Chapter 22
"It's done..."
Bobby shrank to the floor, curling his tail around his body and stretching his wings to their fullest. Scott Summers had finished growing his wings, but even that couldn't stirr his sadness. He wanted his friend to be there when he took flight. Everyone had gathered somewhere in the room, expecting Bobby Nite to jump into the air, but he just shrank down into the floor even more. Sure, he wanted to, but he had wanted her to finish his training.
Cerebro had been destroyed the second day, how close to the beginning of the attacks they didn't know. They arrived in the jet and all of them went to the computer, and all of them had a hand in destroying it. The attack had never occurred, and Bobby could barely live with himself knowing that he had a hand in killing her.
Her name was Snidva Sidka of Aspen, the name of the laboratory that they had been born into. Her brother's name was Illkune Sidka of that same laboratory, two pieces of the same DNA strand. Everything had been figured out. She wasn't human. No part of her was human. Her mother had been born in the ruins of Atlantis, at the beginning of its great rise to power in the future. Doctor Junian Apheros had been born in the same time that they had been, the present, but he had been a part of Atlantis since it had fallen it seemed.
They bordered on seven hundred years of age, each of them. They had been trained obsessively in battle, sometimes like animals of war. For that's all they were, weapons of mass destruction. There had been another mutant to the Chaos Three, a woman they called Element. She supposedly had been genetically created as well to have to power of all the elements, but she was easily taken out by Illkune's Disable attack. Snidva had never obtained that attack, but she gained the Self-Detonation attack, something that could be charged to the point where it had the force to level a city. In the end, Junian had called them. It was kind of odd since Pietro answered the phone, not knowing who the hell was calling, and no one understood how he got that number.
The cloning procedure would take a year, and he mentioned trying to create something on the side.
Bobby had been staying in the attic with Jim, trying to be as seclusing as possible from the other Mutes. Telling Lilian that Mimic was dead had been hard. Lilian melted and coated the floor with her silver body, something akin to tears for her. It wasn't unusual anymore to see Bobby covered and dripping in silver liquid as he came downstairs to eat. Lilian would always shrink off of him and slither back upstairs. It seemed Jim's room became the official mourning room.
Bobby Nite had been growing a lot. He was now the height of Jim Winde, although he was more built, but then again, there was more adrenaline and natural steroids in his system. He was as lean as built would allow him, but he refused to fly. His claws had grown as well, and his tail had grown ridges along the top, while his back remained without.
Lilian spent a lot of time with him lately, even though she only spoke in high shrills, her way of crying.
It was cold that night she joined him on the rooftop. School had started back again a while ago, since it was December now. Bobby was never cold and neither was Lilian, so they could stay out all night without freezing. There was no moon that night, and aside from the light pollution covering some bit of the sky to their right, it was clear, with tiny sparks in the sky. Bobby was leaning against the room, his arms cradling his head. Lilian was sprawled along the apex of the roof behind him.
"The camps were dark," he whispered one night. "Back in Vegas, you know. There weren't any lights except for the lights they had."
Lilian rose her head and chirped.
"I don't know what they fed us, but they didn't feed us very often. I was only fed once. They gave us water to drink every few days, but other than that, no food."
Lilian settled her head back onto the roof, but she was listening.
"Some of them were shot, some were injected. The needle was blue, and they had to rip out some scales right here to get it in."
He held his arm straight up and rubbed the sensitive part of his elbow with his thumb. The scales there had grown back, but they were slightly discolored.
"I don't...know what was in it, but it burned on the inside. They came with more needles, more colors. They couldn't beat me. They never whipped me, not after the first few times. The pain never got through the scales. I used to wonder why I had to look like this, but a lot of mutants died from being beaten to death. I watched them die."
He cringed slightly.
"I watched them die. Sometimes after injections, their chests or heads would explode and splash blood on everyone. I got splashed a lot, but I don't think the chemicals they gave me ever did anything. I think my body ate them before they could do any damage."
Lilian felt her heart beat slower.
"I met this girl there. Her name was Angel, and she was just fifteen. They dissected her while she was still awake. At least that's what the others told me. I only knew her for a few days, but I missed her."
Bobby sighed.
"It felt so long in there. Time seemed to slow down. It felt...so...long. There was no day or night. There was only the flashlights and the pain."
Lilian put her arm on his shoulder and cooed.
