Hopes and Wishes
Both Protectors shot toward Anna in the blink of an eye, their harvesters raised ready to skewer her from both sides. Her Brother's form launching from the cloud of dust that concealed him, the cloud of dirt flowing away in spirals as he shot forward. Iota too sprang toward her siblings with a feral growl, each step an ominous clang of heavy boot falls that resembled terrible war drums as they beat in rhythm toward her sister. Without hesitation Anna clenched her fist and her own harvester extended to it's full length. In one beat of her pounding heart she decided to be just as unpredictable, and attacked Omega first. She shot her armored leg sideways and hit him in the stomach hard enough to send him sliding backwards on the dusty ground. She spun and parried Iota's weapon with her own and slashed at her. The first swing was blocked, but the second found purchase as she rebounded a second strike across her sister's chest armor causing her to whirl and take a step back.
"Lizzy hang on and stay down!" Anna yelled.
"Okay!" Lizzy said as she gripped her sister's air tank and cage tightly, excitement and wonder mixed with fear as her tiny hands held on for the battle to come. Anna felt a looming danger coming closer and knew her brother had already regained his balance and was on his way. Her arm flashed with bolts of blue electricity as she threw her next punch toward Iota, but instead of a fist, her palm was open, and a torrent of lightning launched from her hand to hit her sister in the helmet. The Sister shrieked in pain as she was stunned and locked in place by the current of lightning bolts dancing across her body. Anna knew it would only buy her a few seconds. She spun around, just in time for her brother's fist to hit her in the side of the head, it felt like she had been hit by a train. She saw stars for the second time that day, but rather than fall, she spun again dropping to one knee, launching her elbow into his ribs with a loud boom that sent him staggering to the side, the second his foot hit the ground to regain his balance, she jumped and spun, her leg coming around full circle as the heel of her boot shot toward him. He brought his arm up and blocked the heavy hit but it served to push him back further. When she landed she threw her hand out again as icicles and frost formed on her arm, winter blast flying toward him. She gasped when she saw his arm come up covered in blue fire, his incinerate far stronger than hers was able to easily stop the attack from stunning him as Iota had been.
Anna cursed quietly as she turned, Iota already free from her previous attack and practically on top of her. The eldest sister sent a roundhouse kick toward her, and she brought her arm up to block it. She blocked it, but the force sent her sliding directly into her brother's arms. He grabbed her and tossed her into the same building he had come through on his first attack. She hit the wall hard and felt the bricks give out as she flew threw them, pain filling her body as dust engulfed her. She rolled into the old store and immediately used her hand to push herself up, flipping onto her feet with the help from her momentum, Lizzy coughed behind her and she knew without a helmet the dust would be burning her eyes and throat. Her siblings were already on her. Both of them leapt through the large hole in the wall and instantly began punching and kicking at her. She kept her front to them, protecting Lizzy from any damage that might come her way. She blocked, parried, countered, and returned the hits as they came in quick order. They never let up, wouldn't let up until she had learned whatever it was they were trying to teach her. It felt like another test, though she wasn't used to fighting both of them at the same time. A lapse in concentration earned her a punch to the face from her sister, and a harder punch to the stomach by her brother. She gasped for air as she jumped back, but before she could gain any distance they had already closed in to press on the attack. They were relentless this time. She raised her hand as they reached her, and pulled a fist back toward her before diving out of the way and onto the floor beside her. A hail of bricks hit her siblings in the back and launched them forward deeper into the store, crashing tables and display cases aside as they impacted them.
Anna took the second of rest to jump to her feet, and launched herself up through a large hole in the roof and onto the top of the building. She panted as she turned, both arms up and ready for the next flurry of attacks as she watched the hole she had come from, waiting for them to follow her. Omega was the first through the hole, he shot up into the air but before he could land, a bolt of electro shock hit him in the chest causing him to seize up and land on his back growling in anger. She turned to the hole expecting Iota to jump next but she wasn't there. She turned back to her brother just as a hand broke through the ceiling below her and wrapped an iron grip around her ankle.
"Shit!" Anna yelled as she realized her mistake, Iota had jumped up from inside the store to grab her, listening for her footsteps on the roof as she defended herself against Omega. Before she could react, her sister pulled her down through the roof and back into the store to land on her stomach and chest ceiling tiles, wood, and plaster showering her. Her helmet banging off of the floor as her head smashed into the ground. Iota then spun and tossed her through the front of the store, that luckily had no windows anymore thanks to battles fought long ago by either Splicers or Archer and Tokerev. Anna landed on her stomach again and slid to a stop as she coughed from the impact, she looked up to see her sister's black armor and body suit walking towards her. Just before the sister reached the window, she heard a metallic click and saw Iota look down to her foot. An explosion went off inside the store and Iota was gone in an instant, fire, smoke, and dust engulfing her as a sharp pained screech echoed in the air. Anna climbed to a kneeling position as she searched the dark store for her sister, her protector instincts suddenly screaming at her to make sure her sister was okay.
