"Jackson's back." I say as the car pulls into the driveway. Josh, who has been playing with Shadow, quickly springs up and rushes to the door just as his father steps out of the vehicle. Jackson opens the door and quickly reaches down to hug his son. I step back, not wanting to intrude on a personal moment. Shadow, however, has no such restraint. She jumps from the couch to my head and springboards off it to wedge her small body in between the two of them.
"You're home dad!" She exclaims while Jackson tries to get ahold of her. "We've missed you!"
"You really need to learn some patience there, Shadow." Jackson says as he finally gets her in his arms.
"Sorry. I just get so excited when you get back. I lose control."
"I know. I would appreciate you trying at least."
"I suppose it's worth a shot."
"So Dad," Josh interjects. "How was work?"
"Slow. I'm glad to be back. Let me finish some things up with Alex and we can figure out something to do today."
"Alright! I'll be in my room if you need me." Josh rushes off down the hall, Shadow trailing close behind. That leaves Thunder and I alone with him.
"Did you get it?" Thunder asks.
Jackson responds by taking out a small USB device from his pocket and hands it to me. It's about the size of a smartphone, circuitry encased in a shiny white plastic shell with a few LED lights on the side to indicate its power status. Let's hope all this effort was worth something. "I also think I saw someone from Team Rocket while I was there."
A chill runs down my spine. Rocket being within the same building as him is way too close for comfort. "Did you catch who?"
"I think her name was Siana." The name registers quickly. That's the same woman who was interrogating me when I first arrived. This doesn't bode well. "I overheard some things while I was there. But I think Mewtwo should hear them too."
"Right, then let's get to it." Jackson nods and heads into his office to grab a laptop. I head the way downstairs where Mewtwo is keeping himself occupied with a game of solitaire, something I taught him to help pass the time. The moment the door opens he looks to us with intent.
"You are back. Great!" A hopeful smile creeps over his face. "Did you get it?"
"We did. Jackson's getting it all set up right now. He'll be down in a second." As if on cue Jackson walks through the door, laptop and sensor in hand.
"Alright." He says. "Let's crack this thing open." He sets the laptop down and the table and gets to work. The rest of us gather behind to watch.
"Remind me again what that sensor thing has that we want?" Thunder asks.
"It should have a copy of Mewtwo's DNA. With an adaptor and a computer we should be able to take a peak at the genome and see what secrets lie within. What each gene does and such."
"I've never heard the word 'genome' in my entire life."
"It'll let us read the 'biological instructions' of Mewtwo." I say. "With that we can get a better look of what makes them tick and what they're capable of, as well as possibly hints about how they came to be."
"I... think I get it? Never mind. Let's just do what we're going to do."
After a short installation and configuring procedure, the program starts up. After a short jaunt through the menus we reach what we are looking for, the tracking sensor's reference sample. The sample of Mewtwo's DNA within the device. After a period of trial and error, we finally get to a screen that gives us a decoded look at the genetic code. Finally. We have progress.
"There's a lot here. Where do we start?" Jackson muses.
"If I remember correctly, most of the genes of living things are shared among everything." I say. "See if there's an option to filter those out. That should leave only the ones unique to Mewtwo."
"Yeah. here we go." He scrolls through the list of genes, each entry being highlighted on a graphic of a DNA helix. Genes for blood cells, bone growth, psychic potential, and many many more. Including one labeled "emotion suppression."
"Emotion Suppression?" I read. "That shouldn't exist. There's no good reason for it to exist."
"Regardless of if it should or shouldn't be there it is." Jackson says. "Perhaps if we keep looking..."
As we look further through them I notice something off. The genes are alphabetized. Not just the list, but organized on the genome in the exact same order as the list. I point it out to the others and Jackson confirms what I'm seeing.
"Is that normal?" Thunder asks.
"I highly doubt it. The odds of natural evolution creating a genome that is alphabetized specifically in English is nigh impossible. Unless..."
"...Unless what?"
