Authors notes: You guys have no idea how badly I wanted to post on April 30th. I know that it was only like a week and a half after my last post but I was gonna put in the hours and crank this one out. Have I mentioned that I am bad at estimating time? Anyway my intentions were derailed quite thoroughly due to some unpostponable and time consuming events irl. It's here now though, enjoy.
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It was strange, seeing through a computer's camera as if it were his own eyes. Not that a digital view was a new sensation to Raiden but despite his familiarity he never could quite acclimate to the perspective. Technically his old eyes could be considered cameras, the organic ones having been altered long ago along with what little of him that remained. Even though they were cybernetically enhanced he could still move them at will, focus and unfocus, and had a nearly natural peripheral field of vision. Sometimes he would even forget and consider them one of the last normal parts of himself left.
Even back when he had used the cloth embedded with a multitude of cameras to hide his missing eye Raiden had still defaulted on using his remaining eye instead of the enhanced input to focus from. As the Doktor had said back then, the human brain could only process so much visual stimulus. Despite the leaps and bounds in cybernetic enhancements, human nature will default upon what it knows best, on what it was designed to handle.
It was why, despite the creativity of scientists, most cybernetic forms had only four limbs and were bipedal. Of course there were exceptions such as Mistral and her impressive command and coordination of that many arms, but for the most part it was easier to work with what the brain knew rather than try to reprogram it. This is why when on the occasions Raiden was forced to experience the world through foreign artificial means it was always so off-putting.
The audio was not so bad. Depending on the quality of the electronics it was more akin to a phone call with interference, or like the muffled quality that the world took after gunfire without ear protection. Visually it was a far different story than looking at a television or computer monitor. When seeing through simple cameras everything was presented at the forefront of his attention, no need to focus, and anything in the periphery came in nice and sharp. Raiden could not look around at will, but there was no need to as everything all at once was already right there.
It could get overwhelming it you paid too much attention to it. Years back when he had first started in VR training it was one of the only aspects that he had struggled with. While he had experenced more than his share of the digital world since those early days, he was woefully out of practice as of late.
Thankfully there had been enough distractions for Raiden to focus on the past few days rather than the feeling vertigo from seeing everything all at once. Not that he had to worry about it much longer. It was going to be a busy day.
Through the small lens of the computer Raiden watched the action about him unfold. The labs were a flurry of activity as the Doktor and his assistants were putting the finishing touches on his new body and preparing him for surgery. He could hear their chatter as they worked, paying little mind to the jumble of technical words. Due to the position of the laptop that was currently functioning as his eyes and ears Raiden could not follow the action properly if they moved too far one way or the other.
What he was interested in was not moving however. Not yet anyway.
Just near the end of his field of vision Raiden could see part of the body that was soon to be his. Bare feet with the white fabric of medical scrubs draped loosely around the ankles. It was a strange out of body feeling to see your legs on the other side room. It had been both fascinating and dehumanizing to watch them craft a replacement body over these past few days. He would be made of a collection of wires and parts so unlike the delicate dance of a flesh and blood body.
He was just metal and circuits. Easily crafted and just as easily replaced.
Raiden had already had his fare share of existential crises about his physical state after that first year free of the Patriots facility. It might have bothered him should he have thought too deeply about it but now the subject only filled him with detached resignation. He had already accepted his state as 'less than' years ago. No point in getting disquieted about it now. No, he had things far more important to him to be upset about than sorry remains of his body.
When Sunny had told him that John had come to visit him Raiden hadn't known what to feel. It was a blurred blend of emotions that warred for dominance. Relief, concern, and joy were chief amongst those emotions. Knowing that his son was alright and had come to see him had taken a weight off of his heart. The fact that neither of the children had woke him up so they could speak properly upset him, but Sunny had argued that neither of them wanted to disturb his sleep.
Begrudgingly Raiden could understand why they had thought that to be the best course of action. After that conversation he insisted that the next time his son came to visit they were to wake him up regardless of how well (or poorly) he was sleeping.
The days had passed but for some reason John never returned.
After the third day Raiden had asked Sunny about John but she had confessed that she had not seen nor heard from him since that visit. He knew that she would have seen the boy if he had come by as she stayed with Raiden at night to keep vigil against nightmares. During the day the Doktor and his crew were busy assembling his new body as well as tending to Maverick duties and would have surely spotted him.
There were people around him at all hours but his son was never counted amongst their number.
During the day while others were preoccupied Raiden had plenty of time to think and to try and work on putting himself back together. It was difficult gathering up his frayed mind. Things slipped away and his memory mocked him. Focus was difficult and he was prone to falling to sleep often when he didn't want to and rest would flee from him when he did. At times it felt like he would slip back into the darkness, particularly after some more severe nightmares and despondent moods.
The Doktor assuaged any concern's of his that this would be in any way permanent. Underneath the flood of neuroscience babble Raiden took away the message that his cognitive functions would be fully restored to him soon. He would just have to be patient and take the progress as it came.
Raiden didn't want to be patient. He did not have the luxury of relaxing while his head was fixed up piece by piece. Too much time had already been stolen from his life already, and he didn't want spend any more of it in labs. Between the time that had passed and hearing that he would have to wait for a body to be constructed, Raiden felt an overwhelming feeling of being trapped. He had never reacted well to being trapped.
