SCP-1428 – "Cortexichildren"
Chapter 24: In Which We Meet the Scarred Man
Disclaimers: When I began writing Cortexichildren, SCP-1428 was vacant. It is no longer vacant, but I have no intentions of publishing this on the wiki. This is mainly a crossover fic, not a SCP event log that will go on the site.
Forever reminder that I do not own anything. Fringe belongs to J.J. & co. Each SCP belongs to their respective individual author. The SCP universe belongs to that collective on that site. I do not own anything. I am a fan.
Forever reminder of how I handle alt!characters: Over There: Bob. Over Somewhere Else: Bob.
Author's Notes: I originally wanted a lot of this chapter to be included in the last one, but it was running way too damn long. So this was sort of a change in game plan. It's ultimately better this way, however, because then THIS chapter got really fucking long. Lol what was I thinking.
GO READ THE ETHICS COMMITTEE ORIENTATION CUZ THAT'S WHERE THAT ONE EXCERPT IS FROM.
ONE OF OUR BOYS SHOWS UP THIS CHAPTER. I mean the chapter name is rather obvious. I mean the hint I give you from the first damn chapter is pretty dang obvious. Yeesh.
Thaumiel
Thaumiel-class objects are highly classified and extremely rare anomalies that are utilized by the Foundation to contain or counteract the effects of other highly dangerous anomalies, especially Keter-class objects. Even the mere existence of Thaumiel-class objects is classified at the highest levels of the Foundation and their locations, functions, and current status are known to few Foundation personnel outside of the O5 Council.
The 'P' stands for 'Protect'. The Foundation protects humanity from SCPs, and we protect the Foundation from itself. We judge what is and is not acceptable for the Foundation to do. We balance evils so that on the whole, and in the long run, evil is minimized.
She was fortunate that the rest of the Committee couldn't see her. She was shaking, every bit of her. Her teeth clattered, her nails tapped, her stomach contracted. This isn't what she had expected. After she was sworn in [more like interrogated], she was thrown into the deep end with the sharks. There were no "easy" cases to work her way in, like when she had first started at the Foundation. There were no menial tasks for newbies. She attended twelve hearings her first day. And she had to make… a plethora of difficult decisions. After her first day, she spent the rest of her evening vomiting out her insides. In disgust.
They had selected her because she was a strong individual, with a strong moral compass. She was the ideal elite. She had showcased character the Ethics Committee could trust, but now… she wasn't so sure. She didn't know that she had the ability to make… "those" decisions.
She wished they had selected her for the field team instead. She wished she could be like her other freer colleagues – the Observers. The faux doctors researching not the SCPs, but the people working on them. But again, her "extraordinary" character deserved a higher calling. She was chosen to be one of the officials of the Committee staff. There had been an opening. Dr. Takahashi didn't care to ask why.
After a while… she had gotten used to the hearings. She liked being in control. She liked that she was part of a team dedicated to keeping the Foundation not only functional, but just. She started to rationalize that it was better that she made the decisions, rather than some old functionalist prick lacking perspective. But this case was different. This case had her questioning her "extraordinary" character.
She was fortunate that the rest of the Committee couldn't see her. When Dr. Montgomery had approached her for advice, she didn't sugar coat it – a trait admired and encouraged by the Committee. She had told Dr. Montgomery to do whatever was necessary. Because their imprisonment here was an injustice. What had occurred here was unacceptable.
But now it was the Cortexichildren hearing. She would be responsible for deciding their fates. She wanted to faint. And in all honesty, she considered poisoning herself with one of the substances a friend was working on in Area-12. But she couldn't.
Her heart beat loudly in her ears. She could barely take in any breath; she could barely hear the other members on the selected panel.
"90 deaths. 90 deaths directly or indirectly caused by SCP-1428 over the course of five months."
"Along with seven gross violations of protocol. Dr. Winters and Dr. Hendricks were responsible for many of these violations. Dr. Winters was terminated; Dr. Hendricks was rehabilitated and is now pursuing new research under heavy surveillance."
It had taken a while to get used to the system the Ethics Committee operated in. Each high member of the Committee, when it was time for their hearings, walked into a small room. This room, barely bigger than a janitorial closet, was digitized. Each wall was really an interactable screen. Information vital to the hearing was projected on all sides, as well as on the table the member sat at. And while the room was interactable, they did not interact with each other. They only heard each other's voices. They saw no outlines of any other member's bodies, no blurred out faces, no pixelated projections of any kind. Nothing. Voices only.
