CHAPTER 21:

MEDEA

Spencer glared at the two visitors in his study. Not quite unwelcome, but certainly received on sufferance. He had two of his people with him, Sergei, as well as one of Sergei's contacts, who had been a mercenary, and was now considering joining the UBSC. "I am still not sure sending Medea to your pitiful school is at all prudent."

"You have made your objections known," sneered one of the visitors, before Spencer's walking stick jabbed him viciously in the chest.

"Yes, but I don't think they have registered! Most of Umbrella's high-end BOWs are based on clones, whose brains are a blank slate. Project Medea was partially an experiment into mind control technology, to see whether the technology we have developed for the Tyrants will work on a human who has memory and a personality. We have many such technologies, including things that MK-ULTRA dismissed as infeasible due to a lack of technological sophistication. But with such things, there is a risk. Medea is going into an environment where there could be reminders of her past, reminders that could bring her memories to the fore. My technology should be enough to keep it down, but…"

"I have potions."

Spencer smacked him on the arm. "Imbecile! Those could interfere with her mind and the controls we have on her in unpredictable ways! And I wouldn't attempt to take control of her by giving her potions, and make your masturbatory fantasies real. That could make things worse, and you'd have a BOW tearing your genitalia out and forcing you to eat them!"

The fool scowled furiously. "Why you…"

"Enough," the second visitor, the more senior of them, said, cutting off his underling. "I understand your qualms, Spencer, but we need someone to deal with Sirius Black, as well as Pettigrew. Someone who isn't a rogue element like the Dementors are."

"Then why not hire me?" asked the fifth person in the room, his Russian accent surprisingly light and airy, short blond hair framing sardonic features.

"Because we don't want greedy, overpriced mercenary Muggles traipsing about," the first visitor sneered.

"Greed is good, isn't that what that American film said(1)? You print money. I like money. And you say I am overpriced, but you get what you pay for," the man said.

"Nikolai, enough," Sergei said.

"Sir," the thus-named Nikolai said, straightening up a little.

Spencer sighed. Nikolai Zinoviev was one of Sergei's former comrades. Until recently, the cocky brat had been a mercenary once the Soviet Union collapsed, but it was Sergei who recently suggested he hire the man on a probationary basis. Unfortunately, while definitely skilled, Spencer didn't feel the same amount of loyalty from the man as he did from Sergei. Nikolai only followed where the money took him…if it also allowed him to indulge some rather unsavoury sadistic tendencies. And while Spencer could understand that, it meant the man was a potential loose cannon.

Ugh, it was so hard to find good help these days, people with the right potential. Smart, able to discard petty morals, and yet, able to remain loyal to Spencer and his vision.

Spencer returned his gaze to his visitors. "Know that I am only agreeing to this request because it will be a good field test of Medea's capabilities. But know that my reach is long and my wrath is cruel, and should you be responsible for anything going wrong with her deployment…well, I could use some more test subjects who have magic."

"Your threats mean little," the first visitor sneered.

"Oh? He knows what I mean," Spencer said, indicating the second visitor, who was standing still. "And it is no threat, but a promise. If you dare interfere with Medea in any way, or my goddaughter for that matter, then I will have you as a guinea pig…"

After the visitors had left, Sergei turned to Spencer. "Is this a good idea, allowing Medea to enter the field?"

Spencer scoffed, looking into the fireplace, imagining himself Prometheus, on the verge of stealing the fire of the Olympians. "…I'll be perfectly honest, I feel ambivalent about this. There are stimuli that could potentially disrupt the control mechanisms we have on Medea. Potter, Lupin, even the other teachers or the Headmaster. And yet…it is past time that we gave Project Medea a field test. We have already tested her under laboratory conditions. What is more, we have extensive biological samples taken from her, so if she breaks free or is killed, we still have enough to potentially start anew."

Nikolai chuckled. "So, what is so special about Project Medea, anyway? I know about the Tyrant program and the other BOWs you've created, to say nothing of the effects of the T-Virus. But what makes this Medea so special?"

"Simple. Medea is the centrepiece of Project Medea, an attempt to weaponise magic users. Over a decade ago, I procured the first samples, a pair of corpses…only, one of them was still alive, albeit in a comatose state, thanks in part to a micro-organism I was already somewhat familiar with. I began work then and there, in tandem with the nascent Tyrant project. When my goddaughter turned out to be a witch, I was able to get samples in vivo, allowing me to compare the genetics without any…contamination present in the original sample. Dear Hermione has helped my research, though I doubt she would be grateful if she knew what I am truly up to. It's a tragic waste when brilliant minds are fettered by artificial ethics and morality instead of being tempered by pragmatism. But she could still be of use, even outside of the more secret areas of Umbrella. We always need competent researchers for developing drugs and vaccines."