It was during such time where his thoughts became too oppressive and the Patriots facility flashbacks threatened like rumblings from an approaching storm on the horizon that he found the recording.
Raiden had initially been trying to use the computer that he was hooked up to to access the internet. He had three years taken from his life and had been curious as to what was going on in the state of the world right now. Not to mention it would give him something to do other than think for once.
It had been late at night and he had been feeling abnormally wakeful. Sunny had drifted off to sleep and the movie she had put on had long ago run its course hours ago. Access to the internet had been cut off for this computer, an attempt to shield him from potential hackers in his vulnerable state right now, no doubt. With little else available for him to do, Raiden had taken to rummaging around in the computer's memory for something to entertain himself until his next bout of drowsiness.
Mostly it was was files upon files of data that he did not understand nor would attempt to. It was one of Mavericks lab computers and was absolutely void of anything entertaining. It didn't even have a solitaire program for a bored employee (or himself) to pass the time with. It was during his digital exploration that Raiden found the files for his visual and audio feed.
The computer had been recording and saving everything that the camera and microphone picked up. No doubt it was the Dok's doing as the man was forever obsessed with accumulating data. Immediately Raiden had pulled up the file for the night John came to visit, greatly wishing to see hear his son again.
What he heard was absolutely crushing.
John was so much older than the little boy that he remembered. How much he had grown in just a few short years was astonishing. Already his voice was starting to deepen but still held that softness to it. Just like his mother. It hurt to hear John's plea to go running with him, the boy's confession that he wanted so much to hate him, the strong implications that Rose had moved on just as Raiden had feared that she would…
If it were not for the fact that his kid was somewhere in this building waiting for him Raiden might have shut back down right then and there. How many times would he end up failing his family? Was it his fate to keep making mistakes until he truly was alone? The nightmares took a back seat to the ruminations of his personal failures. Despite his efforts to hide it, others noticed the pointed change in him where he had been completely driven before.
Everybody assumed that his low mood and being taciturn was due to his lack of progress in recovering. With multiple reassurances, the Doktor had increased the rate at which the lab worked to construct a new body. Despite the older man's oft stated reservations about connecting him so soon, he agreed to proceed with the operations ahead of schedule in an attempt to encourage Raiden.
Sunny busied herself more with his mental health. She was more acutely aware that all was not right with him having known him the longest. Raiden considered talking over the issue with her just to reassure her that his current mood was not because his recovery.
He ultimately decided against it however because he didn't want to add more worry for him onto her long list of concerns. She did enough for him already and lost too much sleep trying to wage war against his nightmares. It was a battle she would not win. There was also the fact that a teenage girl should not have to shoulder the emotional burden of a man his age.
Regardless of their efforts, there was nothing she nor the Doktor could do that could sooth the heartache of his son confessing that he wanted to hate him and the fact that his wife may have left him. Again. And why had no one mentioned Rose? Why had she not come to see him if John was here? Raiden had been too much of a coward to ask and the mood and thoughts continued to fester. Everyone around him grew increasingly worried and assured him that he would have a body soon and things would be better then.
He wished that he could believe them.
Looking at the feet soon to be his while the lab workers darted in and out of his view, Raiden wondered about his family and how he could possibly even begin to make things right. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he wished for the operations to be done and over with. For more reasons than one. Not that he would admit it lest Dok change his mind and push back the date but he was somewhat nervous about the upcoming procedures.
Considering that the operation today was going to be a bit more complicated and invasive than just a simple connection, not to mention his past experiences, Raiden felt that could not be blamed for his apprehension. His desire to have it done and over with was far greater than any trepidation or the Doktor's wishes that he would wait just a little longer before proceeding with his connection process. Raiden needed to go find his son, and to do that he needed those legs on the other side of the room.
A hand waved back and forth in front of his visual feed, jarring the depressed man from his thoughts.
"Raiden can you hear me? Your audio is working, ja?" The Doktor leaned in close to the laptop, adjusting his glasses.
"I can hear you Dok." Raiden replied. The computer could not quite accurately recreate his voice, making it sound eerily foreign. "Sorry. I was off in my own head."
The Doktor stepped back and adjusted the laptop to where the camera was pointed at the man's face rather than the middle of his torso. Raiden was somewhat irritated that his view was manipulated without him being asked first.
"Is that a joke? Ha! Well, we will be getting you out of there today my friend. But not after I have had a chance to poke around in there for a bit first." The Doktor laughed heartily at his own joke.
Raiden didn't share in the amusement. He found the thought of someone messing with his brain viscerally disturbing. Someone touching the very flesh that made up the entirety of one's being was oddly intimate in a way that sex would never compete with. Although the sheer power imbalance present with this type of operation has always felt less like the give and take of sleeping with someone and something much more sinister.
From childhood and his time in the Patriot labs Raiden well knew what it was like to not be able to say no. There had been many things in his life that he had been forced to accept and this operation was just another in that long list. At least this time he would not be at the nonexistent mercy of those that ran the conversion labs. Raiden trusted the Doktor as the man had proven dependable already. He just wished he wouldn't be so casual about it.