And when it came time for Dr. Takahashi to speak, her voice shook royally. "So much has been lost."
"Speak up, please. I think I'm getting interference."
She bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. She knew that any higher power had abandoned her by selecting her for this job. But in any event, she hoped that… she would survive this. In more ways than one.
She started again. "So much has been lost. Some of my friends… were killed as a result of SCP-1428-1's empathic nature. Others were killed during SCP-1428-2's initial breach. Others still as collateral damage during SCP-682 and SCP-1428-2's second meeting." She looked down at her hands. She knew more than her colleagues. She knew about Dr. Montgomery; she knew about Dr. Bishop. She had promised them information about this day. She had promised them security if they needed it. But now… she was a member of the Ethics Committee. Her life was dedicated to ethics, to truth, to justice. What was justice? How could she be an acting member with so much conflict going through her mind? "Too many… good people." She knew that some of them were in fact not good people. Some of them had directly antagonized Nick and Olivia; some of them had put their Foundation in peril. Some of this information was known; some of it was not. And the knot in her stomach tensed with her guilt.
She was fortunate the rest of the Committee couldn't see her. Dr. Takahashi switched off her audio feed and dry heaved three times. Her shaking continued.
"I too lost many colleagues – people I have known since I was first employed."
"90 is too much. And looking through many of the Transcribed Overseer Assemblies… there has been great instability, immaturity, inefficiency, and indecisiveness. I was troubled by how easily Assemblies could devolve into name-calling and, please excuse my bluntness, dick-measuring by elected officials."
Dr. Takahashi laughed at that. It was the truth. They had all been selected because of their dedication to the truth. And now… her moment of reckoning was upon her. And in that moment, she knew what she had to do. To protect everyone – her most important directive here on this Committee.
She was relieved that the rest of the Committee couldn't see her. She finally understood what Dr. Bishop meant by "anonymity will be your only ally here." She finally understood what the white tulip pin had meant. This was her chance to give the Foundation a new start – a fresh start.
"There are personnel in the Foundation…" She sighed heavily. "Let me start again. There are many personnel in this Foundation that can be saved – from their decisions and from their fates."
"What transpired with Dr. Hendricks is only the first stage." Someone else understood what needed to be done. "What must be implemented… must occur on the grand stage."
"This event… is it enough to warrant such a refresh?"
"Yes. After the refresh, we will be directly in charge of SCP-1428 and the future of the Cortexichildren project. There will be no more Overseer Assemblies. There will be no more Interviews. The current, but not favorable, Overseer ruling of suspended animation will stand, indefinitely. Lives will be spared. Families will be maintained. Protocols will be protocols, never to be broken."
Dr. Takahashi's hands shook again. She turned off her mike and put her head in those shaking hands. "I'm so sorry, Brenda. I'm so sorry. But it needs to be this way. It needs to. It's the only way."
She was fortunate that the rest of the Committee couldn't see her. She was crying.
Executive Order Certus Finis:
The Ethics Committee rules for the activation of [DATA EXPUNDGED]. After such activation, the SCP-1428 hosts, and any subsequent host found therein, are to be placed in suspended animation and transferred to Armed Biological Containment Area-██ , where they will be held indefinitely. Contact with SCP-1428 shall herein be forbidden indefinitely. Those coming into contact with SCP-1428 will be decommissioned, or held with the SCP-1428 hosts if there are signs of empathic corruption.
SCP-1428 will thereby be reclassified as Thaumiel, with each host also sharing this status. All knowledge of SCP-1428 prior to reclassification will be subjected to [DATA EXPUNGED].
Obstruction of Executive Order Certus Finis will be met with the highest punishment.
[[ LEVEL 5 CLEARANCE EYES ONLY ]]
Transcribed Overseer Assembly 01428-2-XB29-Ultra:
O5-6 : You have all read Executive Order Certus Finis. … What say all of you?
O5-5 : Is this… is this really necessary? I agree with the majority of it. I've advocated much of this from the very beginning. But… the activation… is this really necessary?
O5-10 : I thought that we had the final say on the matter. We oversee – that is our title. I can't accept this.
O5-4 : You have to. And we have to admit… how grave this situation got.
O5-11 : I'm actually thankful that we have this luxury. I'm thankful that this matter is being taken from us. We have to admit that we did NOT make the best decisions.