She heard rumbling, and saw Omega launch himself off of the roof directly toward her growling. She jumped backwards as his fist landed where she had been a second before, the concrete exploding upwards as the massive force of his punch shattered the hard ground. As soon as she landed he had already closed the distance. She knew if he were still fighting, then Iota would be joining him soon enough. Omega slammed punch after punch into her helmet and torso, as his anger rose, so did his speed and ferocity. She blocked many of the punches and kicks, but even the force of his strength hitting her arms hurt like Hell. She dropped low to duck a roundhouse kick, but as the kick passed her, it stopped and he pulled his leg back, his boot heel hitting her in the side of the head causing her to stumble. She spun and turned just in time for his fist to catch her right in the center of her helmet's face, the unexpected hit causing her to reel backwards as she felt her nose break against the reinforced glass of her helmet. Blood poured down out of a cut on her forehead into her eyes but she blinked it away, it poured from her nose and into her mouth but she spit it out. She had to focus every bit of her attention on him, she couldn't let any amount of pain or discomfort distract her, or she would fail this test. As with all tests they gave her, it was treated no different from a real fight, and if she couldn't protect Lizzy from them then she couldn't protect Lizzy from other threats. Failure was not an option, ever.
She knew from the moment they attacked this had been a real training scenario, and they were using all of their strength aside from their plasmids in order to keep Lizzy from being seriously injured.
"How you doin' back there, Liz?" Anna yelled as she hit her brother in the sternum with an uppercut.
"I'm okay! A little hurt but only bumps and scratches!" She yelled back as she gripped the inside of her padded cage tightly.
"Just hold on!" Anna yelled, grabbing an incoming punch and spinning to throw her brother over her shoulder and into a separate building. Another explosion went off inside and she heard her brother howl in rage. That's when she remembered what Archer and Tokerev had told Omega and Mark when they went on patrol earlier that day. They had set up booby traps all over the District. She would have to be careful now, Lizzy couldn't survive a blast like that, even if Anna herself could. She turned and saw Iota stumble out of the collapsed building she had set off the first trap in, she looked sore, and angry, but otherwise unharmed. This was her chance, she knew she had to take it while her sister was dazed from the explosion no doubt ringing in her ears and playing hell with her senses.
Anna sprinted toward her as Iota caught herself against the stone doorway leading into the store, leaning up against it with one hand, the other on the side of her helmet trying to shake the shellshock off. Anna wouldn't give her that chance, because she knew if she let her recover even a little, she would be on top of her again. It was a simple game of numbers, fighting both Omega and Iota at the same time was impossible, it was suicide for anyone, even her. She had to stagger them, fight them one at a time and hopefully wear them down enough to either get away, or less likely beat them. Fighting two Protectors was almost impossible for anyone, even those two would have trouble holding two Big Sisters off at a time. She had to do something, keep one busy while fighting the other, or try to knock one of them out of the action for a while. When the younger Protector reached Iota, she looked up just in time for Anna's boot to hit her in the face sending her back into the building crashing through counter tops and empty display cases, glass shattering and wood splintering in her wake. She was already off by the time Iota hit the ground, running as fast as she could back toward where she knew her brother would be recovering as well.
When she reached the front of the building he had been in, she waited for him to stumble out as well, but he didn't. Instead of her brother jumping out at her, a massive piece of the building flew out of the window at her, and she barely managed to catch it with her telekinesis just before it hit her, her muscles burning as she strained to hold the piece of rubble away from her, her Brother's strength was nothing to scoff at. As the large boulder floated in the air, it suddenly exploded as Omega jumped through it, punching through the massive rock and into her face as pieces of debris flew all around and dropped to the street. Anna was launched back tumbling as he growled, as soon as he landed, he brought both hands forward, catching the shattered boulder before the larger chunks could hit the ground and they shot forward toward Anna. The younger sister dodged a large piece of rubble as she jumped to her feet, her fist smashing one into small shards as it came at her face, she felt one hit her hip and break apart as pain shot into her side, another hit her right shoulder and knocked her down once more.
Omega strode toward her as she lay on her stomach, he knelt and grabbed the back of her helmet with his hand as he roared, lifting her up slightly only to slam her back into the hard street below with a bang. He did it again, and just before he could slam her face into the ground a third time, she turned on her side and used his momentum, and off balance center of gravity to sling him onto the ground beside her, using his arm like a lever. As the Brother hit the ground beside her, she immediately used winter blast on him, freezing him in place and rolled to her feet.
Anna breathed heavily as she looked up and saw her sister step out of the building she had been kicked into and heard her screech with anger as she charged toward her. As soon as she saw this she used her telekinesis to pull part of the building behind her brother down on top of him, a large pile of bricks and concrete crashing down over him like a landslide burying him completely. She used another shot of winter blast on the rubble to freeze it into place too and turned to face her enraged sister, hoping that would buy her some much needed time.
Iota's armored fist caught Anna in the side of the head causing her to lean heavily to one side where her sister's knee armor met her face with another echoing bang. Anna flew onto her back, her cage propping her up in a half sitting position as Iota stood over her with her fists clenched. She threw a punch down and it landed against the younger Sister's helmet, the opposite hand came next, then another right, then a left. Anna felt her head spinning and her body filled with pain, she heard Lizzy scream from not being able to see from under her, all she knew was her sister was losing the fight. Another hit came and she heard rubble moving, she saw her brother stand from his stone prison, bricks and chunks of debris sliding off of his broad shoulders as he rose, his head turning slowly toward the two sisters. He began walking over to them as Iota assaulted Anna with punch after punch. When he reached them, instead of calling the match off, he began punching her as well, blow after blow hit her, like the force of small explosions until her vision started to blacken.