"Yeah, thanks, Lil. I never want to go back there again. I know that's a kinda duh, but never again."
She shrilled and chirped.
"I miss her," he whispered. "There was something I should have done. I should have fought her. I should have found it. I found that should have...broken that thing on her head."
Lilian rubbed his head and cooed agreement.
"I wonder what you know. I heard in the camps that the ones that didn't talk knew the most. I wonder what you know. I wonder what you could have taught us and can teach us."
Bobby rolled onto his stomach and drew his legs into a crouched positon, holding his wings out like he was about to jump into space. He stared her straight in the eyes and just waited.
"I...wonder...what she could teach us. She wasn't as quiet as you are, but...she was old. She came from a place that we'll never see, and she was born in a time we'll never experience."
Lilian looked skyward and shrilled again.
"She felt...free. Even if I couldn't fly, when I was with her, I could go wherever I wanted. She was never held back by anything. She was free."
Lilian stood up on her back legs and roared the only way a beast of metal could. Bobby barked a few times than growled as loud as he could.
"I'll see her again. Then I'll be free. Then I can be free."
Lilian smiled and patted him on his head, whispering something in her own little language. Bobby turned and looked at her for a few minutes, smiling.
"Let's get some sleep. Boy, living here's really messed up our sleeping patterns, hasn't it?"
Lilian laughed and nodded, crawling down the side of the boarding house after Bobby.
"Did you ever fix the cable?"
Inside the attic, Jim was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and playing with some marbles that he had found. Bobby crawled into his nest of old bedsheets and pillows, muttering something of a "Good night" to Jim. Lilian came in as well, pulling the window closed with her tail before crawling to a corner. She stretched herself out and went to sleep.
Jim looked at Bobby out of the corner of his eye.
"I miss her too," he admitted. "Even if she was a rotten little bitch."
He heard Bobby growl slightly. "She was my friend..."
"She'll be back," Jim whispered. "She'll be back. We might have to jog her memory, but she'll be back. And I'll have my sparring partner again."
Even that made Jim smile. The world was too boring without someone to fight with. What was good without evil?
Bobby curled up in his nest and hid his head. What was anything without friends?
"It's done..."
Bobby shrank to the floor, curling his tail around his body and stretching his wings to their fullest. Scott Summers had finished growing his wings, but even that couldn't stirr his sadness. He wanted his friend to be there when he took flight. Everyone had gathered somewhere in the room, expecting Bobby Nite to jump into the air, but he just shrank down into the floor even more. Sure, he wanted to, but he had wanted her to finish his training.
Cerebro had been destroyed the second day, how close to the beginning of the attacks they didn't know. They arrived in the jet and all of them went to the computer, and all of them had a hand in destroying it. The attack had never occurred, and Bobby could barely live with himself knowing that he had a hand in killing her.
Her name was Snidva Sidka of Aspen, the name of the laboratory that they had been born into. Her brother's name was Illkune Sidka of that same laboratory, two pieces of the same DNA strand. Everything had been figured out. She wasn't human. No part of her was human. Her mother had been born in the ruins of Atlantis, at the beginning of its great rise to power in the future. Doctor Junian Apheros had been born in the same time that they had been, the present, but he had been a part of Atlantis since it had fallen it seemed.
They bordered on seven hundred years of age, each of them. They had been trained obsessively in battle, sometimes like animals of war. For that's all they were, weapons of mass destruction. There had been another mutant to the Chaos Three, a woman they called Element. She supposedly had been genetically created as well to have to power of all the elements, but she was easily taken out by Illkune's Disable attack. Snidva had never obtained that attack, but she gained the Self-Detonation attack, something that could be charged to the point where it had the force to level a city. In the end, Junian had called them. It was kind of odd since Pietro answered the phone, not knowing who the hell was calling, and no one understood how he got that number.
The cloning procedure would take a year, and he mentioned trying to create something on the side.
Bobby had been staying in the attic with Jim, trying to be as seclusing as possible from the other Mutes. Telling Lilian that Mimic was dead had been hard. Lilian melted and coated the floor with her silver body, something akin to tears for her. It wasn't unusual anymore to see Bobby covered and dripping in silver liquid as he came downstairs to eat. Lilian would always shrink off of him and slither back upstairs. It seemed Jim's room became the official mourning room.
