Poke-genetics: defeat
He attempted to bite the hand that had transported him away from his enemy, but his jaws closed on thin air.
Disoriented, he sniffed the air more strongly to find the odor of that psychic type. It was nowhere near him, but it had been closed seconds ago. This meant… it had teleported again.
He screamed in fury. He was alone! He couldn't take revenge for his pain.
Then, just as he was taking his breath, he perceived something alien somewhere close. The strange scent immediately associated itself with another, one he hated, one that was clearly a threat to his young. His blood boiling, Ash ran in the direction of that strange, disturbing scent.
The scent of humans.
The mad poke-geneticist was fascinated. It was such a marvelous sight. He knew it was perfect. In all sincerity, he knew this was the last time he would ever feel anything. Such a perfect moment of triumph would never be equaled in his whole life.
Not to mention that killing Janes had been particularly satisfying. That woman had started getting on his nerves as soon as he took over Team Blast. It was too bad that she was the only one powerful and influential enough to give him willingly the control of a powerful organization like Team Blast. He had been surprised when he had seen her on the news for the first time. She was robbing a bank at the time. At first, he had been unimpressed. A robber that took hostages, big deal. There were records of this frequently being done by the big criminal organizations. She had only been incompetent enough to be seen, he had first thought. However, when she revealed her Kadabra, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. She had planned to be seen, she wanted to take those hostages and much more importantly, she had done it all for fun.
She had done it so she could see the sadness on others' faces.
He had never been more deranged by a fact than that. Janes had not done it to gain anything, except some fun. It would not serve her in the long run, it would not help her live, help her reputation, help her raise some kids, it was for herself.
«That's how a life should be lived. » he understood.
When he looked at himself, he realized he had always thought that. He had only denied it. That day, he made his choice. He would act like her; what he would do would be for him and that was all. If something was pleasant, he would do it. If it wasn't, he wouldn't. Of course, there were some practical issues for this as well.
He moved in a remote house where he would bring up his son. First, he would stir in him an unequaled interest for poke-genetics like him. When he felt Genno would be ready, he would let him take part in other experiments, more testing of his passion.
When his experience on his son's ditto proved his greatest theory, he knew it was time to try things on a greater scale.
Luck had truly been on his side that day. As he had sent Genno run some errant in Viridian City, he received the visit of an unexpected visitor: Janes.
Had it not been for him screaming: «I have a deal for you! », she would have immediately seized him and brought him over to Marco Blaze. But the tone he had used and the weirdness of the situation had piked the woman's interest. She listened to his ideas and to his ideals with a curious and strangely dangerous expression. Then, after he had revealed the craziest ideas he had thought of for years, Janes smiled at him and declared she would help him. If he proved to be as interesting as he sounded, she would give him Team Blast on a silver plate.
She had kept her promise; he was the one leading Team Blast.
He stared at his creation, lost in his thoughts. It was a matter of time. There was nothing he could do until then, but watch and appreciate what his genius had created.
There was a strange emptiness in him. He had succeeded, didn't he? That proved he was a master of poke-genetics, that he knew everything there was to know about pokemon's DNA. Was this what happened when you had fulfilled your biggest dream after living only for it?
Completely captivated by his experiment, he did not hear the sound of a moving body behind him, nor did he remark the slightly brighter light of the room.
So the second he felt the cold metallic sensation of something pressing against the back of his head, he paralyzed. That… was impossible… there wasn't anyone that could have passed through Janes earlier and he had just finished her off. The realization hit him. Janes had not acted like her usual self! It was remarkably close to how she acted, but there had been something slightly off about her! Had… she planned this? But how could she have survived that kind of injuries?
A foot kicked him in the middle of his back, throwing him to the ground. With reflexes Jonathan didn't know he possessed, he barely managed to dodge the incoming corner of a table in front of him. His face against the metallic floor, he muttered.
«How… could you be alive? It doesn't make sense! I… just killed you! »
He only heard a snicker from where his old subordinate had stoop up.
No, he was not going to be defeated by Janes so close to seeing the ambition of his life being fulfilled.
He turned around, determined to find something to defeat the hateful woman.