This wasn't good, she was losing consciousness and knew she would fail this test if she couldn't get Lizzy away from them, she tried to think of a way to escape, of a way to fight back, but every time she put her hand up to block a punch or slow it down, three more would answer her even harder and faster. She knew when a Big Sister was facing impossible odds they had to run, to try and escape with their Charge, Lizzy was her Charge, and she had to protect Lizzy. Anna thought of a way to flee the onslaught, but realized that was futile, there was no way for her to get up and run unless she could get them off of her, each hit enraging her more and more as they beat her. Anna felt Iota's hands on her shoulder as she reached around, trying to pull Lizzy from the cage beneath her, Anna turned to that side as she dodged one of her brother's fists, Iota's hands slipping off of her when the younger sister's fist hit her in the side of the helmet. She threw a kick to her Brother's stomach before Iota was hitting her again. She tasted her own blood and felt red hot rage engulf her, she threw her hand out and froze her sister in place with winter blast only for Omega to hit her even harder, reach over to Iota, and unfreeze her with his incinerate. She began hitting her again, causing her rage to reach new heights, it wasn't fair, nothing about this fight was fair, and each hit caused her anger to rise until she saw red. Anna felt herself going numb, and darkness encroaching on her vision when she heard Lizzy scream again.
She felt so helpless, so desperate, she wanted to, needed to get Lizzy out of there, her Protector instincts forcing her to view this as more than a training exercise, to her it became life or death, and that was what they had wanted. Anna screamed from rage and desperation, her harvester swinging wildly back and forth to ward off her attackers, wishing with all of her might that she could just get Lizzy away, and suddenly... Everything went black.
Anna felt a coldness wash over her as her vision gave out, but her mind was still intact. She felt a sudden weightless sensation, like she was made of air, and she wasn't being hit anymore by her siblings. An eternity passed in the cold darkness she inhabited before she saw any sign of light again, a strong whooshing sound flowed through her, more than around her, and the dimly lit halls of Rapture appeared before her once more.
Iota and Omega stared down at the spot their sisters had been seconds ago, a cloud of purple smoke and rippling waves in the air formed right in front of their eyes. They turned and saw Anna swaying some distance behind them looking at her hands in confusion. She was barely able to stand, and was trying to figure out what had happened to her, how she had got there. She looked up at them and shook her head slightly.
"What the Hell?" She groaned as she dropped to her knees, suddenly feeling drained and nauseous.
"Anna?..." She heard Lizzy groan from behind her.
"Yeah?..." She asked.
"I threw up..." The little girl replied.
"That's okay, Liz..." She reassured her, as she ripped her helmet off of her bloody head and vomited on the ground in front of her. Her stomach, as well as Lizzy's doing flips from the sudden teleportation. Iota trilled happily as she limped her way over to Anna and knelt beside her, checking on Lizzy who gave her a sickly smile, vomit sticking to the corners of her lips and chin, snot running from her tiny nose. Omega joined them as Iota wiped Lizzy's face clean with a rag from her belt pouch before doing the same for Anna, placing her hand on her back comfortingly.
"Is that... what you were trying to do? Was that apart of the test?" She asked, looking up to her brother as he stood in front of her. He gave a small shrug and she chuckled, blood still dripping off of her nose and chin. Iota gave a high pitched screech of joy as she shook her and gave her a hug. Whatever the test was about, she had apparently passed, or at least performed well enough in their eyes.
Omega knelt down and patted Anna on the shoulder. She smiled to him gratefully as she brought her arm up to wipe blood out of her eyes. She was shaking from both adrenaline and her sudden teleportation, but she felt good, maybe not physically, but mentally. She had their approval yet again, and it was approval well earned.
"I had no idea... I could teleport. Did either of you know?" She asked her siblings as she gagged again, Omega shrugged again, but Iota brought her hand up and signed 'maybe' in front of her face.
"So you suspected. Did you two get sick your first time too?" She questioned them with a small smile. Both of them nodded in unison as Omega put his hand on his stomach, then drew it up to his chin before flicking it out, as if to say 'Very sick'. Iota on the other hand shook her head proudly.
"Will I get sick every time I use it, or just in the beginning?" Iota shook her head again before flexing her bicep and patting it hard.
"So it's something I'll get used to eventually?" She asked, and both siblings nodded affirmingly.
"That's good..." She said quietly as she leaned forward and threw up again. Once she had finished she spit a few times and Iota wiped her mouth again. Omega pulled a water bottle from his belt and gave both Anna and Lizzy some water to wash the taste of puke from their mouths. Iota screeched to Lizzy and she nodded.
"I'm okay Big Sister, my belly hurts though." She said as she rubbed her stomach with her small hand. Iota nodded understandingly and stood, taking anna by the arm to help her up as she swayed unsteadily on her feet. The eldest sister screeched and gestured toward the direction of the fire station, neither Anna or Lizzy protesting. They were eager to get back to safety and rest, especially with how sick they felt at the moment. It would also give Anna time to reflect, to ponder just what exactly they had tried to teach her, what the test was about. Was it about hopelessness, desperation, or was it simply them bumping up their caliber of training because they had learned of the new Big Daddy type in Minerva's Den? She didn't know, but her Brother and Sister never did anything without purpose, it had been the one constant in their journey that she had always relied on.
. . .
