In which Joe gets the hysterics and eyes are opened, in more ways then one.

"…" "Joe…" "…" "… Joe, sweetheart, can…" "…"

"Joe! Rob, I'm getting worried…" "…" "Can you hear me, Joe? Please open your eyes."

Slowly, Joe's eyes fluttered open, automatically re-closing them at the sharp white light that shone straight into his eyes.
When he thought he could take it, he weakly tried to sit up and open them again.
His vision was still a bit blurry, but he could make out he was lying on some kind of table.
For a moment, he freaked out, remembering his dream, until he noticed that he was not half-naked, kind of warm and a soft hand was holding his.
He looked aside and straight into the worried big eyes of Dr. Misa, they looked almost exactly the same as in his dream, but this time, he felt relieved.
As was she.
"Joe! You're awake." A smile spread over her face as she quickly stood up from the stool besides the table and grabbed a cup from another table.

Joe tried to ignore the fact that there were all sorts of creepy knives and tools on said table. He wasn't going to flip out on Macy Misa just because she was a scientist.
Not even because she was a creepy scientist that made clones of his elder brother.

He accepted the cup of water with a sigh. Listening to Dr. Misa apologising while he drank. His throat was achingly dry.

"I'm very sorry, Joe. I shouldn't have shown you without any warning. I…"

"It's okay." Joe interrupted. "It's fine."

He felt strangely calm. Like he wasn't really talking with the doctor that made a clone of Kevin without his approval. He felt as if he was looking down on what was happening, rather then through his own eyes.

"Joe, you are in shock. Just lay down for a few seconds." Dr. Misa said, carefully taking the cup out of his hands.
For a second, he wondered why, until he noticed his hands were trembling.
Joe took a shaky breath, the oxygen made his head clear up when it reached his stomped brain, as well as the water reaching his stomach.
"You're lucky you were in a laboratory when you fainted, with a doctor nonetheless." Dr. Misa tried to joke, now softly rubbing his arms up and down. Unknowingly performing an act that always calmed Joe down. The word laboratory struck something in his memory. A large tube with a boy floating into it flashed before his eyes.

Slowly, he felt like reality was dawning upon him.
Things were not fine.

"You made a clone of my brother!" He suddenly accused, pulling away sharply from the warm hands and staring straight at the now empathising face of Dr. Misa.
It only angered him further, he hated it when people felt sorry for him, and especially in situations where he didn't wanted to be felt sorry for. Joe had always been perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

"Not a clone, Joe. A Humanoid." She corrected him softly.

"Well you made something out of his freaking DNA, which you took without asking and created some freaky copy of him!" Joe nearly screamed, jumping up from the table. Finally feeling the adrenaline pumping through his face as he frantically searched for an exit.

It was insane! Impossible. Things like this only happened in movies and Sci-Fi stories. Stuff like this couldn't be happening in Joe's average and perfectly nice life.
He didn't want to deal with this; he didn't want to know what was happening in this godforsaken laboratory.

They were creating some kind of fake human-beings? It just wasn't possible, it couldn't be.
He backed away from the outstretched hand of Dr. Misa, finally spotting a door.

"You're insane!" He yelled at her. He ignored the hurt on Macy's—Dr. Misa's! Face when he said that.

"Joe." She said. Slowly walking towards him with her palms raised, like he was some kind of dangerous animal. "You're in shock."

"Stay away from me!" Joe screamed. "And stay away from my brother! This is just impossible!" He raised his hands to his head, stumbling towards the door. The face of the robot-boy floating behind his eye-lids.
"Joe, I can't let you leave… I…"

"You're crazy!" He ignored her reach for him. He just burst through the door. Trying to erase the memory from his brain.

He couldn't help but notice the boys lips were slightly out of proportion. Just like Frankie's were.

No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

The sentence kept repeating inside of Joe's head as he ran through hallways he hadn't seen before. That thing wasn't related to Frankie, not to Kevin and most surely not to Joe. It was unnatural, it wasn't supposed to exist.

"Help me." He muttered "Somebody, anybody. Help!"

There was nobody. Nobody in the entire, damned (mind his French) building. Nobody to help him get away from the delusional woman. She couldn't seriously expect Joe to believe she had just built something that looked like a human. Technology wasn't that far yet, was it?
He burst through a random door. Just running.
Wouldn't Joe have heard of it? Wouldn't it be all over the news if they'd found out? Surely there would be people who would've loved to give their DNA and Joe would just be laughing with Kevin at the kitchen-table, instead of his bed in the hospital.
The boy in the tube— No, not a boy. That N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. thing in the tube was just the crazy imagination of Dr. Misa and her probably insane side-kick of a massive Rob.