"I wouldn't go digging in there too deep Dok, might not like what you find." Raiden cautioned, self depreciation loud and clear despite the slight distortion of his voice through the computer's speakers.
"Oh nonsense." The Doktor brushed the thought off with a dismissive wave of the hand. "You may have had a troubled past and fight many demons because of it, but I know that you are a good man Raiden."
"I wish I could be a better one." He said bitterly and tiredly.
"You give yourself far too little credit my friend. Now..." The Doktor clapped his hands together, eager to proceed."Lets go over your operation."
"You've already told me Dok. Several times in fact." The speaker did not quite manage to capture his put on sigh of exasperation but his tone did the trick.
"I know it may seem repetitive but remember, it was not too long ago that you had difficulty recalling who I was from one day to the next." The Doktor waggled an admonishing finger at him.
And didn't that reminder sting. It was mostly during first waking or becoming too tired did the disorientation and confusion rear its ugly head. Those two scenarios happened far too often for Raiden's liking even though he hadn't had a spell like that for a few days. He needed to be better now.
"I only wish to clarify and make sure I have your complete consent before the procedures start."
"You know you do, but go on ahead if it will make you feel better." Raiden replied somewhat sourly.
"This is for you to feel better young man, not I." The Doktor returned his attitude with well practiced ease. The older man approached the laptop, turning it about to where Raiden's own head was in view of the computers camera.
Good God he looked wretched. A far cry from the nigh unstoppable force from several years prior. Raiden wished he had the ability to look away from the sight.
"Anyway. The first steps will be here" The Doktor then moved back, checking that he was in sight of the camera as well and tapped the side of Raiden's head where his ear would have been. It was strange as hell to see yourself several feet away as if the head belonged to someone else but feeling the touch.
"The dysfunctional implants shall be removed and replaced so you will be connected again. We will see what caused them to fail although I have my suspicions. Vascular ports shall need to be exchanged most certainly."
Raiden did not appreciate the mind bending vertigo of being slightly lifted and tilted but his vision remaining perfectly steady. It was not as if he knew what he was looking at anyway and the Dok knew this. Thankfully he was quickly set back down after the perfectly normal looking red tubes were presented to him.
"Ah, not to mention a set of new eyes for you. Color shall match perfectly, same as before. Hair too unless you wish for a change this time?"
"I'm good Dok." He had enough issues looking in the mirror, a different set of eyes would not help the matter in the slightest.
"Some of the junctions on your brainstem need to be checked although I am fairly confident that they are fine. No excuse to not be absolutely sure. And while I already have your skull open I might as well have a look around to see if anything is amiss. Any questions?"
"Yeah, are we done with that part yet?" Raiden asked, uncomfortable with the Dok's blunt phrasing. Doktor just laughed.
"Not yet. Not yet. It will be over with before you know it. You should not have to go through this again for at least another decade." The other man said far too brightly.
"I cant wait for the tech to get to the point where I won't have to do it at all. Or at the very least get the process down to where I can sleep through the whole thing instead of having to be awake. It's disturbing." It may have come across as whining, but it was his head and Raiden felt entitled to a little bit of griping at his situation.
"No no no no no. It is fascinating and I cannot wait until it is my turn to be converted. It is quite the experience I bet."
"I wouldn't if I were you Dok. Appreciate what you have now." This earned him a hearty scoff from the older man.
"Says you. You were turned into a cyborg as a young man. You have never had to experience the various indignities that old age inflicts on ones person. When I convert I shall compare the experiences and decide for myself and see if it is worth it and let you know. I already work on the schematics for the customized body I shall one day inhabit in my spare time. I simply cannot wait." The mad scientist looked almost giddy at the thought. If Raiden possessed the ability to move right now, he would have simply shook his head.
"You do you Dok. Whatever makes you happy I guess. Personally I would rather have the real thing."
"Ah, and that brings me onto the next procedure: your attachment." The Doktor once again (to Raiden's irritation) moved the computer around. The body soon to be his came fully into view.
It lay stretched out almost as if on sacrificial display near the center of the room. It was clothed in white scrub bottoms in a pointless attempt at modesty. The form would have seemed like a peacefully sleeping doppelganger of himself if it were not for the fact that most of its head was missing. With the exception of an intact lower jaw, where the head should have been was a mess of wires and tubes with synthetic skin peeled down around the neck like a scarf until it could be adjusted and fused properly to his skull.
The other workers of the lab were putting the finishing touches on detaching the metal vessel from the supporting equipment so it could be wheeled over into the other room to await him. Doktor's voice drew Raiden's attention back to the man.
"This body I have crafted for you has been designed for your recovery rather than combat. Do not attempt to preform the same feats that you are used to in that form. It simply cannot take it." The Doktor leveled him with the same warning look that the headmaster of his old orphanage would give him nearly daily. "Audio and visual input will not quite be the quality that you are used to in your combat models, but smell, taste, and most importantly touch will be of a far superior quality than you have had previously. I am actually quite proud in that regard."
"Why the change? And why the emphasis on touch?" Raiden was puzzled by the changes. The Doktor looked especially pleased with himself, nearly fidgeting in his glee.