Everyone watched the siblings leave, still shaken from the thorough verbal thrashing Anna had given them. Archer and Tokerev were shaking from the amount of adrenaline that shot through their veins when she had yelled so loudly at them. A Protector's rage was nothing to scoff at, like staring into the heart of a hurricane. Her words didn't fall on deaf ears though. The two men, as well as everyone else, sat silent as they thought about Anna's words. How they had no right to judge her brother and sister for any actions they took, or decisions they made. After all, they were Protectors, and it was also true that they served selflessly, wanting for nothing save to keep those they cared for safe.
"I guess she's right, you know?" Archer asked Tokerev as he glanced over to him. The admission stunned Tenenbaum and Joe.
"Da, I know, even if I don't like to think about it. I have seen, and caused plenty of pain and suffering, but nothing compared to them." Tokerev agreed vaguely. He looked over to Tenenbaum, the one person who knew the Protectors better than anyone else in the room.
"Is it true what she said, all of it?" He asked. The older Doctor stayed silent for a while, deep in thought as her face tightened with sadness, anger, and most importantly, regret.
"Anna has no reason to lie... Do you really think that rage, that bitterness was a show?" Tenenbaum asked as she turned and walked off into the fire station to be alone with her thoughts. Everyone watched her leave, it was clear the Big Sister's words had struck her hard, her barbed tongue cutting deep into the Doctor's heart, and the venom of her words crawling through her skin. Anyone could see the massive amount of regret she felt every day, and that was without being directly told that it was her greed, her ambition that had done the most damage. Both Archer and Tokerev looked to Joe next as he sat with his arms crossed against their dining room table, the sleeves of his sweater rolled up to his elbows revealing his muscular frame and rough elbows that had grown tough from years of a hard life.
"Do you think they'll come back?" Archer asked genuinely. Joe's eyes came up and he stroked his beard as he gave a small nod.
"They'll be back, they've had plenty of chances, and reasons to abandon us down here, and they haven't yet. Protectors are many things, but they aren't liars. You heard Anna, they're not ambitious or greedy like us humans. They say they'll do something, and they do it." He stated
"Not always..." Seline's voice rose from the couch she was laying on, blankly staring at the ceiling. Mark heard her voice for the first time in what felt like weeks and stood from his stool next to the table with Joe. The young man made his way over to her and looked down at her with a sad but hopeful smile.
"Hey... Haven't heard you talk in a while... how are you doing?" He asked softly, but she didn't reply. She simply rolled over to face the back of the couch and closed her eyes hard, pulling the blanket on her up over her head. Mark took a deep, shaking breath as he turned, his head lowering. He made his way back to the stool he had been sitting on and Joe stopped him as he passed, his firm hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"Give her some time, son. She's going through more than we can imagine." He whispered, Mark looked at him with defeat in his eyes and nodded before taking a seat.
"So." Joe broke the silence. "What's your plan for after we track a NeoSplicer back to their hive?" Joe asked, earning questioning looks from both Archer and Tokerev.
"Follow me, I'll show you what I was working on when the Protectors broke my fucking workshop door." Tokerev said looking down the dimly lit hallway at the wood splinters and unhinged door laying on it's side against the wall. Joe and Mark followed, even Sigma lumbered his way behind them. They entered the room with the broken door and spread out inside the medium sized room. It had once been the fire chief's office they realized from dusty plaques hanging on the tan walls. The men had converted it into a workshop for their weapons and booby traps. There were workbenches along the left half of the room, and storage lockers, and tables on the right side. At a glance it was easy to see how and why they had set things up this way, the tables on the left side of the room were cluttered with wires, half finished explosives, and scrap metal. The right side held the finished products. Bottles of liquid with timers taped to them, makeshift mines, grenades, pipe bombs were all laid out neatly on the tables for quick and easy access in case they needed them in an emergency. Various types of firearms, cleaned and lubricated with a soldier's diligence were stored inside the weapon lockers in rows by size, caliber, and type.
Joe whistled at the sight as he looked at Mark and gave him a nudge with his elbow. "Makes our old setup in the Athena's Glory look like a damn toy store, huh?" He asked jokingly when he saw Mark's eyes get wider with surprise.
"You can say that again, holy shit." He said as he scanned the room.
"We were planning on going down into the tunnels with just the two of us, see how far all of this would get us, but now that you all are here... We might actually stand a chance at surviving." Archer said.
"Yeah... either that or you could just start another civil war, see if a second go around does any better." Mark stated, causing everyone to chuckle lightly.
"This is what we've been working on lately." Tokerev said, gesturing to a machining table with metal shavings covering it's surface and the floor around it. A frame of some sort sat on top, expertly welded together with a handle on one side, it resembled the shape of a garden water can and Joe recognized the unfinished weapon immediately from the two others across the room.
"Chemical Throwers, huh?" He asked, and both men nodded.
"We know the Bastards don't like light, or fire. So we figured we'd replicate a few from the one we found and fill them with as much Napalm as we could make or get our hands on. See if we can't burn em out while also providing some protection with the light." Archer stated as he crossed his arms.
