. Don't look at me for all your answers. We have to brainstorm a little something to get us all out of here safely and in one piece. But, until we figure something out, I want you to know this: we gotta try to figure out a way to get our butts out of here without leaving Mewtwo behind. If you insist on leaving here without taking him along with you, then you can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to sabotage all of your attempts to leave this island. No one, that's no one, leaves this here island without bringing Mewtwo along with him or her too. I'm not going, you're not going, and neither is anyone else. I wouldn't even let my own mother leave without him. Do you hear me? He more than deserves to get that second chance and new beginning I promised to him back there. I won't let him down and I won't let you let him down either. Okay? He is coming along with us…or else."
Mewtwo decided to get them off the island. He wouldn't ask them or tell them. He'd just do it. He closed his big eyes and concentrated. Unnoticed by Laura and her friends, the blue glow enveloped him. The conversation stopped as the four humans felt themselves rising off the ground. Hannah shrieked and struggled. William froze. George looked around in wonder. Laura looked directly at Mewtwo, smiled and said, "Ah, dear friend. Again I owe you very much." Then she turned and barked, "Hannah! Freeze!" She did. William broke his paralysis and fairly bellowed, "Hold it! Wait a minute! He can fly?" Laura replied, "He's not really flying. He's levitating himself-and us. This is how he rescued me from the burning building. It's like I said. All we dreamed of…and more."
Beginning to lose their fear and just plain enjoy it, the four flew onward beside Mewtwo. Hannah was doing the backstroke. Laura spread her arms like a bird. George just sort of floated, watching everything. William posed like Superman. Mewtwo hung in the sky in the midst of Laura and her friends, looking like he was sliding along on his belly. He gave her a wry sideways glance that was full of wry, ironical humor. (They sure seem to shift their opinions awfully quickly,) Mewtwo said, (Is this normal for humans?) Laura replied, "I guess you could put it that way. And yes, this is normal. So you don't have to worry too much about all of us. We're not too afraid of extreme heights or of not being in contact with the ground. We've also seen everything you can do. So we're pretty much ready for anything you can possibly throw at us now." Mewtwo said, (Is that so, Laura?) He coiled his power within him and prepared to release it. He continued; (Anything I can throw at you, huh? I think I'll just have to take you up on that bet. With my special power, I can do just about anything. Check this action out.) With that, he swept them screaming below the waves. Surprisingly, they did not drown. Mewtwo said, (My shield can keep us safe and dry underwater. One major drawback, though. There's a limited air supply in here, so we can't stay down here very long. And even that isn't all there is to my power. One… two… three… TELEPORT!) They were suddenly back up in the sky. Mewtwo said, (It's all based on simple line-of-sight stuff. Basically, if I can't look at it, I can't teleport myself over to it. And there's still more stuff that I can do. And there are still more things I want to show you. Excuse me, please. Does anyone have a bandanna or a spare sock or something like that?) Hannah had a bandanna that she no longer had any use for. She held it out to Mewtwo. Instead of taking it from her, he asked, (Would you please be so kind as to drop it and let it fall, please?) She did exactly as he asked her to. As it fell toward the ocean far below, it burst into sudden and violent flame. Mewtwo nodded happily, confirming that it was indeed he who had set it on fire. He said, (I don't know how I do it. I just do it. And I can also do something else that is very like it. You saw my energy spheres, but this is different. Behold the power of thunder!) Moving like a pitcher in baseball, he heaved a super colossal lightning bolt across the sky. Then he said, (You really thought you'd seen everything I could do, huh? That for your expectations concerning my limits!) As everyone watched, Mewtwo seemed to shake all over. In their minds, they heard his laughter. He seemed proud, happy to show off, and amused at their complete amazement. George piped up, "I bet if there was anyone below us to see this spectacular demonstration, they'd be flipping their lids right about now. Yo, big cat, are you doing anything to insure that we won't be picked up on anybody's radar and misidentified as a group of enemy aircraft going in for a bombing run?" Both Laura and Mewtwo understood that George didn't really mean it as an insult. His lighthearted reference to Mewtwo as 'big cat' was like a little nickname. Mewtwo just looked totally blank. He evidently hadn't understood the question. That was a first in that department.
It was then that they all became aware of the surface-to-air missile speeding their way. All that saved them from certain and total annihilation was Mewtwo's quick reflexes. He threw up a shield and swooped straight downward. The missile, which was fortunately not a tracking missile, arced over them all and then crashed into the sea so far below the lot of them. Mewtwo released a huge mental sigh and said, (That was way too close!) George fairly shrieked, "Don't just hover, big cat! We've been targeted! We gotta get our sorry butts out of the sky-pronto!" Mewtwo replied, (Okay, then. Hang on to your hats, folks. I'm going to take us on a little Mach 3 cruise now.) With that simple warning, they were going well past the speed of sound. They were virtually undetectable as they cruised mere inches above the surging waves. Mewtwo said in a totally fake calm voice, (We're going to reach land in just a few short seconds, okay? Then we'll be perfectly safe from those funky old missiles and anything else airborne that might possibly decide to go after the lot of us. Aircraft, birds, bugs and anything else airborne included.) Sure enough, they were on land in just a few short seconds. Soon they stood on a small beach. The beach was nothing more than a simple thin strip of white sand between the ocean and a dense jungle. They could hear birdcalls, monkeys and all sorts of cool jungle sounds.
