Chapter 18

Misty's hand was covering her mouth, her horror-stricken eyes fixated on Mewtwo. He did not meet her gaze, "In her stead, I was forced to grieve for an old man whom I don't even know the name of."

"She could do that? All along?" Misty asked, "Override her curse?"

"She was one of the very few Gardevoir who could. If she wasn't shunned from the clans for being a shiny, she would've been for that," Mewtwo said sadly.

"My god…" Misty started, but she trailed off. After a few moments, she shook her head, as though reprimanding herself for letting her emotions get the best of her. It was obvious to Mewtwo that she didn't want him to stop now, not after having gone so far and reaching a point in the story such as this one. It probably would've been wiser to end the story at the moment of his capture, because obviously he had managed to escape. But then Misty would've wondered about Naiya, so he didn't want to finish the story with that loose end.


Three and a half years ago (6 months before Genesect)

The one and only upside about Naiya's curse was that it doubled as Mewtwo's timekeeper. It had been about three days that she was in that room, alone, and undisturbedsave for the randomized times when a Team Plasma grunt would come in and replace whatever was put into the food dish previously. Mewtwo never even looked at the so-called "food" they left for her, let alone feel at all inclined to consume such garbage. The injections that inhibited Mewtwo's psychic power were also administered daily, so really the randomized times for anything were rendered obsolete

Mewtwo hardly moved from her spot in the straw; still facing the wall, still curled into a pitiful ball of now very unkempt fur.

Mewtwo heard the door open, yet again, but even with the randomized times, it was too soon to have been for replacing the next serving of poison. Mewtwo's very-empty stomach turned over when Naiya's scent wafted over to her, "Stay away from me," Mewtwo growled.

Naiya ignored the warning, "Poor Mewtwo," she said in mock sympathy as she came over to kneel behind her. Mewtwo's heart twisted painfully and her body shuddered in revulsion as Naiya brushed a hand along her shoulders and up her arm, picking at a few of the mats that were forming, and smoothing the fur, "I can make this all go away if you'd like~."

"I know what your price is and I am not going to pay it," Mewtwo said bluntly, she had no intention of ever mastering this transformation, if she was to be female for the rest of her lifehowever short it ends up being—then so be it.

"You would subject yourself to this pain?" Naiya asked, "Willingly?"

Better me than any daughter of mine… Mewtwo thought to herself.

There was silence as Naiyahaving read Mewtwo's mindthought over Mewtwo's unspoken response. Then, while Mewtwo didn't see it, a sickeningly-sweet smile spread across Naiya's face "Aww, that's adorable! You long for a little girl! Rather than a son to pass the mantle down to? How precious."

What mantle? Mewtwo thought, I'm an estranged, self-proclaimed 'legendary' with no purpose. There is no mantle.

Reading Mewtwo's mind again, "Oh, don't think like that," Naiya says mockingly, as she wraps her arm around Mewtwo from behind and leans on her, nuzzling her cheek sweetly.

That was a mistake. Mewtwo reached around and grabbed Naiya by the throat and rolled herself on top of the Gardevoir, squeezing her fingers, and this time, with no intention of letting go. To try and end it quick, Mewtwo began to unsheathe her clawsdeadly, hooked talons meant more for gripping than slicing, but that didn't make them any less dangerous near the carotid artery. Hackles lifted, fur bristling, fangs bared in an ugly snarl, Naiya's last image of Mewtwo was going to be quite a sight.

Or, that would be the case, if Naiya couldn't still use her psychic powers. Next thing Mewtwo knew, her fingers were wrenched open by an invisible force, and she was blown back to the opposite end of the room—her back exploding with pain and the breath knocked out of her as she hit the wall and collapsed to the ground.

Mewtwo heard the door swing open and Isabella rushed into the room, retreating with Naiya, who was still gasping for breath, there was also a small amount of blood trickling down her neck, nothing that would kill her—Mewtwo felt a slight pang of disappointment at that, and was disgusted with herself that the disappointment was only slight, Why should I care? I told her that killing her would be my intention if she continued to pursue me, and I don't make empty threats. When the door closed again, Mewtwo knew she wasn't alone in the room. She opened her eyes to see Donovan standing at the door, anger in his eyes as he scowled down at Mewtwo—who was still too dazed to get up—for daring to harm his Naiya. Slowly, he made his way over to Mewtwo...

And the tortures began.


"Donovan came in regularly after that," Mewtwo told Misty, "every day he'd beat me, and cut into me, then Naiya would come in acting as a balm, patching my wounds and offering me the same deal. I still refused to eat, and I was just getting weaker and weaker."

"You were just going to accept death?" Misty asked, anger and concern in her voice, "Just like that?"