And his jaw fell to the floor, his face showing his shock, a single word passing through his lips.
«What?»
He was staring at himself.
That copy of himself was glaring back, the muscles of his face sometimes twitching, as subjects to contradictory emotions. In the eyes of that Jonathan, there was madness... and an anger deeper than anything he had ever seen.
«It's over. » his copy said.
«Who… are you? » Jonathan asked, bewildered.
As if that was a terrible insult, the other Jonathan gritted his teeth more than before, growling silently.
«I said it's over, Dad! »
In an instant, his mind was washed away by the revelation. It was as if everything had come to light.
«You… transformed to erase your injuries! But… how did you go past Janes? »
A bullet missed him by inches. His eyes wide, Jonathan lost his voice.
«You… will only talk… if I tell you to! » Genno ordered, punctuating his threat with a terrible voice.
The hints of rage in it were enough to keep Jonathan from protesting.
«I came here to stop you. I heard about the eggshell you ordered your henchmen to collect. What have you done with it? »
At the mention of his work, Jonathan recovered his arrogance.
«Don't you have any ideas, son? Didn't you at least make a few hypothesis as to what I could do with the remains of a legendary pokemon's egg? » he questioned mockingly.
«I don't have the time to play games with you. » Genno said, his tone lower and darker than before.
The gun pointed at his face made his smile falters, but not vanish.
«I'm a bit disappointed, Genno. Then again, you know nothing of that artifact. When it was brought to me, I was not sure what I could do with it, after all, it was supposed to be nothing but a dried up eggshell. »
His grin widened.
«You should never believe rumors. The shattered pieces of eggs were still radiating with power. Touching them gave me shivers all over my body. Mew is really something else, isn't it? But what shocked me, and pleased me at the same time, was the blood covering its inner surface. In all those years, it had not evaporated, not been washed away by the rain or the wind. It was as if that blood had incredible properties…. And honestly, it has. »
Jonathan remarked the light of curiosity in his son's eyes. Even after so many speeches about hating him, Genno had not departed from his interest in poke-genetics, his inheritance. Maybe his son wasn't such a lost cause after all. Not letting his face reflect his thoughts, Jonathan continued.
«I analyzed the blood, studied the DNA intact in it and made experiments. »
It was barely perceptible, but he could have sworn Genno had flinched at that word. Good, this could come in handy.
«I poured all my knowledge in that last, perfect, project. I would recreate the perfection of the legendary Mew through the use of poke-genetics… and I succeeded! »
Genno almost let go of his weapon. That… had to be a lie.
«You don't believe me, do you? Perhaps this would convince you. » Jonathan stated.
Without even considering the gun pointed at him, he stood up and went to the back of the laboratory. There, a single screen was monitoring a small dark room.
«This small television records everything happening in the incubator at the back of the lab. »
Curious, Genno walked close enough to get a glimpse of the item recorded by the camera. His throat dried up. There was a black egg in that room!
«You didn't… » he muttered in complete disbelief.
«I did. » Jonathan replied in triumph. «I created another Mew from the DNA I collected. »
A thick silence fell in the room.
Genno was trying to hammer down that fact in his head, but something was stopping him from doing it.
The egg itself.
Deep inside him, a primal instinct was trying to force him to run away from that thing. It was much worse than the time Janes's dragonite had flew toward him while roaring in rage. It was a silent, threatening, pressuring intimidation.
Before his eyes, shadows started to grow, dark reminders of his fragile state of mind.
«No… I mustn't… let my fear… get the best of me… » he thought, a hand pressing against the left side of his face.
«Try it… we know you can't. » a chorus of voices replied, a deeply amused tone to their taunts.
«Milosia… I really need you. Please… help me. » he begged mentally.
The pure image of the water type floated in his head. He could imagine her light shining down on him, raining a calmness that saved him. The shadows shrank slightly, seemingly uneasy with that turn of event.
He barely noticed the satisfied image of his father waiting patiently for him to fall unconscious.
«What is it, Genno? Are you scared? Does this place remind you of something? A few syringes maybe? »
The thoughts renewed his fear and his vision blurred.
