And I Alone Survived…

The sight of the dead bodies before them was too much. "Why?" Hawk raged at Bragg. "WHY?"

"It had to be done," Bragg told him. "Orders are orders."

"He killed them," Roadblock choked. "You bastard!" He lunged at Bragg only to be held back by several Joes.

"Touch one finger on me and I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in a hole so deep your butt will be warmed with hellfire," Bragg sneered.

"Why?" Hawk shouted. "Why? They were sick!"

"And I put them out of their misery," Bragg told him.

"You're not going to get away with this Bragg!" Hawk shouted. "You murdered those people in cold blood and I swear I will make you pay!"

"Better men than you have tried General," Bragg told him as he walked away with his squadron.

"Hawk we can't let him get away with this!" Lady Jaye shouted.

"We're not Lady Jaye," Hawk's eyes turned cold. "I promise you."

Low Light lay there on the bed wearing hospital pajamas. His eyes had a vacant look to them. It had been nearly a day since the incident on the island. He had been given a pair of pajamas and examined but that had been all. Lifeline and Bree had their hands full dealing with the injuries the others sustained on the island. So he was placed on the hospital bed to rest.

But he couldn't. He couldn't sleep or relax. He was physically drained and emotionally shattered. The memories of his captivity and transformation kept replaying in his mind over and over again. He was in shock.

Lifeline walked in. "Low Light," He said softly.

"Hey…" Low Light responded. "The tests you ran…did you…?"

Lifeline took a breath. "You did have a dormant X-gene."

"Did? Meaning…?"

"It's active now," Lifeline told him. Low Light took this in.

"I'm not human anymore am I?" Low Light said softly. "I'm like those others…those others back on the island. Am I still a Joe or will I have to stay with them?"

"You still are human!" Lifeline said. "Your body's just different now."

"I wonder if they'll accept me?" Low Light spoke to himself.

"Who? Oh…" Lifeline realized that Low Light didn't know what had happened. "Did you…know any of them?"

"Only saw glimpses of them when they…" Low Light hesitated. "Took me to the lab and back. Some of them are only kids."

"I can't fathom the cruelty of some people," Lifeline was debating how to tell him. Low Light caught the look in his eyes. He immediately understood.

"They're dead aren't they?" Low Light's voice was hollow. "There is no one else is there?"

"Yes," Lifeline said simply. "I'm sorry Low Light. There's no one else. None of them survived."

"No one? Then…I'm alone…" Low Light choked as he curled up into a ball.

"You're not alone!" Lifeline went over to him. "I'm here for you. I promise! I won't leave you."

Low Light sat up, his body was shaking. "I really…need a shower or something," He told him. "A real one to wash this all away. But I'm pretty weak. Could…" He closed his eyes, embarrassed as his weakness. "Could you help me?"

"Okay," Lifeline nodded, helping him up. He guided him to the shower and placed him inside. "You can hang onto the handlebar there. I wish we had a bathtub or a stool or something. That would be better for you."

"No this is fine," Low Light sighed as he held on.

"Um…can you...?" Lifeline started to ask.

"No," Low Light admitted. "I'm totally spent. If I could I would but…Look you're the only person I trust right now. I can't even let anyone else…touch me," He shuddered violently.

Lifeline looked at him. "Low Light…did they…?"

"Rape me? No, thank god for small favors," Low Light admitted. "But they came pretty damn close to it. Close enough to give me even more nightmares! Just what I need! They…" He choked. "Did other things to me. I'll tell you…later. Just not now. I don't want to think about it now. I just want to get clean and wash this all away."

"I understand," Lifeline started to undress him. "I won't bring it up again. Just relax. I'll be gentle with you. I promise."

"Wrong choice of words," Low Light winced.

"Sorry," Lifeline apologized as he finished undressing him. "I mean if there's anything I can do to make this easier for you. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"I'm already uncomfortable thank you very much," Low Light growled as Lifeline turned the water on. "But if you tell anybody about this…"

"Low Light, you're not exactly the first Joe I had to give a bath to," Lifeline told him as he began to wash him.

"Really?" Low Light blinked as the warm water trickled over his face. "Who was?"

"Beach Head," Lifeline told him as he lathered up his back and shoulders with liquid soap. "Got dinged up bad in a Cobra attack about two weeks after I first got here. Not only did I have to clean him up; I had to change his drawers so to speak. Not exactly one of my favorite moments in my career."

"I can imagine," Low Light chuckled, temporarily forgetting he was in a similar situation. "Who else?"

"Well…and this is all in confidence mind you…Duke…Flint," Lifeline said as he washed him. "Of course they were unconscious at the time. "Actually I think I've had to bathe at least half the Joes on this base. A lot of times however I have to do a sponge bath since they couldn't even sit up. And this was before Bree came as a nurse. Even General Hawk once. Remember when he got hurt really bad in that air raid and had to stay in bed for a few weeks?"

"Yeah I remember," Low Light nodded. "Geeze you had to take care of nearly everybody on this base. What about the women? Ever bathe any of them?" He grinned mischievously. "I'd like to hear about that!"

"Shut up!" Lifeline said, lightly whacking Low Light on his butt with a wet washcloth.

"Hey!" Low Light protested.