"No," Mewtwo said, "I just couldn't bring myself to do any of the self care routines; eat, sleep, groom. I don't know if it was Naiya's curse the put me in such a depressed state, or if her true colors were having a larger impact on me than I could bear. Or perhaps it was just Naiya, I never knew what was happening on the other side of that door, and as long as she wasn't in the room, I couldn't tell what was me and what was her. For all I knew, she was drunk off an inexplicable giddiness by adding to the pain I was already feeling."

Misty cringed. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like, unable to stop such a power, being forced to succumb to it without being aware, or even when the victim was aware, and the only defense being knowledge, memories, and thoughts of what should be felt—"Keep fighting!" the thoughts would say, "You can't give up" But they had no power to provide any motivation. The strength Mewtwo had came literally from nothing, Misty thought, she didn't think she would've been able to bear it.

Mewtwo sighed, and continued, "When Donovan's tortures were obviously not going to work, Isabella actually came in with a needle filled with testosterone boosters to trigger a transformation," Misty's heart stopped at hearing that, "That almost worked, and resisting it the way I was, left me feeling very ill. And because of my sever lack of self-care, Team Plasma had to move me to a stasis tank for a couple weeks to pump nutrients back into my body and restore my physical strength."

"Then after that: pain," Misty said quietly, she knew this part of Mewtwo's captivity within Team Plasma—excluding Naiya. He'd described it as more advanced versions of the machines used on Mt Quena.

"Yes, they had finally run out of options and were running out of time," Mewtwo confirmed, "So they were reduced to simply causing me pain; constant, boring, electrifying pain. And I cheered that day, believing I had won."


Three and a half years ago (4 months before Genesect)

This was familiar; Mewtwo was suspended in the air, trapped in a crucifixion pose once again, enduring the constant stream of electricity surging from the machines through and into her body. The psychic inhibiting drugs wore off long ago, but that didn't matter, the machines that held Mewtwo had their own dampeners, and as an extra precaution, the walls of the lab heavily suppressed the use of all psychic powers.

Mewtwo chuckled through the remains of Naiya's cursesomehow, even in this room, that was still active; then again, empathic powers had a strange way of working even on Dark typesher male form had gone through this torture on Mt Quena, now it was like her female form was having a christening of its very own.

"Is something funny to you?"

"Isabella~." Mewtwo greeted in a mockingly cheerful tone. She looked down at the woman to see that she scowled when Mewtwo began to speak English. Naiya and Donovan were accompanying her, "Come to keep me company?"

Isabella waved a hand at the grunt on the other side of the window, and he turned one of the many dials. Mewtwo grit her teeth when the electricity increased momentarily, "Consider that a reprimand," she said.

"For speaking English? You asked me a question," Mewtwo replied innocently, still managing to smirk at Isabella, "I suppose that is the best you can do now though, under the circumstances; taking me down from here to do whatever to my tongue would provide me a reprieve from this," she said, gesturing to the machines, before sarcastically finishing with, "But neither of us want that."

Isabella stormed out of the room with Donovan accompanying her, and they entered the viewing room, looking Mewtwo dead in the eye as Isabella turned up the dial spitefully. Mewtwo cried out from the sudden intensity, her back arching as all the muscles in her body tensed painfully.

"Are you trying to kill it?!" the grunt asked, the patch on his shoulder showed that he was new to the science division of Team Plasma.

'It'… Mewtwo thought, I was a 'he' before transforming into a female; perhaps they simply don't know what to call me at this point, considering I could change again at any given point. Or perhaps they simply wish to degrade me even further—not that 'It' is anything new. The fact that Mewtwo could hear them told her that they either planned for her to hear everything they intended to do, as some form of psychological torture, or they just didn't care.

Isabella rolled her eyes, "Please," she said as she pointed an accusing finger at Mewtwo, "This thing's body was manufactured to withstand worse than this."

"You say it like it's my fault," Mewtwo managed through clenched teeth, the electricity increased another level.

"Why don't we just clone it and breed that clone?" the grunt asked.

"Three reasons," Isabella answered, "One, this one's DNA is unstable enough as it is. Two, this one is tedious enough as it is, considering what we have read in the Rocket reports about it's brooding nature. And three, we are on a time limit due to a rabid Mew terrorizing the organization all over the Unova region!"

Mewtwo felt a glimmer of pride for her sister, she didn't think that pink ball of fluff and rainbows could generate such fear in the heart of Team Plasma.

"Don't look so smug," Naiya said, looking up at Mewtwo, "If she shows up here, you know we have the equipment here to contain her. And we would have use for her, dead or alive—most likely dead—and that grunt's idea might actually work," Mewtwo scowled down at Naiya as she continued, "However, your services would no longer be required."

The grunt was stupid enough to speak up again, "When you used the testosterone boosters, did you knock it out?"

Mewtwo chuckled under her breath, knowing what Isabella's answer was going to be, "No you idiot," she said, beginning to lose her patience, "Transform is a conscious ability, and Mewtwo would need to be conscious enough to do so, however if it is, it would also conscious enough to resist the boosters just as it did before."