"Is it not obvious? You were extremely deprived of all sensory input in that dreadful place. In addition to the treatments I already have you on, having you more closely connected to the world around you will greatly assist in your recovery. As a cyborg your sense of touch is the most dulled of them all but is one of the most important in your current recovery. Hence the focus." The Doktor said it in such a factual and 'this should be obvious' tone that Raiden began to wonder if this was just another one of those things that kept slipping his mind.
"If you say so Dok. Although I don't see how me touching things will help out any."
"The realism of it all my boy." The Doktor picked up a random elongated instrument nearby and turned it over in his hands. "The closer you are to a natural state the better at this point. It will help you anchor you to the here and now rather then you getting lost in that head of yours." Doktor tapped his own head with the item. "I noticed that you were sensory seeking in the VR before your, ah, outbursts. Unlike previous bodies, you will be able to adjust the sensitivity of your senses to your liking should you find yourself becoming overwhelmed which may be a concern."
Raiden bristled at the implication that he could not handle it even while he was all to aware of its likelihood. Waking up in the VR had been overwhelming particularly with the shock of light, as low as it was. His few days of being hooked up to the computer to see and hear had helped to desensitize him to the intensity of some of those senses. Having a greater expanse of self with all that came with it was going to be a challenge. He hated himself for such weakness.
"I can't get over this if I run away from it Dok. Thanks but I think I'll keep the settings on normal. Jump in the deep end and all that." The Doktor tisked at him disappointedly.
"You push yourself too hard. You do not see the progress you have made, only what you have not yet managed to do. You are truly a remarkable person to have even come as far as you have with everything in your life. Once again, I truly do wish that you would wait a few more days before your attachment. I have my reservations about doing it so soon."
"I know Dok but I cant stay like this any longer." Even if Raiden wasn't desperate to go find his son and seek out his wife, he still would be yearning to be free from the labs. Being helpless in a laboratory was not an experience he was thrilled to be revisiting. Being overwhelmed and confused was far less daunting then being stuck here watching the world go by. He had never been the kind of person to stay idle anyway.
"Ja, ja. I understand." The Doktor sighed without further fight. Evidently he had sounded more pleading in his tone than he had intended. Raiden had never been an overly proud man and was not above begging when he truly meant it.
The Doktor's attention was caught by something out of sight of the computers camera. The older man let out a brief sigh before calling out to someone across the room and waving him over.
"George! Done already? Over here then my lad if you will."
Raiden hardly recognized who he was seeing at first. Trotting into view was a dark haired teenager wearing the same scrubs as everyone else in the lab. Gone was the scraggly little kid without a single lick of sense in avoiding danger, and in his place was a confident young man who seemed completely at home in his surroundings.
The dark skin and bright smile brought back memories of a boy excitedly talking over video about how great his new life was. George stood about the same height as the Doktor although it was difficult to judge as the excited teen stood anything but still. Raiden had frequently wondered whatever became of the kid while he had been locked away and before his mind slipped. It was good to see him so lively and well. Really good.
"Ya Dok, watcha need?" George asked and then waved enthusiastically so someone out of the cameras view. The Doktor pointed at the laptop and George waved excitedly to the camera rather than presumably to Raiden's unseeing head.
Raiden could not help but be amused despite himself.
"Could you please fetch the antiseptic supplies? I need to get him properly cleaned off and ready."
"You is doing it?" The kid seemed oddly taken aback by this. Good lord he had grown so much since they had last spoke.
"Yes." The Doktor gave the boy a look that Raiden didn't know how to interpret.
"Sure thing. Be right back." George nodded and took off as requested, noticeably with a little less spring in his step. The two men watched his departure, each in their own thoughts. Once the kid was out of earshot Raiden spoke first.
"Wow, I hardly recognized him. He looks like he's doing good. How old is he now?" Sunny, John, and now George. They had all grown so much in just three short years. The sting of all he had missed out on prickled at him once more.
"Sixteen now yes. With all the energy and enthusiasm a boy his age has to offer." To Raiden's amusement the Doktor looked both fond and exasperated.
"I would have never have guessed that was the same scrawny kid that I found in the sewers."
"Ja, he has grown so fast. And always eager to help, that boy. I am rather proud of him." The Doktor turned to face the camera with a sly expression. "He has been dying to come see you, you know. Once he found out who I was working with he would not be left behind."
"Really? I've not seen him around any." Raiden quickly thought back over the past few days, wondering if George had come to visit and he had just not been in the right mind to recall it.
"He has been over here at Maverick with me for a few days now, but I have kept him from the labs. You have not seemed like you have been up for company these past several days and I did not want to add further potential stressors."
"Its nothing Dok, just frustrated that I'm still stuck like this." Of course there was much more to it than that but now was not the time nor place for it. He was not about to postpone his operation with long heartfelt conversations about his feelings. He would save that for when Rose wanted to go all therapist on him and pick his brain over what had happened. If she still wanted anything to do with him that is.
"Well, that will be fixed up soon enough my friend. George and I will have you on your feet in no time."
"George is helping out?" Now that Raiden thought about it, the kid was wearing scrubs too. Damn his slippery brain. This couldn't get fixed fast enough, he hated feeling so mentally slow. "Not that I'm complaining, it's good to see him, but don't you think this kinda work is a little...unsuitable for a kid?"