"I hope the control mechanisms on Medea hold," Sergei murmured. "It's one thing on a Tyrant, as they are derived from my clones, carefully engineered. Appallingly dangerous if they go berserk, true, but…well, if she ever regains her memories…well, what is the old saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Fitting, for someone named after the witch Medea. And we have no guarantee that our memory-management will work, at least completely."

"Well, her handlers will have to ensure she doesn't. Some Memory Charms should help, at least," Spencer said. "I just hope that imbecile doesn't try to use potions. That's the problem with people with egos and who are too clever by half. They tend to be the ones to ruin things…"

Not long after Medea's debut at Hogwarts, Hagrid's hearing with Buckbeak came up, having apparently been moved forward somewhat. Harry was still somewhat sceptical of Buckbeak's chances of being let off, despite having helped Hermione where he could with research into precedents. Not with the likes of Lucius Malfoy involved, probably greasing palms in the Ministry.

Harry did have to do some fast-talking with Ron to discourage him from expecting Harry to sneak out to Hogsmeade via one of the few secret passages still unwatched. He pointed out the problems with Sirius attacking, and that he might still be lurking in the Hogsmeade area. Not that Sirius was truly any real danger, but Ron wouldn't understand that. Not that he understood Harry's new attitude either. Plus, Harry pointed out the mysterious Medea as a wild card.

And she definitely was one. She could sometimes be seen patrolling Hogwarts and its grounds. The way she walked was strangely…mechanical. Robotic. Like she was walking with absolute efficiency. Just that was more than enough to instil a form of the Uncanny Valley in Harry.

The sad thing was, for all that, Medea was infinitely preferable to the Dementors. She didn't have a mind-raping aura that forced him to relive his worst traumas, after all. A sinister and secretive agent with a strange plague mask-like helmet was a doddle by comparison.

However, he did have an unusual meeting with Remus not long after Medea's debut…

"The Marauders' Map is gone. I think it was stolen."

"…Stolen?" Harry hissed.

The careworn werewolf nodded. "I did have it locked fairly securely away, but…someone came into my office while I was out and took it. Took a few of my other things as well. I don't know who did so, either."

"…It can't be Sirius, he's currently hiding out with his brother at the moment," Harry said. "Pettigrew, maybe?"

"If so, we're in trouble. He's certainly the only other person, apart from you, me, and the Weasley Twins, who knows how to use it." Remus frowned. "Though if one knew enough about the Marauders, one would know how to use it. The Weasley Twins did figure out how to use it. Either they stumbled across our little motto elsewhere, or our emulated intelligences in the Map liked them enough to give them clues, enough to allow them to figure out the password."

"I wouldn't put it past Snape to do something like this. He despises you, and he'd be looking for any kind of dirt he could on you," Harry pointed out.

"…Maybe. But for all Dumbledore giving Professor Snape as much leeway as he has, I doubt he'd let him go this far, even to try and incriminate me. Even now, Snape believes I am an accomplice to Sirius' entries into Hogwarts," Remus remarked morosely. "After all, I was part of the Marauders. And…well, Sirius did try and send him my way while I was transformed, hoping he'd get mauled. Your father got cold feet and stopped Snape, saving him…and he despises that."

"The debt Dumbledore told me about," Harry mused. "Still, I don't trust Snape one iota. And there's something going on with this Medea woman they hired for security."

"Yes, I know. She gives me the chills just by being around her," Remus admitted. "My instincts are screaming at me. She moves like a robot, and yet, she smells of flesh and blood, if with an unusual bouquet I can't quite pin down. She only has her meals in her quarters, too, and I've never seen her take off that mask. I, along with the other teachers, asked where she came from, but Dumbledore refuses to tell us. I would call it coy, but that woman…I'd rather have trained security Trolls from Gringotts instead of her. The only thing is that she's better than the Dementors."

"Who are still hanging around," Harry pointed out. But then, a thought occurred to him. "…Remus…what if she was the one to steal the Marauders' Map?"

"What? Why would she do that?"

"Because you'd be able to see her real name. I have the feeling that was why it was stolen, or at least that's one hypothesis."

"Except how would she know about it in the first place, Harry?" Remus asked gently. "Aside from the Marauders, the amount of people who knew about the Map could be counted on maybe two hands. You, Hermione, Ron, and the Weasley Twins, along with your mother, and a couple of other members of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Filch confiscated it, though, didn't he?"