«Milosia, Milosia, Milosia, Milosia… » Genno repeated madly.
Jonathan had the disarray of seeing his son recover from that attack to his sanity. More importantly, he could see the anger dancing in his son's eyes… and the threat of the weapon he had was more serious than ever.
«DO YOU?» Genno shouted at him.
The outburst startled him.
«DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID TO ME? DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU ASKED HER TO DO TO ME? DO YOU EVEN THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS? »
The weapon was shaking in Genno's hands, the teen breathing heavily.
«I will. I control Team Blast. You are not strong enough to go against it. No one can. »
The brutal change of subject could not dissipate his anger, but it made him talk.
«Yes, there is. Does the name Team Kanto ring any bell, Dad? » he asked, his last word sounding like an insult.
The frown on his father's face was extremely satisfying.
«They're an inconvenience, but they will never be strong enough to defeat us. We will just destroy them when we find them. » he shrugged off, not realizing how angry his words sounded.
The grin on Genno's face was doing nothing to lighten his mood.
«You don't understand who they are, don't you? » his son said mysteriously.
«They're just a bunch of fools that want to take part in something they have no idea of! » Jonathan shouted.
Curiously, a light seemed to die inside Genno as he heard his father. «So, it is true. You really don't care about me, not even a bit. Was I ever anything more to you than a simple lab assistant? », he thought. But as that light died, a flame replaced it. «You've chosen your own demise. »
«At least, they are united. They follow their leader unanimously, not like some Team I know. »
«Will you stop it with that nonsense? I CONTROL TEAM BLAST! Marco Blaze used loyalty, I use force... and my method hasn't bitten me in the face like it did with him. Team Blast is mine! » Jonathan claimed.
The surreal calm of his son was as unexpected as disturbing.
«It's over, Jonathan. You are going down. » he said aiming toward the man he once considered a father. «I'll free the last test subjects you have and I'll give you to the police. You will spend the rest of your life in prison. I hope you'll hate it. »
Sweating from the pressure, Jonathan made one last attempt.
«It's too bad your little plan won't work. The test subjects are gone. »
«What? » Genno exclaimed, his face turning white.
«I only had a few left, so I figured I might as well use them to their fullest. The last one to fail me was your very own ditto. He couldn't produce any DNA samples with what I showed it of the egg, but I still forced it to. The result… was messy to say the least. »
Genno was staring blankly at his father. His ditto… was dead? He had killed his ditto? The memories of the pokemon flashed before him, cruel reminder of its suffering. It had been the most unfortunate victim of his Jonathan's mad scheme. He only wanted to help his father when he had caught that ditto.
The second the pokeball had closed and registered the pokemon, it had doomed the ditto.
And it was his fault.
Softly, Genno fell to his knees, his strength leaving his body. His vision was slowly turning green, covered in dark shadows. He let go of the weapon.
A smug look on his face, Jonathan walked over and picked up the gun.
«Good boy, now I have one more test subject. » he declared.
Carefully examining his son, he jumped backward in surprise when the teen laughed.
«What the…? »
It was a lifeless laugh, completely void of any emotion. If anything, it was more of a succession of «Ha» than a proper laugher. Deeply disturbed, Jonathan watched as his ditto of a son's laugher went more and more hysterical.
When it reached its peak, Genno jumped on him.
The pain was numbing his whole leg now. What she said was true; he would probably die of this wound if he did nothing. A few meters away from him, the stone was lying on the grass, constant torture of his mind.
«I have to stop Ash! »
And his body froze at the thought of touching that thing.
«I have to! It's the only way! »
Images from his past danced in his head. The more painful was the one of his mother. Her voice was still fresh in his mind.
He couldn't…
He had to…
He couldn't! It would be betraying his very self!
He had to! He wouldn't let Ash destroy his humanity because of Janes!
Against the protest of half his soul, Pikachu crawled on the grass. Each movement was a torture at this point. If he wanted to save Ash, he had to get that stone and go to Viridian City!
He poured the remainder of his strength in his lower body and pushed one last time.
Pikachu's body betrayed him. He fell. Unable to move, he stared at the stone, less than a meter away from him.
