Just a reminder that this is the second in a series, the first is Truth Be Told and you'll be a little lost without reading it. More of a background for this one, this will follow the Gen 2 storyline, with a few minor changes. I follow the game/manga/anime loosely to create my own little world. Instead of two years, it's three years between the first generation and the second generation. There will be a third and fourth story in this series, we have a long way to go.
Thanks for the saves/reviews, I appreciate it and all of you. If there are any questions, feel free to PM me!
Dom glares at Giovanni, the latter pacing on the screen attached to the wall, while the suit of armor for Mewtwo updates. The information garnered from his test at the Ostergaard household was incomplete considering Juniper didn't do much, but he may have cracked the code to control. Of course, this was going to be the first day of many tests and that's when Giovanni called him for a meeting. To say he was less than pleased, would be a straight lie.
Dom loathes interruptions and this is the second time this man has halted his experiments. The first he can be lenient because so much was happening at the time, but now? No, Dom has work to do and he'll be damned if he doesn't get to do it.
"You're too gentle with it," Giovanni finally states, stopping to look the other man in the eye. "The grunts have told me the conversations you hold with it, it will exploit a weakness from you."
"I'm sorry, did you say 'gentle'?" Dom scoffs, his eyebrows lowering. In all his years alive, Dom has never been gentle with anything. "I assure you, that is the last thing I am with it. I am looking forward to getting the updated armor on it to stop its incessant questions."
"I hope so," Giovanni growls. His brow ridge lowers, making him look more intimidating than usual as he regards Dom with derision. "Give it too much insight and it'll slip away at the first sign of weakness."
Dom watches the armor emerge from the machine built into the wall, his eyes gleam as its sleek form shines in the light. He glances over at Giovanni, his eyes an array of colors the older man isn't sure if it's a trick of the lighting or his own mind. Since his first meeting with Dom, Giovanni isn't sure exactly what he is, experimented or born this way. There aren't many that can unsettle the leader of Team Rocket and Dom makes that short, short list easily.
Even Giovanni's mother disapproves of Dom.
Still, he trusts the man enough to get the job done and watches as Dom grins. "I won't give it the chance."
OoO
"Alright, Mewtwo," Dom greets as he enters the battlefield with renewed vigor.
Knowing what's to come, he feels a sense of power running in his veins, this pokemon will be at his fingertips. Unable to disobey his commands and able to take down cities with the flick of its wrist, they'll be unstoppable. His dreams are finally about to come to fruition. All the patience and planning has come to this very moment.
It almost puts a skip in his step as he watches grunts form a line opposite the cloned pokemon. They tilt their head at the man, wary of the smile on his face as he crosses the field in long strides. The air in the field is at its usual level of tension, so thick the grunts are getting a bit sweaty and their thoughts louder with anxiety. None of it bugs Mewtwo, per se, they've grown used to the wariness of humans in their presence it doesn't register.
It does, however, put them on edge.
For months now, they've been suspicious of Dom's motives. Of Giovanni's motives too. They would be foolish to think these humans in their strange uniforms and clearly under cared for pokemon were up to anything good. They're not sure what that means, though, good, bad. They've only been in the hands of these humans since he woke up from that terribly dark dream, the dream where he doesn't remember anything.
Except for a little voice at the back of their mind telling them that life is wonderful...
"Focus!" Dom snaps his fingers.
Mewtwo returns to the present to find the grunts surrounding them snapping on armor. They try to pull back but the metal jerks their body back into place, their eyes whipping up to Dom's face as the man grins. A chill slithers into Mewtwo's stomach, coiling there and growing regarding the human like this, today will be different. They don't know how or why, but something is definitely bad about Dom.
"Never get distracted in my presence," the man warns, his voice dangerously low. "I've updated your armor. It should be able to keep up with your psychic output. Are you ready for training today? You'll be on a new level."
This intrigues Mewtwo, there's never really any warning about moving up a level, it's usually just a test of his limits. Then the armor shocks them when they've gone too far, to know that they can push themself today, gets their heart racing.
"Yes."
Mewtwo's voice causes the grunts to jump, still not used to dual tone voices coming from such a pokemon. High pitch and low pitch evenly together, it's a bit unsettling when you're right next to them; it sounds so human and non-human at the same time. Knowledgeable yet naive.
The pokemon takes pleasure in their fear, rattling the armor with a shake of their body to get the humans to back off.
"Enough play," Dom snaps, but smiles at the grunts scrambling to get away. "Get to your spots, people. Mewtwo's got new toys to play with."
The warm ups begin when Dom gets to his platform and the grunts release their first round of pokemon. Tauros, a herd of them, thundering around the gym, around Mewtwo. As soon as the pokemon lifts a hand, he watches the waves spike on the monitor from their brain and the armor.