O5-8 : In our defense… if we could have only had more time. But actually, no. I can't defend this. The fact that they had to step in is proof that we cannot be excused.
O5-5 : My main question is that… will we be affected by the activation?
O5-2 : Yes. And for some of us, it will be all for the best.
O5-10 : And for others?
O5-3 : It is for the best regardless.
…
O5-2 : I would like to raise a new issue.
O5-6 : Proceed.
O5-2 : The nomination of a new O5-13.
O5-7 : After today… do you really think this is the best time to discuss candidates?
O5-2 : Yes. There is no better time than now. After the activation, our new candidate will be O5-13. And will remain O5-13. Their previous records will no longer exist. They will have always been O5-13.
O5-3 : I agree. This is the opportune time.
O5-6 : Shall we proceed with candidates?
O5-8 : This normally takes months to process, but you speak with confidence. As if you already have a certain candidate, or candidates, set in your mind.
O5-2 : Correct. Dr. Kwon.
O5-11 : After the mistakes that he made toward SCP-1428 you want him to be the newest acting Overseer?
O5-4 : I can't believe this. Dr. Kwon put the Foundation in jeopardy when he severed the bond between the two hosts. And he has operated with hubris from the-
O5-5 : Might I remind you that we gave him permission to separate the hosts.
O5-4 : That is valid. But he is one of the men who needs the activation – or is that your selling point for him?
O5-2 : Dr. Kwon's drive shown toward the Cortexiphan project is unparalleled. Yes, he made mistakes – many, in fact. But all of us made mistakes. I argue that we must look beyond them –
O5-4 : I am utterly unable to do so.
O5-9 : I'm not sure O5-2 means what you think. He is urging us not to disregard the ethics, but placing Dr. Kwon's actions in another context. We are all to blame. Our collective guilt has already been accounted for. We must now look at Dr. Kwon's qualifications within the Foundation. This includes projects beyond SCP-1428 and the decisions he has made accordingly.
O5-12 : Despite his young age, he has been the head of three different projects. This is a feat that shouldn't be taken lightly.
O5-11 : But his track record has been far from perfect.
O5-3 : I would argue that your own record was much more debatable.
O5-11 : I beg your pardon? I usually expect such quips from O5-4, O5-5, and O5-10 – usually to each other.
O5-10 : No offense taken.
O5-3 : I, likewise, did not mean to offend with my comment. I was simply pointing out your own background.
O5-11 : I can recall that you were not in favor of my arrival.
O5-3 : And yet you're still here.
O5-6 : Can we continue with the matters at hand?
O5-2 : In Dr. Kwon's research, once Dr. Hendricks was taken out of the equation, he created samples and a working plan for drug trials, in a remarkably short span of time.
O5-7 : Of course, unfortunately, this progress will be null and void after the activation.
O5-2 : Unfortunately, yes. And I realize how inexperienced he is. This is his third year of working at the Foundation. But in him… I sense a drive, a drive that I once had when I first started here as a doctor. He will not stop until he achieves this goal.
O5-11 : I would still prefer more seasoning on him. Even I had more than three years under my belt. Even you. I recognize that he has potential, but I can't at this current time.
O5-4 : And I can't, knowing how unprofessional his rivalry with Dr. Hendricks became.
O5-8 : I recall that being much more one-sided, with Dr. Hendricks' paranoia getting the better of him.
O5-10 : Made worse by his exposure to SCP-1428-1, a factor I wish we would have known before this. And perhaps… why I, too, am beginning to embrace the activation.
O5-9 : I can't help but come to his cause. I'll be frank with you all: this council is aging. Many of us… have served here for many a decade. The disappearance of O5-13 – the disappearance of any one of us, from natural or suspicious causes, is inevitable. We have dragged our feet on the O5-13 for too long.
O5-12 : We've gone eight months without O5-13. Years ago, that position would have been replaced in two at most. I feel that we are comfortable with our current hierarchy. But the Overseer staff should not maintain current dynamics of power; we need fresh blood – a fresher perspective. Perhaps, with the youth that Dr. Kwon provides, other younger council members – like O5-5 and O5-10 – can be heard.
O5-5's positions corresponded with the Ethics Committee and yet… we ignored them. We trudged on. We fought. What has happened is disgraceful.
O5-8 : I'm thankful that the Ethics Committee hasn't ruled to remove any of us. Some of us… have created quite compelling cases for ourselves.
