In the month or so that Mewtwo had been a part of Team Rocket, he could safely say that he loved every minute of it. The power he felt on their missions was unrivaled by anything before. Their mission objectives from Giovanni were simple and free to interpretation. He enjoyed the teamwork required with his squadmates, for the focus that these missions asked for could get extreme. Nevertheless, Diamond Squad always reported back with mission success.

On a quiet October evening, Mewtwo was servicing his AN-94 and Five-seven. The latter being a prototype, there was no written instructions manual, so Giovanni was sitting with him at a long table in the lounge and teaching him how to disassemble and clean the pistol.

"Now press that catch there and the slide should come right off," Giovanni said, pointing to a notch on the side of the pistol. His suit jacket (this time a vibrant orange hue) was draped over the chair he occupied and his sleeves were rolled up to avoid dirtying them.

"Ahh," Mewtwo mumbled, performing precisely that action. Now the chrome barrel was exposed as he laid the slide aside. Gradually, the pistol was taken apart so that the key parts could be cleaned and conditioned. Mewtwo only had to use his sidearm a handful of times, but lack of use didn't prevent it from the possibility of malfunctioning.

As Giovanni was leaning forward to reach across the table, Mewtwo noticed the same handgun from their first meeting attached to his suspenders. It was larger than any other that Mewtwo had seen, and he would hardly begin to believe it was any regular pistol. Giovanni's group of the world's best Pokémon for the Diamond Squad proved that he was a collector with a thirst for the rare and exclusive.

"Sir," Mewtwo began, "if you don't mind me asking, what handgun is that you're carrying?"

Giovanni grinned, revealing his shiny white teeth. Apparently, the question had amused him.

"Oh my… this gun..." he said with a chuckle. He withdrew it from the holster, looking at it with eyes that plainly spoke of love for what was in his hand. It was finished in matte black, looking sleek and sexy.

"This is the Desert Eagle. I saw it at a firearms exposition in New York City a couple years ago, and I fell in love with it on the spot. It utilizes a gas operated mechanism normally found in rifles, so it can fire much more powerful cartridges than other handguns on the market. The recoil is massive, but it only adds to the charm in my opinion. The Desert Eagle is just so over-the-top in almost every respect that I had to have it for myself."

"What caliber does it fire, sir?"

"I'll show you."

Giovanni picked up Mewtwo's Five-seven magazine and removed one of the bullets, placing it upright on the table. He did the same with the Desert Eagle and stood that round next to the first. The comparison was non-existent; Giovanni's round was nearly double the size in both bore and height, even with a flat nose. Mewtwo couldn't ever fathom the damage a bullet like that could inflict.

"It's the .50 Action Express, the largest caliber bullet for pistols. Enormously powerful and extremely dangerous in the right hands, as you can very well believe." He paused for a moment before adding, "I have one word of advice for you; never, ever find yourself on the other end of the Desert Eagle. It just might be the last thing you see."

Giovanni cracked a smile before chuckling again and recollecting the bullet.

Mewtwo's throat had gone bone dry at this last statement. He could never dream of the moment, but he hoped that he wouldn't be the someone that received the wrath of the bullet. Or any bullet, for that matter.

Wordlessly, Mewtwo's pistol was cleaned and reassembled. He was about to holster it when Giovanni interrupted him.

"Leave your things here, Mewtwo. I have something to show you down in the basement."

A spasm of fear flashed through Mewtwo's body. Surely he hadn't done something wrong…?

They got up and walked to the basement. After passing the shooting range, Giovanni turned off towards the arms lockers, and Mewtwo's misgivings increased two-fold. He hung back warily until Giovanni noticed.

"Come closer! You'll be excited, I'm sure."

Tentatively, Mewtwo approached the large metal locker they were standing in front of. Giovanni put his hand on the door's handle, turned, and pulled it open with a long squeak!

Mewtwo gasped.

Inside was a gorgeous suit of armor. The materials of stainless steel and aluminum brilliantly reflected the room's artificial lights, giving the suit a dazzling, sparkling effect. Very similarly to the Kevlar vest Mewtwo was wearing, a capital letter 'R' decal was placed on the chest. If Mewtwo were to look, he was confident that he would find the flag of Japan on the back as well.