He lets them have their freedom for the warm ups, picking up the herd one by one to taking them on all at once. The pokemon seems to enjoy this display of their strength and Dom does too. It gives him hope that maybe this pokemon will be beside him to usher in the new world he wants to have. A powerful psychic type for the genius psychic, cleansing the world of the weakest links...
One day at a time, he urges himself, watching as the Tauros get recalled and the stronger pokemon come out.
"Again with these?" Mewtwo scoffs, lifting their head to look at Dom. "Aren't there more pokemon out there?"
"Humor me."
The wry smile on Dom's face does nothing to calm the pokemon, so Dom taps a few keys to send a signal to the suit. The change in wavelength sends a wave of pain through Mewtwo's head. They grunt, falling to their knee at the sudden gap in their control of themself. For a moment, they can't recall what they were saying and what Dom did, and so they prep for the fight ahead of them. The moment long forgotten in the pursuit of the next fight.
It worked.
Dom tries not to show too much joy.
The pokemon obeyed, even if it was just a quick burst of the wavelength. Creating a gap in their memory and pushing had warped Juniper's powers, her persuasion churned into a more aggressive manner. This means not even a pokemon with human-like intelligence can resist it.
It worked!
Mewtwo takes down the group of Rhydon with little issue and no complaints, the brain activity looks normal and so Dom waits for another moment to test it. Training drags on like normal for an hour more, until it's time for the dark types to come out. While at the disadvantage, Mewtwo makes due with other attacks such as Shadow Ball and Swift.
None of the dark types have been able to faint the psychic type, but it's good to mix it up and challenge the pokemon every now and again. After all, if their psychic attacks are no good, they need a way to defend themself. Though, Dom doesn't plan on letting them out of his sight anytime soon.
"Again," Dom calls from the top when a houndour gets close enough to Bite them.
The attack itself causes pain in the pokémon's tail but they fling the pokemon off with a quick flick. A bit of annoyance flares up in Dom at the sight, a houndour of all pokemon getting a hit like that in? Foolish.
"We can't have you getting slow on us."
"It was one mistake," they argue back.
Dom presses the button again, marveling when they tremble against the onslaught of control. "Don't argue with me."
W-what's happening?
Mewtwo struggles against the pain, trying to keep their thoughts clear. "Is t-this the armor?"
"What is?" Dom feigns innocence.
"Thi-this pain!" The pokemon gasps, hitting both knees to the ground. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Maybe we should take a break?" Dom lowers the pressure and steps away from the monitor. "Take a break guys."
The grunts retreat to the outer parts of the room, near the walls to mutter amongst themselves. Some pity the pokemon, others feel more relaxed knowing they'll be under Dom's control and take pleasure watching it writhe in pain at the hands of a human. All these months of watching their beloved partners get tossed around, they're excited at the thought of change.
Once they've cleared the battlefield, Dom sets the computer to follow vocal commands and descends to the pokemon. He schools his mind into clarity as he approaches as a hint of the joy or elation he's feeling will tip the pokemon off to what's happening. Until the program is more refined, he'll have to keep it under wraps. Unless, of course, the pokemon does try to escape like Giovanni says.
As he approaches, the pokemon flinches as he walks to stand at his back, still not trustworthy of any person standing behind him. Dom smiles at his discomfort as he opens the back of the armor and checks its integrity, pretending to adjust it or tinker with the wires to 'fix' the problem.
Mewtwo pants under Dom's care, he takes pleasure in it, being able to bring such a strong pokemon to its knees. "What are you doing to me?"
"Nothing, this is a learning curve," Dom shrugs, tapping the wires inside the helmet a few times before fastening it shut. "Let's try it again."
"No," Mewtwo shakes his head.
Dom grins, stalking across the field. "You don't have a choice."
"Do you think you can tell me what to do?" Mewtwo growls, standing up straight.
At the foot of the stairs, Dom makes a thoughtful face. "Um, yeah. That's exactly what I know I can do."
As soon as the words leave his lips, Mewtwo lifts a hand in his direction and he feels his psychic power wrap around him, preventing him from moving. Dom struggles against the invisible restraints, refusing to show fear to the powerful pokemon. He knew it would come to this moment and he's too excited for it.
The grunts watch in growing horror, wondering what's going to happen to their boss and, in turn, them. Fear and anxiety fuel Mewtwo's rage as they watch Dom smile, a slow, infuriating smile.
"Computer, cut off Mewtwo's power," Dom manages to call out as his feet lift from the ground.
"What?" Mewtwo's head lifts in confusion.
"Cutting off power."
