The woman continued. "For nearly ten years, I…" Her voice faltered and died. She let out a shuddering breath as she lowered her head, pressing a fist against her lips.
"Take your time. Calm yourself," a familiar voice assured. It was Verlix. The memories were being shown through his android eyes.
The woman squeezed her eyes shut. Finally, she lowered her hand and looked up. "Am I doing the right thing, Verlix?" Amanda asked.
"It is difficult to offer a response that is free of bias," Verlix replied. "But from an objective standpoint, you are preventing a very grave disaster." A robot arm emerged and rested gently against Amanda's shoulder. "If you choose to continue, then I will stand by you. I will continue to record these logs for you."
"I don't think I can do this."
"It's okay to be weak. That is when you will find strength."
Amanda Drei took a deep breath. "Thank you, Verlix. Okay, Log One. Let's start over."
"Of course."
She looked back into Verlix's eyes. "My name is Amanda Drei," she began in a steady voice. "For nearly ten years, I have been helping a vile organization create a new kind of soldier. An immaterial soldier. Bullets, knives, shrapnel, any weapon imaginable will be rendered useless in the face of these super-soldiers." She began walking. Verlix followed her. They reached a table that held a rack of test tubes and a suspended piece of material.
Amanda beckoned towards the rack. "These tubes hold a certain kind of liquid." She raised a tube. "It's a cloaking agent, modeled off of the pigments in cuttlefish, but modified far beyond that. Instead of reflecting light differently and inducing camouflage, this agent allows a body to bend light again and become entirely invisible." She replaced the tube and moved over to the sheet of what almost looked like rubber.
"This is a sample of the material used in the soldiers' suits," Amanda said. "This is what truly allows them to be dangerous. This material serves as a conductor for the energy that this provides." She held up a small, disk-like piece. "This is the only one of its kind." She touched the material with the disk. With her other hand, she grabbed at the material, only for her fingers to go through it as though it wasn't there. "With a few modifications, a body wearing this suit will be able to phase. Of course, phasing will only happen if the suit is worn, and if this disk is able to supply power." Amanda dropped the piece on the table.
She looked back at Verlix. "The organization expects me to make more of these disks. These… these soldiers are my fault." Amanda cast a paranoid glance over her shoulder. "I helped Signet create them. Because of me, the free world is in danger."
The video became fuzzy and diluted. Figures dashed in and out of the screen as though the footage was being fast-forwarded. Then, another memory surfaced into clear picture.
Verlix was walking slowly along a row of glass tubes. He was gazing into them as he passed. His reflection could be seen in the glass, and he was bare of any markings on his arms and face. Behind each glass tube was a human, suspended in greenish liquid. A series of tubes ran from their bodies into unknown locations.
Suddenly, Verlix stopped and whirled around. A man in a militaristic uniform was confronting him with a heavy rifle. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"My apologies. I merely—."
"What are you doing? Put that gun down!" Amanda's voice cried out. The man ignored her.
"He isn't allowed near the subjects. This is a breach in security," he barked.
Amanda rushed to the man and pushed his rifle down. "For God's sake, he is my assistant! You can't just go around pointing guns at people!" The man faced her and gave her a harsh shove.
"First of all, that tin can isn't what I'd call 'people.'" He growled. "And second, you remember your place. You're not a part of this organization; you're just an asset. Pray that you don't become a liability." He glared at Verlix. "And you stay away from the soldiers."
"Come here, Verlix," Amanda said. Verlix obeyed. "Let's go." She led him out of the chamber. Once they were out of earshot, Amanda said, "This whole thing is just so awful. What have I done, Verlix?"
"From what I can see, you had little choice," the android responded. "This research has been conducted with no free will."
"That's the worst part," Amanda mumbled. "But you know what? For the longest time, I thought I was powerless to do anything. Now I know what I have to do."
"Are you…?"
"Shh, Verlix. Not here. Into the lab," Amanda ordered quietly as she opened an automatic door with her keycard. It led them to the same room the first memory had taken place. The door closed behind them. When the locks clicked into place, Amanda beckoned Verlix to follow her.
"The conversion into immateriality takes several months for a fully grown subject," Amanda explained as she led Verlix to the other side of the lab. "The soldiers back there still have a long time before they are ready. Even longer to master their new powers." She stopped in front of a steel cabinet. "But they won't get the chance."
"Doctor, you're not saying—."
"Log Two, Verlix."
"Recording."
Amanda faced the android directly, staring intently into its optics. "This will be my final plan. My atonement. Signet has no idea of what I am going to do. In a few days, at a designated time, I will delete all schematics and research pertaining to these 'ghosting soldiers.' All data will be gone; no one will be able to duplicate my work. Then…" She paused to press her lips nervously together. "Then I will disable the life support systems to the subjects' tubes. All potential soldiers will die. Signet will lose their secret weapon."
She turned to the cabinet and gently touched something on its side. The cabinet slid aside, revealing a small, hidden room. Verlix peeked in.