"It's going to be hot down there, so, we procured some locally sourced fire equipment, fire resistant suits, air tanks, oxygen masks, and a few modifications we added for more protection against claws, tail spikes, and teeth." Tokerev explained as he pointed to the two fireman suits hanging on the wall. They were standard suits to begin with, but the two men had obviously made changes to them. Each suit had armor attached to the top from regular diving suits almost making them resemble a big Sister's suit. The armor would protect the neck, back, and chest. Plates of steel acted as shoulder armor with smaller plates and steel bars running down the arms and legs for added protection. Even the helmets were armored more thoroughly with steel sheet metal squares cut and attached to the top and sides, they were colored a dull red with the station's emblem on the front. Joe looked to the two men and nodded approvingly.
"You boys certainly don't mess around." He stated.
"Well when you're planning on walking into a deeper level of Hell, it pays to prepare as much as you can." Archer explained.
"Not to mention it's extremely boring without Splicers around to shoot at you, so we had plenty of time on our hands." Tokerev joked.
"How long would it take to make two more suits?" Joe asked, earning arched eyebrows from Archer, Tokerev, and Mark.
"With you two helping us out... a few days, maybe less." Tokerev shrugged.
"Well we better get to work, the Protectors aren't going to wait around forever, and they're already armed, armored, and itching for a good fight." Joe said as he walked to an old laundry bin that held spare suits. He picked two of the dirty jackets out and threw one to Mark, then he threw two pairs of thick padded fireman pants to Archer and Tokerev.
"That is, unless you want to go in by yourselves still." Joe added with a challenging grin. Both Archer and Tokerev looked to each other and shrugged.
"Might pay to have some backup, ya know, just in case the Protectors aren't cut out for the job." Archer replied looking to Sigma who was still watching them. He gave a deep groan and they chuckled. They set to work quickly, drilling hoes into steel plates where thick, heat resistant thread could be sown through to hold the armor in place on the suits. thin metal bars were cut to length and welded onto what would be shoulder pads, the bars would be welded on to separate plates just above the elbows of the jackets later to run down the biceps for protection against slashing claws.
Soon the men fell into a groove, Joe and Mark cutting and shaping metal before handing it off to Archer and Tokerev, the two men far more experienced with the armoring would attach the metal to the suits. The two special Agents would tell Mark and Joe what they needed, or how much they needed of something, and the two men would jump to it. They were efficient, and it made both Archer and Tokerev thankful for the extra hands, they just wished they had come sooner.
Even Sigma was helping the men where he could, using his incinerate plasmid to heat pieces of metal so they could be shaped with a hammer by Mark and Joe. Though he had no obligation to do so, and was also constantly leaving to check the entrance of the fire station and Seline's condition, he helped where he could nonetheless.
Nearly two hours into their work, Joe and Mark felt comfortable enough in their new jobs to begin conversations with the other men, trying to bridge some of the distance between them, and get to know them a little better.
"How'd you boys find yourselves in Rapture to begin with?" Joe asked as he pulled the handle of the machining table's drill down, clear oil lubricating and cooling the metal plate he was drilling through.
"We were both implanted into Frank Fontaine's smuggling operation back before the civil war kicked off. We didn't know each other worked for intelligence agencies at the time, but we became fast friends." Archer explained.
"Friends is a strong term to use." Tokerev scoffed.
"Maybe not friends right away, but we figured out pretty quickly that we could rely on each other when Frank Fontaine was killed by Ryan, and we fled with a few other working class boys to Pauper's Drop. There we got recruited by Atlas and suddenly our job got a lot more dangerous than just smuggling religious cargo or contraband from the surface." Archer added.
"Turns out that Cunt was more hands on than the bald Prick we worked for before him, the Irish, crazy Bastards. He actually forced people to take ADAM right in front of him to make sure they got addicted, those of us who couldn't lie well enough to make him believe we were already addicts" Tokerev said with a cocky grin.
"Hold on, you convinced Atlas you were addicted to ADAM when you really weren't?" Marked asked in surprise as he shaped metal bars from red hot metal, sparks flying off with each hit of the hammer. He had shed his shirt for a tank top that was now stained with oil, grease, and soot from the metal he worked. His arms and face were covered in black dirt and grime from the hard work, as were they all.
"That's right, some poor souls weren't so lucky though, they hadn't been trained in deception like we were. Hell, we were so good we had even convinced each other that we were addicted to ADAM." Archer laughed, earning a chuckle from Tokerev.
"I remember that! You Bitch! You made me believe you were just stingy and went into the bathroom to shoot up because you didn't want anyone else to know how much ADAM you had!" Tokerev laughed.
"How in the world did you manage to fool each other of all people?" Joe asked curiously.
"Pretty simple really, get an ADAM syringe with a clean needle, stab it into your arm around the same spot every time you got paid so it would bleed and show the track marks. Dump the ADAM down the sink, splash some salt water in your eyes to make them red, and stumble out of the bathroom with an empty syringe in your hand acting like you were high as a kite." Archer explained.
"You have to remember, at that time, Splicers were all very high from how much ADAM Atlas was forcing them to take, you only needed to look high for everyone to be fooled, because they were high as well." Tokerev stated.
"So what happened once everyone started mutating and their skin started looking like a deflated balloon?" Mark asked.
"Ah, that was tricky, later, if your skin wasn't sagging, or tits didn't hit your knees, or your face didn't look like an animal had been hit by a car, then it was easy to tell that you hadn't been using ADAM. That was when we both decided to step away from the civil war, we went into hiding together, and eventually we ended up here, talking to you fine Gentlemen." Tokerev said with a shrug.
"You never joined the Family or worked for that Psycho Bitch Sofia Lamb?" Joe asked with his eyebrow raised.