Joe ran through another door and immediately stopped in his tracks. His panic reached a new high when he realised he was back in the laboratory.
Slamming it he slid down the door to the floor, his hand raised to muffle soft cries that released his lips.
His head tried desperately to wrap itself around what was Joe saw once again right before his eyes.
The floating thing in the glass-tube.

Only this time, it really did seem like a human, there were no more exposed pieces of metal. No more wires or strange lights that shouldn't be there. Nothing.
There was a boy floating in the tube. It's back towards Joe.

Suddenly, something furry and warm attacked Joe, startling him, but not for long.

Elvis softly licked Joe's wrists, as if to say: "you ok?" looking up at him with puppy-eyes.
"Not fine, Elv." Joe whispered, his eyes still locked on the thing in the tube, as if it were going to come to life. "Not fine."

Sitting there, the soothing presence of something familiar with him, in all silence and once again confronted with what was supposed to be impossible. Joe slowly calmed down.

As his hiccups submerged again, Joe slowly rose a bit, wrapping his arms around Elvis's neck. The dog's breath hitting the back of his neck as he hugged him; he just needed some somewhat human, or at least, living contact right now.
Joe had always been the one that needed touch the most, out of all his family-members. He loved hugging and casually touching, just to make sure the ones he loved were still there. His earliest memories were of touching people, memorising the way they felt and reacted to him.

"Thanks, Elvis." Joe slowly stood up, giving the dog one last stroke, before the golden retriever shook his fur and darted towards the tube.

Joe eyed him with caution. How could the dog be so comfortable?

The thing has Kevin's DNA. Shut up.

He really couldn't use his inner-voice right now.

Elvis looked back at him, as if questioning why Joe didn't come closer.
Joe huffed. Yeah right, as if.

But after a few minutes of stare-down and now that he was calmed down and thinking rationally again, Joe felt curiosity bubbling up within his chest.

Slowly, cautiously and more then once taking a step backwards, he edged closer to the tube until he was once again right in front of the creature.
Joe's eyes trailed over its face and he noticed it had freckles, or at least, a few, on its cheek.
It made a shudder run over his face. The little imperfection on the creature made it look so much more real.
The creature wasn't that much taller then Joe, probably smaller, even. Could it really be that bad? A clone… scratch that; Humanoid of his brother. It seemed so peaceful, so calm. So… non-threatening.

The silence around Joe, Elvis and the thing was almost complete and Joe felt more and more at ease.
The body just floated.

It's not even alive.

Somehow, this reassured Joe. It didn't live. Or at least resembled life. It just looked astonishingly much like a human.
Didn't computer-games do that? Didn't those strange new robots in Asia do that?
Maybe… Just maybe, this was kind of cool.

The thing didn't look that much like Kevin. Don't get him wrong, there were similarities. But it wasn't as bad as Joe'd initially thought.
As Dr. Misa had said. They might even be… kind of…

"Brothers." Whispered Joe, a little awe-struck.

Then, suddenly, without warning or any signal. It opened its eyes and it stared straight into Joe's

Joe's eyes widened, staring into familiar brown. Not his father's eyes, the ones Kevin had inherited, but his mother's. Almost the exact shade of Joe's.

How was that possible?

Joe and the boy –not a boy, the robot. The thing! — stared at each other. And suddenly, Joe felt this strange kind of affection.

Another shudder ran up his spine. It looked so small, within the tube. The lighting made it look so pale.
And the eyes, they stared at Joe, much like Elvis. Because it obviously couldn't speak.
To be honest, the boy—thing… it looked scared. Almost sad.

Joe felt the strange need to protect it.

Softly, Joe placed his hand against the glass, tilting his head to the side. Looking into the brown eyes of the pale body in the transparent fluid. He felt sorry for it. Locked up and probably unable to move.

What was he saying?

He sharply pulled his hand from the glass. Just minutes ago he had loathed the thing, now he was having sympatric feelings towards it?

Pff. If it really was something alike to the Lucas's, it wouldn't like that.
But it had looked so sad…
But it didn't have emotions; it was a machine… wasn't it?

A soft gasp finally tore Joe's eyes away from those of the boy.

He turned around, spotting Dr. Misa behind a stunned looking Rob, his hand stretched halfway towards Joe, like he was going to grab him. This was probably the case too.

