Fuzzy static danced on
the small monitor before the eyes of the spectators. Dr. Sawyers tightened
the connections of the wires and a few miscellaneous images flashed on
the screen. She returned to her seat between Dr. Brown and Dr. Anderson,
who looked at Giovanni.
"This device will allow
us to watch Agent Parker's dreams as they play out in her head. Perhaps
her nightmares have some link with the injection."
Giovanni rubbed his chin thoughtfully as
he watched the screen. Meowth absentmindedly licked his paw and stroked
his fur, looking up at James.
"Ya t'ink dis will really
show what was wrong wit Jessie?"
"The scientists think
so…" he replied idly, his emerald eyes glancing over at his partner.
Jessie lay in a glass tube, her hair folded behind
her to pillow her head and back. Her closed eyes twitched as she dreamed
seemingly peacefully. Her arms involuntarily wrapped tightly around her
body, covering certain personal areas. Meowth cleared his throat, nonchalantly.
James blushed and tore his eyes away from her and back on the screen.
She ran her hands along
her smooth, strange skin. She reclined in the soft green grass, little
flower petals brushing against her face as the breeze gently ruffled them.
A small noise caused her to lift her head, curiously. A little boy was
bouncing a ball up and down, a little Bulbasaur running around playfully
by his feet. She smiled to herself at how cute it looked…she had always
loved children. As she moved to stand up, she heard that voice in her ear
again.
Awww, look…a child
and his pokémon. Isn't that just precious?
"Yes…yes, it is," she
agreed quietly, so as not to disturb them.
Too bad, isn't it?
She felt her hands clench into fists, then unclench.
She blinked rapidly, feeling as if flames were licking at the insides of
her eyelids.
"Yes, it is," she replied,
her voice low and different.
You must use your
power…destroy!
Everything went black as a shrill scream emitted
from the little boy, and a ripping sound echoed in her ears.
Glass burst and the shards
flew everywhere wildly. James, Meowth, Giovanni, and the scientists screamed
and raised their hands to shield their faces. Another blast was heard,
and then an uncomfortable silence fell over the lab. James slowly lowered
his hands and stared at the ruined tube. It was empty.
"Jessie?" He called out,
even though his voice came out as barely a whisper.
The others lowered their hands, recovering from
the sudden shock of the explosion. James' eyes drifted about the room,
finally coming to rest on her. She was curled up in a corner, trembling.
She was gripping her arm, and he could see small trickles of blood seeping
between her fingers. He took a step towards her, but Dr. Brown grabbed
his arm.
"Wait. We need to make
sure she's fully…awake," he warned.
Giovanni walked around the scientists and went
up to her.
"Jessica, do you know
what you have just done?"
She whispered something inaudible, and he reached
out a put a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head slowly to look at
him, her eyes brimming with tears.
"You, my daughter, have
just made me very happy," he stated, a small smirk appearing on his rigid
features.
Jessie just looked at him with desperate confusion.
He turned to the others.
"Morgan! Get over here
and take care of her arm!"
James slipped his arm free from Dr. Brown's hands
and scrambled over the mess of glass and metal to get to her. Giovanni
brushed past him and went over to the scientists. Meowth was shooed away
from them, and he could hear them whispering urgently to each other. James
gently eased her hands off her injured arm and removed his white jacket.
As he wrapped it around her, he heard her sigh softly.
"Are you okay, Jessie?"
he asked quietly.
She shook her head slowly.
"No…no, I'm not okay.
Something's wrong with me…something inside me…" She paused and looked away
from him. "I don't like the way he looked at me just now…he's planning
something for me…and I don't like it."
James had covered the wound, but his still held
onto her arm, lightly caressing her skin with his fingertips.
"I'm sure he won't do
anything bad to you. I mean, he is your father."
Jessie didn't say anything for a few moments.
"James?"
"Yes?"
She shivered again.
"I…I killed that little
boy," she whimpered pitifully. "I killed him…"
James swallowed.
"It…it was a dream, Jessie.
Just a nightmare."
He couldn't see her face, but by the way her shoulders
were trembling, he could tell she was crying.
'Crying…Jessie's crying.
Something I've rarely seen her do,' he thought.
He hesitated, and then carefully put his arms around
her naked body, hugging her to him lightly. Her eyes widened at the boldness
of the move, but her expression softened as she realized the warmth and
comfort of his embrace. After a few moments, however, she pulled out of
his arms roughly and took off his black shirt to cover herself.
Giovanni seemed to have
a glow around him as he walked triumphantly down the HQ hallways. Finally,
finally his dream was coming true.
"Mark!" he called loudly
for his assistant.
Mark stumbled out from the secretarial pool and
hurried up to his boss.
"Yes sir!"
"Mark, the experiment
was a success!"
Mark almost dropped his papers.
"A success? Sir, you mean…?"
"Yes. My daughter has
possession of a very great power. Whether it is more powerful than certain
pokémon, we do not know."
He paused and smirked.
"But we will soon find
out. I want you to gather together the gym leaders. I want those who will
come to come here and we will test Jessica's strength."
"Yes sir! Um…sir? Do you
really think the gym leaders will allow their pokémon to battle
a human directly?"
Giovanni cut his eyes at him.
"Don't question my authority,
Mark. Just do as I say."
"Yes sir," Mark said,
sheepishly.
"Also, I want you to send
a notice to all my male agents. I want them to go through a new training
session."
"Yes sir!"
Giovanni rubbed his hands together and chuckled.
"Together, my daughter
and those men will create a team so powerful…"
"Sir? What about Agent
009?"
Giovanni thought about this.
"Mmm…yes… Send her a notice,
too. She, however, will be the one training the men. They can learn something
from her."
Jessie pressed her palm
flat against the worn wood of the abandoned warehouse. Giovanni had told
her to use her new powers to destroy this building.
"We need to make sure
you are able to access your powers when you are fully awake, not just when
you sleep," he had explained. "If this works, Jessica, you will
be the one to lead this organization to the very top of the world."
She sighed and frowned. Like she actually knew
how to make herself blow stuff up… She couldn't even tell when she did
it in her sleep, how was she supposed to do it awake? Crossing her arms,
she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Reluctantly, she decided
to concentrate on the last dream she had. That innocent little boy and
his Bulbasaur… As she thought about it, she felt that pressure build up
in her, that pressure she felt in her dreams.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
The whole area surrounding the warehouse shook as
the explosion erupted, shattering the peace of the quiet afternoon. Houses
shook, the pokémon center shook, the Viridian City Gym shook. Gary
Oak stumbled out of the gym doors, gripping the side of the walls to steady
himself. He shaded his eyes and looked down to where he could see the smoke
and fire coming from the destroyed warehouse.
"Whoa, what an explosion!
It's about time someone got rid of that place; they never use it for anything."
He narrowed his eyes. Even though it was old and
useless, he found it odd the city would use explosives to take it down
when they could just use a wrecking ball.
"Hmm…that is a little
strange. I'll have to check into that later."
With that, he took one last look at the burning
building and went back inside the gym.
End of Chapter Two.