O5-6 : Before we become too entrenched with Dr. Kwon, are there any other personnel we wish to discuss?
Transcribed Overseer Assembly 01428-2-XB35-Kappa:
O5-1 : We shall now proceed with the election of Overseer Member 13. All those in favor of adding Doctor Jung Kwon to the ranks shall respond with 'yea.' All those not in favor shall respond with 'nay.' We shall start with the second member and end with the twelfth.
O5-2 : Yea.
O5-3 : Nay.
O5-4 : Nay.
O5-5 : Yea.
O5-6 : Nay.
O5-7 : Yea.
O5-8 : Yea.
O5-9 : Yea.
O5-10 : Nay.
O5-11 : Nay.
O5-1 : The results are tied. The final and deciding vote shall be cast by Overseer Member 12.
O5-12 : Yea.
O5-1 : The yeas have it. After the activation, estimated time 36 hours from now, Doctor Jung Kwon will be, as he was and will remain, O5-13. Subsequently, SCP-1428-1 and SCP-1428-2 are to be transferred to their new containment facility at 17:00 hours. This assembly is adjourned.
"I'm done. How soon can you be here?"
He didn't receive a response.
"Dr. Bishop? What are you doing here? Why..." Dr. Montgomery's faced turned pale. "Why are there so many task force members behind you?"
"There's no time to explain. We need to get to Olivia before the others do."
"Why? And what others?"
"They're about to be transferred."
Dr. Montgomery reached for her coat. "But I didn't see anything in the-"
"It hasn't been added yet. Hurry." He took her arm rather forcefully and yanked her out of the room.
"Walter! How are we getting there? How is this going to work? Who are these people?"
"Just run. I'll explain to you and Olivia at the same time. I'll patch in to them quickly soon."
Olivia looked down at her cracked hands and sighed. She still didn't like this "plan" of theirs, but it was better than nothing. She had to stay calm, even though… her mind couldn't help but wander to all the little holes.
Nick and Olivia were scheduled for transport. Dr. Bishop had confirmed that. But instead of the assigned task force, Dr. Bishop had issued his own. Seemingly every stage of the process was covered by Dr. Bishop and his operatives – discernible by their white tulip patches on the left shoulders. Olivia had smiled when Dr. Bishop had shared this detail. Even though it meant something entirely different to her Walter, or at least a version of Walter, it was nice to see a familiar symbol. She almost let it reinforce the hope… that she was finally getting out.
But something… something didn't sit well with her. She had trust in the abilities of the White Tulip operatives. She had trust in Dr. Bishop's contacts, down to the transportation that would smuggle them to their new "site." She had trust in the weapons they would be provided. She had trust in their loyalty. And yet…
She couldn't help but feel that something would go wrong – horribly wrong. She had attempted escape before, and it had been immediately shut down. And conditions in the Foundation had been made exponentially worse. With more people involved, she felt it was too big to fail. Too many people were caught in the mix. Besides Dr. Bishop and Dr. Montgomery, there were the six or more operatives directly with them, and who knew how many more. She didn't want more blood on her hands, on either side, but especially these men sacrificing everything. And even if they succeeded, where would they go? With Walter to his new Foundation? But until he founded it, what then? Would they be safe outside the facility? The Foundation had hunted them down and neither she nor Nick had sensed their presence. She felt so uneasy about the entire operation.
But Nick was strong. He was nervous, but a healthy nervous. It was as if they had switched positions. He was the one with the drive to get out, while she was drowning in what-ifs and we can'ts. Olivia thought the task was impossible, that they were doomed to fail from the start, but Nick… Nick was so confident in them and in himself. Olivia couldn't help but smile. He truly had made lasting progress. He seemed so much calmer, as if the demons had receded inside of him for good.
She put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey."
"Hey, Olive?" He looked at her quizzically. "Is something wrong?"
"I just want you to know… how proud I am of you. This… this would be hard on anyone, but you've… you've had a tough time." She cleared her throat. She felt rather out of place giving this heart-to-heart. And she felt rather ashamed of it, given how intimate they were with their souls being bonded together or whatever it actually was. Even after all this, she couldn't fully open up to him. She was disgusting. "I know you don't like to talk about the voices… I have them too, sometimes. Not as severely as you, but sometimes. And I'm so happy that – well I can't help but feel that they're not going to be a problem for you anymore."
