First off, I cannot articulate how unbelievably sorry I am. I just got busy, and then my muse...kinda poofed for awhile.
It's so hard to find good help these days.
After leveling half the city, I sent Ravager off on some menial task while I stayed behind and tried to get some real work done. GRAY was still out there, and my sweet sister still has probably alerted me to them by now. Scanning the files laid out in front of me, I leaned back in the swivel chair and reached out to pat Matilda. The great beast let out a contented purr and nuzzled my hand.
It occurred to me, more than once, that I'd need some help if I was going to succeed. Other GRAY experiments would be ideal, but all my research suggested that I was the only human subject. A genetically altered orangutan would be fun, but ultimately counterproductive. Cadmus's Project Kr was too heavily influenced by Robin and his crew to be of any use.
Speaking of Robin...
"Matilda, be a peach and go guard bird boy's door, hm?" I smiled. She looked up at me with a sort of glare and lumbered off. Sighing, I made a mental note to give her something extra special for dinner and turned back to my work.
I wanted someone young, preferably of average-to-low intelligence. Cameron Mahkent came readily to mind, but he's far to loyal to his father. The file of a girl, around thirteen or so that led and protected a small gang of orphans. The corny name was a bit irksome, but the promise of soldiers was very appealing. I'd definitely have to keep her in mind.
But for now, I needed raw muscle. Brainless. Someone who was completely, totally, loyal to me.
Two hours later, I was standing inside a lab peering intently into a foggy Cadmus pod. "And you're sure that little doohickey of yours can control him?"
The girl beside me nervously twirled her cane with the Q-shaped tip. "Quite sure, Miss Mallory."
"Electrolyte." I corrected patiently, eyes never leaving the pod. "He's quite a looker. Completely feral, you say?"
"Yep." She eagerly nodded her frizzy red head.
"Fascinating." I murmured, laying my hand against the glass. "Get to work, then."
She hesitated. "What about my pay?"
"You'll get paid when I have my soldier."
"But..."
"Now, Enigma." I snarled. That was enough to get her going. A pity, really. I'd hoped I could make to transaction without any fuss. Too bad she had to be difficult. Slowly, shakily, she opened the pod. When the smoke cleared, Match blinked his eyes and stumbled out. "Match?" I murmured. When I got no response, I cleared my throat and said louder. "Match, can you hear me?"
He glanced over at me, eyes blank and lifeless. "He can't talk." Enigma breathed, shuffling away from me as if expecting another explosive response.
"Really?" I grinned. "That's perfect. What does he eat?"
"He's human, 'lyte. Just tell him to chow down, and he will."
"Fantastic." I patted Enigma on the back. "The sum we agreed on will be delivered to your place of residence sometime within the week. You may go."
She looked startled. "But...But I thought..."
"If I wanted a partnership, I would've asked already." I hissed. "You. May. Go." Frightened, Enigma clutched her cane to her chest and darted from the room. I snorted. The girl was infuriating, but she did give me exactly what she promised. I'd have to keep her number, just in case. At least I could count on the fact that she was absolutely terrified of me.
No matter. Time to test out my new toy. "Match." I spoke calmly, clearly. "I am going to give you the coordinates to a GRAY facility." What I suspected to be one, anyway. It was a Cadmus lab, so even if I was wrong I'd still make a dent in my enemies' armor. "I want you to go there and destroy it. Collect info. You may kill one or two scientists there, to set an example. But if you find a Rebecca Mallory, bring her to me. Do you understand?"
A brief hesitation, and then Match nodded slowly.
"Excellent. Well, get to it."
...
Match did even better than I could've dreamed. Not only did he level the place, he did so without being seen once. The data he collected gave me almost definite locations to every single GRAY facility in America. Not that there weren't any in other countries, I was almost sure they had an especially large base in Tokyo and/or Beijing.
Satisfied, I leaned back and watched Ravager attempt to coax Match into eating something without much luck. It was entertaining to watch, at any rate. After an hour, Ravager finally gave up and tossed the rest of the food to Matilda.
"So what's next?"
"We wait." I replied, putting my feet up. GRAY would try again, most likely. Hopefully it'd be with an older subject, but my plan could be put off for a few years. There was the matter of taking care of it, of course. I'd need to find a suitable nanny. If I couldn't, I suppose I could try to see if my motherly instincts would ever kick in.
Ravager sputtered. I chose to ignore her. Instead, I took to watching Match. The clone's silence was refreshing, as well as unnerving. He rarely even did as much as blink. I felt a stab of pity for him. He was an innocent, after all.
I shook my head to clear it. "Every war requires a few sacrifices." I murmured to myself.
"Hm?" Ravager glanced up.
"Nothing." I steadied her with a look. "What are you doing, exactly?"
She shrugged. "Just tinkering with something I took off Robin. It's really quite interesting."
I stood up and moved to her side, taking the object from her hands. It was one of his smoke bombs, deactivated. I rolled it around in my palm before laying it back down.
"Did Matilda give Robin his dinner?"
"She tried." Ravager looked down. "He wouldn't eat. She knocked him out again."
I rolled my eyes. "As soon as I don't need him anymore, I'll be glad to be rid of him. Now..." My scowl twisted up into a grin. "Now, I'm going to go play with some of the stuff Match brought me. You're welcome to join." I turned on my heel and walked away, giggling. Ravager followed me reluctantly, maintaining a safe distance. So antsy anymore, that one.
While Ravager toyed with the beakers and vials, I grabbed a sheaf of papers and started leafing through them. A bunch of boring stuff and figures that made my head swim. I skimmed over most of it, ignoring the unimportant things. "Interesting." I mused, setting the folder down. "Very interesting. That should be impossible."
"Hm?"
"Time travel, Ravager." I pointed. "The files I've been looking at have all mentioned building...something that could actually take you to a different time. Imagine the possibilities!"
"You'd probably create a rip in the time space continuum and kill us all."
"Negative Nancy." I sniffed. "Just think, I could visit the Aztecs...Or maybe collect some antique junk to sell to nerds over the internet.."
"Time space continuum, Quinn."
"Winning lottery numbers?"
"...Okay, maybe." Ravager conceded. "But I still think..."
"Success!" I pumped my fists into the air.
"Quinn, I just..."
"Hush, you'll ruin it." I smiled, jumping a little when my phone started buzzing. I pulled it out of my pocket and pulled it to my ear, stuffing a finger into my other ear to stifle the sound. "'Ello?" I listened for a few minutes, then grinned.
"Get the posse rounded up, Rav. We're going on a road trip."
Alright, I know its short but I needed to get something down before my muse skittered off again. Maybe now everything will flow a little better. As always, suggestions as to where to take it from here are welcome. :3