This earned an earnest laugh from the Doktor.
"Quite the opposite! George has expressed a sincere interest in the medical field and he has been my assistant during attachment procedures and surgery prep work for several years now. He is well familiar with Maverick's labs and procedures, trust me. Boris has given him his blessing and a job offering in the future should the lad wish it."
"Well how about that. Prep work, huh? So I get to see first hand what all he knows?"
"Ah about that..." The Doktor glanced over to where the boy was gathering the requested supplies. Several of the lab workers called out a greeting which the teenager returned. "Normally George would handle getting my patients ready as he has a charm about him that sets them at ease. I was uncertain if you would be comfortable with the boy seeing you like this. He looks up to you greatly. A bit of hero worship if I had to guess. I did not wish to have that image...disrupted by your current state."
"A bit late for that isn't it Dok?" Raiden quipped sardonically. The kid could do far better than him for a hero to look up to. Of course George seeing him in his current state should have quite unceremoniously knocked Raiden off any pedestal he may have been put upon.
"Ja. I tried to keep him busy elsewhere but I underestimated how much he wanted to work with the man who saved him. I had planned on doing it myself as I did not think you would want him handling you."
"Why not let him?" Raiden asked bluntly. "We can catch up while I get to see what all he knows. Besides, hes already seen me at my worst, in more ways than one. This is nothing really." Let the kid see him as he was. That should keep the pedestal empty and kicked over for good measure.
"Only if you are sure." The Doktor agreed hesitantly.
"Yeah. Don't you have to get yourself scrubbed off or whatever anyway?"
"Indeed I do have some preparations of my own to...ah George! We were just speaking about you." Doktor turned to face his returning assistant.
"Oh?" The teenager hesitated in his confusion. "Good choice in conversation topic by the way." He added cheekily with a wink and a thumbs up.
"A slight change of plans. You get to prep our patient here for his operation. I must go tend to myself."
"Yes sir! VIP scrub down it is." George juggled his supplies to his other arm and gave a sloppy left handed salute. The kid couldn't be grinning any wider.
"I shall leave the two of you to it. George knows his stuff. You are in good hands. But of course feel free to ask for me should you need to." The Doktor gave them both a nod before going off to inspect his assistants work and go fulfill his own tasks.
George turned to face him, realized his error, then turned to face the computers camera. The confident swagger had faded somewhat as the teen fidgeted and rocked back on his heels.
"So...It's been a while, nah?"
"It sure has been. Look at you, all grown up now. You might be taller than me now." George turned to face where he sat with a raised eyebrow. Propped up on a table amidst cords and wires. All several pounds of him."Well...me in a proper body anyway." Raiden amended and gave the kid a smile the best he could. It must have looked pitiful but it seemed to do the job in breaking the ice.
"I talked the Dok into giving me longer legs." George told him excitedly, lifting up one to demonstrate. "I was supposed to wait another two year for an upgrade but I talked him into it for my sixteenth birthday."
"That's a great birthday present. All I got for my sixteenth birthday was extra chores for running away again. Seems like you're doing really well with the Dok."
"He a good man, and hella fun to tease. I learned lots from him. He always let me work with him even though I got in the way a lot when I was younger." George shot a look over his shoulder, presumably to glance at the man in question.
"That's the best and worst thing about the Dok. He will teach anybody willing to listen but he'll talk your ear off if you let him." George laughed at this, being very well versed in the Doktor's monologues.
"Ya ya, he do that. Good thing for me I learn best from hearing, ya?" George tapped his ear with one of the bottles he was carrying.
"So I get to see how much you've learned from him today." Raiden tried to gently nudge the kid to the task at hand.
"Oh yeah!" George exclaimed, so caught up in talking to him that he had forgotten that he was supposed to be working. Hurriedly he went off screen and there was the sound of the items being placed down. He popped back up in the cameras view. "You want me turn the computer so you can watch, or you wanna see whats going on in the lab?"
Pleased that he was asked this time for once, Raiden answered with what he thought the teen might prefer best.
"I think I'll watch. How else are you going to show off how much you know?" He received a large smile in response and the computer was adjusted to where his sorry self was in view.
"Kay. We is gonna take off the bandages, hair, scrub ya down, get all the wires and stuff cleaned up, then scrub ya down again. Sound good?" George counted off the tasks one by one on metal fingers.
"Sounds good to me. Go for it kid. This is your mission, you take point."
Raiden watched the kid cleaned his hands off with some sanitizer before masking up and slipping gloves on. Satisfied that he was all set up, George popped the knuckles on his good hand before turning to where Raiden sat and reached for the cloth bandage wrapped around his face.
He was a little concerned at George having to see his eyeless face. While he might be desensitized towards that kind of thing, most people were squeamish about things such as missing eyes. Before he had a chance to reconsider and ask for the Dok, the cloth was already pulled away and set aside. Raiden didn't know what kind of reaction he expected from the kid, but a frown and a simple shake of the head was a little underwhelming.