"Nah, by then we had found a pretty good hole to hide in, and try to plan our escapes from there. The Family mostly left you alone as long as you weren't stealing ADAM or trying to get your hands on Little Sisters, so we had no problems there since we had never been addicted in the first place." Archer answered as he continued sowing armor plates onto a fireman's jacket.
"We tried not to listen to the radios or intercom systems during those years either, her words were like poison, the more you listened, the more she made sense. It was probably easier for us to not get caught up in her schemes however, since we've both been trained in psychological, and emotional manipulation." Tokerev stated.
"Sucks that you guys couldn't escape though." Mark replied.
"Does it?" Archer asked, his eyebrows raised.
"I mean, you guys went through so much, and survived so much, and you were never able to get out, right?" The younger man asked.
"That's true, but we've come to realize that maybe we weren't meant to escape Rapture, maybe we were meant to bury it instead." Archer said.
"How come?" Mark asked.
"Let me ask you this, my friend. Could you imagine if the Governments of the world got their hands on ADAM, Raptures weaponry, the Thinker, or God forbid a Protector?" Tokerev asked him.
"Do you think they would simply catalog all of that information without abusing the power that came with it?" Tokerev asked.
"If there's one thing we've learned from Rapture, it's that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Imagine a war fought entirely by Protectors, imagine the death and destruction they would bring, or if ADAM was released to the public without having seen what happened to the Splicers down here. It would be chaos and destruction that would dwarf the Atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki, and Hiroshima in World War two." Archer spoke, forcing both Joe and Mark to think on those facts.
"Imagine Rapture... but instead of one City... it's the entire world." Tokerev added solemnly.
"That's why you guys are so hesitant to bring the Protectors back to the surface, to bring ADAM back to the surface." Joe stated.
"You of all people have seen what they're capable of, seen what ADAM is capable of... do you really think anyone of the surface is capable of not reaching for the power having both would bring?" Archer asked.
"I do." A voice came from the door to the room. It was Tenenbaum, she still looked upset, but she also held a defiant expression.
"I believe the Protectors are capable of not reaching for that power." She stated, causing all of them to look up from their work as they stopped.
"They may be capable of resisting power and greed, Doctor. The question is, are others capable of the same." Tokerev asked, nodding to the barcode tattoo on the older Doctor's wrist, a marking that would forever label her a Jew, and inhuman in the eyes of the Nazi regime. She looked down at the tattoo and thought for a moment.
"Doctor, why are you so opposed to the idea of leaving the Protectors here? It's true that they've had a hard life, Hell we've all had hard lives up until this point... but do you really think they'll have it any easier on the surface?" Archer asked.
"Wouldn't it be better to leave them here, in a place they'll be protected, a place they know and have experience surviving in?" He pressed. Tenenbaum sighed heavily and her face contorted into anger and pain.
"I know what it is like to be treated as less than human! I know what it is like to be viewed with fear and disgust!.." She suddenly yelled, causing Mark and Joe's eyes to widen. They had never seen her lose her cool like this.
"I am the reason they are here. I am the reason their lives have been forever changed against their will. I will give them a second chance at life, even if the odds are impossible, because they deserve it more than anyone. You may not be able to see a world full of hope, or light, or reason, or understanding, but I can!" She raised her voice to them.
"I would rather die than leave one more child in this Hell to suffer, when they are innocent." She said sternly.
"Your Motherly attitude is commendable, Doctor, but it's also foolish, and dangerous." Archer said back, causing her to clench her fists and growl as she stormed off to check on Seline.
The argument left an awkward silence in it's wake, all of the men focusing back on their work in silence before Archer spoke again.
"You Fellas may think I'm being cold, uncaring, or unreasonable... but given what I've seen both on the surface and below it... If Rapture isn't buried... if all of Rapture isn't buried... then the same thing will happen on the surface that happened here. Billions of innocent lives weighed against the lives of a few are nothing, barely even a thought." Archer stated, giving even more cause for contemplation to Joe and Mark. They continued working for another hour before they all decided to take a break and rest. Archer and Tokerev heading to the showers to clean themselves up as Mark and Joe returned to the living room and kitchen for food and fresh air.
Joe opened two cans of beans, as well as some potato chips, and canned tuna for he and Mark to eat. They were drenched in sweat, and covered from head to toe in dirt and grime. Sigma took up his usual position next to the door of the fire station and kept watch as they ate. They tried to be quiet so they didn't disturb Tenenbaum and Seline. The Doctor was changing her bandages and cleaning her wounds. Her shirt was off but the men could only see her bare back. Mark was the most interested as he stared at her pale skin, freckles dotting her smooth back. He couldn't help but stare, wishing she would want something, anything to do with him. He looked over to Joe who gave him a questioning look as he stood, picked up his bag of chips and a can of Tuna, and began walking over to the couch the girl he loved was being treated on. When he reached the arm of the couch he stopped and looked down at her as she sat facing forward toward Doctor Tenenbaum. When she noticed his presence she simply looked downward, her eyes fixed on the floor beneath the Doctor's wooden chair.
"Hey, I uh... I brought you some food, Seline." He said softly, giving a warm and hopeful smile, wanting her to at least look at him.