Nick practically pounced at her. But the pounce was a hug, and it was strong and heartfelt. Nick wrapped his arms tight around Olivia's bonier frame. "Thank you so much, Olive." His voice was thick in his throat. "I couldn't do any of this without you. Honest. Just… thank you so much."
Olivia hugged him back. And she couldn't help but rock the two of them back and forth. "I couldn't do this without you, either, Nick."
Maybe they would get out this time. Just maybe.
Walter said the unit would contact them, right? When they were closing in on their location? Olivia guessed that an hour had passed. She didn't know where they were coming from, but… but she feared they were taking too long.
No. Something wasn't right. It had been far too long. Something had happened. Or more accurately, something was happening. The hairs on Olivia's neck stood on end. This felt all too familiar.
That sensation, that "feeling" was back. The last time she felt it, she was closing in on Nick in the park. In that moment, she knew that something was going to happen. Something important. In that moment, she swore it was David Robert Jones' doing. She had been wrong then, but was she wrong now? She was absolutely certain, with every fiber of her being, that something was wrong. That they were in danger. That the plan had failed and now they had to fend for themselves.
Olivia was about to ask Nick what he thought of the situation when an explosion shook their cell. Olivia and Nick dropped down to the floor. Nick crouched over Olivia, shielding her from the debris flying around them. Olivia peeked over Nick's arm and gasped. There was a gaping hole in their cell. And beyond it, she heard more gunshots, footfalls, and screams.
"Is… is it them?" Nick asked. He brushed himself off and helped Olivia to her feet.
"No. I don't think so."
What was happening? Was the White Tulip squad losing? How many of them were there? Had Dr. Bishop pushed for an all-out war? Was this how they were getting out of there? Olivia's head spun with questions, but she didn't have any time to assess them. They had to move – now. They weren't safe sitting in their holding cell, waiting for one group or the other to take them away. They would have to breach themselves, just like last time.
She turned to Nick and took in a deep breath. "Are you ready? We only have one shot at this. And I'm not getting caught again."
Nick nodded. "I'm ready." He finally was.
Nick and Olivia were dodging explosions right and left. The weapons in this universe certainly were more powerful. They kept their eyes peeled for white tulips, but everyone so far was from the Foundation.
Olivia hated being right. She wanted to have faith in the plan. She wanted this all to unfold so perfectly. She imagined it now: the White Tulip operatives escorting them out of the facility, business as usual, and into an armored truck or a helicopter or whatever the Foundation used. And from there, they could be dropped off in the middle of nowhere – an abandoned field or parking lot, maybe. Perhaps Walter had stolen the Cortexiphan samples Dr. Kwon had created. Maybe he dosed them before leaving with Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Warren, safe from the Foundation's wrath. Then, she and Nick would cross over, holding hands and concentrating on the light. And then… Peter, Walter, home.
But that wasn't meant to be. The "plan" wasn't even a plan in the first place; it was a pipe dream. And she was happy neither of them had fully invested their hope in it.
Nick nearly tripped on the bodies in front of them. They had weapons – fully loaded. They looked quite similar to the guns from the Other Side. Olivia made a test shot at a poster with that despicable logo on it. She was thankful for the find.
The two of them were much better off now. Olivia and Nick shot anything with a visor, and there happened to be a lot of them – way more than she remembered the Foundation carrying. Even when they had escorted her to SCP-682, and had more agents than she could count hanging from the rafters, or staged on the upper deck. But she didn't have time to think.
Nick and Olivia were passing what appeared to be office rooms. Rooms full of row after row of computers, filing cabinets, and scattered documents. Personnel in lab coats had been shot, left at their stations to bleed out over their monitors. Olivia couldn't help but shiver. Perhaps some, but not all, didn't deserve that fate.
One of the office rooms had an upstairs area. Olivia and Nick climbed the stairs, hoping to get a better vantage point. Just when they had finished scaling the stairs, the automatic door opened. The two of them dropped to the ground.
Olivia's heart beat rapidly in her chest. She motioned to the small office room right next to them with her gun. The two of them carefully crawled. Olivia gritted her teeth when her gun made several small scraping noises against the white tile. And when they made it into the room, surrounded by cabinets on almost all sides, she let out a frustrated huff instead of a sigh of relief. They were blind in here. She might have presented them both to those operatives on a silver platter.