"Oh my God…" he breathed, "It's beautiful!"

"And it's all yours," Giovanni said with a grin.

"How did you do it?" Mewtwo asked.

"It wasn't easy," Giovanni conceded, "Our fabricators had a bit of trouble working the steel and aluminum together, but we got there in the end. The suit will hide your identity like we've discussed before and will enhance your attacks by a marginal amount."

Mewtwo let out a low whistle.

"Wow… I had no idea this was what you were arming me with!"

"Well, now you know," said Giovanni. "Why don't you give it a test run this evening and see how you like it?"

He removed the helmet from the locker and handed it to Mewtwo with a nod of his head.

"Go find some trouble."

"Please, don't tell me how to do my job."

"I was just saying, mate; you could've blown our cover."

"But I didn't, did I?"

"No, but—"

"Then drop it, all right? It won't happen again."

"Fine…"

Mewtwo, Sandslash, and Rhydon were all patrolling the headquarters on a raw December night. Mewtwo's armor was glinting in the moonlight while his helmet hung on the back neck of his chestplate. Mewtwo and Sandslash had been arguing about a mission they completed that same day, but they both fell silent at the last words spoken by Sandslash.

Around the outer perimeter of the property they walked, breathing in the cold air that stung their throats. It was barely the third day of the season, but it felt like it had already been winter for at least a month. The cold didn't bother any of them, though; they were used to it.

Sandslash turned his head sideways to address Mewtwo.

"You've changed since we met you, Mewtwo. I don't like it."

"Yeah?" said Mewtwo, his temper flaring up in response. "Well I don't give a damn about what you think."

Sandslash opened his mouth, most likely to utter some ill-minded retort, but Rhydon cut across before the former could speak.

"Shut up, both of you. There's no need to go at each other like that."

"But—"

Sandslash smacked Mewtwo with the back of his hand in one swift motion.

"He said stop."

Mewtwo sighed a deep breath and readjusted the AN-94 in his hands. He walked in stony silence, watching this way and that like he was trained for patrol. The suppressor on Sandslash's MP5 flashed in the passing streetlight while the matt black metal of Rhydon's AK-74M absorbed the yellow glow and dispersed it over the surface. Their shadows shortened then steadily lengthened on the pavement before disappearing completely as they moved away from the light and towards the more remote section of the property.

Suddenly, Rhydon's radio came to life and made them all jump. Though it wasn't very loud, they could hear the speech issuing clearly from the pack on Rhydon's back.

"Call signs Diamond, Dover, Malakai, Rotor, or Tungsten; we've received reports from scouts of one of our high value targets that needs taken care of by day's end. Anybody that wishes to accept this task must do so immediately to maintain the intercept window. How copy?"

In a toneless voice, Mewtwo said to Rhydon, "We're already suited up and ready to go. Send Eagle Two to sector One Alpha for transport of Diamond 0-1, 0-4, and 0-6 in five mikes. Get Dover squad to replace our patrol."

Rhydon repeated Mewtwo's directions into his radio and conversed with the communications operator for a few moments.

"We're cleared to suspend patrol and initiate our new objective," said Rhydon, turning away from the radio. "We'll be briefed in the meanwhile on Eagle Two."

"Excellent," said Mewtwo in the same bored voice.

For five minutes, they stood silently in the northwest corner of the headquarters property. When they heard the approaching helicopter, Mewtwo conjured a brilliantly lit ball of purple energy and waved it above his head like a flare. The helicopter dropped in altitude towards them and landed on the grass with a gentle bump. They boarded swiftly and without fault, and within ten seconds were off into the night.

They all grabbed headsets hanging inside and put them on. The roar of the helicopter was muffled and they could now hear each other's speech quite clearly.

"Good evening, gentlemen," said their pilot in an obviously female voice.

"Good evening, Yumi," said the others collectively.

"Got some mission directions straight from the boss," said Yumi. "He told us that the HVT needs eliminated by 0000 hours. Method to execute the mission objective is up to you. There is just one requirement; you must not be seen."

"We copy," said Mewtwo in his headset's microphone. "Who's the HVT?"

Yumi pulled a manila folder from the empty co-pilot's chair and held it behind her head. Mewtwo reached for the folder and opened it.