The computer's smooth voice rings around the battlefield before Mewtwo doubles over in pain, letting Dom go. He catches himself and jogs up the steps to watch the data come in. He types at the keyboard, lessening it enough to speak to the pokemon and have them understand. This is the moment he's been building to, since the moment the pokemon was created, it would come to this. A little earlier than expected, but who is Dom to stop the wheels of fate.
"My hand is the one that feeds you, you'll do well to remember that," he sneers at them.
"And you'll do well to remember, I am not yours!" Mewtwo spits back, calling forth all its power.
The pressure in the room changes, many of the grunts stumble, some of them heave their breakfast on the floor as Mewtwo draws away from them. A red light floods the room as the alarm blares, his energy reading clearly off the charts. More grunts rush in, screaming for Dom as the man watches the display with awe.
Mewtwo hits the newcomers first, a few of them disappearing in a powerful Hyper Beam that rips through the back of the base. It breaks through the gauntlets on both arms, the beams emitting from their hands. What doesn't disintegrate clatters to the floor, a heap of useless garbage in a matter of seconds.
Dom tries to push more waves on the pokemon, only to watch the suit's power fade as Mewtwo destroys each piece. "No!"
"Sir, we have to go!" A grunt tugs on his arm. "It's getting too dangerous."
Another two beams tear apart the sides of the base, the building shaking violently as Mewtwo goes on a rampage. Cement and other debris rain down from above, destroying the battlefield with each hit. Mewtwo's power forms a bubble of blue energy around their body as they lift into the air and let off a psychic wave. It bears down on them, anyone on their feet hit the ground and struggle to stand.
Dom shoves the grunt aiding him to his feet away to stumble to the computer and get the escape protocols activated. He feels the air around him grow heavy as Mewtwo closes in, not yet finished with him, and he braces himself. There's no way in hell, he's going to show fear to this pokemon, this clone.
"You're too cocky," the pokemon gloats, floating in close. "You never wanted to help me. You built that armor to control me, you and the other human want me for yourself. You, and no other human, will ever have control over me!"
Dom glares up at the pokemon. "We'll find you and you will be ours."
"One thing at a time."
Mewtwo's eyes glow light blue as they float back up and spread their arms out to their sides. A strip of invisible power tears along the width of the field, striking the walls and ripping them down. Beneath their feet, the ground threatens to rip open and swallow them whole. It's as if the building and the earth have come alive, seeking revenge.
Dom has to dodge rubble to get out of the battlefield, some grunts behind him screaming for their friends as they sprint down the hallway. Their screams echo through the chaos, ringing in his ears as he dodges and dives out of the way of the debris.
Bodies lie under rubble, in puddles of blood, their eyes open and soulless. Easy to ignore, Dom dares to stop at his office, it's not the first time he's had to destroy everything and start from scratch and it won't be the last. He keeps a folder of information he'll need to start over and shoves it into his bag along with some extra files before leaping out the nearest window a couple feet to the ground.
The HQ was built with stealth in mind, leaving most of the other floors underground with the first and second floor dedicated to Mewtwo's training.
He lands with a hard thud, knocking the wind from his lungs, but he forces himself to stumble away. Metal and rock rain down from above, the carnage not yet over once out of the epicenter. Dom manages to get to the tree line, turning back to see the base collapsing into a ball of fire. A blue light shines in the middle before jutting off into the sky, Mewtwo's outline barely visible as he disappears into the distance.
Dom huffs, his chest heaving with stress and adrenaline, this is the mess he missed the first time. He always wanted to see Mewtwo's power and now he has; right before the damn pokemon escaped. There's no way that should have happened with the armor on, he had everything right there.
In front him, only six grunts manage to stumble towards his space, all of them bloodied and limping. They collapse on the ground, two of them trying to help the worst of them while they wait for orders.
"Sir?" one of the boys blinks up at Dom. His head is scratched and bruised, his shoulder drooping and bloody. "What would you have us do?"
Dom scans the sky, spotting the two choppers belonging to Giovanni on their way. "Wait for the boss to come."
He slumps against the tree then, his mind a swirling pit of everything that happened, and how he's going to get that wretch back. If Giovanni even lets him live after this. As much as Dom hates the man, he was right, he spoke too much to the pokemon when the machines should have done the talking.
The beat of the rotors becomes hard to bear as they land and a team of water and flying types emerge to quell the flames and smoke. By then, two more of the grunts pass away, leaving four to grieve and quiver on the ground. Dom ignores them as Giovanni stalks up, Persian slithering behind with knowing eyes.
"What have you done?" Giovanni shouts.
Dom doesn't even flinch at the acid in his tone, hatred and fury boil within his stomach at the pokemon and the man before him. This was a mess and they're all to blame, the only difference is that Dom is going to get Mewtwo back and control the little beast.