"Give it up already," Mewtwo told the grunt, "Everything you suggest, she's already thought of."

The grunt ignored her, "What about impregnating the Mewtwo instead? It cannot transform if it is pregnant, and we'd be getting the kitten either way."

Isabella nearly lost her temper at Mewtwo's daring grin, "Since you're being so talkative today, care to answer that one for me?"

No hesitation from Mewtwo, "Cats self-abort," she answered, darkly smug, "In most cases, due to an abnormality detected in one or more of the fetuses," she paused for dramatic effect before repeating, "most cases. Also the clock is ticking~."

"Then clone that!" the grunt said to Isabella exasperatedly.

"I told you, we don't have the time!" Isabella retorted, "Honestly, even having Mewtwo tell you that hasn't made it sink in yet! That Mew is closing in on this base, so at this point, getting the embryo into Naiya is our only hope because it would be safer and easier to move her if need be…at least compared to the damned cloning equipment."

"Well then what about surrogacy?!"

All was silent save for the crackling of the electricity. Mewtwo felt her heart stop, No… she thought.

"Say that again," Isabella said to the grunt.

"Surrogacy; Mewtwo's egg, Naiya's womb, and…Donovan's sperm?" the grunt suggested, gesturing to the Bisharp next to Isabella.

Mewtwo donned a blank look when Isabella looked over at her, but it was futile; the moment she looked at Naiya and watched as the Gardevoir nodded, sensing Mewtwo's despair, Mewtwo knew it was all over.

Isabella's eyes shined victoriously, "Get a hold of your superiors, this needs to be done quickly." She looked over at Donovan, "Let's kill it before it has the chance to cause us anymore trouble."

Mewtwo's heart was pounding as Isabella began to leave the room, "(Mew…mew…) Naiya…please no…" Mewtwo pleaded, and continued, "Don't do this…"

"You know as well as I that even if I wanted to defy Isabella and stop this, I don't have that authority," she said, turning to face her.

"I won't allow it!" Mewtwo shouted, struggling to free herself. The grunt inside the viewing room turned up the voltage again, causing Mewtwo to cry out in pain.

Naiya sighed in mock resignation, "Why do you keep trying to fight this? Don't you see? It's all over for you! All that pain and suffering you put yourself through has been for nothing!"

Mewtwo ignored her, resuming her struggling desperately once the voltage was turned down again. Isabella and Donovan entered the lab and began to walk up to the two psychics. 'Never give up until the very end', Ash's words provided Mewtwo with a new energy, energy born from a desperate survival instinct, and she let it begin to flow through her body.

"Honestly, give up already!" Naiya continued as Isabella drew her gun and pointed it at Mewtwo, then, raising her voice, "I don't understand why you keep fighting for something that you'll be too dead to fret over in the future! It's not like anyone here would ever have given you a chance to rescue your precious spawn."

When the next wave of increased electricity surged through Mewtwo's body, she did not feel it. Nor did she feel anything as her renewed strength unlocked something deep within her. And Mewtwo did not notice the grunt, as he began looking at the computer screens with widening eyes, his fingers flying across the keyboards. No, Mewtwo was too focused on what Naiya had just said. Naiya smiled with satisfaction, as Mewtwo seemed to stop fighting.

BANG! The sound of a gunshot echoed across the room. And everyone was frozen in a tense silence. There were a number of thoughts racing through Mewtwo's head.

One, there were thoughts racing through her head.

Two, she heard that gunshot; that shouldn't be possible at this close range, she should've been dead before the sound registered in her mind

"N-Naiya," Isabella stammered; the bullet had stopped right in front of Mewtwo's forehead, aimed between the eyes, "What did you say?"

And three...

"Spawn…?" Mewtwo drawled out the word, answering Isabella's question for Naiya. She bared her fangs as her face contorted in anger. So it wouldn't even matter if they were born, "Is that all they would be to you?"

"Isabella!" The grunt shouted through the speaker, "Mewtwo's psychic threshold has tripled!"

Isabella's eyes widened in horror. Naiya looked over at the grunt, confused, "What?" she asked.

The grunt didn't need a translator to know Naiya didn't understand, but he was a fool to have said that out loud; Mewtwo wasted no time; she focused on the new energy within her and aimed it at the machines restraining her. Donovan leaped towards Mewtwo, blades ready and aimed for her neck. Mewtwo sent the bullet straight at him, burying it deep in the Bisharp's skull, and he fell to the floor. Naiya screamed in horror for the sudden loss of her mate, her hands covering her mouth.

Mewtwo began to feel a transformation occur in her body, it was a new one, a different transformation, so this time, as the world around her faded into a red haze of anger, she didn't stop it.

"RUN!" the grunt shouted.

Naiya couldn't teleport from within the room—her powers weren't nearly as strong as Mewtwo's newfound ones—so, urged by Isabella, she immediately made a mad dash to the door.

She would never make it.