It was a file of a Pokémon. The picture attached was a surveillance photo of an older Clefable that appeared to be speaking animatedly to a crowd of people.

Public speaker, Mewtwo read to himself, Urging individuals to resist Team Rocket since 8 December 1997.

The file was passed around. Once Rhydon finished reading the information, Yumi said, "Rotor squad has been keeping tabs on that guy and his family for two weeks now. Thirty minutes ago, our Pidgeotto scout reported a disturbance on the outskirts of Saffron. As we speak, he's giving a public demonstration and is drawing quite a crowd. Boss needs him silenced ASAP."

"Will do," said Sandslash. "We'll take care of the target. Do you have any recommended plans of action?"

Mewtwo was looking around the helicopter. He and Sandslash were sitting on the floor, legs hanging out the open door and feet resting on running boards along the helicopter side. His eyes traveled from Yumi the pilot, over Rhydon sitting on the opposite side, and to the back wall. On the wall, mounted securely and taking up quite a bit of room, was a suppressed sniper rifle; the Barrett .50 Caliber.

In an instant, a spark of imagination lit Mewtwo's brain.

"I know what to do," said Mewtwo. Sandslash turned his head and gave him a surprised look. Mewtwo ignored this and continued.

"Yumi, drop us off one klik south of our target's position. We'll use Carson Ridge as a vantage point. Sandslash, you're going to use the Barrett on the wall behind you."

"Whatever you say, Captain," said Yumi. Sandslash was still wearing that surprised expression like he didn't quite know what just happened. Mewtwo put on his helmet to avoid looking at Sandslash's curious eyes.

Twenty minutes later, the helicopter lowered into a large forest clearing. As they dismounted and the chopper rose up into the night, Yumi's voice now issued from Rhydon's radio:

"I'm going to the local base to top off on petrol. I'll pick you up in a half hour. Good luck."

"Copy. Thanks for the lift, Yumi," said Rhydon.

They moved through the trees quickly and quietly, crunching their way over the frosted grass. Sandslash moved a little slower because of the sniper's weight along with all of his other gear. They legged it all the way until a ridge appeared and the lights of the faraway houses lit the drop with a yellow aura. All three fell to their stomachs and crawled to the edge of the drop-off.

A significant distance away, they could see an intersection crowded with people and Pokémon alike and a clear space of roughly twenty feet in diameter. Mewtwo pulled out his binoculars he used on patrol duty, lifted his helmet, and pressed the binoculars to his eyes.

In the very center of the intersection and clear of others was the older Clefable. He was turning this way and that, making large and energetic gestures to the audience. In the background, he could see two more Clefables. One had a small sunflower behind her ear, looking quite pretty. The other was slightly shorter and had a younger build. Obviously, they were family.

Sandslash pulled the Barrett sniper rifle in front of him and unfolded the bipod so that it would stand on its own. The gun stuck out in front a whole five feet, the barrel hanging over the ridge edge. He was looking through the rifle scope, acquiring the target.

"Range is 250 meters," whispered Mewtwo, acting as the sniper's scout, "no breeze to speak of. The suppressor should keep anyone within one hundred meters from hearing us. Hold until we receive the green light to engage; after that, you can put as many rounds in him as you like."

"It'll only take one," breathed Sandslash. He locked and loaded the massive magazine, switched off the safety, and waited with bated breath, finger caressing the trigger.

As they laid there on the ridge, more and more people crowded around the intersection to listen to Clefable's speech. Mewtwo smirked and said, "They must be coming out from holiday mass. Oh well. The more people that witness it, the better. We want this to be as public as possible."

A minute later, a familiar voice crackled through the radio on Rhydon's pack.

"Diamond squad, this is Giovanni. You're cleared to engage at sector Charlie Niner-Five-Delta."

Mewtwo heart began to beat faster. A sweat broke out on his palms, slicking up the binoculars in his hands. He glanced over to Sandslash, whose face had hardened upon hearing the words. Mewtwo could tell that extreme concentration was setting in. Sandslash was not one to afford mistakes. It was nothing but perfection or nothing at all.