"Serves you right for asking," Lifeline told him. "Uh…I don't suppose you can clean your lower extremities now can you?"

"Lifeline it's taking everything I have just to hang onto the bar!" Low Light groaned. "God this is so humiliating!"

"This isn't exactly my idea of a good time you know!" Lifeline told him as he gently cleaned him. "I'll be quick and careful. I promise."

"Wonderful. I thought I had enough humiliation when I was trapped all that time in…that place," Low Light shuddered. "How long was I there?"

"A week and three days," Lifeline told him.

"That's all?" Low Light blinked. "It seems longer. Whoa! You're pretty damn thorough aren't you?"

"Don't worry," Lifeline finished with his legs. "The worst is pretty much over now." He took out a bottle of shampoo. "Do you want me to do your hair?"

"Why not?" Low Light sighed, closing his eyes. He relaxed a little as Lifeline washed his hair. "I just needed…had to get rid of it all. Get rid of every particle of that horrible place. Could feel it on me. It's irrational I know but…"

Lifeline nodded. The shower was more psychological now than anything else was. "You know you don't really look that bad," Lifeline remarked. "I mean there aren't even any scars on your body."

"None on the outside anyway," Low Light sighed. "I guess I must have some self healing abilities as well as…well you know."

Lifeline rinsed his hair and turned off the water. He gently dried Low Light off and helped him get dressed in another pair of hospital pajamas. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Low Light admitted as Lifeline helped him back into bed. "Thanks. At least I'm clean." Although the way he said it, it was painfully obvious he didn't believe it.

"You should get some rest," Lifeline told him.

"Can't sleep," He shook his head. "Not now. I'm still pretty wound up."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lifeline asked.

"No…not now," Low Light sighed.

"Look if you do feel like it," Lifeline said softly. "Any time you want to talk to me. Day or night. I'll be there for you. I promise."

"Lifeline, be straight with me. I need to know, can I be…cured of this?" Low Light asked. "Can I go back to the way I was?"

Lifeline sighed. "Low Light, from what we've seen…your body's been through so much. Your DNA is totally screwed up. Even if we did figure out exactly what happened…the damage has been done. It's irreversible. I'm sorry."

"What about your…?" Low Light began.

"It only handles wounds, not DNA," Lifeline sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't just put you back together like a broken jigsaw puzzle. I wish I could but I can't."

"What am I now?" Low Light asked. "I've become something haven't I?"

"Your body's now mutated," Lifeline told him. "You had a dormant X-Gene that's now active."

"So I'm a freak," Low Light choked.

"You're still human," Lifeline told him. "And you're still a Joe."

"I don't feel like either right now," Low Light said softly.

"I know the feeling," Lifeline sighed. "This is all my fault. They were after me."

"I know," Low Light said. "Lifeline they didn't care about you once they found out about…about what was inside me. All they wanted was another lab rat and they weren't that picky about who it was. Just as long as it was a Joe. Don't blame yourself. You didn't do this to me. What I don't get is how they knew about you in the first place."

"You have my father to blame for that," Lifeline choked.

"What?" Low Light blinked.

Lifeline took a deep breath. "You remember how my father wanted me to be a minister and follow him on some stupid religious crusade? Well…it turns out that he was willing to do anything to get me to do what he wanted. Somehow he met Sable and told him about me. Apparently he thought Sable would merely 'help me get back on the right path' which is to say he wanted him to brainwash me. But you got in the way. I don't need to tell you Sable never intended to keep his part of the deal."

"And I thought my father was a bastard…"Low Light growled. "But at least he had the decency to try and kill me himself. Didn't hire scum like Cobra to take care of his problem!"

"I am so sorry," Tears leaked out of Lifeline's eyes. He got up to leave.

"Lifeline…" Low Light choked. "I can't go through this alone. Too much stuff happened. I can't sort it out. You're the only person I can trust right now! No matter what you father did!"

"It's still my fault," Lifeline said.

"No it's not," Low Light said. "I don't blame you! You didn't do this to me!"

"You're right," Lifeline looked at him. "I didn't. But I still can't help feeling guilty."

"Look…" Low Light's voice was hoarse. "I… need somebody right now. You're the only person I really trust. Please…I can't deal with all this on my own. I'm going nuts! This is too much for me. Please…help me."

"Of course I will," Lifeline put aside his own pain and took his friend's hand. "I promise I'll do everything I can to help you."

"Thanks buddy," Low Light lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. "I'm so tired. I want to sleep more than anything right now. But I'm afraid."

"Well I have some sedatives," Lifeline told him. "But I don't want to give you anything more. But I can do one thing…"

Gently Lifeline placed his hands on Low Light's forehead. They started to glow slightly. "You know that when I use my abilities I have some type of low level telepathy. Sometimes…I can block dreams," Lifeline explained.

"Do it," Low Light let him. Then he fell asleep.

Hawk and Shipwreck watched the end scene through the two-way mirror. "God what did those bastards do to him?" Shipwreck gasped.

"Listen up, no one, and I mean no one else is to say a single word about this! Got it? The story is Low Light was tortured but nothing else! Got it?" Hawk ordered.

"Got it," Shipwreck nodded. "Poor devil. As if he didn't have problems enough…"

"I know," Hawk sighed. "May God help him. He's gonna need it."