«NO! This can't be! I have to get that stone and save Ash! »
He used every ounce of strength he could gather and tried to push on his legs, only to fail once more.
«No! I HAVE TO! »
His mind wrapped in frustration, anger and horror, Pikachu yelled. It was the cry of a beast; it echoed in the forest.
«Well, what do we have here? » a cynical voice said from his right. «A little mouse unable to move. Lovely. »
Internally, Pikachu swore more than he ever did.
«A Persian! »
«My, I love when my meals are already prepared. »
Pikachu could only growl in anger. He would not go down like this! Sparkles flew on his cheeks.
He never had a chance to unleash the thunderbolt he was charging. Coming from above, something said:
«And we hate it when someone picks on our friends! »
«Huh? » Pikachu exclaimed.
Before he had the time to wonder, a dragonite fell from the sky, directly on the persian. The impact whipped up so much dust that Pikachu lost sight of the dragon type.
Coughing, he had to wait for the clouds of dirt to fade to see his savior.
He was completely unprepared for the person that talked to him.
«Pikachu, are you alright? »
That voice… he knew who that was… and that didn't sound like a dragonite to him.
«You're… »
«Helen, Stan, and I heard you scream from the sky, are you alright? »
«Sebastian… »
He staggered, feeling the heavy weight on each of his sides put pressure on his tired muscles.
«Why don't you let go? They're heavy, aren't they? » a voice whispered to his ears.
«Shut up. » he replied, his face white from the concentration.
It was taking every ounce of his mental capacities to keep himself from slipping down into insanity again.
He had to do this. If he could just get there, he would be able to make it end… or he hoped. Marco had repeated this a few times already; it was the key to their victory.
Only a few more meters and he would get a chance to end it all. Then, he could worry about Ash and Pikachu. When he left them to get to his father, he hoped that they had not been knocked down by some Team Blast member's upstairs. No, they were strong, they wouldn't be so easily defeated.
Genno almost tripped and stopped to take his breath.
Still, he could hardly believe how close he had been to disaster. After falling and hitting his head, he had woken up just in time to hear the sounds of footsteps. Hiding behind an almost closed door, he saw Janes walk past him. He still didn't know how he managed to keep his cool and overcome his fear to transform into her.
His biggest fear had just continued her way in the dark corridor and -was it paranoia?- he swore he heard her snicker.
He had met with the man he once considered his father. Jonathan had proven for the last time that he was nothing like a father. He was about to see the price of his mistakes… and pay dearly.
The trapdoor was only a meter away. Here came the delicate part, he had to make sure not to be attacked before he could explain himself.
He let go of both his burdens and, ignoring the creeping shadows approaching him, opened the trapdoor.
Captain Seriza was trying to catch her breath. It had been five minutes since the police officers had all fled out of the hideout and had disappeared in the wood. They had tried to follow them, but had met a resistance so fierce that she had judged better not to insist.
It could have been foolish, as Janes who had come out from the lower levels seconds ago had commented, but the team was tired. Despite their greater strength, they had faced great losses. Had it not been for Jonathan's order of splitting the team to attack them, they could have won without so many wounded. Once more, Captain Seriza felt her hatred for the scientist grow.
«If only Marco would return… » she thought.
«Captain? » someone asked her.
Startled, the woman turned around quickly.
«Yes? »
«Reporting, ma'am. » a black haired woman said in a formal tone.
«Sarah, isn't it? »
«Yes, ma'am. »
«How are our troops? » Captain Seriza inquired.
«They are resting. Most of them received some sort of injuries during the fights and we are counting the number of soldiers that are unconscious. The strategy performed by the enemies was efficient in the regard that we have not made any prisoners. »
At that, she raised an eyebrow. That was probably a first. A force went into battle and no soldier had been left behind. Truly, Jenny was an opponent to fear.
She had only the time to make that reflection. From the back of the room, the trapdoor leading to the lower levels was shut open.
Dozens of eyes turned around to see who was coming out, most certainly Jonathan.
They were in for a surprise.
He did come out, only he was also carrying a tied up copy of himself and an unconscious man.