"Zeroing in on the target…" muttered Sandslash. He shifted ever so slightly, making the grass crunch underneath his body. Mewtwo jammed the binoculars back into his eyes and refocused towards the massive crowd. Clefable was still speaking with the same fervor and seemed to soon be reaching a crescendo.

All eyes were downrange as Mewtwo gave the command.

"Send it."

Sandslash inhaled deeply, then exhaled all of his breath. For one heart-stopping second, there was no sound except for the slow creaking of a trigger being depressed.

Unsilenced, the Barrett should've blown out their eardrums. Instead, a much quieter but nevertheless powerful compression of air and gases washed over them. In an infinitely small space of time, Mewtwo noticed Sandslash lurch back from the sniper's insane recoil before the projectile hit its target.

A brutally vicious sight met Mewtwo's eyes. Clefable's head snapped back like somebody had punched him very hard in the face. Blood spurted from his forehead and exploded from behind. In slow motion, Clefable fell backwards onto the pavement, watched on by the hundreds of stunned people and Pokémon surrounding his lifeless body.

Faintly, a whole host of screams reached Mewtwo's ears across the expanse of space. The crowd panicked and dispersed in distress, flooding the four streets that met at the intersection.

"He's down," growled Rhydon into his radio. "That's a confirmed kill on the target."

After the confusion subsided somewhat, only two remained behind. Clefable's wife was kneeling beside her husband's body, shrieking to the heavens. Tears ran down her face in rivers as she sobbed and shook uncontrollably. The teenage son, who moments before was occupying his father's other side, leapt to his feet. His hands were clenched and his face was contorted in rage when he roared to nobody in particular, "I'M GONNA KILL THE BASTARD THAT DID THIS! YA HEAR ME? I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"Oh, just shoot him," said Mewtwo, binoculars still pressed to his eyes. "I'd like to see the whole lot of 'em dead."

"Can't do that," said Sandslash gruffly. "We're not authorized to engage anyone other than the objective. We'll keep tabs on them instead."

A muscle twitched in Mewtwo's jaw. He brought down the binoculars slowly and breathed heavily through his nose. Hearing somebody disobey him always made his temper skyrocket. He furiously gnashed his teeth together, but held his tongue.

"Fine," he spat. "But when I get to deal with either of them, I'm doing it personally. Copper and lead isn't satisfying enough for me."

There was a stiff silence, punctuated by the wails and swears and oaths still flowing from far across the ridge.

"We need to move," grunted Rhydon. "Yumi's returning to the LZ in seven mikes. It took us five to get up here. Let's go."

All three of them moved quietly into the shadows of the forest, listening to the church bells ringing in Christmas Day.

The hot July day brought out a sweat on Mewtwo's forehead. Stakeouts were his least favorite thing to do in existence, and hiding here in these bushes in this cramped fashion wasn't helping the matter. They've been watching the same roadway out of Viridian City for well over three hour now and had absolutely nothing to show for it.

Sandslash yawned widely, closing and reopening his tired eyes.

"Having as much fun as me?" asked Sandslash quietly, sniggering at his own words. Mewtwo turned around with an expressionless face, making Sandslash stop his laughter rather quickly.

"You know how much I hate stakeouts. I would've refused to come if we were looking for someone else."

Mewtwo shifted his eyes to the ground, where the files of two Pokémon were lying undisturbed. One covered the same teenage Clefable he had seen this past Christmas, the son of the Clefable they had taken out at the same time. The other file contained details on a female Pikachu who was presumed to be traveling with the target. These two Pokémon were reported to have discovered the missing link in one of Team Rocket's research projects, and Mewtwo and Sandslash were given the task of capturing Clefable and Pikachu to haul into headquarters for questioning.

The sun blazed on and began to fall in the sky. Now drowsiness was setting in from the amount of nothing the two of them had done. Mewtwo was getting extremely stiff.

Sandslash was writing something down in his notebook when someone began talking from a distance. He looked up through the bushes, saw who it was, and hurriedly tapped Mewtwo on the arm.

"What?" Mewtwo growled, irritated beyond endurance.

"Shh!" exclaimed Sandslash, "Our target's at two o'clock!"

Mewtwo straightened his strained back, relieved that something was finally breaking the monotony. He peered through the leaves and looked down the road to see two figures strolling along. Like Sandslash said, Clefable was right there at two o'clock, accompanied by Pikachu.

