In a more dangerous part of San Fransokyo, the spy from the Flores' residence was running along the roof in a panicked state.
"Oh my god, what the hell was I thinking?" the spy muttered to herself, referring to the incident earlier. She slowed down her running into a stop, shook her head, and moved back her hoodie and goggles, revealing the spy to be Suritu Sawyer. "Why did I stick around? Now Esai's probably gonna tell his family about me. Perhaps they'll have to move out of the city!" she muttered to herself as she clenched her fist in frustration, before she covered her head with her hands, sitting down on the ceiling.
After wallowing in self-pity for a few minutes, she took in a deep breath and gulped.
"*sigh* Maybe it's for the best…" she muttered to herself, looking at the skyline, thinking about what happened so far.
Then, her enhanced hearing picked up the familiar sounds of bickering coming from a nearby alley. Suritu raised a brow, and curiosity hits her. She stood up and disappeared in her usual teleportation flash.
On the ground, Suritu teleported to the floor right behind a trash-bin. She had her hood and goggles on, so she could hide more easily. She listened against the bin, and she could two familiar people bickering to one another.
"So, you have any idea on which one of them did it?" asked one.
"Dunno. Scarlet and Quicksilver are not THAT messy, and neither is that…girl that creates wormholes whose name I forgot…actually that's a lie." a larger voice replied, before shaking his head with a sigh.
"Yeah, I was gonna call BS on that. That lady, named Petunia, by the way, re-created the freaking 'Blood Eagle' out of one of the scientists after our escape." the other voice replied.
Suritu raised a brow in confusion as she listened in, wondering what the 'Blood Eagle' is. Shaking her head, she leaned her head forward to see whose speaking. She got a good look, and groaned to herself at who she was listening to:
In addition to the fifteen-year-old boy who has electric powers, there is also an eight-foot-tall bulking man with a bald head and massive arms that go down past his knees, so he more often than not walks like a gorilla.
"If it's not Petunia, then who else could it be?" the boy, who was riding on the giant like an elephant, grumbled as he stared at the ceiling. Gigantis nodded with a hum.
"I dunno. That 'Suritu' girl?" he asked. The boy turned his head towards him and raised a brow.
"Suritu? Ha, that whiny brat couldn't hurt a fly even if it was carrying some disease, like the Zika Virus!" he taunted as he chuckled, slapping Gigantis's back, which didn't hurt him. Then, he heard from his left ear,
"Firstly, flies do not carry the Zika Virus; that's mosquitoes!" a feminine voice whispered venomously. The boy turned around and shrieked at the sight of a masked Suritu Sawyer with her hands on her hips. "And secondly; whenever someone I care about; like those two boys you've tried to kidnap, is threatened, I'm not gonna pull my punches!" she replied. Gigantis froze in place, and shouted in shock, jumping in fright. Suritu leaped off the back and onto the floor. The boy, however, wasn't so lucky, and fell to the floor, nearly avoiding getting squished by the giant.
"Hello there, Liam." Suritu greeted. The boy, finally known as Liam, stared at her in shock, before pointing at her, electrical sparks surging along his fingers.
"W-Wha…how did you get on Gigantis's back without me noticing?" he demanded, accusingly. Suritu just cocked her head slightly and shrugged.
"I have my ways. You're just not good at paying attention." she replied as she removed her goggles and hood, allowing her red hair to puff outwards into its signature puffy ponytail. Gigantis then stood in a defensive posture as he got close to Liam.
"Well, what do you want? Wanna tussle?" he asked as Liam flexed his fingers, releasing a few smaller sparks. Suritu, after staring at them, crossed her arms.
"Luckily for you two, I'm not in a mood to fight. I was just minding my own business when I heard something about a murder. I just want to know; do you guys have any idea what's going on?" she asked sternly. Liam and Gigantis eyed each other, and then looked back at Suritu.
"You didn't know? There was a massacre at Gene-Sys." confided Liam. Suritu's eyes widened in intrigue, recognizing the name of the building.
"Gene-Sys. You mean; that place where you guys were created?" she asked, pointing at them. They nodded, although Liam did a small shrug.
