Now the bleeding has stopped, at least. Clearly, capacity for long-term memory retrieval needs to be diminished significantly. And I must develop stronger means of passivity toward me and select individuals, if not a faction somehow.
The doctor changed the bandages and sighed. Subduing the subject had been a challenge, though clearly the claws designed into its right hand were combat ready. If it wasn't for his enhanced speed, Singed would be its first but almost certainly not its last victim.
Picking up an injector, the doctor shot shimmer infused antibiotics under his chin. He had a fantastically high pain threshold now and often didn't feel it, at least not how it was conventionally experienced. It was more like the pressure and tingle from the needle.
An alarm flashed and beeped at a low level. He checked through the complex series of hidden mirrors and scopes to confirm the source was human interlopers. More interestingly than some wanderers who might become new subjects, these two were on what appeared to be the hoverboards Silco had recently brought to his attention. No, three. One lay unmoving between the two boards.
The front one looked to be Silco's daughter, though she was missing her signature pigtails if it was her. The other standing one wore an enforcer uniform.
Hide? Run? Neutralize? Or listen? Best to listen. I can handle the two if they prove hostile. Singed prepared some incapacitating agents just before the hoverboards landed just inside.
"A surprising visit, Jinx. I haven't seen you since I helped you with that formulation. Was it successful?" Singed asked in an informal way. Maybe I can create a rift between her and the enforcer.
Jinx didn't seem to take notice of him. "Cap, take her legs. We'll put her to the table."
The two quickly moved an unconscious young woman. And soon-to-be dead it appears from that lung wound and near exsanguination. Singed walked casually over to join them. His preliminary guess was the body would belong to Margot or Ran, but her face had no significance to him. "Who is she?" he asked as the two women centered the body.
"A good woman," Jinx answered after a moment. "One I need you to save, doctor."
"I am not set up to treat severe trauma like this woman has suffered. My work is much slower and more heterodox," Singed argued. Though my newest variant of shimmer that is implemented like a hormone was promising. Certainly for that rodent of unusual size, at least until it escaped.
"Would you please try, doctor?" the enforcer captain pleaded. "She deserves to be with her sister."
Jinx gave the captain a death glare as Singed pieced together what the captain said. Should I pretend I didn't notice? No, that won't work. If anything, it would likely enrage her.
"It would not please Silco if I were to save her, right? Vi will likely cause problems for him and indirectly for me."
Jinx pulled her pistol in a blink. "We can discuss compensation, generous compensation after, doctor. For now, I need you to make sure I don't lose her."
Vi probably won't live through the surgery and seeing her sister in that agony would mean I won't either. "I should warn you, even if I am successful, your sister will likely not be the same." Singed walked around his table and subtly took out a syringe and his own experimental version of a crystal bomb.
Vi coughed up blood and an ugly sucking sound intensified. "Violet!" Jinx ran over and clenched her fist. "She already… just keep her alive."
Singed nodded. He glanced at the captain. Her attention was on some of the jarred creatures and currently unused machines. Creeping silently, he injected a syringe into Jinx's carotid artery with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. Her reflexes were fast and she tried to bring her pistol up, but he was stronger and faster than appeared and he kept her from aiming.
"You won't want this memory of her. A kindness as someone who knows what it means to lose a loved one before their eyes," he whispered as she faded from consciousness.
Keeping her up, he turned her around to use her as a shield if needed. Fortunately for him, she was still investigating part of the lab.
He leaned the sister on top of the other and approached the young detective. Seeing that her holster held her revolver, he threw his crystal bomb at her hip from behind. Cait was no slouch on reaction speed, but she could barely draw the handgun and only half-turned as the crystals restrained her.
"What did you do?! Did you kill her?!" Cait shouted.
Not as reactive to oxidation as I hoped and the original version probably is. Still, it's a curiosity. There's more important work to do than devise the better handcuff.
"Your partial immobilization is temporary, but let me know about any side effects. Jinx will wake up fine or at worse like she has a hangover. You are truly an enforcer captain?" he asked, knowing the answer. He moved to his desk and drew out a small bottle.
Cait paused a second then nodded. "Yes, Captain Caitlyn."
Jinx's sister needs immediate attention to keep her survival chances from becoming nil. Neutralize her now, in a way that won't antagonize these outside interests.
Singed poured the solution on the cloth and moved back to the captain. "You can leave here on your hoverboard. You could try returning with force, but you'd be disappointed by the results. Or you can stay with your companions. Your unharmed presence should indicate my goodwill to them. Either way, I must take your weapon."
He applied the cloth around her hand and the crystals dissolved enough for him to pry the revolver. She didn't bother trying to resist as she weighed her options. "I'll stay."
Nodding, he removed Jinx from the table and added her pistol to the revolver. He hid the firearms in a drawer. He pulled out his surgical tools, the new shimmer variant, blood in flasks, and other equipment. "I lack anesthesia, Caitlyn. When she regains consciousness, it may be necessary for you to help restrain her. The straps may not be up for it. I should warn you though, it will be unpleasant," he said coolly as he secured Vi.
Cait turned as best she could with a third of her body in amber. "I'll help if I can. And I'm not squeamish. I've seen a lot of wounds and death recently."
The doctor had removed Vi's outer clothes and brought a scalpel near the repulsive lung wound. "Not like this, you haven't."