Olivia turned to Nick, who was leaning up against a cabinet right beside her. He was still holding it together. His eyes weren't glazed over in panic. They were intense; the clearest blue she had ever seen. She couldn't help but smile again. 'You're doing great, Nick. Let's stay here for a while until they leave.'
'Agreed, Olive.' He gave her a nod for added confirmation. And a smile to match hers.
If their lives weren't directly in danger, she might have enjoyed this moment alone with Nick. She imagined their time in Jacksonville was like this, running away from aides and giggling in a closet, holding hands and speaking telepathically. She wished she could remember those good times, along with the bad. When they got out of here, she wanted to hear it all. She was ready to hear it. And Nick was finally at a point in his recovery to tell it. Her mind raced back to the few attempts they had in their cell, surrounded by the flood of orange gas, and shivered. Never again.
Olivia was about to peek her head out when she heard a voice that brought shivers to her spine.
"Keep looking. We don't leave without them."
She could have vomited on the spot. Could it be… could it be really him? She looked to Nick, as if he knew the answer. Little did she know, he did.
Nick Lane knew that it wasn't the man who had taken him under his wing. Who activated him and provided him the preliminary training he needed – the training that had saved his life multiple times here in the Foundation. There were doubles of Dr. Bishop, Dr. Warren, and that Agent Charlie here; this too was another double – or a triple, really. But he was surprised, more so than Olivia. But unlike Olivia, when she had met that Agent Charlie, he was not excited or overcome with any positive emotion. Agent Charlie, even the one in this universe, was still a colleague, a friend, a mentor to be trusted. He knew they could not trust the man they heard. And he knew that man had come for them, just the same as the SCP Foundation had. They were merely weapons for them. He would rather die than be taken captive again. He would do them both if it came to that. It would be hard, turning on his one and only Olive… but he couldn't bear to see her face in pain again.
This new development placed him in a rather peculiar position. Here he was: the calm and collected one, still breathing evenly, still confident in his abilities; and here she was: the one with the glossed-over eyes, huddled in a ball, struggling to breathe.
Olivia couldn't help but be terrified as her thoughts raced to the absolute worst case scenario – that David Robert Jones had crossed universes to abduct them; that David Robert Jones had the technology to discern universe from universe, to pinpoint their location anywhere; that David Robert Jones would win the war between all of the universes. Her heart skipped several beats; the grip on her gun loosened. 'Not him. Not him.'
"Well? Let's keep moving along."
Olivia heard the automatic door close. She counted to a thousand. She figured it was enough. She turned to Nick and nodded her head. She got up and waddled to the doorway, still crouched low to the ground.
But someone was there, waiting. Before she could spin around and shoot, she was stunned; the all-too-familiar electrical violation filling her body; Nick's all-too-familiar screams filling her ears as she hit the floor. Before the darkness closed in on her, she let out a defeated groan. 'Not. Again. Damnit.'
There were only four of them now. His partner, Agent Ripley, had lost their helmet in the many fights, and was sporting a rather nasty cut right along their left cheekbone. Dr. Bishop was standing in a corner, looking down at his hands, repeating, "I… I never meant for it to be this way," over and over again. Dr. Montgomery was rocking in a corner, pale as a sheet, humming to herself.
Agent Upshur sighed and lit a cigarette. When he had been approached by this previous Overseer and this stubborn doctor, he assumed they knew what they were getting into. He exhaled and closed his eyes, thinking about that day. He was a security guard then, but he had never been an average guard, endlessly watching employees roll in and out. He had always been Agent Upshur. And he had always had white tulip pins in his pockets.
He and his squad knew this day would come – when someone with a plan would call upon their aid to shake up the Foundation. When someone finally had the nerve to set things straight and demand for something better. But he didn't know it would come from the blubbering messes in front of them. He took another inhale of the cigarette and opened his eyes. Perhaps it was to be expected. These were doctors; they never had to really face the monsters contained there. But was he wrong to expect better of them? They had spoken so tenaciously to him before, but they were so quick to unravel. Perhaps he was a little too heartless, too unrealistic.
Agent Upshur put out the cigarette with the heel of his boot. "We need to get going." It didn't wake anyone out of their daze, save for his partner. He tried again. "We need to get going, Dr. Bishop."
He didn't expect Dr. Montgomery to answer him. "We… we can't leave them. They're still in there somewhere."
He shook his head. "We can't. It's too dangerous."