"Ooh. They did a number on you. Doktor been keeping your pain receptors off I hope?" George gently lifted an eyelid and peered inside to access the cleaning job ahead of him. Raiden was so taken aback by the complete non reaction from the teenager that he didn't even flinch at being handled.
"Believe it or not it doesn't hurt. I was out of it when it happened. I've had far worse done to me that's for sure. Its been more annoying than anything." The man answered honestly.
"Last time we meet you got one eye. Now you got none. What you think it be like next time we meet?" George shot him a look, smile apparent even under his mask before checking the other side.
"Hopefully it will be two. Losing body parts got old years ago."
"How else ya gonna get the new and improved stuff? Normal peaceful boring way?" George laughed.
Raiden was starting to see what the Dok meant when he said that George puts his patients minds at ease. The kid was easy to talk to and his lighthearted quips cut off any tension before it could build.
"Wouldn't know how that's like. It'd be nice for a change."
"Naaah. Wheres the fun in that?" George then shifted to inspect his scalp and its carefully hidden seams. "This gotta come off ya. It just in the way. Ah, you already know this. What am I saying? I hope you don't mind too much. I can get a privacy screen set up for you if ya want." The kid turned and glanced at the several people still in the room.
"Don't worry about it. Vanity has never been one of my character flaws. I don't like conceited people anyway. It'll get it replaced soon enough."
George nodded and proceeded with the task at hand. With well practiced ease, the proper release points were pressed unlocking his scalp from his head sending the whole area numb with the detachment.
"Ya know, back in the sewers where we first met I would have sworn that this was ya real hair." The kid commented as he slowly peeled away the synthetic skin and hair from his head. Without hair to humanize his appearance and cover the dull reinforced metal that made up his skull, Raiden thought he looked like something out of a cheap sci-fi movie.
"My head has been operated on and knocked through glass so often that if it were my real scalp, I'd have more scar tissue than hair at this point."
"Gotta be more careful with this, ya know?" George lightly tapped the exposed metal with an artificial finger making a slight clink. "World already has a shortage of kick ass cyborg ninjas as it is."
Raiden watched as George carefully sat the scalp and limp hair aside with the bandage. While observing the teenager get the antiseptic supplies ready an old memory sprung forth prompting a wry chuckle from the man.
"Now ya gotta share whats so funny." George shot back at him as he wetted a cloth with the contents of one of the bottles.
"Just some irony. Now that I'm stuck wearing these, people think its real. Back when I did have my real hair, people were convinced that it was a wig."
"Haters gonna hate, ya. Never have to worry about a bad hair day." George quipped as he set about to wiping him down.
"No need to worry if male pattern baldness is in my genes. John's gonna have to find out the hard way." The kid paused in his work to glance at the camera. The mask hid most of his expression.
"That's your kid, ya? Doktor mentioned him. Where he at?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps he found it him himself to hate me after all" Raiden replied bitterly. Sensing that he had trod upon forbidden ground, George did not pursue the subject any further.
The talk trailed off between the two of them amidst the change in atmosphere. George worked methodically and thoroughly but there was a hesitancy in his touch now where there was previously none.
Without the banter between them as a distraction, Raiden was uncomfortably reminded of when the Hands would come and tend to him. Even though he could see and hear this time, the memories of the various stages of his madness began to creep in which only added to the tension. In the distance, the rest of the assistants were wheeling the body moved into the next room, leaving the two of them alone in this part of the labs.
"I sorry for bringing it up." George said abruptly. His voice was soft but seemed loud with the absence of background chatter. "The Dok says I talk too much sometimes. He's right ya know? I never know when to shut up and I go and put my foot in my mouth. I be quiet and work."
"No, no. You're fine. I'm not angry. It's just...a little complicated I suppose, and not something I wanna go into right now." George nodded looking relived although he still held his tongue and seemed subdued.
Raiden made a note to kick himself once he got his legs back. Here was yet another kid he managed to upset. While he didn't approve of the hero worship, George was obviously happy to see him and talk to him and now he thought Raiden was upset with him.
"I didn't mean to take it out on you. You can keep talking if you want." Raiden offered, hoping they could get back to that easygoing air back between them. "In fact, I would really like it if you did."
"Ya?" The hopeful look George gave pulled on heartstrings.
"Yeah. I've thought about you while I was captured. Wondered how you've been doing. How the other kids have been doing. It'd be nice to hear it from the man himself." At first Raiden didn't think George was going to accept his apology but then the teenager started to speak.
"Things have been more than I ever could have hoped for. Years ago, if someone had told me I would be living a life like this, I'd asked them what they be on." The kid paused for a while to change out his cloth before continuing.
"After you saved us, the Dok got grants to help pay for things. All the still normal kids went back to they home country orphanages. The few girls were taken in by a charity group. Even still there were a lotta us. Dok came up with better skin for us kids. Childhood development stuff, he called it. It almost feels real. Although I prefer metal. Got plenty of skin left, and 'sides, it looks cooler." The teen shot him a grin under his mask, some of the heaviness of earlier dissipating.
"Turns out many a company likes his version better. We make lotta money for that. But things still use to be really tight until a bunch of us got adopted and fostered one year."