Bobby Nite had been growing a lot. He was now the height of Jim Winde, although he was more built, but then again, there was more adrenaline and natural steroids in his system. He was as lean as built would allow him, but he refused to fly. His claws had grown as well, and his tail had grown ridges along the top, while his back remained without.
Lilian spent a lot of time with him lately, even though she only spoke in high shrills, her way of crying.
It was cold that night she joined him on the rooftop. School had started back again a while ago, since it was December now. Bobby was never cold and neither was Lilian, so they could stay out all night without freezing. There was no moon that night, and aside from the light pollution covering some bit of the sky to their right, it was clear, with tiny sparks in the sky. Bobby was leaning against the room, his arms cradling his head. Lilian was sprawled along the apex of the roof behind him.
"The camps were dark," he whispered one night. "Back in Vegas, you know. There weren't any lights except for the lights they had."
Lilian rose her head and chirped.
"I don't know what they fed us, but they didn't feed us very often. I was only fed once. They gave us water to drink every few days, but other than that, no food."
Lilian settled her head back onto the roof, but she was listening.
"Some of them were shot, some were injected. The needle was blue, and they had to rip out some scales right here to get it in."
He held his arm straight up and rubbed the sensitive part of his elbow with his thumb. The scales there had grown back, but they were slightly discolored.
"I don't...know what was in it, but it burned on the inside. They came with more needles, more colors. They couldn't beat me. They never whipped me, not after the first few times. The pain never got through the scales. I used to wonder why I had to look like this, but a lot of mutants died from being beaten to death. I watched them die."
He cringed slightly.
"I watched them die. Sometimes after injections, their chests or heads would explode and splash blood on everyone. I got splashed a lot, but I don't think the chemicals they gave me ever did anything. I think my body ate them before they could do any damage."
Lilian felt her heart beat slower.
"I met this girl there. Her name was Angel, and she was just fifteen. They dissected her while she was still awake. At least that's what the others told me. I only knew her for a few days, but I missed her."
Bobby sighed.
"It felt so long in there. Time seemed to slow down. It felt...so...long. There was no day or night. There was only the flashlights and the pain."
Lilian put her arm on his shoulder and cooed.
"Yeah, thanks, Lil. I never want to go back there again. I know that's a kinda duh, but never again."
She shrilled and chirped.
"I miss her," he whispered. "There was something I should have done. I should have fought her. I should have found it. I found that should have...broken that thing on her head."
Lilian rubbed his head and cooed agreement.
"I wonder what you know. I heard in the camps that the ones that didn't talk knew the most. I wonder what you know. I wonder what you could have taught us and can teach us."
Bobby rolled onto his stomach and drew his legs into a crouched positon, holding his wings out like he was about to jump into space. He stared her straight in the eyes and just waited.
"I...wonder...what she could teach us. She wasn't as quiet as you are, but...she was old. She came from a place that we'll never see, and she was born in a time we'll never experience."
Lilian looked skyward and shrilled again.
"She felt...free. Even if I couldn't fly, when I was with her, I could go wherever I wanted. She was never held back by anything. She was free."
Lilian stood up on her back legs and roared the only way a beast of metal could. Bobby barked a few times than growled as loud as he could.
"I'll see her again. Then I'll be free. Then I can be free."
Lilian smiled and patted him on his head, whispering something in her own little language. Bobby turned and looked at her for a few minutes, smiling.
"Let's get some sleep. Boy, living here's really messed up our sleeping patterns, hasn't it?"
Lilian laughed and nodded, crawling down the side of the boarding house after Bobby.
"Did you ever fix the cable?"
Inside the attic, Jim was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and playing with some marbles that he had found. Bobby crawled into his nest of old bedsheets and pillows, muttering something of a "Good night" to Jim. Lilian came in as well, pulling the window closed with her tail before crawling to a corner. She stretched herself out and went to sleep.
Jim looked at Bobby out of the corner of his eye.
"I miss her too," he admitted. "Even if she was a rotten little bitch."
He heard Bobby growl slightly. "She was my friend..."
"She'll be back," Jim whispered. "She'll be back. We might have to jog her memory, but she'll be back. And I'll have my sparring partner again."
Even that made Jim smile. The world was too boring without someone to fight with. What was good without evil?
Bobby curled up in his nest and hid his head. What was anything without friends?