Hannah and William sat down on the sand, worn out by the sheer terror of the flight. George and Laura roamed around the beach, looking for any signs that would tell them where they were. Mewtwo had decided to relax a bit. He now stood knee-deep in the surf, watching minnows swim in the shallows. He chased after them, pouncing and almost catching them but not quite. (Come here come here come here, little minnows,) he said. Hannah watched him frolic. He reminded her of a young child, but he also reminded her of a cat staring at a fish tank. Laura followed a strange pattern imprinted in the sand. After a few feet, she said thoughtfully, "Hmmm… Tank treads? What in the heck would a tank be doing on a beach?" Almost as if cued by her rhetorical query, a strong, compelling voice barked, "Freeze!" A group of camouflaged soldiers burst forth from the jungle. William, Hannah, Laura and George were roughly herded together at gunpoint. The soldiers had generally overlooked Mewtwo because he was in a crouch. In a crouch, he looked like an albino panther. He stood and fairly sprinted at the soldiers. As he charged, he snarled, (Let them go or by the blackened bones of my creators I swear to you-Let them go! Now!) The familiar blue glow enveloped him and he created an energy ball. Just as he prepared to hurl it at the soldiers, one of them grabbed Laura and used her as a human shield. He pressed his gun to her neck. He said, "I'll shoot her. I swear I will. Back off and stop with the glowing power thing. Do it now. You hear me? Back off or the woman dies!" Laura begged, "Mewtwo, please…" He did what the soldier demanded. He dropped his shield and let the energy ball dissipate. William, being handcuffed, snarled, "Stupid hairball ain't good for nothing." As they were taken away, Laura kicked him yet again. They were separated from Mewtwo as they were dragged along. The instant that they were separated, Laura began to shout, curse and struggle.
Time passed. The four of them were eventually released. And they knew why they had been arrested. They had inadvertently stumbled upon a secret military base. Upon being released, Laura demanded, "Where is Mewtwo? Tell me! I know you have him. I demand that you release him now! I will not be denied! Release Mewtwo now! Now! Now! Do it right now, before I get really mad! I demand freedom for my best buddy, Mewtwo!" The general replied, "Are you talking about that cat creature you were with? Ah, yes. It's a fine specimen at the very least. They're looking it over even now. I imagine it'll give them years of fun." Laura snarled back coldly, "Listen up, brainless one. Mewtwo is not an animal. Mewtwo is a he. And I demand his prompt release." The general replied, "No way, lady. Give up such a precious find? Never! Now go!" The four ran into the jungle at top speed. Once they were out of all his sight, though, they immediately doubled back.
They mugged four soldiers who had passed by in a Jeep, tied them up and stole their uniforms. Leaving four soldiers tied to a tree clad only in their underpants, they drove back to the base. They passed the guards with no problem, seeing as it was midnight by that time and no one could see anything very well. As they slowly drove toward the loading dock, Laura closed her eyes and concentrated. She focused on one thought with all her mental might and tried to send it to Mewtwo. She thought to him with all the strength of body and mind that she could muster: Don't be afraid. Help is on its way. Far away, she was sure Mewtwo heard. They parked the Jeep next to a big truck and got out. They strolled into the base through the deserted loading dock and immediately grabbed wooden clipboards off a large pile of cardboard crates stacked near the big metal door. Keeping their heads down and acting like they knew what they were doing and where they were going, they began to explore the base. They had no idea of the base's layout, but Mewtwo had gotten her thought-message and was sending out a psychic beacon to guide them to him. Laura, for one, was on the verge of complete panic. After a few long minutes, they reached a lab. There was a large cage sitting in the corner. Mewtwo sat in that cage. He turned toward her and gave her a quiet, wry look. She stepped closer, barely suppressing a feeling of utter revulsion at the sight of her semi-feline pal, who was far more human than some humans she knew, caged like a mere animal. She looked the big cage over. It had a simple padlock, which would be relatively easy to open. She said, "Yo, Hannah. You got a hairpin I could borrow for a couple minutes?" Hannah did, so she handed it to Laura. Laura replied, "Thanks so much for letting me borrow this." Then she said, "Don't worry a bit, Mewtwo. I'll get you out of here in just a few minutes."