Dr. Montgomery stood up and snapped, "WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE THEM THERE! This was a rescue mission; we were supposed to save them! And you're telling me we're just going to leave them BEHIND?"
Dr. Bishop mumbled a response, still facing the corner, "Yes."
"I can't believe you! I can't believe any of you!" Dr. Montgomery paced in circles. "They are still inside this facility! We can get to them! We-"
"No." Agent Upshur's tone could have frozen flowing magma. "I need to get you all out of here."
"I refuse to leave!"
Agent Upshur's lip twitched. "Are you insane? You're not safe here anymore. They'll trace all of this back to you – back to all of us. You've reached the point of no return, sweetheart."
"Don't you dare call me sweetheart! There's still a lot we can do before we leave." She walked toward him and puffed out her chest.
"You can do much more outside the Foundation, at this point. We need to leave NOW."
"N-"
Agent Upshur resisted the urge to slap her. He settled with tightly gripping her shoulders instead. "Wake up! We need to leave! The Chaos Insurgency is here. You will die here. You think you're abandoning Nick and Olivia, but they have a much better shot at making it out of here alive than you. You don't have their abilities. There are only four of us left, and not a lot of weapons to go around. You need to move or you will die. And you can't do any good for Olivia or Nick when you're dead." He handed her a pistol and hoped to God that she knew how to use it. "My new directive is protecting you both and your vision."
Dr. Montgomery bit her lip. "I… I can't leave them. I've already failed once. They don't belong here."
Agent Upshur shook his head. "You can't dwell on that now. They can handle themselves. You've done enough."
"If I could just…"
Dr. Bishop turned around from his corner. "No, Brenda. There's no more we can do now."
Agent Upshur stared her right in the eye. "Take one good final look. You are never coming back. Never again."
"All remaining operatives report to Gate F. We have acquired the assets. We are standing-by for evac."
Olivia's eyes snapped open and she sprung to her feet. 'Nick? Nick, where are you?' She looked to the side. Nick was still on the ground, unconscious. 'Shit.'
"Ah, so our future has awoken." Every version of this man had that… quietly sinister voice. It was so off-putting because at first listen, it was delicate. He spoke almost in whispers; he was almost charming. But underneath was a truly sinister man. One that liked to toy with her, but making it seem like affection. This Jones from the new timeline was a lot more scarred. Perhaps his teleportation device took the same toll on him as the David Robert Jones she remembered. It wasn't bad enough to warrant body bandaging and whatever other extensive treatment, but his skin was far from "normal." This confused her more than anything. The device she remembered had taken him from one building to another location in the same universe; this had been universal travel. Perhaps this "new" Jones was smarter.
She decided to test the waters, to buy some time for Nick to get up. He would be able to take them all down in one shot, covertly. All she had to do was talk. "I know who you are." Olivia wondered if she could catch this man off guard. He was quite similar to the Jones she had faced, commanding and in command. And obviously he wasn't with the Foundation. Perhaps she could coax get him to disclose some things. Perhaps she could coax him into making a mistake. Her Jones was rather fond of her. Perhaps she could forge a similar memorable impression.
"Oh do you?" He smirked. "What gave me away, SCP-1428-2. Or should I say, Olivia?"
Olivia smirked back. He still had that same fondness in his eyes for her. She could do this. The Jones she knew liked when she got feisty. It showed the fire in her, the power in her. He liked that fighting spirit. He wanted it for his own agenda. And this Jones was no different. She was his constant through any timeline or universe. "I know you because I've met you before. Of course you don't remember, but I do." She would have walked toward him, but from the corners of her eyes she saw a multitude of guns aimed at her. She put her hands up, reassuring them that she could do no harm. Even though her words were implying otherwise. "I've beaten you before and I can do it again."
"Oh really?" His smirk turned into a smile. "Is this that 'sight' that this Foundation was spouting on about? Seeing our potential or past paths? I'm very interested in this ability, Olivia. You see, we can actually put it to good use. You won't be locked here in a jail cell, tortured by these 'doctors' for 'science.' We aim on changing the world – improving the world."
Olivia shook her head. "Save the monologue for later, Jones." In the corner of her eye she noticed that Nick was stirring. Good. He would still need a few more moments before he was fully lucid. "Let's get down to business."
"Alright. I like a girl that gets right to the chase." His smile kept growing larger and all the more brighter.
"Let's start off with some questions."
"Go ahead, Miss Dunham."