"It... Its eyes are open. You woke it up!" Dr. Misa said. "Well done, Joe!"

"I didn't really mean to, Dr. Misa, I don't even know how." Joe muttered, reaching for Elvis.

Dr. Misa rushed around Rob and engulfed Joe in a hug, standing on her tiptoes to reach around his neck. She was really small.
"Please, just call me Macy. I feel so old when people call me Doctor." She whispered, giggling.
Joe couldn't help but laugh a bit too, though weakly.

"Listen, I'm really, really sorry, Joe. This is my entire fault." She began, but Joe once again interrupted her.
"I must say that most of this is your fault, sorry, but I was out of line too. I don't really think you are insane. Just a little bit crazy."

She smiled, probably glad that he was forming full sentences again.

"Can't deny that one." She stepped away from Joe, looking at the boy with eyes that reminded Joe of the way his mom looked at him.

"A little explanation could help though." He hinted.

Dr. Misa— Macy nodded and pointed towards the front of the room again. They walked past the big man Rob, who was still kind of stunned.
Elvis strangely stayed where he was beside the tube, though he glanced at Joe longingly. Joe couldn't say if he was pleased or taken back with that.

When Joe had once again settled on once again the same stool, his hands on his knees, Macy started.

"As you might remember. The first Humanoid of the N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. project back there was created out of Kevin's DNA." Macy eyed him, checking if he was going to freak again, after she said this, but Joe stayed silent (even though it still freaked him out) and she continued. "He is the first, as I said, in what is a plan to create surrogate-humans. It's governmental and completely legal, I can assure you. And I will make sure that the abuse of your brother, as I recall he was in a bad shape when you found him, will not be something my supervisors will soon forget." Macy grimaced in obvious anger, before she took a deep breath to continue. "Since you know way too much already and even though said supervisors haven't kept their promises either." She sounded seriously bitter, her brown eyes narrowed. "I decided I'll just tell you the whole ordeal. As I said yesterday, you deserve to know, even though you are way too curious for your own good." She winked, so Joe knew she was joking. "From experience, I know curiosity can only be tamed with knowledge. You'd find out one way or another, I'm sure." Joe blushed, because she was probably right.

"Human race has had problems over the centuries and when we were simple, those problems were simple too. But nowadays, now that every day, we proceed to jump forward, in technology, in knowledge. In basically everything, those problems have jumped forward too. People don't want to do their own dirty-work anymore. Escalated diseases take more lives everyday, sometimes taking those who try to cure it with them. That, and the fact that people want luxury and thus things that take care of them. The Humanoid-project was created to solve these problems. Humanoids, completely sterile, to cure those with contagious diseases. Surrogate-humans to do the work we find too hard or too dirty to do with ease, because they would have over-exaggerated human abilities."

She smiled and sighed, lovingly staring to the back of the room. "They are, of course, objects, meant for usage. I mean, think about it; butlers that do exactly as you ask. Bodyguards that can not be killed. The most efficient workers you've ever seen. The most skilled hands, programmed for success."

It did sound rather cool, when she put it like that.

"My grandfather was one of the first to enrol in the project, about ten years ago. He dedicated his last years to the project; it was his life, for what remained of it. He had a vision. Humanoids, created by the N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. project, helping people all over the world, there where our hands stopped, their hands would continue, steered by us. In his mind; in my mind, the Humanoids can change the world for the better."

Joe seemed to be glued to her lips by now, as he followed them when they told their story.

"He was an extraordinary smart man, my grandfather, gave up his well-deserved retirement for the project. Had done so many good things in his life with his extreme intelligence. They say I inherited his brain." She smiled again, standing up from her position to mindlessly walk through the lab, remembering. "I adored him, of course, as a baby; I was always playing around in his lab. He was the one that inspired my dream of becoming a scientist myself, he was the one that taught me everything I know and not just about the N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. project. He died trying to change the world, to help all those around him. And I'm continuing his work, I'm standing in his footprints, exploring further where he stood, completing his vision. And thanks to your brother's DNA, I could. I have created the first Humanoid of the N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. project. The first artificial human, Joe. I completed my grandfather's journey."

Macy's brown eyes stared at Joe, with joy. And Joe finally understood.
The boy, Humanoid, whatever in the tube wasn't dangerous. Not at all. It was created by this woman, in hopes to help. In the hopes to help the world a little.
And to be honest, Joe thought it kind of needed that.
Joe saw it in her eyes. She was completely honest. (As said before, Joe had a thing with honesty) She had none but good intensions.