"That's kind of...odd. Its hard enough for regular kids to get adopted out, much less those with special needs. I would know. Whats the deal with that? Did cyborg kids just become the 'in' thing?" Raiden tried not to wince at the offensive sensation as the teen cleaned the area where his eyes used to be lest the kid think he was upset with him again or that he was hurting him. Instead he put his focus on the odd tale of the strange adoptions.
"Something like that, yeah. Some famous actress lady, she and her son were in bad car accident. She was mostly fine but the kid had to have major cybernetic work done. After that, there were big charities, awareness things with the little ribbons, and all that noise. Suddenly, all these hella rich people were interested in the Dok's project. We got all the bleeding heart adoption check marks: foreign kids, sad back stories, and part of the current awareness movement. Now like half my brothers are living the high life and are gonna become lawyers and fancy stuffs like that."
"Well hallelujah for Hollywood I guess." Raiden laughed, not exactly knowing what to make of the tale.
"Things changing in the world now. Cyborgs are even allowed without police escort in some states. Lotta politicians in the liberal areas relaxing on that kinda stuff."
"Be kinda hard to parade around their cyborg kids in public if they had to check in with the law." Raiden wondered if other countries had followed suit. It would be nice to have a day out with his family without having the good ol' boys of the law side eyeing him while he was just trying to eat his ice cream.
"Yeah, true. Though with these rich folk I think they might like the attention. Something to campaign against or something." George said with a little more cynicism than other boys his age. Then again he was probably far more disillusioned about society and humanity due to his rough upbringing. Another thing they had in common.
"Are you ok though?" The abrupt question startled George from the cluster of wires and tubes he had started to clean off.
"How ya mean?"
"With not being one of the kids chosen. I know how it feels to be passed over for other kids. Just wanted to know if you were ok I guess." It hurt, being one of the 'undesirables.' The kid working on him deserved better than the lot he had gotten in life. The rejections must have stung.
"I uh, I was actually looked at by several families. I told them no." The teen busied himself with his work and did not look up for this confession. The man was completely taken aback by this unexpected information.
"How come? You coulda been on some beach somewhere getting spoiled rotten." This prompted a short laugh from the teen.
"I'm not about that life I guess. Besides, sand is kinda hard on the gears, ya know?" George looked up and flexed his metal fingers with an amused glint in his eye then turned back to his painstaking work.
"Yeah..." Raiden was unconvinced but did not argue. He couldn't help but wonder how his own life might have ended up had a family actually gave him a chance and wanted him. If they could have looked past his cold attitude and sharp eyes they would have saw a child that needed someone, anyone, to give a damn about him. He only joined the military for lack of anything or anyone else to turn to.
Raiden shoved aside the thoughts of all that could have been. He had manged to have a family anyway despite everything he had been through. And despite how they may feel about him now he still would not trade them for the world.
"They…were nice and all. All those people. But they weren't the right people for me. Not the kinda people I want, ya know?" George drew back from his work and turned the cloth over in his hands thoughtfully. Was it regret, longing, or insecurity that was on the boy's mostly covered face?
"I understand. You know yourself best and what kind of family you would do the best in. And if you can't find a family, sometimes you have to make your own."
"That's what I plan to do." George turned to him with a true grin behind his mask, shaking the mood off of himself like a dog shedding water. "I don't want bio kids of my own. No offense to you and your kid, but they enough people in the world already. Years down the road when I get my career going, I plan on adopting as many kids as I can take care of so that they all can get a second chance like I did. Pay it forward and all that."
"That's really kindhearted of you George. We need more people paying it forward in this world. And don't let anybody tell you that those kids you'll adopt are not your 'real' kids. The family we choose is just as valid as the family we are born with. Sometimes more so."
"I think so too." George quietly agreed before going back to work.
The conversation flagged a little bit after that, each lost in their own thoughts. George finished up the wiring fairly quickly and had started on the final cleaning. Despite his best to fight it Raiden became mildly unsettled at the memories being handled brought forth. He mentally fished about for a subject to get the kid to start talking again for a distraction. That and he honestly did want to hear what the boy had to say.
"You mentioned a career. You planning on being a doctor?" The man prompted.
"Me? Nah, not smart enough for that." George waved off the idea with a laugh.
"George. Come on now..."
"I actually want to be in emergency medical services." George offered before the lecture could start. "At first it was just work at the staffing firm. I was happy just to have a job and not steal. I was working with the movers. Pick stuff up here. Put it down there. But after a while it begin to feel like, I dunno...a waste. I had a chance at a new life and all I do with it is move boxes? Nah. I wanted to be something more. I, uh, I wanted to be like you."
That stung a bit. Raiden had fucked up far too much in numerous spectacular ways for anybody to want to be like him. Funny, he understood now why Snake was so unhappy at being called a legend.
"Kid. I'm not the kind of person that should be a role model. You can do so much better than me. But I don't see the connection to the medical field?"
"I remembered what you said, about not being a bad guy. You say you are, but still you help and save us all. I want to do the same for others. Help them, I mean." George sat down the cloth, finished with his task, and turned to face the camera steadfastly.
