Young Offender, Part 34:
"...and then I was arrested. I wish you could talk, but I'm under strict orders to leave your mouth as is," Gilmore explained in a low, dire tone.
Jet nodded. Gilmore took a swab and dipped it in a small jar. He gingerly pulled Jet's lips apart and swabbed around the screws embedded into the inflamed gums. Jet breathed out in relief as his gums grew somewhat numb.
"Okay?"
Jet nodded.
"Now I'm going to put you under. I need to examine part of you brain and chest cavity. So you'll need to get undressed and hop on the table. Just relax."
Jet looked around the small exam room. The two guards were outside the door, playing cards. He watched Gilmore pick up a clipboard and scribble while he peeled off the blue scrubs they made him wear. He quickly slid onto the table and laid down. He didn't really trust Gilmore, but he didn't really have a choice.
Gilmore glanced to the doorway and held the clipboard up to Jet's eyes. It read in English "I'm going to actually enhance you abilities: both flight and acceleration. They don't know about my plans for you, and they don't really trust me, but they do need me. I hope, with advanced abilities, that you'll be able to break free when the time comes. It's the only way I can think to help you now. They are watching us all the time, so don't give them a reason to snoop. Okay?"
Jet nodded once; he'd do anything to get his freedom again, even go through more surgery. Jet took a deep breath and let Gilmore put the black, rubber gas-mask over his nose and mouth. He drifted off into a deep slumber.
Several days later Jet was taken to the same testing forest he and the others had escaped from; they had dressed him in a green uniform with a dark red scarf once again. This time he was alone and there were several over-sized robots with laser pistols among the forest trees. It was the creepy, little girl with them that he worried about. She had gotten the jump on him and Albert at the hotel room, so he knew she was like Ivan.
Gilmore and some other doctors were there, including the one that had wired Jet's jaw shut. The man's hand was still wrapped, and he shot Jet ugly looks every now and again. Jet promised himself one day to pay the man back for the pain and humiliation, even if it was the last thing he'd do.
Gilmore had already passed a note telling him this test had to go off flawlessly so the Black Ghost would continue the upgrades. Otherwise, Francoise and Albert would be taken away and put in cryogenic sleep; then he and Ivan would be sold off to the highest bidding country angling to start a war.
"Once around the island as fast as you can and then through the obstacle course," Doctor Gaia snapped and pointed to the sky. Jet nodded and hurled himself towards the sky. He flew like the other's lives depended on it. As the air rushed around him, he couldn't help but revel in the power and the new speed.
He hadn't realized how he did enjoy flying; but it seemed so obscene to admit something like that. He pushed it from his mind and concentrated on landing and jogging through the forest. Explosions went off all around him. He couldn't active his acceleration device, but he still had enough speed to make it to the finish.
He tagged the tree with an orange ribbon around it and doubled over, hands on knees as he fought to breath as much as he could. Gaia drove up in a jeep with Uranus.
"Good work, 002." Uranus said, with a bright smile. "We'll begin work on 003 tomorrow!"
Jet's eyes narrowed at Uranus. He vowed to pay that man back, too. Francoise was now his family, sealed to him by something stronger than blood and flesh.
Jet got back and wasn't surprised to see Francoise and Albert still dead to the world. A nurse brought by a protein drink with a straw and helped Jet drink. He carefully finished and was grateful the nurse left soon. There was no clock, but he could tell it was dusk by the light filtering through the bars across the window.
He sat on the side of Albert's bed and picked up the paper and pen resting on the man's chest. He smiled at reading 'Lieber Gianni Alessandro...
Jet was pleased with himself as he read the meticulous, German words. The words were of encouragement and a warning to keep his temper in line. Near the end, the letter said something that made Jet's heart stop. In neat print the German words said 'Keep yourself safe for Francoise and Ivan's sake. Also, keep yourself safe for my sake, if not your own. I can't stand the idea of your loss. Yours, Albert.'