They held their breath; that was Marco's body.
«What? », was the only word to pass their lips.
A strange expression on his face, Jonathan started glowing and, under the light, his shape changed.
Struck by comprehension, they stared in disbelief at the teen in front of him. How did he manage to get past them? More importantly, why was he staring at them now?
She was not sure, but Seriza thought she saw Janes grin for a second.
Slowly but surely, the members of Team Blast all got closer, ready to capture him if the need arose. However, they were not prepared for what happened next. His voice thundering with the accumulated anger, Genno shouted at them.
«Are you loyal to Marco Blaze? »
It was as if time had stopped. The criminals had stopped and were looking at Genno with wide eyes.
«ARE YOU? » he yelled, unable to calm down.
A whisper of approval followed his question. Unanimously, they answered.
«We are! »
A subtle hint of joy lightened his trait, closer to the expression a boy his age should have.
«In that case, are you loyal to Jonathan Avery? »
This time, they stayed completely silent. Unease was spreading through their rank faster than wildfire. Frankly, no, they didn't felt loyal to Jonathan Avery. They were following him, because it was an order and because their real boss was unable to lead them. The only thing they truly longed for was his return.
The lack of answers was more than enough to let Genno smile for a second. He even let out a quiet chuckle.
«That's right. None of you feel loyal to him, do you? » he stated, his face showing a passive aggressiveness.
At his feet, his father was trying to free himself or at least to take out the scarf on his face.
Not even according a second of his attention to him, Genno continued.
«After all, you can't possibly be loyal to the both of them. »
The criminals were taken aback. What did he mean?
«Don't you understand? Being loyal to Jonathan Avery would mean disloyalty toward Marco Blaze. » Genno explained coldly.
A heavy pressure fell on the room. Disloyalty toward Marco? They wouldn't accept this.
Jonathan was starting to sweat. He could see very well the effect that his son's words were having on these fools. He had to take off that scarf!
«Why don't we all remember how things were before? Why don't we think about how it was when Marco Blaze was the one in charge? » Genno proposed, just like a story teller.
No one realized how hard he was trying to keep a calm voice, to stop himself from falling into the abyss of his own mind.
«When extraordinary circumstances affected your work, he only told you to work harder, even if that mistake was dangerous. When a mission threatened the safety of the person taking part in it, Marco asked for volunteers and always doubled the numbers to ensure your safety. After a day of hard work, Marco always tried to spend some time with you, to laugh and cry with you. He was the one to make your misery disappear when you were alone and he brought you into this team. You swore your loyalty to him. »
Their gaze became blank as they remembered the starting days of Team Blast. It was a warm, blessed memory. Yes, they swore their eternal loyalty to Marco Blaze and to him only.
«It was not the same after he was mysteriously injured during that meeting with Giovanni, wasn't it? How often have you been punished or threatened for asking about that incident? »
As often as they asked.
«When Jonathan took over, Team Blast was missing something. That's what you all thought. »
«How? » Captain Seriza kept asking herself. «How can that kid know so much about us? How can he know our very thoughts? »
«You were punished for the slightest mistakes, no matter how absurd the reasons. You were treated like expendables pawns. You obeyed in silence, hoping for the return of the one that truly deserves your loyalty… and Jonathan kept abusing that system of trust that had been built.» Genno continued, impermeable to the growing anger that was rising in the ranks of his audience.
Janes was silently keeping her satisfaction for herself. The boy knew his way with words. Perfect, that was what she wanted. She only had to make sure he would not see her or he would break down for sure.
Sarah and Elizabeth were holding hands. It was all true. Every single word was an undeniable truth. They wanted Marco to return!
«Jonathan was just using you. » Genno declared, putting emphasis on each word. «The second he would have evaluated that you didn't have any value, he would have discarded you. I spoke to him face to face, minutes ago. He had accomplished the goal of his life. How long do you think he would have waited to turn you all into pokemon? »
Completely stunned, they froze in place. There were no traces of their fond memories, of their pain, of their feeling of loss, not even of their anger.
After a minute of this reaction, Genno laughed again.
