"So I've been needing to act very mature, even when it goes against my nature. No killings, no running away when things are tough at work, none of my trademarks," she concluded, hands rubbing her upper arms.
"Frankly, I don't expect you guys to stick around." She sighed, looked at her guests, and then down at her toes. "Now that you're all here, I would just love to take the week off and catch up, but this is the last week before we start actual large scale testing of the new design, and things are super busy. No one is getting time off this week. My boss was surprised that I was allowed to take off Friday Not that I really was away from work, in a matter of speaking… I wonder if I'll get paid for that day," she mused.
"I thought your boss was one of the enemy?" asked Ace.
"Oh, no. The president is, but I was referring to the lady who's in charge of the research lab. She doesn't know that plants come in a non-bulb form." Anne half-smiled. "Really, only about twenty percent of the plant workers have any clue that there are freeborn plants, and maybe seven or eight people in December who don't work at the plant who know. It seems like a lot of people, but it's still less than a hundred. It's just a very well-placed group."
Meryl looked at Mark. "And he's one of them. And he's your friend. Are you high ranked in this group?"
Anne shrugged as Mark smiled tightly. "I used to be. I was one of Mr. Herman's most trusted lieutenants. I headed up a special response unit, trained to deal with threats to the security of our program. Then I failed to recapture her," he motioned towards Ace with his chin, "and while technically I'm still a lieutenant, I'm not one in good standing. Plus, since I was left with a limp I was no longer able to continue in the capacity I had before. When she got away it was a huge blow to our program."
"Which is?" Meryl prompted, her hand seeking Vash's. He grabbed it and squeezed it reassuringly while she grilled Mark.
"Trying to figure out how to keep our plants from throwing out sports like you. While breeding, a plant produces less power, which is not a good thing, and since we have no way of transferring the offspring from one bulb to another while keeping the power generating ability intact, you people are worthless to us."
"We have greater intrinsic value than a mere human spawn," pointed out Knives, eyes slightly narrowed. "Only a fool fails to see that."
"Don't, Knives," asked Anne. "Let's not get into comparative worth discussions right now."
"But humans are mere vermin, heavily breeding filth. They don't even care about their own offspring; why should I pretend to?"
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "See, this is what I haven't missed about you. You claim to be superior, then feel like all you need to do is act somewhere above the lowest common denominator to support your claims. You want to be superior so badly? Start acting like it."
"I don't need to act. I merely am better in every conceivable way."
"Potential versus actions. Do we need to go over this again?" she asked rhetorically. "I think that you are the only person still convinced of your actual superiority. Potential… no one here is going to argue that you can potentially achieve more than an unaltered human, but you have yet to show any indication of reaching your potential."
Anne hit the back of her head against the wall a few times, then looked over at Vash and Meryl. "I was rather hoping that you guys could have helped fix this complex over here."
"That task is bigger than we can handle," Vash said wryly. "I have tried, but he never listens."
"I listen," Knives protested. "I just don't believe that you know what you're talking about."
"Thank you. That's no much better. It's times like these that I'm incredibly glad that you're not my sibling." Anne sighed again. "I'm hungry," she said abruptly.
"I'm making pasta," offered Meryl. She looked over her shoulder into the kitchen, then started. "And I had better go rescue the sauce before it burns." She left the room, and Alex followed her, ostensibly to help, but more likely to stare out the window again. Mark stepped a bit further into the room and stopped, unsure of where he was going.
Anne felt sorry for him, but didn't know what to say to ease the moment. No one was saying anything, and after a minute Vash went into the kitchen as well. The sound of plates clattering against each other indicated that he was setting the table. He said something to Meryl, but no one in the living room caught it.
They all stared at each other, at the walls, and at the floor until Meryl announced that it was time to eat.