The crew Giovanni brought works to stop the fire, water type pokemon quelling the flames while flying types dispel the black smoke rising into the sky.
To contain this blaze is to keep himself safe and out of sight of the G-men.
"Did I not warn you?" Giovanni continues. "I warned you, you were too gentle with it. Now it's gone and almost all of my people here are dead. Nothing's left of this place! How do you plan on getting it back?"
Dom hates being scolded. He glares at him. "I'm sure I can track its signal, I know it inside and out. There's nowhere it can hide. I can do this."
"Not alone, you're not," Giovanni snarls, he snaps his fingers and two grunts appear brandishing guns.
Dom has no time to react before he's shot in the shoulders and darkness swirls around him. Giovanni watches him go down with disgust, if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself. He turns to the remaining grunts, fatigue clear on his face as he regards them.
"Get in one of the 'copters," he grumbles, gesturing for more of his team to come help. "We'll discuss more later."
They nod, the remaining four hobbling away with the help of the others. The two beside Giovanni roll Dom onto his back, one grabbing his bag while the other clasps a metal cuff around one of Dom's wrists.
It takes hours for the fires to die down and the smoke to dissipate, this far out of any nearby towns and cities may have saved Giovanni the trouble of a G-man investigation. He stands before the blackened rubble, his face once more showing his true fatigue. This project had so much potential, now he's left to pick up the pieces of it.
He calls out his Rhydon and Nidoking. "Earthquake."
The pokemon roar and stamp their feet around the area, the Earth cracking and opening up to swallow as much of the building and the bodies into its depth. It's not the most perfect clean up, but with the isolation, no one will be looking at this marred ground anytime soon.
XxXxXxX
2007
"This better be good," Giovanni growls, daring a glance up at Dom.
It's been years since the escape of his greatest creation and they've barely had the time to recover from the loss of numbers and trust within the organization. Team Rocket had to disappear once more, a common theme with them as they nursed their wounds, and formed a plan to come back. Patience and careful planning were lessons his mother gave him and his brother early on in their career. Despite the fury at being held back, Giovanni knows the outcome will be worth it.
Now, he watches Dom sit opposite his desk, looking haggard in a Team Rocket uniform and still brandishing his tracker. Since the beginning of their allegiance, Giovanni had enlisted one of his scientists to create it in case Dom turned his back on him. Mewtwo leaving was the last straw and he decided to use it then. Now, if he gets too far from Giovanni, it injects a slow acting poison into his system. Only Giovanni knows the cure and Dom's already tested it a few times and nearly died enough to know the leader of Team Rocket is serious.
"Silph Co. is working on a new product," Dom speaks up, the same hateful look shines in his eyes as he regards Giovanni. "A pokeball with a near perfect capture rate."
"Why do I care?" he replies with a raised eyebrow.
He already knows why he should care. That kind of technology is the first of its kind. It's the kind of jump from the regular pokeball he's surprised a business such as Silph would announce, or dare to work on. A pokeball a pokemon can't escape from is a pokeball that takes the pokemon's power away, even if they used it or modified it, it makes catching Mewtwo a possibility.
Despite promising to know the pokemon inside and out, Dom lost track of the pokemon a year ago somewhere in the Orange Archipelago. It seems as though it's exploring everywhere it can in the Johto-Kanto area. Giovanni only hopes it stayed close by so they don't have to completely waste resources going after it.
"Then what do you propose?" Giovanni interrupts Dom's explanation with a wave of his hand. "We cannot march through there. We don't have the numbers, grunt or pokemon, for that."
"Well, we sent the squadron to the islands for safety," Dom shrugs. "I say we go out with a bang. You know that Team Rocket is falling apart, let's scare the regions, grab the plans and go. You know that it's best to recoup after the losses we've already taken this year."
Giovanni grits his teeth, yes, his niece and that insolent little boy have really done a number on Team Rocket this year. It's pathetic and if his mother could see it, she would be furious! A teenaged boy destroying Team Rocket at every turn. Her grandchild, on the side of the G-men, like her son? A disgrace.
Things always seemed so well done when Madam Boss was around here, Giovanni strives for her kind of control.
He regards Dom with a raised brow, taking into account what he said and the truth behind it. Team Rocket is becoming nothing more than a laughing stock in the media these days, this can either be their last mission, or the first of many. Either they'll return tomorrow, or Giovanni will have to take off and lay low to keep out of G-men hands.
"It's been a while since I've done as you said," he finally speaks, shrugging and leaning back in his chair. "At the end of the week, we take on the Silph Company and get that Master Ball."
So, we know what happens after that, if you've read Truth Be Told, you know what happens at the Silph Co. and if you played Gen 1 in general so yeah. See you next time!