"Well, not myself; I was merely born there a few days before my parents…but you get the point. Given the bloodied message on the board, it has gotta be a mutant. I mean, who else would know about Esai and his high intelligence?" he answered. Suritu straightened in alarm.
"Bloodied message? What are you talking about?" she asked, alarm in her voice. Liam and Gigantis raised a brow at hearing her alarmed voice.
"Yeah…apparently, someone used one of the bodies' blood, and wrote down, 'We're coming to free you, boy.'" he explained. Suritu's eyes widened in alarm, and her skin grew pale. She then shot a glare at Liam.
"Did you do this?! You son of a bitch!" she shouted as she stomped towards Liam and grabbed him by the throat. Gigantis stepped back in fright as Liam grasped her metal arm.
"Ack! S-Suirtu, get your ha-ack!" Liam struggled as Suritu's hand only tightened.
"Why the hell would you do that?! Do you have any idea what this would do to Esai?!" she asked. Liam shook his head as he struggled to breathe.
"I didn't…do anything!" he cried out. Suritu didn't buy it, and her grip only tightened, and Liam felt his throat closing up with no air coming in.
"Suritu, stop it!" another feminine voice called out, and Suritu's metal arm had blood-red glow surrounding it, and squeezed against her grip on Liam's neck. She grunted in pain, and she was forced to let go of Liam! The red glow then disappeared, and Suritu found herself being swept off her feet and onto the ground. After groaning, she opened her eyes and sat up to see the smirking face of Quicksilver, who was walking by her side.
"You didn't see that comin'?" he teased. Suritu growled as she stood up, staring at Quicksilver and Scarlet.
"Leave them alone. They had nothing to do with the massacre at Gene-Sys." Scarlet explained sternly. Suritu glared at her and stomped towards her. However, a familiar woman sped to the front, grabbing her by the shoulders. It was Katja!
"Suritu, please calm down! Why the hell would any of us want to cause more problems and make the boy mistrust us even more?!" she stated firmly. Suritu stared at her, and then at the other mutants.
"Well…if it's not you or the others, then who could it be?" she asked sternly. Katja shook her head.
"That's what we're trying to find out ourselves. But we can tell you right now; Liam had nothing to do with that." she scolded before she lets go of Suritu, eyeing her cautiously. Suritu stared at her, and then at the other mutants. They nodded in assurance. Suritu then sighed in a bit of embarrassment. Liam scoffed in delight.
"Ha-ha." he teased, sticking his tongue out. Suritu's glare intensified, making Liam yelp back and hide behind Gigantis's arms. Katja, however, cleared her throat. Suritu just sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"So, it's not any of you?" she asked, turning to them for clarification. The mutant shook their heads in confirmation. "Then…*sigh* I think I might have an idea who it is." she muttered to herself, immediately suspecting Mr. Sawyer. Scarlet, knowing what she was thinking (no part thanks to her telepathic abilities), narrowed her eyes.
"Suritu, don't even think about it." she threatened. Suritu and Katja stared at her, the latter confused.
"What? Think about what?" asked Katja. Scarlet approached Suritu, arms glowing.
"The fact that you think Mr. Sawyer would ever even think about murdering those people; it's disgusting!" she explained. Suritu was stunned for a moment before she noticed the others sharing the same look as Scarlet.
"That man saved us from those bastards at Gene-Sys." Quicksilver added in.
"They killed Liam's parents, and they would've killed him were it not for Mr. Sawyer." Gigantis said as well, arms placed in front of a slightly hurt Liam. Suritu stepped back, anticipating the others to react so defensively. Then, Scarlet said this,
"How about when he saved you and brought you to our care not long after he freed us with Edgar's help?!"
Suritu gasped silently to herself as a memory came up into her mind again. However, before anything else happened, Katja stepped forward again, facing the other mutants.
"Alright, guys, that's enough. Suritu is…just stressed out; worried for Esai, just like the rest of us. She just…well, needs to accept that her father is trying to help out as well." she explained, before staring back at Suritu with a stern look. Suritu just flinched back at her look, but it did seem to calm the other mutants down for a bit. Scarlet then spoke to Suritu.