There! That was it. Only her Jones would call her 'Miss Dunham.' Olivia took a brave step forward. She heard the shuffling of guns.
"There, there. That's quite alright. Lower those, please." David Robert Jones' smile turned into a pout. "Miss Dunham here knows better than that. Don't you, now?"
Olivia nodded, "I just want a civil chat."
"As do I. Please do continue."
"So, Jones… who are you trying to prove here? Who are you working for? Is it William Bell? Or is this all something else? Something much more to do with that great big ego of yours?" She knew pushing him might be a bit of a risk, but Nick still needed time. At the moment he was shaking his head, trying to snap himself fully awake. And perhaps if she stalled long enough, some of those SCP task forces might crash the scene, giving them the opportunity to escape. But she doubted it. From the looks of things, the Foundation's resources were depleted.
Jones let out an airy laugh, something Olivia wasn't expecting. "Now I've heard plenty of assessments in my time, Miss Dunham, but that… that was a sight to behold. You speak with such certainty and yet… I have no idea who or what you are referring to. And this disappoints me. Not you, Miss Dunham, but the accuracy of the Foundation's accounts. I'm not sure they really understood you. And this little mix-up just now is all the more reason why we should have you and not them."
Olivia's jaw dropped. She hadn't expected this answer at all. Her jaw continued to drop, so naturally Jones kept talking.
"Perhaps your 'sight' of yours has been overestimated and overvalued. But no matter; you have survived this long. I am confident in your strength. And I am confident that you will deliver and behave."
She was beyond baffled. He had sounded just like him. He had worn that same smirk when she had visited him in that prison. He had called her 'Miss Dunham,' a proper title and yet also his precious pet name. And this Jones had that same eager glimmer in his eyes. And yet… it wasn't him.
She was shocked. She swore she had seen the similarities, but perhaps she was seeing what she wanted to see. But it couldn't be. She thought he was familiar with her and her universe. But he didn't have the same agenda. And he didn't know.
This revelation both calmed and concerned her. Perhaps this Jones didn't know the extent of her powers, but that also meant she didn't know him. At all. She could predict trends, but nothing for sure. Dr. Bishop had been entirely different than his two counterparts. And unfortunately for her in this moment, variances were to be expected.
Upon further review, Olivia was more concerned than calmed. She bit her lip. 'Oh no.' Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, it had.
Olivia, Aruna, and their squads were still making their way through the tunnels, but this seemed to be the end of the line. Olivia motioned for her teams to stay behind, pressed against the sides of the tunnels. Two of Aruna's men cautiously approached the door.
"Wait." Olivia called for them to stand down. She pulled her helmet off so she could better hear what she thought she heard. "Why are there already gunshots? Who's engaging?"
"This is Agent Farnsworth. Do you read me? Over." Olivia's radio in her helmet rang out for the tunnel to hear. She pressed her radio function. "Can you tell us what the hell is going on out there? Over."
"There's been a development. There's another group inside the facility. Their equipment is labeled with 'CI.' And they're not Foundation personnel because… that's who they've been shooting."
Olivia couldn't help but interrupt. "They're going for Olivia and Nick, aren't they?"
"That's what I'm assuming. But Agent Dunham… there's a lot of them out there. They're overpowering the Foundation forces. Be careful. Over."
Olivia switched to another channel. "Bishop, did you catch any of that? Over."
"Another team?" Peter's voice was strained, highly on edge. "We weren't prepared for this, Olivia." As if it was her fault.
"Well if your friend had given us more information, perhaps we would have been prepared." She rolled her eyes. "Let's not play the blame game now, Bishop. Your directive is still valid: you stay behind at the rendezvous point. However, with more of these operatives, you might have to get creative. Over."
Peter sighed heavily. But when he resumed talking, he sounded much calmer. "Understood, Agent Dunham. Over."
Olivia switched off her radio and looked to her squads. "You heard us. There's a lot more than we bargained for her, but that doesn't mean we can't succeed. The two groups are wiping each other out, and that might work to our advantage."
But Agent Aruna didn't share her optimism. "Does this mean we're too late?" she whispered to Olivia.
"No." Olivia placed her helmet back on and gave the signal for her two men to approach the door again. "Although a stealth approach would be ideal, we may not have that option. Engage any operative you come across, is that understood?"
Her order was confirmed with a chorus of "Yes, Agent Dunham!"s.
Olivia sighed. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, it had.