"Intel was bang on, at any rate," mumbled Sandslash. "Said they'd be coming down this road right about 1700 hours. Now, the next step—"

"Is to get ahead of them before they enter the Viridian Forest," Mewtwo recited dully, "and capture them for further questioning without using any kind of firearm. I read the briefing, too."

Sandslash narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but refrained from replying.

"Let's go now; they won't see us going into the forest if we use the trees along this road for cover."

They collected their belongings and began to run, out of sight from the main road. They traveled right into the heart of the forest, where daylight was struggling to penetrate the thick tree canopy overhead. The darkness would make for great cover.

"Okay," whispered Sandslash. The surrounding area was exceptionally quiet. "We'll be able to hear them from a long way off. When they pass us, we'll try to attack them simultaneously. I'll go for Pikachu, and you'll take care of Clefable. Remember, we need them both alive."

"What are they carrying that's so important?" asked Mewtwo with obvious disdain.

Sandslash could only shrug in response.

"I don't know, but it must be really important. Boss wanted two of us from Diamond squad, and we've been proven to handle important missions before now."

They waited for several minutes, hiding behind two trees and watching through the gap between the trunks. Out of the silence, footsteps could be heard trampling on fallen leaves and twigs accompanied by voices.

"Why don't you like the Forest again?" asked someone whom Mewtwo recognized as the teenage Clefable. He estimated his age to be about seventeen.

"I just… I'm not comfortable in here like other places," replied the voice of a female roughly the same age, perhaps just a touch older. "D'you know what I mean? I was fine in that ravine—I quite liked it, actually—but this forest… I don't trust it, for some reason."

"Bad memories? Did something happen when you were younger?"

"No… Sorry, I'm just being unreasonable."

"Not at all! We're all scared of one thing or another, aren't we? Don't worry about it."

Out of the gloom appeared the two, Clefable out in front. Pikachu was close behind, carrying a messenger bag strung to her shoulder. They were walking a bit slowly, feeling their way down the Forest's main path.

They were about to walk by Mewtwo's tree when Mewtwo saw Sandslash turn. They caught each other's eyes, and a sort of unspoken understanding passed between the two. The moment Pikachu passed, both crept out of their hiding spot.

Sandslash flexed his claws and eyed the back of Pikachu, no more than five feet in front of him. He brought his hand behind his back, rather like a baseball pitcher in a wind up. With almost superhuman speed, Sandslash brought his claws down across Pikachu's back.

The claws dug very deep; Sandslash had always prided himself in keeping them razor sharp. The gruesome sound of tearing flesh ripped through the silence, making Mewtwo cringe. Red, dark blood exploded left and right, flying high into the air before landing on whatever surface it saw fit. The force of the attack turned Pikachu so violently that she did a sort of half-spin for whatever time she remained standing. Her facial expression was not one of pain; rather, it carried one of mild surprise, eyes wide and staring. She breathed a tiny "oh!" before she fell heavily into the grass.

Clefable's head, which was bowed slightly just milliseconds before, straightened up so fast that he appeared to have cricked his neck. He gasped and brought a hand to it, trying to rub out the pain.

"Pikachu?" he asked in a slightly strained voice, "Was that you?"

Mewtwo realized far too late that he had been caught spectating. Panicking, he sidestepped Pikachu as quickly as possible and rushed forward. When he saw Clefable turning around, Mewtwo's heart skipped a beat. Bypassing all thought, Mewtwo found his hand being drawn straight back, curling into a fist, and being thrust straight into Clefable's face, right as the latter's eyes glimpsed Pikachu in the grass.

Two nasty cracks split the air. An explosive pain decimated Mewtwo's knuckle at the point of contact. Simultaneously, Clefable was thrown backwards in spectacular fashion at least twelve feet by the force of the punch. He skidded in the grass and came to rest, totally knocked out.

Mewtwo gasped in pain, cradling his right hand in his left. He thought he must have at least fractured something in his knuckle. He turned to Sandslash, who was standing quite slack jawed.

"What the bloody hell was that about?"

"I'm not sure," mumbled Mewtwo, glancing back to Clefable. "I guess I panicked…"

"Just a little bit, huh?" groaned Sandslash, "So much for subtlety."