"When are you gonna understand that what you're doing is hurting our cause? We just want him safe; that's all." she stated. Suritu nodded, not looking at either of them. Katja then spoke again.
"That's enough. Why don't we just head back to our 'camp'? Alright?" she instructed. The other mutants nodded before they walked further into the alleyway. Suritu stood in place, staring at the ground as she took in what Scarlet said. Katja's hand on her metal arm caused her to look up.
"You can come with us too if you want." she offered. Suritu gave her a suspicious look.
"B-But they know that I'm a hindrance to getting to Esai. Would they accept me?" she asked. Katja nodded.
"Of course; I'll just tell them that you and I both agreed to a truce for the day." she said with a smirk. Suritu stared at her for a moment, not very sure about Katja's words. "I can be persuasive. Aside from your father, MY words are absolute." Katja added. While she was still unsure, Suritu did eventually gave in, and the two women walked further into the alley.
The mutant's camping area is located inside one of the abandoned buildings near Pier 70. On the outside, there is a makeshift basketball court with only a ball. Katja and Suritu approached the building, the latter wondering why the place is so empty. Katja told her that the rest are inside.
Once they got inside, they were greeted by the sight of two other mutants. One of them is the portal woman with green hair drawing a rather beautiful portrait of what appears to be herself with several other people. The other is a male in his mid-thirties with long aquamarine hair writing something down.
"Hello, Petunia and Vladislaus!" Katja greeted. The two mutants turned back and smiled at Katja, and then turned to Suritu. Vladislaus frowned at seeing her, but Petunia gasped with a bright smile on her face.
"Suritu! You're here!" she cheered before she flexed her left hand. Suritu found herself falling through the floor and onto Petunia's arms thanks to the portals. Petunia giggled as she hugged Suritu. "Did you change your mind, Suritu? Are you here to help us?!" she asked cheerfully. Suritu giggled awkwardly.
"She's not here to help us, Petunia. She's just…simply coming over for a visit. We made a truce if you will." Katja explained with a somewhat forced smile. Petunia nodded in understanding with an 'oh' expression, before pouting.
"Aww." she complained like a child. She then looked at the two women. "Is Esai and…the other boy, alright?" she then asked. Suritu raised a brow in confusion, before she gasped, remembering Daniel.
"Oh, yeah; Daniel. I wish I knew where he lived so I can check up on him." she muttered to herself, shaking her head, before noticing something at a nearby small table with the paint pallet next to it, and it made her widened her eyes. "Is that a rat?" she asked in surprise, pointing to a fresh rat carcass, stomach area cut open. Petunia looked down and nodded with an innocent smile.
"That's correct. The crimson red would help fit Scarlet and her powers well! After all, every detail counts." she said with a cheery smile as she dipped a paintbrush into the rat's body. Suritu and Katja cringed at this, and the former continuously muttered to herself,
"It's not a person. It's not a person. It's not a person."
They then heard Vladislaus scoff in the back, and she turned her head towards him.
"This is ridiculous. We have the one mutant that could stop us from getting to our mutant brother, and we're treating this stuck-up princess as a guest in our hideout! We should just get rid of her!" he complained, glaring at Suritu, making a move towards her, and we could see claws and sharp teeth extending from his fingers and jaws. Katja, however, stepped forward.
"Vladislaus; it's a truce! Suritu knows better than to try and do something stupid as to ruin a truce." she scolded. Suritu glared at Vladislaus with a mix of caution and fear as the former growled. He then sighed to himself through his nose, and his claws retracted slowly.
"Fine…anyways, the last thing I need is a distraction from my songs." he muttered before he went back and picked up the sheet of papers and pencil, before walking further inside, muttering about finding a stray cat for a snack. Suritu then turned to Katja, and she heard her sigh.
"He's probably just hungry. Let's just head to a place where we can talk before anyone else gets irritated." she said as she took her hand and walked off. Petunia waved them goodbye before she continued her painting.