Jet fought to get breath again. He picked up the paper and pen; he went over to a corner across the room and tried to put his thoughts together. He really wasn't as well spoken, or written, as Albert, and it made him self-conscious. Eventually, he slowly put his words down in awkward German; he let his hopes and fears out on the paper.
Afterwards, he checked on Francoise, glad to see the bumps on her skin fading away. He folded the paper in half and tucked it under under Albert's remaining hand. He sank to the ground beside Albert's bed, put his right arm under his head, and started at the shadow-play on the ceiling.
Francoise woke, but still felt in a deep haze. She sat up slowly and realized, in horror, she was once again dressed in the green uniform with the dark, red scarf. She smoothed down the pleated skirt after she slid off the table. Everything seemed so bright and everything sounded so hollow. What was worse, her skin felt as if it were on fire.
"Help me!"
"Identify the liquids in front of you," a deep, far away voice called out. She stumbled forward, not knowing what else to so. There were several heady odors invading her nose. Words came to her head, announcing what each was: mercury, nitroglycerin, ammonia, arsenic, salt, bleach. Very simple stuff that she said out loud.
"Very good. Now a tactile test," the man's voice announced. She followed the instructions, praying they'd let her see the others soon.
She felt clear headed, somewhat, by the time they let her get back to the dormitory. She was elated to see Jet sitting by the window, just staring outside. Albert was unconscious. Jet stood up; and she ran into his arms. He hugged her fiercely and then held her at arms length; he looked her up and down with concern. It was his mouth and the incredibly strong and stagnant scent of blood coming from him that almost knocked her back.
"It's true? They did... that to you... to your mouth?"
Jet nodded. He went over and got pen and paper. The paper, Francoise could see, was crowded with German words, coherent and not so. Jet found a blank space and wrote, in perfect German 'How are you?'
"I'm fine, just very tired. They kept testing my senses. How are Albert and Ivan?"
'They doped Albert. Ivan, I just don't know.'
"Things are so different now. It's like everything is brighter. I can see x-rays... and all sorts of things." She gave Jet a small smile. "I can even hear your stomach. Are you eating?"
'Nothing real... just soup.'
"How cruel," Francoise said, clenching her fist. A wave of vertigo hit her, but Jet caught her and tucked her back into her bed. He patted her shoulder and wrote 'Rest or they dope you too.'
She nodded and closed her eyes except for a sliver. She watched Jet as the darkness fell. She was baffled at why Jet settle on the floor beside Albert's bed. More than likely, Jet was being very defensive over Albert in his weakened state. She understood, but Francoise was concerned; she could see the tile temperature was extremely cold. However, she saw Jet drift to sleep quickly. She looked over to where Jet's bed had been originally. It was unused.
Now she worried over Jet's sanity, wondering if the Black Ghost had found a way to break him. If so, what chance did she stand? Albert and Jet were so much stronger than her. They'd been through so much more. She drew a deep breath and let worries drain from her. Her deep exhaustion pushed them away.
Ivan woke up, sweat all over his skin. He sat up in his bed and looked around his bedroom. He laid back down, closed his eyes, and subtly gathered his capital power together.
/Aunt Katharina? My friends are suffering. It's like I feel it all under my skin. It torments me. I want to let this pain out so badly./
/I know, my little one. There is nothing I can do for you. Just one more month. See? The time has flown by. Besides, for the next three weeks you'll not be conscious of their suffering./
/What? Why?/
/I can't answer that./
/Something dire?/
/Something will happen to you that is necessary for you to function for the rest of your life. You will be frightened, and you will want to fight. But it must happen./
/But I have so much more I need to learn from you./
/I'll be with you the whole time, my darling. I'll have time to train you more./
Ivan nodded at his ceiling and took a deep had to trust in Katharina's judgment and her visions, but still, he remembered times when she raged and laugh hysterically, smashed countless mirrors and windows with her telekinesis. She'd go months without bathing and tear at her skin.