"Unless it wasn't evolved, it was designed. That's the only explanation I can think of."
"Designed?" Mewtwo interjects with a hint of concern in their voice. "As in I was not born, but rather made?" The prospect doesn't seem appealing to them.
"There's more." Jackson adds. His voice tells me that what he's about to say will not make things better. He searches through the list of genes again, stopping on one in particular labeled "cloning stability marker." "I overheard something at work. They said you were a clone. I wasn't entirely sure but this here confirms it."
Mewtwo stares at the screen with a stunned, saddened expression. "A... A clone? I am a copy?"
"I'm afraid so."
Mewtwo steps away from the computer and sits on the couch with a heavy thud. A complex swirl of emotions swim across his face. "I am a copy... My form is not my own..."
"Mewtwo?" I say, walking over to them. "You okay?"
"...No. I am not okay. I'm a clone. I was born in a test tube. Everything I am was never mine to begin with. I'm a husk. A shell." To my surprise they actually start crying. Seeing such a stoic pokemon reduced to tears is surreal. "I watched Jackson and his son and wondered if I ever had someone like him in my life. But no, my father was nothing but a machine. I am nothing but a machine. A biological machine designed in a lab. Engineered and tested. Soulless. I am not alive..."
"Hey now. Don't start this. I don't care if you started life in a womb or a petri dish. I care who you are now. And right now you're a flesh and blood pokemon. Same as the rest. Just as capable of feeling and living."
"I appreciate the sentiment, Alex, but the circumstances of my birth-"
"-are irrelevant. You've been given the gift of life. That gift is yours and yours alone. How you started your life is pointless. What you make of it determines who you truly are."
"I would like to believe that but..." They pause. "They stripped me of my ability to feel. And I was programed with the knowledge on how to kill. They made me into a monster. The bodies I left in the facility are proof of that. How am I supposed to overcome that which is forever part of me?"
"If I may..." Thunder interjects. "I know how you feel. Not that long ago I was a coward. I couldn't stand up for myself or muster up the courage to make something of my life. I thought I could never be anything more. But then Alex showed up. And he helped me through it. It wasn't easy. Arceus, no, it was not easy. On our first real mission I bailed mid-fight and left him for dead. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that.
"But with time I grew braver. That thing that I thought I would never overcome slowly melted away. I still have my moments of fear, but I am a long ways from where I started. I see no reason you couldn't do the same."
"I would very much like to believe that, Thunder. But I cannot." Mewtwo is silent for a moment. They let out a shuddering breath as they suppress what sounds like a sob. "I need to be alone."
I nod and get up from my seat. The others do the same. "If you want to talk about it, you know where to find us." I say. They don't respond. The three of us ascend the stairs in silence, only breaking the quiet when the door closes behind us.
"Poor Mewtwo... That can't be easy for them..." Thunder says. "And they're still trying to reign in their emotions."
"For now it sounds like they need space. We should focus on the mission at hand for now."
"Right." Jackson agrees. "So, we know that Rocket is creating clones for an unknown reason and is likely being funded by Devon Corp. But clones of what? And what are they for?"
"If the name means anything they probably have genetic similarities to Mew. I think our friend is directly linked to the kidnappings on Pokemar that brought us here. But to confirm that we need another lead. That conversation you overheard, was there anything else you heard that could help us?"
"There was a name... Fuji, I think it was." I quickly take out my phone and do a search for that name. "I found something. Doctor Yosuke Fuji. He specializes in the field of genetics and has had dealings with Devon recently. Has a wife and a late daughter. ...Died at 7 years old in a car accident... yikes..."
"Where can we find him?"
"It looks like he has an apartment in Mauville City. We'll have to stop by later. Assuming Mewtwo feels up to it."
"I wish there was more we could do for them." Thunder says.
"Me too. But as it stands, they'll be ready when they feel ready. In the meantime, how about we go spar with the other pokemon? Maybe see if Josh is up for a rematch."
"I could think of worse ways to pass the time."