Soon, Suritu was finishing up washing her metallic arm in a nearby, functional restroom. She was grateful that Liam's electric powers were able to stimulate the building's electrical current, so the place will have power for a while. She stuck her tongue out as she concentrated. At this point, Katja approached her from behind with a towel.
"Hey, sweetie. I've got a towel for you." she offered, showing her the towel. Suritu turned to her and nodded.
"Thanks." she replied as she took the towel and began to dry her arm with it. The two of them stood silent for a while, before Suritu turned to Katja, brows raised in confusion.
"So, why did you bring me here? Do you want me to tell you where he lives? Because I'm sure father knows." she explained. Katja nodded.
"True; we know where he lives." she replied. Suritu raised her brows in alarm.
"T-Then why aren't you guys attacking and getting him? What's stopping you all from getting to him at this rate?" she asked. Katja frowned and narrowed her lips a bit.
"Mr. Sawyer won't let us go. He told me that he's planning something to get you and Big Hero 6 away from him. And I can see why; Big Hero 6, more specifically one of them, is very protective of him. I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about." she explained. Suritu nodded, remembering how Honey approached Katja back at the rooftop, before snickering.
"That makes me laugh every time I look back. I mean; you have the ability to phase through objects. You have powers like most of the other mutants, and there you were, intimidated by that pink woman having nothing but a purse." Suritu explained, snickering turning into a chuckle. Katja sighed through her nose as she blushed in embarrassment.
"Your father made it clear that he didn't want us to interfere." she replied with crossed arms. Suritu nodded with a chuckle as she continued wiping her metallic arm. When Suritu finished, she placed it on the sink and turned to her.
"So, really; why did you bring me here?" she then asked sincerely. Katja kept staring at her with a solemn look and shook her head.
"Do you remember back when you were seven years old? When your father, Scarlet, Gigantis, and I first found you?" she asked. Suritu frowned at this, and she clutched herself as the memory soon returned to her mind…
*Flashback*
A seven-year-old Suritu Sawyer was clutching onto her arm, which appeared to be bent in a horrifying way. She was running from a group of men and women who looked like they were out for blood. Poor Suritu's curly red hair was tangled up, and she had tears streaming over her bruised left cheek.
The little girl ran along the streets, letting out sobs. The men and women shouted obscenities at her.
"Get the hell back here, girl!" one of the men, an Asian male in his late 20s, shouted.
"You better give us back our money if you want to leave without ONE of your arms!" a Mexican lady shouted from the crowd.
Suritu ran as fast as she could away from the gang, but unfortunately, her little legs aren't enough to get her far, and before long, she was caught. One of the other women grabbed her by the red hair, and pulled her back, making her scream. She used her good arm to reach out and try to grab her hand. At this point, the adults surrounded her.
"Please let me go! I just want some food, so I needed money." she whimpered as she looked at the others. The adults just chuckled as one of them reached her hand out.
"Give us back our money!" she demanded. Suritu nodded as she fished through her pocket, and pulled out fifty dollars.
"Here's your money! Please let me go!" she pleaded, tears watering down. The woman took the money back, but the others weren't finished with her yet.
"Get her in that alleyway. We're gonna teach her a lesson." the leading man growled out. The others nodded, before taking the little girl to a nearby alley, despite her loud protests.
Thankfully, her pleas would not go unanswered…
Suritu was thrown against the wall, her broken left arm squeezed between herself and the wall, making her cry in pain. Her cries were ignored, and one of the men in the gang pulled out a baseball bat. Suritu gasped in fright, and she raised her good arm in self-defense.
"Please! Don't do this!" she pleaded, but the man swung the bat, barely missing her as she pulled her arm back.
"Zhùkŏu, Shăzi!" the man said in Chinese, making her flinch back in fright. The man then raised his bat again, with the others cheering on. He swung down as Suritu closed her eyes, preparing for a grizzly end.
However, she heard shouts coming from the gang, and her eye slightly opened to see…the red aura surrounding the bat, which was an inch away from her face. Suritu gasped and stared in shock as the bat was yanked upwards from the man's hand.