An instant later, Laura was blindly fiddling around inside the lock with the hairpin. Everyone, including Mewtwo, was holding his or her breath. Then the lock snapped open. Everyone sighed in relief. The cage door swung open and Mewtwo stepped out. As soon as he was outside his cage, an alarm rang out. Metal bars slid across every exit. They were trapped. Everyone crowded together. Mewtwo and Laura were at the center. They were in a mind link, discussing possible methods of escape at the speed of light. Sending a stream of thoughts to Mewtwo, Laura said, This base is just a little one-story building! There is nothing above us but the ceiling and air! No one will be hurt! There will only be property damage and no injuries whatsoever, so let's blast up through this here ceiling and just head right off! Mewtwo replied quickly, (Right you are!) They were enveloped in Mewtwo's bright sphere of blue psychic energy. Mewtwo looked up and, at his psychic command, a huge invisible fist punched a large hole in the plaster ceiling. William gasped, "Wow! You can talk about power, but this something else entirely! I've never seen a cat do that before! Ever!" Laura replied, "Go right ahead. Talk about power all you want. You haven't seen squat yet. He can do lots of cool stuff with his power. This great, unnatural power is his birthright, the birthright of his Mew mother and the birthright of the many children that he will someday come to have, I hope and pray."
An instant later, they were rocketing up through that hole and into the indigo-hued night sky. George whooped, "Yahoo! By the time they figure out that we're actually in the air, we'll be long gone!" Laura turned to Mewtwo and said, "Still… We gotta get out of the area and we gotta do it fast. Everyone okay with that? Take us down very low please, Mewtwo. Stop five feet above tree level, if it wouldn't be too hard for you. We have to get moving, so just do what I say and everything will be just fine, I hope. I know just what I'm doing here, I think. We really have no time to argue about anything like chain of command or who-tells-who-to-do-what on this little expedition, so please pardon me if I sound like I'm ordering you around, but…HIT IT!" As per her first request, Mewtwo took them down low, to just barely above the treetops. As per her second request, he hit Mach 3 from a dead stop, taking Laura and her friends with him. Like an incredibly huge low-flying blue comet, they streaked due north, a direction chosen by an unspoken consensus. Everyone whooped and hollered like insane maniacs, really enjoying the ride. Mewtwo kept their speed up and made the blue energies emitted from his shield invisible. He knew when he would do each part of Laura's plan to escape from the general area.
Many miles from the base they had just escaped from, Mewtwo took them up high. They cruised slowly, looking at the landmasses far below. Mewtwo asked, (Does anybody know where the heck we are?) William knew his geography quite well, and it was something along the lines of basic elementary to all of them. He said, "Well, look at that! We're above Brazil right now. The base we just busted out of must have been in, like, northern Argentina or something. We were right in choosing to go north. If we want to reach America, we have to keep going north. At Mach 3, we should get there in no time at all. Home sweet home, here we come, and quite fast, too." Laura piped up, "Hey. Wait a minute, everybody. We're over Brazil now? So we're dead above the Amazon rainforest right now! Mewtwo, the Amazon rainforest is where we found the fossil we made you from. As you may well know, Mew is your mommy-sort of. Mew lived in the Amazon rainforest. That makes the Amazon rainforest your ancestral home. Since you can hit ridiculously high speeds with the greatest of ease, I think we have plenty of time for a pit stop in the jungle. If we go down there, then maybe…just maybe…" She trailed off and looked away from them, directing her gaze downward to the deep greenness of Brazil's rainforests. George sort of flapped up like a spastic bird on hallucinogenic drugs, utterly weightless in the grip of Mewtwo's levitation field, and asked, "Maybe what?"
She said, "I was there, at the excavation site where we found the specimen we sought. There was a general, unspoken, unscientific theory buzzing around the camp right after we found the fossil we wanted. We all felt a presence near us. Something was watching us do our work. What if the little bone we'd found didn't belong to the Mew, but a Mew? We thought maybe there was a live Mew somewhere deep in the jungle, far away but nevertheless there. Judging from the electrochemical reactions occurring in your brain just before you woke up; you definitely sensed the presence of something far away. That proved the 'More Than One Mew' theory for the lot of us. Our plan was to go and find that Mew right after you woke up, Mewtwo. We were going to take you with us as an equal partner in the search for that little Mew. We all had such high hopes for you. But Doctor Sinclair just wanted to run his pathetic little tests on you. He died for his mistakes. My friends died for his mistakes too. In all the time since you rescued me from the burning laboratory, I have only had just one little thing to ask you. Why did you do it?"
Mewtwo would have known the pain she felt at remembering the past even if he hadn't been psychic. His emotions rose to match hers in pain and intensity. He replied slowly, unable to meet her gaze, (I never told you this, Laura. I never told anyone. It was all an accident. A terrible, terrible accident caused by an inexperienced rookie cat unable to control his power. The basis for my hooking up with Team Rocket was…I had to train myself to control my dangerous powers. Oh, I fell for their multitudinous lies all the way. Hook, line and sinker too. I wanted to learn to use my powers correctly. They said they could teach me to do so. Before I even met him, the leader of Team Rocket found my weakness and was able to exploit it. But he used me. He used me. That was my first taste of betrayal and I am now quite sure that I hate it with passionate intensity.) Laura said, "If I didn't understand it before, I do now." She pantomimed making a toast. "To you, Mewtwo," she said, "May you always stay as utterly innocent as you are right now. Your thoughts are pure, your actions are kind and your words speak only love. You are like a child. May you never, ever be forced to grow up and become as mean as everyone else."