Within the room was a smaller glass tube filled with greenish liquid. Tubes fed down into a tiny, curled figure. It was a baby.
"For a grown subject, the process takes months," Amanda repeated in almost a whisper. "For her, it will only take a couple of hours. The agents will grow with her body. She will be able to have a far better control of her abilities than those men ever will. Maybe this will give her a chance."
"Is Signet aware of this?" Verlix asked.
"They know I have a child. I was pregnant when they captured me," Amanda confirmed. "But they don't know about this."
"What of her father?"
"He is no longer with us. I was informed he was killed in action."
"I am sorry."
"There is no more room for that kind of grief. Now we look to the future. Jocelyn is my last legacy. Promise me you will do all you can to protect her."
Verlix looked up at Amanda. A tired, sad look was in her eyes. "Last legacy?"
"Once Signet realizes my betrayal, I doubt I will live."
"Then we will escape together! With Jocelyn!"
"No. You and her are leaving tonight. Get as far away from here as possible. Keep Signet away from her; they'll be looking for her."
Verlix looked down at his open hands. "I know you created me to care for her," he said. "But I did not think I would have to do it alone. Please don't sacrifice yourself."
"I could choose the easier path," Amanda agreed, "but what would that mean for her? For you? For the world?"
"I… understand."
"Thank you, Verlix."
Once again the video faded to dancing blurs as in-between memories were rushed over. Jocelyn's wide eyes were focused on the screen. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the edge of the keyboard. Finally, one last memory was played.
Amanda Drei was seated on a chair, holding her baby daughter in her arms. Verlix was in front of her. She stared directly at him. There seemed to be something resolute, something final, about her face.
"Jocelyn," she addressed. "Sweetheart, I don't know if you'll ever see this. I don't know if you'll even care. And I don't blame you if you don't. It's my fault you never got to know me. I know that as you've grown up, you probably wondered why your life was so different from everyone else's. I am so, so sorry things had to be this way. My only comfort is knowing that you are in capable hands." The baby stirred. Amanda took a moment to look down at her. Then her eyes came back up.
"By the time you see this, I will already be gone. Just know that no matter what, I am so proud of you. And no matter what, I love you." She tried to smile as a tear glided down her face. She gently extended her arms forward. Verlix reached out and took the sleeping baby. Amanda continued to watch the child as the android pulled her in close. She reached up and brushed the tear away with the side of her thumb.
"Good bye, Sweetheart."
The screens dimmed and the lights came on. Jocelyn had her eyes closed, but her face was wet. Silently, Verlix spliced a certain memory out of his hard drive and isolated it back into the data stick.
"Have you found what you were looking for?" he asked solemnly. Eyes still closed, Jocelyn nodded. "Jo, dry your eyes. I need you to do something for me." She opened her eyes and ran a hand over them.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Take the stick out," Verlix instructed. "I have placed a single memory in it." Jocelyn reached out and took the disk. "Which one is it?" she asked.
"Data," Verlix answered, "about Amanda's research. There's enough information on that stick to replicate the procedure and create another immaterial soldier. I think it's for the best if that data is destroyed."
"And everything else?"
"Everything else, I keep. Those memories… That was the first time I met you. And they are all that is left of Amanda Drei."
Jocelyn looked down at the data stick. She dropped it onto the ground. Then, with a heel, she grinded it into the ground.
"Don't get too enthusiastic, now," Verlix joked lightly. Jocelyn didn't seem to share his cheer.
"What is Signet?" she demanded.
"A multi-national terrorist group," Verlix answered. "Situated in a small island off the coast of Norway. They had a counterfeit headquarters located in Lebanon. That fooled their enemies for a good long while."
"I've never heard of them."
"They withered away after… after the brave acts of your mother. She destroyed their super-soldiers and relayed out the location of their base."
"But she…"
"The Norwegian and American militaries stormed the base as soon as they could. They could not save your mother."
Jocelyn stood up and slowly began pacing around. "You said they withered away," she said. "But they're still out there, aren't they? That's why we're always moving around."
"Yes," Verlix admitted. "It is much smaller, but Signet still comprises of a few highly-dangerous individuals. I suspect that they will keep their distance from Gotham, though. Something to do with chiroptophobia, I suspect."
Jocelyn turned sharply back to the computer. She stormed up to the keyboard and began typing. "I'm not hiding anymore," she snapped. "Those bastard will pay for everything."
"What are you doing?" Verlix cried. He shut down the schematics that she had started working on. "Jo, calm down!"
Jocelyn reached over and flipped open a glass latch. Inside was a switch. As she touched it, it immediately recognized her fingerprints, allowing her to push it in. Suddenly, the red words 'OVERRIDE' appeared on the screen. The schematics reappeared.
"You—Jocelyn! Please!" Verlix pleaded desperately. His control over the computer had been lost. All he could do was watch as Jocelyn continued, her face stony. "Look at what you have! Don't throw that away! Jo!"
She ignored him.