"Leave her alone!" a man's voice boomed from the alleyway entrance. Suritu and the others turned towards the source of the noise, and their eyes widened.
There, standing like a group of heroes were Mr. Sawyer, Katja, Scarlet, and Gigantis.
The people and Suritu gasped in shock, alarmed by the giant size of Gigantis and what Scarlet was doing. Scarlet swung her left hand backward, and the ball was torn away from the man's hands. The adults shouted in panic, but Mr. Sawyer's steps silenced them.
Mr. Sawyer walked towards the group to inspect Suritu, and the group stepped aside. Suritu froze in place, clutching her broken arm as she stared at this man. Mr. Sawyer stopped in front of her and knelt down. He looked at her arm and gently took it from her. Suritu flinches in pain, and Mr. Sawyer took extra care to not cause her any pain.
"Hmm…what happened here?" he muttered. Suritu gulped as he opened her mouth to explain.
"I…I wanted some money to buy food so I can e-eat. I-I tried asking them f-for money, b-but they said no…" she explained, pointing at the gang. Mr. Sawyer stared at them, and they stepped back in fear.
"B-But it's not what it looks like, sir! S-She stole our money!" the Mexican woman reasoned.
"Because I was hungry, and I didn't want to eat from the trash!" Suritu explained, nearly breaking down into a sob. Mr. Sawyer looked on with sympathy for the girl, and then stared at the gang, then at his friends, before looking back at the girl. He gently moved his hand to brush aside a strand of hair that had fallen near her left eye.
"Tell me, little one; what's your name?" he asked as calmly as he could. Suritu gulped and took in a deep breath.
"S-Suritu…" she replied. Mr. Sawyer nodded, though he kept a solemn look. Then, he gently picked her up from the ground.
"Don't you have a family to go to?" he asked. Suritu frowned and shook her head.
"I don't have any parents…or a home to go to." she whimpered. Mr. Sawyer frowned and patted her head gently.
"You poor thing; struggling to survive in this world, unable to get help from those who aren't willing to, because of how selfish they are." he growled as he turned towards the gang. The gang looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
"What? This dumb-" he began, but Mr. Sawyer walked away towards his mutant friends. He gestured his head towards the gang, and the mutants nodded, before walking towards the gang. Suritu looked back, growing concerned for the gang before Mr. Sawyer freed one of his hands and moved her head forward.
"Pay no attention; those people don't deserve anything but misery coming their way for not helping those in need." he warned. Suritu nodded, and the two walked off in silence before they could hear distant screams of the gang. Suritu, after a while of walking, then looked up at Mr. Sawyer.
"Excuse me, sir?" she asked. Mr. Sawyer looked at her and gave a soft smile.
"My name is Mr. Sawyer if that's what you want to ask?" he asked. Suritu nodded and then tilted her head in confusion.
"Why are people so selfish?" she asked. Mr. Sawyer frowned at this question and nodded.
"People are selfish because…they don't understand what it's like to be on the others' shoes." He explained. Suritu raised a brow in confusion, so Mr. Sawyer continued with, "They always think about themselves, never about others. And the ones that DO…well, they stay silent due to fear of persecution."
As they talked, they approached a flower store, where there are an array of beautiful flowers set up in-store.
"The world is cruel, Suritu. And it's losing its beauty because of those people." he explained, before looking at the pretty flowers. He smiled and approached them. Suritu took note of the flowers, and she grew a warm smile.
"Those are beautiful flowers." she stated. Mr. Sawyer nodded with a smile as he went to approach one of the flowers.
"They are; and do you know how they get so pretty?" he asked. Suritu nodded.
"The sun!" she said with a slightly cheery smile. Mr. Sawyer nodded with a chuckle before he eyed one of the smaller flowers, which was shriveling up and dying. He frowned and reached forward.
"However, this one doesn't seem to be enjoying the sunlight." he said sadly. Suritu looked at the flower and frowned.
"B-But…why is that flower like that? Isn't she getting food from the sun?" she asked innocently. Mr. Sawyer shook his head as he gently reached in and plucked the dying flower from the pot, presenting it to her.