"I'm not hungry." She said bluntly, the tone of her voice leaving no room for argument. It felt cold, distant, as if she were only partially there, but it also seemed like she was angry at him. Mark looked to the floor in thought, wondering if she did in fact blame him for what happened to her, he certainly blamed himself. As he was looking down in thought, Seline peaked over at him slightly, seeing him covered in soot and dirt, his tank top revealing his tone, muscular arms and rough callused hands that held the food that was meant for her. She quickly looked back to the floor between Tenenbaum's legs and gritted her teeth. She must look pathetic to him, why did he want anything to do with her? She asked herself that every time he tried to approach her, or interact with her. She looked down at the nub where her arm used to be, and brought her hand up to touch the bandage over her destroyed eye. A fresh stream of tears fell from her good eye and Tenenbaum frowned sadly as she looked to Mark, holding her hands out.
"Thank you, Mark. She'll eat when she's feeling well enough to. I'll put them here for her." The older woman said softly causing him to sigh a little and hand the food to her.
"Right... uh... Just focus on feeling better... and just yell if you need anything." He said to Seline, though she kept her gaze forward and down.
Mark made his way back to the kitchen area and sat back on his stool to finish his own food, Joe giving him a hard pat on the shoulder as he turned and continued to eat in silence. As the two men ate in silence, and Tenenbaum finished dressing Seline's wounds, Subject Sigma let out a deep groan that pulled everyone's attention to the front door. He reached down and opened it wide for Anna and Lizzy to step in, followed by Iota, and them Omega. Anna removed her helmet first followed by her sister and brother, and it was clear they had been in one hell of a fight. Their faces were all covered in blood and Anna's nose was bent at an odd angle, clearly having healed in a broken position. All three of them held their helmets up with the openings toward the ground and shook the blood out of them, watching it drip onto the floor below, Anna's holding the most inside.
"Good Lord what happened to you three?" Joe asked in surprise, wanting to break the awkward tension in the silence, also wishing to judge the temperament of the siblings based on the answer.
"We had an impromptu training session, Brother and Sister set up an ambush for me and Lizzy to see how I would fair, and I suppose I faired well enough in their eyes." She said looking back to her siblings, they nodded as Iota smiled.
"Ah..." Joe said, unsure of how to respond.
"I also learned something new." Anna said with a devious grin, the past events of her outburst and punishment by her siblings seemingly behind her.
"It was so cool! Anna was fighting really hard, and there were a lot of explosions and flips, and then she went whoosh!" Lizzy said excitedly, her dirty form coming into view over Anna's shoulder as she smiled brightly. Her dress was tattered in places and her knees, elbows, and hands were scraped, she also had a small bump on her forehead where she had hit it against Anna's air tank while holding onto it. Anna sat her down and took a step to the side.
"Whoosh?" Mark asked curiously, wondering what the little girl meant in her excitement. Suddenly without warning, Anna disappeared in a purple haze and air ripples, a bright purple light flashing in front of both men as she reappeared into reality right in Mark's face.
"Whoosh!" She yelled as she reappeared and caused Mark to fall off of his stool, Joe barely catching him as he fell into him.
"Whoa!" Mark yelled in shock as Joe pulled him to his feet. Anna laughed loudly before bending over and throwing up on the floor.
"Whoa!" Mark yelled again in even more surprise. Anna coughed and spit nonchalantly onto the floor before wiping her mouth.
"Still gotta get used to that though." She said, barely fazed by the puking she had just done.
"Well I'm done." Mark said as he glanced down at the puke and blood. He pushed his food forward away from him, and Anna grinned, her sharp fangs still pinkish red from the blood. She reached over and started eating his food with her blood and dirt caked gloves. He watched her scoop a large amount of tuna out of a can and eat it greedily with her fingers as she dug around in his chip bag with her other hand.
"We have soap and running water you know." Mark stated, grimacing as he watched her consume the food. Her bloody face looked over at him and her head tilted slightly as she stared at him with glowing eyes. "Don't be such a baby, Mark. It's just a little dirt." She said with a teasing smile. "Yeah dirt, and blood." He replied.
"What's the big deal, it's my blood." Anna said. "Besides, you know we can't get sick." She stated with a shrug. "Yeah but it's still gross." He continued. "Relax, it's not that big of a deal, Brother and Sister have eaten live rats before when they didn't have any food, hell I wouldn't put it past them to eat Splicers if times got really rough." She said looking to both of them. Iota's eyes went upward toward the ceiling as she scrunched her eyebrows in thought before both of them shrugged lightly causing Mark and Joe both to grimace at the thought. Anna grinned at their expressions and chuckled.
"Let us hope things don't get desperate enough for that." Tenenbaum's voice came from the living room and the Protectors turned to look at her. She gave an apologetic smile and nodded slightly to them. "It is good to have you back... and I am sorry about earlier, as I said though... I did not know there were more Little Sisters or Big Sisters left in Rapture." She said.
"We know, Doc. We know you would've told us if you did." Anna said, earning another small smile from the Doctor.
"You guys want to see what we've been working on while you were out?" Mark asked, drawing the Protector's attention back to him as Tenenbaum made her way over to the kitchen area. The Protectors all looked to him and tilted their heads. "C'mon, follow me." He said, eager to show them the project they had been working on with Archer and Tokerev. Anna finished off the last of Marks food with a few large handfuls and licked her gloves clean as they strode toward the workshop. They entered the old Fire Chief's office and Mark walked over to one of the work benches that held what would be his armored Fireman's jacket. He picked up the almost finished piece of clothing and held it up, clearly proud of the work they had done.