"Yes, but I don't think he truly knew how it worked," Remus pointed out. "We never told Professor Dumbledore at the time, certainly. Then again, he has his own means of learning the nooks and crannies of Hogwarts. House Elves, the ghosts, the portraits…"

"A hell of a spy network," Harry mused. "But I can't help but feel uneasy about him. It's probably paranoia, and yet…I can't dismiss it."

"Lately…well, I've begun to feel something like that. Oh, I am grateful to him for giving me this work, Harry, and giving me a chance to reconnect with you…and yet, the way he's handling things has me worried. Especially where Professor Snape is concerned. I'm not blind, Harry, I am concerned about his teaching style, to say nothing of how he disciplines students, showing favouritism to Slytherin and demeaning Gryffindor. I spoke to the Headmaster, but he waved off my concerns. And, of course, there is Medea…"

The woman in question was in her quarters, resting and eating after her latest patrol. Rest, food, and bathing were not luxuries. They were just the means to ensure her body, despite it being enhanced beyond human limits, functioned optimally.

People often compare the human body to a machine. This is right in some regard, albeit a machine shaped by the slapdash forces of evolution via natural selection. A masterpiece of improvisation, really. But it was not intended to function like a machine, without rest, without succour.

And yet, thanks to the tampering of the scientists at Umbrella, fumbling their way through genetic, hormonal and cybernetic modification, Medea was effectively a machine, a robot. The term robot, which had come to supplant the earlier term automaton, came from the Czech for a slave, by way of Karel Čapek's infamous play Rossum's Universal Robots. And Medea was definitely a slave.

It was only here that she could divest herself of the helmet on her head. Outside of the room, she was to wear it at all times. Because of that, her red hair was a tangled, matted mess. After her meal, she went over to the sink of her quarters, and began washing her pale, gaunt face with a harshness meant only for hygiene rather than grooming. And then, briefly, her gaze went to the mirror. And emerald eyes stared back impassively.

Had anyone been in the room with her, anyone who had knowledge of certain people famous in the wizarding world, they would have been surprised to see a familiar face. Indeed, it belonged to a dead woman. Only, she was most definitely still alive.

It was the face of Lily Potter.

CHAPTER 21 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there it is, at long last. The reveal of just who Medea is. Of course, so many of you guessed who it was from the first scene featuring her, but here's the actual reveal.

Anyway, sorry it took so long to bring this out. I had to figure out a way to stop the Marauders' Map from being used to expose Lily as Medea too soon, so I figured either Snape or Lily stole it from Remus' office. But it took me way too long to figure out a solution to that problem, as having anyone avoid looking at the Map for long enough for Lily's identity to become known hobbled my writing of this chapter.

I also took the opportunity to bring Nikolai into the picture. I like the take on him in the remake of Resident Evil 3. Hence my usage of his most famous line in that game.

I also dunno when the next one will be out. But hopefully, this will give you guys some enjoyment. Sorry it didn't come out sooner.

Review-answering time! Devilsummoner666: BOW canonically stands for 'Bio-Organic Weapon'.

ol-11jrw: I actually made Hermione the reincarnation of the Rani in my Doctor Who crossover Renaissance of the Renegades, and she's a Shadow Broker-like figure in my Mass Effect crossover Quarian's Wizard. However, in general, she's not exactly ruthless mad scientist material, if only because she has too many morals. Then again, I'm sure there's more than a few dark Hermione fics where she's basically that.

et-reader97: True, and I think Ethan allying with Heisenberg would have been interesting, but Heisenberg is still a pretty nasty piece of work. He still wanted to try and use Rose as a weapon against Miranda and didn't care about the villagers being wiped out, after all. But if Ethan had kept his cool and decided on an alliance of convenience, it could potentially have worked out.

thedarkpokemaster: Wow, really? They might be linking Lord Saddler to Miranda? Though in one regard, that doesn't actually surprise me. Resident Evil 4 and Village are similar in many ways, both in terms of tropes and certain character archetypes used. In addition, Resident Evil 4 used to be my firm favourite of the series until the PS4 games came out.

Owen: True enough, but honestly, I think Vlad Tepes was actually overly cruel, even for the time. But I know how beloved he is to the Romanians these days, so I at least try to carry that across whenever I discuss him in fics set in Romania, like this one, or Fate/Apocrypha crossovers, where Vlad Tepes is a key character.

1. Nikolai, of course, is referring to Wall Street and Gordon Gecko's infamous speech.