"Not enough, unfortunately. The bigger flowers are blocking the sun's rays from hitting this poor flower. And it's not just the sun's rays; the bigger flowers are taking too much water and minerals from the soil, effectively starving this little guy of the nutrients it needs to survive. *sigh* This is called 'Survival of the Fittest', and humans have this mentality as well." he explained. Suritu pouted as she saw the dead flower, and then Mr. Sawyer added with,
"But the difference between the plant and a human…well, aside from everything else," he began, making Suritu giggle a bit. "is that the plant does not have the capacity to reason. Plants, like most other organisms aside from mankind, are mostly simple-minded; with only three things they focus on; eat, grow…and makes some babies. LOTS of babies for some critters." he explained with a chuckle, and Suritu laughed as well. He then looked at her broken arm as they walked away.
"However; humans are highly intelligent, even sentient beings. They do not HAVE to follow such guidelines. They have everything they could possibly need for their civilization. Yet…they choose not to. They keep getting more for themselves and give less to the less fortunate, like yourself." he explained as the two arrived at a nearby bench. Suritu stared at him, the frown from earlier back. "A lot of people don't have vital components to be human; humility, integrity, respect, and above all; empathy." Mr. Sawyer added. Suritu raised a brow.
"Empathy?" she asked.
"It's a way of having people understand you on a personal level; a key factor of being human that many lack or refuse to reveal. That's why people like you are suffering, Suritu…either they don't notice, or they refuse to notice and therefore extend a hand of companionship." he finished with a sad look as he gently ran his fingers on her hair. Suritu felt tears in her eyes as she looked at the dying flower on her hand. She gulped to herself, as Mr. Sawyer pulled her closer to him.
"However, I have a solution; I can take you to Sanctuary." he then offered. Suritu looked at him, taken aback by what he said.
"W-What?" she asked. Mr. Sawyer nodded with a smile.
"Sanctuary is a place of haven for people like myself, like my friends…and even the likes of you, Suritu." he explained, gently tapping her on the nose. Suritu blinked for a moment, before raising her brows.
"Will they give me food? Will they give me water? Will they…" she paused, looking at her broken arm. Mr. Sawyer nodded to each of her requests.
"And more. As for your arm…I have a friend who helps to improve people's lives. I bet he could do something about it." he explained. Suritu's body perked upwards.
"Really? He can help?" she asked with a smile growing on her face. Mr. Sawyer nodded.
"Of course; if you come with us, then we will take care of you, and you will be given a wonderful gift from my friend to help you improve. So, what do you say?" he asked. Suritu replied by hugging Mr. Sawyer with her good arm. Mr. Sawyer could only chuckle back and hug her as well.
*Flashback ends*
Suritu sighed at that memory through her nose.
"I remember very clearly…it was when you guys saved me from those people." she clarified. Katja nodded.
"Yes. That proves that your father cares about you. Otherwise, you'd still be on the streets with a broken arm, or even worse…" she paused for a moment, not wanting to imagine seeing a bloodied, bruised body of young Suritu. She then gasped to herself as she walked off towards the wall.
"I'll be back. Don't go anywhere." she said with a smile as she then phased through the walls as if she weren't a solid being. Suritu just stood there, looking at her metallic arm. She gritted her teeth as she remembered what Mr. Sawyer said about improving her.
"Why can't you just believe me, Katja? Mr. Sawyer doesn't care about improving the world." she said, recalling the specific reason for why she has this arm in the first place.
*Flashback*
Mr. Sawyer caressed the metallic arm that young Suritu was given as they stood outside in their mansion's pool. He looked at the girl, who looked pale from the operation, and was staring at him with worry.
"Sorry about the operation, but it will be worth it in the end. This arm has been changed to help grow alongside you, so you don't have to worry about having to replace it. However, you still need to clean it frequently; once or twice a week." he explained. Suritu nodded and then moved her metal fingers to see if it works. Sure enough, it does.
Ching!
Suritu yelped as a blade extended from the upper-wrist. Mr. Sawyer was there to calm her down, however. After rubbing her back, he instructed.