"Okay." He said, startling Macy. "I get it now. It's good. You're definitely not crazy anymore."

That made her smile. Smile brightly.

"Thank you Joe." She whispered, once again hugging him.

The voice of big Rob (yeah, Joe referred to him as that now) interrupted them and Joe's little moment of realisation.

"Um… Dr. Macy?" apparently big Rob had found a middle way with the name. "The Humanoid just moved."

Joe felt Macy's eyes grow wide.

"The first humanoid of the N.I.C.H.O.L.A.S. project just moved?"

Joe pulled away from their hug and huffed. "Oh for gods' sake, just give it a name!" he told the woman, a little irritated.
He meant; it was partially human, wasn't it.

Macy was smiling hugely as she stared at him. "Of course, of course! A name. Oh gods, he just moved. A name."
Joe just might come back on the 'Macy being slightly crazy' thing. She wasn't exactly the most professional scientist he'd ever met. –not that he'd met that many, really—.
But he liked her. The joy on her face and the wild swing of her loosened brown hair made Joe smile.

"What should we call it?"

Joe thought about it for a second.

"Nick." He said. "That suits, doesn't it?"

Macy just smiled as they half-ran towards the back of the room. And indeed, there was the boy –Nick. His eyes open and his hand pressed against the glass, in the same spot Joe's had been earlier.

"Nick." Joe exhaled.

-at the same time. A few floors above-

"Are you sure?" the man behind the desk, his chair turned towards the window says. "He moved?"

The smaller figure, this time without the cloak nods. "Yes and his eyes opened for the young man. I don't see why Dr. Misa trusts him, but the Humanoid reacts to him."

The man in the chair turns around, his face still hidden in the shadows of his chair. "Didn't you say that he was related to the boy you drained the DNA from?"

Once again the small figure nods. "Yes, a sibling. Too curious for his own good and way too close to our case. But apparently, he could be of use."

"Yes, yes. That was what I was thinking. The Humanoid reacts to him you say?"

One more nod, before the young female stops moving altogether.

"Well, we've kept our secret from the doctor and her moron helper. We can handle a teenage boy, don't you think? And if not, you will have a new object of entertainment; now will you not, Penny?"
The blonde girl smiles. The smile doesn't reach her blue eyes. Her hands are folded over her skirt. She seems so innocent.

"Now, make sure our little nosy friend stays, will you darling? We shall see if he can be of use. Who knows, maybe he has some interesting secrets of himself…"

Penny nods one last time before she turns around. The man in the chair softly laughs. His Humanoid, just stories down, is growing. Steadily, the pieces to his plan are falling together. An added piece won't hurt the picture that much and it can be removed if necessary. Just like the doctor and her delusional ideas of 'helping the world'.
In this world people created, one had to make the world work for oneself. And with that Humanoid… Yes, his plan was definitely completing itself. One piece after another.

Who am I? Where am I? I should be doing something. Inhaling... A body needs oxygen to survive. But I am unable to. I can not move, though I am locked up in what is 3.298 times my body mass.
Where am I? Where are those brindle irises I registered previous? Their pupils were dilated. Indicating fright, maybe sadness.

I feel movement; I can sense them around me.
What do they want with me?

So, for those of you who still don't get it; Nick is the humanoid. Once again, my story is woven all around him.
Though this time in Joe's PoV, which is different for me. It makes Silver happy.
I am also very happy that the JONAS la episodes are finally airing. There are a lot of interesting characters that I can totes use for this story! Oh, those poor characters, they have no idea what they are into.
Well, at least chibiyugixyami hasn't gotten her hands on them yet. Emphasis on the 'yet'.
Oh and for the sake of it *cough* snowfallxo *cough* pretend that Joe and Nick have roughly the same eye-colour, yes?
I'd also like to thank Kelly White Peach Lover and YourDreamer138 for their awesome reviews thus far. I don't necessarily demand reviews, because reading itself is something I like to see you doing, but I do greatly appreciate the feedback.

Sorry that this is slightly shorter then the previous, babynoids, but I am busy with packing.
From the 24th, I will be happily (though a little remorsefully) camping for 2 whole weeks.
Without. Internet.
TORTURE.
But hopefully worth it because I please the ones I love… *sigh*
And I do apologise that I will not update in that time, but I will write, so expect an update soon after that.
I miss you already… *wipes away tear with Humanoid-claw*
yours truly,
~Silvereyed Angel.