«You are all so naïve. He turned me, his son and assistant, into a ditto and left me in the wild to fend for myself. What are your hopes of escaping a fate like that one? »
He could see their minds work and he could feel the complete trust they had in his words. If Jonathan saw them as useless, they were bound to become pokemon… if they were lucky.
«I told you that being loyal to Jonathan would have been the same as betraying Marco. It was no metaphor, I meant it literally. »
They were thrown out of their silence into a collective indignation.
«WHAT? »
«Yes. It is no coincidence that I know all those things. I received the information from the most reliable source; I was told all those things by Marco Blaze! » Genno claimed.
Captain Seriza was in complete disbelief.
«That… can't be. » she muttered.
«All this time, you were fooled by Jonathan's treachery. Marco was not injured during his meeting with Giovanni; he was betrayed and turned into a pokemon. »
The horror that spread to their face could only be equaled by the anger that was hiding beneath.
At that point, Genno bent over his struggling father. To his surprise, Genno took off the piece of clothing that was preventing him from speaking all this time. No losing time, he shouted:
«What are you waiting for, you fools? Get him now! »
«They won't listen to you now. » his son whispered to him only.
In that single sentence had echoed a death threat.
True to Genno's prediction, none of the members moved and were instead glaring at the poke-geneticist. Losing his temper, Jonathan yelled even louder.
«Don't listen to him, he's lying! He's trying to destroy Team Blast, have you forgotten that? »
At his side, Genno suddenly started laughing. It was not a crazy laugher like before, only one of savage satisfaction.
«Am I lying? REALLY? DOES ANYONE HERE THINK I'M LYING? » Genno shouted.
In a theatrical manner, he stood up, his arms opened wide.
«See for yourself. »
With a deliberately slow movement, his right hand went into his pocket. From it, he took out a single test tube, one filled with white liquid.
Panic was now visible in Jonathan's eyes. He was not…!
Genno poured the content of the test tube on the motionless body of Marco next to him.
Each and every single pair of eyes in the whole room was fixing the wet body. During a nerve-racking second, absolutely nothing happened.
For a second only. The body suddenly jolted, its back arching and spasms running through its arms. The body changed. The face of Marco Blaze was slowly modified, turning into a face recognizable between all: Giovanni.
A deafening growl rose up from the ranks of the members. This man had tricked them and turned their leader into a pokemon. He would not get away with it.
As they approached, Genno leaned and whispered to his father's ears.
«See? This is the result of your superior intellect. All this time you were mocking Marco for believing in trust and loyalty, you were wrong. You might have called him a fool, but this only applies to you. Have you really thought people were just obedient pawns? Guess again. »
He straightened to get away when he stopped… and leaned once more.
«Oh, just so you know, had it not been for what you made me go through, I wouldn't have had the strength of character to transform after being shot. It would have been too painful otherwise. »
His former subordinates reached for him, now close enough to enact their revenge. He would feel their wrath with his body. Some were already readying their fists.
As Genno went back to the lower level, he said, in a clear voice that resonated in Jonathan's head.
«This is the taste of defeat. How do you like it? »
She was laughing quietly, careful not to disturb her comrades or her tools, depending of her mood.
Janes was trying to keep her hilarity in check, but it was particularly hard.
The threatening Jonathan Avery had been crushed by the son he had always thought was a weakling. How deliciously ironic.
Of course, the fact that she planned it had a little influence on it, but, truly, the boy was a natural. He knew exactly what kind of words swayed people and put them under his control. He may not have been aware of it, but that talent was certainly there. With the burning rage he held toward the man who he once considered his father, he had been able to plan a way to make a whole criminal organization make his bidding.
The thing that was the most fun though was the look on Jonathan's face. His arrogance had been broken so thoroughly she might not have done better. Everything had crumbled around him, just before he could witness his greatest success come to life.
An even sicker smile appeared on her lips. Talking about that egg…
She did not elaborate any further. Just as that thought passed through her mind, she was almost knocked over by an explosion.
Getting back her balance, she turned around to see another one of the walls being destroyed. Only this time, it was not the police at all.
Before a whole surprised team, hundreds of people in green and white were about to charge.