She'd walk over the broken mirrors, leaving tails of blood. Then, Erika would try to restrain Katharina so she would no longer hurt herself. It always led to battles between the sisters so severe they shook entire buildings' foundations. Still, he was inclined to trust his aunt over his mother. He had no real choice, unless he wanted to submit to Black Ghost, but he knew it wasn't his destiny. He would reject it with everything he had left.
Ivan stirred his kasha so the sour cream mixed evenly with the porridge. He didn't take his eyes off his mother and father. Ann joined them, and Erika served her breakfast. The four ate in silence. His parents had nervousness rolling off of them so tangibly he felt he could taste it.
"My friend, Albert, always says to be direct. I sense tension from the both of you.
What's going to happen today?"
"001... Ivan... please." His mother reached over and covered his hand with hers. "We realized we made a mistake with you, darling. We've make arrangements for you to see Doctor Dressler today. We contracted him several weeks ago, with Lord Scar's permission."
"What do you mean 'contracted'?"
"You've done everything we've asked, and you've rebuilt trust. We want to reward you with a new, older body," Fyodr answered, smiling.
"But..." Ivan looked over at Ann, stunned. She demurely looked down at her kasha. "So you'll put me through more twisted experiments to fix the ones you forced on me to begin with?"
"But we though you'd be pleased," his mother said, looking confused.
He glowered at her and said, "I saw the pain you put Ann through when you captured us. She's really just a small child."
"Yes, and you are really a man inside of a boy's body. Don't you want to be older than fourteen?"
Ivan felt a jolt as Francoise's face came to his mind, but a flutter of hope was dashed by Jet's words to him. Even if he was older, she would never love him like he loved her. Besides, the pain Ann went through was imprinted on his mind. It was very vivid because it was through the mental contact he'd secretly had with her and his aunt over the last two months.
"I don't want an older body. I want to be as I am," Ivan decided. It would be pointless to change now.
"You'll be grateful," Fyodor decided. "Besides, some of your organs have been cloned and put in your new body. All that needs to be done is to transplant your brain and let you adjust."
"It doesn't matter to you what I want?"
"It's for your own good," Erika insisted. "Now finish your breakfast, and we can get started on getting your new body."
Jet had run out of paper, so he had taken to writing on the walls and sheets, anything he could find. Albert had continued to teach him to write German, and he and Jet had worked out a few hand signs. Mostly, Jet found himself sitting beside Albert and listing to him talk when Francoise was asleep.
Albert talked about Germany and the Second World War. Growing up during a war was a deep hardship. He painted a picture of his father and his mother so well, Jet felt as if he had met them. Albert also talked about music, and his bitterness over not having his right arm so he could no longer play the violin and piano. He talked about the beauty and power of Liszt, Haydn, Bach, and Brahms. For the first time in his life, Jet felt curious about a world beyond his class and lot. He wanted to know more, because Albert was bringing it to life.
When Francoise was awake, Jet listened to her and Albert talk about music and the ballet. Sometimes, he felt as though he didn't belong with them. They had had nothing in common with him. They were so sophisticated and from a different continent, which seemed like a different world. Sometimes, he was terrified they'd see him for what he was, street trash, and reject him; he started to feel his jaw being wired shut was a mixed blessing. It didn't ache so much, anymore, as the days wore on.
Things between the three of them calmed, doctors came in occasionally. What worried Jet was the continued morphine Albert and Francoise were on. Every now and then they saw doctor Gilmore, and Jet started to feel sorry for the man, too. They still made him work, even though what they made him do was against his morals.
One day, though, the Black Ghost did something that stab Jet's heart. They came and took Albert away. He couldn't remember it clearly, because of the beating he got for getting in their way. When he woke, Francoise was weeping beside him, and Albert was gone. He sat up from the cold tile and clung to Francoise as tight as he could. She sobbed all the more, and for the first time he could ever remember, tears started rolling down his cheeks.
To be continued.