"A jacket with trash attached to it?" Anna asked, her eyebrow raised.
"It's not- ugh. It's a firefighter's jacket, which means it's highly heat resistant, and thick as hell. We've been attaching armor plating and rods to it in order to reinforce them against NeoSplicer attacks." He explained. Anna immediately noticed the diving suit neck guard that was attached to it as it covered the upper chest and back.
"Aw look, they want to play pretend!" Anna said as she nudged her older siblings. This caused Mark's dirty face to redden.
"It's for protection!" He said loudly, causing Anna to smile deviously.
"Relax, it's a joke." She chuckled, amused with his embarrassment. He cleared his throat and nodded to the far side of the old converted office, showing them the tables of explosives and traps, the weapon lockers full of firearms, and the chemical throwers that sat along the far wall.
"Your plan is to burn them out of the tunnels and their nest?" Tenenbaum asked thoughtfully.
"Exactly, which is why we're making armor. We'll need to get close, but the chemical throwers are our best bet to keep them off of us with the heat and light. The only problem is... We only have enough napalm canasters for one of the throwers, let alone the three others." Joe remarked as he stroked his beard.
"We've been planning on saving up to buy more, but it's going to take a while, especially if we have to travel outside the district to find Splicers and money." Archer's voice came from the doorway. He and Tokerev were standing there with their combat vests on, their hair still wet from their showers, but otherwise looking ready for combat. Everyone turned to the men and looked them over.
"Without a healthy supply of napalm this plan most likely won't work, which is why we need to speed things up." Archer explained as Tokerev picked at his nose with his gloves on, trying his hardest to free whatever obstruction he was digging for.
"Toke and I were planning on going to the west maintenance access tunnel to see if his makeshift dart gun works, try and tag one of those black eyed little shits so it can lead us back to it's nest. We were planning on stopping by an Ammo Bandito on our way back to see if we could buy a little more napalm too. We don't have much, but we'll get what we can with what we have... That is, unless any of you have anything to pitch in with to help out." He said, looking hopeful but reserved. Anna looked to her siblings and they each gave low shrieks as they dug around in their belt pouches. Omega pulled three large wads of money out of his belt pouch and handed it to Archer, his eyes immediately going wide with surprise. Iota pulled two large bundles and held them forward for Tokerev to take. He looked at the large balls of money unsure if he should accept such a huge amount from them. Iota nodded toward him and gave a sharp chirping screech and he quickly grabbed them.
"Holy shit! Are you sure you want to just give us all of this?!" Tokerev asked as he struggled to catch one of the bundles of money Iota had practically shoved at him.
"Jesus, Splicers usually only have a few bucks on em each, how many did you have to kill to get all of this?" Archer asked.
"Don't worry we have more if you need it, we had so much we had to stuff some of it into Lizzy's backpack." Anna said.
"There's more?!" Tokerev asked before cursing in Russian.
"Is that not enough?" Anna asked.
"No! No this is plenty! More than enough! We'll be able to buy enough napalm for all four chemical Throwers and then some." Archer exclaimed as he stuffed the money rolls into their own backpacks. As the two men got ready, Omega and Iota made their way to the workbenches along the left side of the room and looked them over before turning to face both men. Omega gave a low questioning screech as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb causing them, and Anna to look up at them.
"They want to know if they can use your tools." Anna translated, assuming that's what they were trying to say.
"Guys, for this amount of money you can use anything in this room." Archer said, Tokerev nodding in agreement. Both Protectors signed their thanks and turned to immediately begin sifting through the scrap metal and tools for whatever it was they were looking to work on. Anna stood and made her way over to see what they were doing, and possibly help out.
"You boys need a third man for your scouting trip?" Joe asked Archer.
"We wouldn't say no." Tokerev answered before Archer could.
"You want to tag along, Mark?" The bearded man asked and Mark shook his head.
"Nah, I think I'm going to stay here for a bit, still need a break from earlier, too much adrenaline for me for one day." He said.
"Makes sense, not every day someone can stand up to the most terrifying thing in Rapture without backing down. You did good, Son." Joe said as he patted him on the shoulder proudly, causing Mark smiled.
"Yeah, just glad I didn't shit myself." He replied.
"Send one of the siblings after us if anything goes wrong, or hell, just tell them to screech real loud, we'll come running back." Joe added as he got his own gear ready.
"Can do, I figure it's my fault this place got banged up earlier, I'm going to do some cleaning and take care of that dead Splicer in the old shower room. You guys be careful." He said as he nodded to the three men.
"We'll be alright, Sigma already agreed to go with us now that those three are back and can watch over the place while he's gone. It'll be good to have the extra firepower." Archer said. With that Archer and Tokerev shook Mark's hand and the three headed to the living room to get Sigma. Mark headed to the shower room to fetch Benjamin's body and dispose of it, but halfway down the hall he heard the sound of someone's boot squeaking as it slid across the floor.
"Why is there more blood?!" Archer yelled, causing Mark to look back at him. He saw him looking at the floor before pointing to one particular spot.
"Is that puke?!" He asked loudly and Mark laughed.
"Don't worry, I'll clean that up before you guys get back!" He shouted down the hallway before turning the corner and opening the shower room door to start cleaning up his earlier mess.