"Subtlety!" exclaimed Mewtwo. "You killed Pikachu!"

"No I didn't!" said Sandslash defensively, "She's still breathing… barely…"

He knelt down next to Pikachu and inspected the wounds he had inflicted. A grimace passed over Sandslash's face.

"Eurgh… I think I clipped her spinal cord by accident. Well, she's still alive."

"Never mind that," said Mewtwo distractedly, "we still need to get them to headquarters. Search her bag; she might have what we were looking for in there."

Sandslash removed the messenger bag from around her shoulders while Mewtwo bent over Clefable. A livid bruise was rising rapidly on his cheekbone, and likewise on Mewtwo's knuckle. Mewtwo took one of Clefable's arms and dragged him across the grass, over to where Sandslash was rummaging through Pikachu's bag.

"Peanuts… a Thermos container…" he muttered to himself, placing the things he took out of the bag on the ground, "sandwiches… flashlights… this is all just camping gear, isn't it? What's there to look for?"

"Check that side pocket," said Mewtwo, pointing out a pocket with a zipper. Sandslash unzipped it and held it open.

Inside was a round, marble-like stone, but it wasn't like anything Mewtwo had seen before. Even though there was minimal light where they were (and certainly none in the pocket it rested), the stone was shimmering a beautiful, dazzling coral, as if the sun were beating down on it. There was no doubt about it; this strange stone didn't reflect light… it emanated light.

"Is that what we're looking for?" asked Mewtwo.

"I—I guess?" said Sandslash hesitantly. "We're not looking for camping supplies, are we?"

"Not hardly," said Mewtwo. "Keep Pikachu alive, won't you? We'll still need her when we start questioning."

He slammed the door behind him with deliberate force. On the other side, Giovanni was waiting with his arms folded. He was looking through the large stretch of glass before him, a one-way mirror into the interrogation room. He waited a second before speaking.

"Thank you, Mewtwo. You are an invaluable asset to Team Rocket. This will only take a little bit more of your time. I promise."

"So we're going through all of this just for that stone I showed you?" asked Mewtwo, having trouble suppressing his irritation.

"Precisely," said Giovanni, watching the occurrences inside the other room. On the far side, Clefable had jumped up and ran to skid to a halt beside Pikachu. Clefable seemed to be in distress as he held Pikachu's head in the crook of his arm, kneeling in the puddle of blood beneath them.

"What does it do again? I don't recall that I was told what it does."

"It's the Mega Stone. It fuels the Mega Ring, a project I've had the Silph Researchers working on for a while. We've gotten nowhere until now, so I hope this stone works like described."

"And you're asking these two about it?"

Giovanni nodded.

"They won't know what it is, but I'd be delighted to find out where they found it."

"You can't hardly tell them about the Mega Ring, can you?"

"Sure I can," said Giovanni, a cruel smile curling his lips. "What do you do after you've extracted all useful information from the one you're interrogating?"

Mewtwo kept silent.

"You kill them, that's what you do. Don't want them flaunting your secret, right?"

"Of course," replied Mewtwo, an evil grin possessing him as well. "Because—"

"We don't exist," finished Giovanni, nodding his head. "Glad you have the right idea."

"I've had the right idea since Christmas," growled Mewtwo, staring furiously through the glass.

There was a pause when both of their eyes fell on the pitiful sight of Clefable and the dying Pikachu. The fury and anger that Mewtwo had polished and honed as a tool to his success rose in his chest. His fists clenched, the right one still sore from just an hour earlier. He was dying for Giovanni to give the word…

After a minute, Giovanni broke the silence.

"You have on-scene command."

In an instant, Mewtwo whipped around and threw his shoulder into the door, so hard that it bounced off of the wall.

However, the interrogation room was no more. A blank stretch of infinite blackness spread out in all directions. Startled, Mewtwo tried to turn back into the room he had just left, but it was gone too. He was trapped with no escape.

But a way out did present itself. Through time and space, Mewtwo was mysteriously transported more than fifteen years and two hundred miles in just a second. The nothingness reformed into tangible objects. Mewtwo awoke in the laboratories of Cerulean University that he never left, looking into the faces of Bryce and Tobuscus and screaming at the top of his lungs.