"Calm down. Just will it. You're in control of the arm, now." he assured. Suritu looked at him, confused, and he explained with, "Just think of the blade moving back in."
Suritu did just that, and slowly, but surely, the blade appears to be moving back into its slot. Suritu sighed in relief…only for it to disappear when the blade came back out. Mr. Sawyer chuckled as he patted her.
"Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it eventually." he assured, patting her in the shoulder. Suritu smiled happily at this, before she looked the blade.
"Mr. Sawyer? W-Why does my arm have a knife?" she asked. Mr. Sawyer took in a deep breath, before pulling her closer to him.
"Little girl…this is a gift given to you because all of us agree that if anyone has the capacity to change the world; it's you." he explained. Suritu looked at him with awe in her eyes.
"Really? H-How?" she asked with wonder. Mr. Sawyer gave a little grin.
"You and I…we'll just teach the greedy ones a lesson." he said to her with pride as he gave her a hug. Suritu, now fully understanding what he meant by this, smiled and leaned into her new father figure's embrace.
*Flashback ended*
Suritu cringed as that memory as she wiped away a tear.
"I can't believe that I did all those things without any shred about…" she cursed herself as she shook her head, before feeling something placed onto her metal arm. She looked down, and saw…the very same dead flower that Mr. Sawyer gave him. She looked up and saw that it was Katja, who was smiling at her.
"You've always kept this flower with you. I don't understand why, but your father says that it gives you purpose to help those in need." she said as she approached her from the side. Suritu moved the flower in closer, seeing that the flower has mostly lost its petals, with only one remaining. Katja looked up at him.
"You always tell us that this flower is a reminder of those who are suffering from the inactivity of those that have more than they need. That is what you say gives you purpose…at least, that's what you say when you were little." she clarified. Suritu nodded.
"Yeah…where did you get this? I thought I lost it." she asked, looking at her with a small bit of shock and nostalgia. Katja shrugged.
"I found it sitting in your old room back when you still lived at Sanctuary." she explained. Suritu understood and pulled the flower closer to her as if it were a child of her own.
"You've always wanted to help people in need. You did so well until you turned nine and three-quarters. What happened?" asked Katja, gently grasping her metal shoulder. Suritu looked back down at her flower and gulped her breath hitching.
"Wha…What father and I were doing…it wasn't helping people." she said as several images came flooding back into her mind; images of her taking babies and young children away from their 'neglectful parents', and bodies with open throats lying on the floor, her metal arm covered in blood. She shook her head. "We've been hurting people, Katja." she said, looking back at her. Katja sighed in disappointment, before pulling her into a hug.
"I know, sweetie…but you know it had to be done." she cooed softly, rubbing her back gently. But Suritu shook her head, and she pulled back.
"Is this what Edgar wanted when he gave you, Mr. Sawyer, and some of our other friends powers; to deliberately harm other people?" she asked, eyes narrowing. Katja slightly narrowed her eyes as well.
"They were hurting innocent people. You know Mr. Sawyer hates that." she replied.
"Then what about those parents that you and father said were 'neglectful'? Why did I see nothing but sorrow and desperation for their children when I took them under the guise that they were being mistreated?!" she added. Katja tried to interrupt before Suritu then added,
"AND, what about last night? Those scientists didn't do anything to you or your friends, and father just murdered them and placed a message directed to Yutashi!" she ordered, accidentally slipping out the wrong name for Esai. Katja tries to come up with an argument, but Suritu kept going.
"What about the families of those I've murdered? I saw the look on their eyes; even though they felt shame for what their sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters did; they still love them! We're causing more harm than good, and that is NOT what Edgar wanted!" she shouted.
"ENOUGH!" Katja barked, and Suritu stopped, staring at a panting Katja. Katja ran her fingers along her hair, and stared at her.
"For the scientists; you have me there. I mean, it HAD to be him; everybody else was here in camp, or back at Sanctuary. I'm not sure why he thought of that, but as for everything else…this is exactly my problem; to ME, it seems like you're backing away from your promise to help others." Katja explained. Suritu furrowed her brows.