"If I can't do that by fighting, then at least I can do my helping by fixing people. I don't wanna be a doctor. They stay in their buildings and people come to them. But what about the people that can't come? That need someone to go to them? I'm still too young to properly join, but I is taking classes. I work with Dok, help patch people up. I wanna save people like you did, but I is going to be doing it my own way."
The kid looked like he had made up his mind absolutely on this but still there was a slight hesitancy, a shifted glance here, a fidget of the fingers there, that betrayed how uncertain he was about how his declaration would be received. He needn't have worried.
"That's a real noble career you want to take on George. It's easy to destroy and kill. Putting people back together...now that's hard. But you've already proven you're made of tough stuff. I think you're gonna be great at it. Just remember to take care of you too."
"I know. People gotta worry about burnout with careers like this. But ya know, I think in some ways this will be easier. Living on the streets, people got hurt. They got sick. I had to watch lotta friends die. I think watching and not being able to help was worse than any burnout, ya know? 'Sides. I got Dok to watch over me to help out. My brothers too. And one day a family to help take care of me too."
"Don't forget about me George. You're a good kid. I'm sorry that I missed seeing you grow up. I know that you'll grow up to be a good man and I can't wait to see it. I'm proud of you."
The kid was too flustered at the praise to respond. His mouth opened and closed several times but the words he was searching for never came out. Eventually after fidgeting the kid mumbled out how 'it was time to go' and reached for the laptop.
The view was unsteady with the computer being held but at least George had turned it camera side out so Raiden could see as the kid switched him over to portable life support and wheeled him to the OR. The short trip held no further conversation between the two of them but as the laptop (and himself) was handed over to the Doktor's surgical assistant George gave him a double thumbs up. Raiden gave him a smile the best he could before he was wheeled out of sight.
The Doktor approached as the assistant was getting him properly situated for the procedure.
"Well now, what did you think? Did he do well?" The older man asked while making adjustments to his PPE.
"Best pre-op I've ever had. You were right, the kid does put you at ease. I'm glad hes been doing good for himself. The other kids doing just as well, I hope?"
"We have had some rough spots along the way, and more than a few of them are troubled, both because of the ordeal and because of their rough life before hand, but I have high hopes for them." The Dok began to lay out his instruments carefully. Raiden tried not to let his focus dwell too much upon them.
"I'm glad its worked out as well as it had all things considering. Didn't seem like it would at the time." The Doktor gave a small chuckle, the sound muffled by his mask.
"No. Indeed not. That was quite the hairy mission. Ah, speaking of the children, I have a surprise for you later when you have adjusted to your new body and are feeling up to it."
"Thanks Dok but I think I've had my fair share of surprises already. Besides, I don't need anything extra. I already don't know how I'm going to pay for all of this as it is." That particular little problem had been weighing on his mind recently. With all the Doktor and Boris had been doing for him the issue of finances had been growing. Raiden had shoved that thought into the 'after he was fixed' box, but after was coming up fast.
"Ah, do not concern yourself with that." The Dok waved off the thought as he prepped. "Consider all of this a gift from one friend to another."
"Dok..."
"Besides, with the children you have provided me with mountains upon mountains of data and research options, with their permission of course. Although..." A cunning look crossed over the older man's face. "I may perhaps have some ideas if you truly do wish to pay me back in some fashion."
"Like what?" Raiden asked suspiciously.
"I hope you do not become too offended with me. All you have to do is say the word and I shall delete it all right here and now, but I have been taking and analyzing the data on all that has happened to you. The steps that we have taken for your recovery, your progress, everything. With the world furthering its cybernetic tech there is a strong chance that your case will not be unique and this form of abuse and neglect may become common for those with cybernetics. It will be beneficial to have a method of treatment for such poor individuals."
"First I was used in improving techniques for turning people into cyborgs and then how to torture them. I'm truly a pioneer in the field." Raiden said, putting as much sarcasm into the statement as humanly possible. The Doktor, as usual, was oblivious to it.
"You are! You are! If it were not for the nature of your, ah, line of work and need for privacy to keep your family safe then I would insist on your name and contributions, even if unwilling, be attributed in the literature of the field."
"I'll have to pass on the naming part, but if you think the info on what happened to me will help others then data away." The Doktor finished his task and moved around out of Raiden's sight to stand behind him. If he had possessed the appropriate organs, his stomach would have clenched with nerves.
"Oh I have already been doing so." The bright voice from behind him sounded. 'The man was shameless' Raiden thought, amused despite himself. "In fact, I have many many other testing ideas that are unsuitable for the children and are unrelated to combat when you feel up to it. Ah but that is for later. Now, it is time to proceed."
"Lets get this over with Dok. I think I've waited long enough."
.
Additional Notes: I had originally tried to mimic how George speaks in game here but I was only a few paragraphs in before I wanted to pull my hair out. After my spellchecker gave me the bird and walked out I decided that its been five years, I'm sure the kid has had some time to get accustom to a more local way of speaking lol.
It wasn't too long before I wrote this chapter that I had to undergo a big surgery myself. I don't know if all authors are insane or if it's just me but I was more concerned with using the experience as a reference than worrying about the outcome lol. The assistant was getting me prepped and explaining things to me and I was taking mental notes left and right. I lived, and as soon as I was well enough I adjusted my outline accordingly and here we are.