"I haven't backed out of my promise; all I'm saying is that we've been wrong to do that and that there are other ways to improve the human race; like empathy." she said. Katja raised her brows.
"We know how empathy works." she stated. Suritu nodded.
"I'm talking about spreading empathy; we improve society not by weeding out the bad people permanently; we teach them. We show them by teaching them the right way to deal with our problems." she reasoned. Katja crossed her arms as Suritu continued with, "Like what my father and Edgar say: what sets us apart from the other animals is our ability to reason. We don't have to go violent anymore."
"You can't teach everyone that; no matter how hard you try." Katja rebutted. Suritu then replied as she placed her hands on her hips,
"Were that the case; prisons, asylums, all of them would've been shut down EONS ago. Trust me, Katja."
Katja stared at her, and then shook her head, realizing that she wasn't gonna get through to her anytime soon.
"Let's just drop this. If you want; you can rest here for the night." she groaned in defeat. Suritu sighed as Katja walked beside her. However, before she left, she turned towards Suritu.
"By the way; you referred to the boy as Yutashi. He goes by Esai, remember?" she asked. Suritu looked at her, confused, before remembering her outburst and widening her eyes. Katja gave a small 'huff' and walked off, leaving her alone.
"Damn it." Suritu muttered to herself. She then looked up at the ceiling, and took in a deep breath, before she teleported out of the room, and onto the roof.
Suritu walked along the roof, eventually stopping at the edge, before sitting down. She stared at the flower, and she sighed to herself as she looked up at the stairs. She gulped as she remembered the argument she had from Katja.
"What did my father do to make sure that Katja and his followers would not listen to reason? They're being irrational." she said as she rubbed her eyes, wiping away some more tears. She then remembered what Katja said about her,
To ME, it seems like you're backing away from your promise to help others.
You can't teach everyone that; no matter how hard you try.
Suritu frowned as she shook her head.
"She doesn't know what she was talking about; it's gonna work. I made a promise to Edgar that I would help see to it that Yutashi wo-" she muttered to herself before widened her eyes and groaning to herself. "Why do I keeping saying 'Yutashi'; his name is 'Esai' now." she scolded to herself. Wanting to distract herself from the argument, her thoughts went back to Esai. After staring at the skies, she sighed to herself as she remembered what the boy must've been going through upon hearing what happened at the 'Gene-Sys' lab, and it would mean for his future in San Fransokyo.
However, she shook her head as she took in a deep breath.
"No…I can't think like this; Esai's gonna grow up well, and he will show the world that spreading empathy will work. It's…it's what Edgar wanted." she muttered to herself, as she remembered years ago what Edgar told her when Esai was an infant in her arms.
"With this child growing up in the city, he's going to face troubles. However, with the right people to guide him…he will grow to learn how to confront these problems with empathy; something that is lacking these. With the boy's enhanced intelligence and his potential understanding nearly higher than normal, it could be a step closer to bring humanity into a new era of peace and prosperity between people of all different ages, race, sex, and other religious and cultural origins. Perhaps…even my mutant friends would be welcomed into a new world."
Suritu nodded as a smile grew on her face.
"Don't worry, Edgar…wherever he goes; I'll follow him. He'll make your vision come true; he'll make humanity much better than ever before." she declared as she stared at the skies, clutching the dead flower closer to her chest as a smile grew on her face…
AN: Hey everyone, superkoola here.
After so many days of studying and quizzes, I've finally had the time to finish my latest chapter of Big Hero 7: Empathy. I wanted to make this chapter so I can give the mutants more developed; I wanted to make the 'villains' more sympathetic towards the cause, so as to make the world more realistic, much like with the villains with the film and show.
I've learned that many of the worst things imaginable in history having been done with the best intentions, so I've created (or borrowed for some of them (I.E. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver from Marvel)) the mutants for this reason; they're well-intended people, but their methods are…well, not so good. Lol.
Anyways…that's all I have to say; hope you enjoyed it, please be respectful if you didn't, and stick around for more!