Heroes and Villains

22 - Unexpected allies

Michelle

Darkness dances among the flames as I fall deeper into the abyss that is my own mind. I don’t know where I am, I don’t even know if I am still alive.

In the confines of my mind, memories I thought were long lost resurface and I let myself get drown in them.

“Daddy, can I go outside?” A little girl with messy hair asks her old father.

The old man turns from his work, wearing his lab coat and kneels in front of his tiny daughter, some of his grey curls falling in front of his eyes.

“We have talked about this, Amelia” He tells the little girl. “It is not safe for you to go outside the laboratory”

“But, daddy, Jack wants to play today” The little girl contests, pouting. “He said I could meet his other friends too”

The old father sighs and rubs his temples, looking tired. “I never should have let that kid sneak into the lab. Amelia, what I said is final. You cannot leave”

“But I want to play, daddy…” The little girl says, looking down.

“I know, Mia…” Her old father says. “You can play with Luki. That’s why I brought him here”

The little girl looks at the small grey cat currently sleeping in his made-up bed at a corner of the laboratory. Her father got him for her so she would not feel so alone.

“But I wanted to play with Jack…” The little girl mumbles.

“That is out of the question” The old father responds sternly.

“But Mr. Ituki is always here” The little girl responds, not yet able to pronounce the man’s name properly. “He is Jack’s daddy. What if he comes and Jack and I hide together!”

“No means no, Amelia” The old father tells her. “No one can know you are here. Not even Itsuki, even if he is my protector and makes sure I am safe while I work on the meteor”

“It’s not fair” The little girl pouts and the old father pulls her into his arms, cuddling her in his lap.

“I know, Mia…” The old father tells her. “But one day things will change”

He looks at the strange rock in the center of the lab, protected by a thick glass sphere and the little girl does the same.

The meteor emanates a strange aura. The old father once explained it is the intense radiation the rock emits.

“I don’t like that rock” She says, looking upset.

“I know, sweetie” The old father says, holding her closely in his arms. “I don’t like it either, but you know…”

“Yes?” The little girl asks, smiling at her father.

“One day, we are going to destroy it” He tells her.

“Yay!” The little girl squeals, raising her arms in the air in glee.

However, their moment is interrupted when the sound of the elevator landing on the laboratory’s level rings. Acting quickly, the old father puts his daughter down and she rushes to the hiding place he built for her.

There are no questions asked. She knows she needs to remain hidden. She knows the protector cannot know she is there and that is why she is not allowed to leave the laboratory.

“Dr. Jones” The protector greets, his voice powerful even if the little girl can’t see him.

“Itsuki” The old father greets, respectfully. “I was not expecting you to come here today”

“Indeed, but my youngest son has just confided something to me that left me quite preoccupied” Itsuki says and the little girl can sense the nervousness of her father.

Upon her father’s silence, the little girl can hear footsteps, certainly the man getting closer to her daddy.

“Where is the girl?” The powerful voice belonging to Itsuki asks.

“I don’t know what you are talking about” The old father says, protectively.

“Do not play games with me, Dr. Jones” Itsuki’s voice responds threateningly. “I know exactly what is it you are doing in this lab”

“It’s you…” Her father’s suddenly terrified voice makes her crouch further in her hiding place.

No answer comes from the man, but the little girl can clearly hear sounds of a struggle and broken glass that falls on the ground as a result.

Unable to stand still while her dear father is in danger, she rushes from her hiding place.

“Daddy!” The little girl shouts, exposing herself.

The man currently holding her father’s collar turns to her and she will never forget the sinister look he gives her. A look of hate, a look of dread, but most importantly: a look of fear.

“Amelia, run!” Her father’s voice calls her back from her fear and the next thing she sees changes her life forever.

Her old father reaches out to press a button he has told her never to press: the button that unleashes the radiation of the meteor.

Of course, normally this button is controlled by a regulating device, but the old father promptly proceeds to kick that device and smash it to pieces.

“No!” Itsuki shouts but is unable to do anything else as the strong radiation engulfs them.

All the little girl remembers is the intense pain as she reaches out to grab her kitten. It is as if a million needles pierce through her body. In the midst of the pain, she can sense her father’s hold on her pulling her towards the waste pipe that leads directly to the sea.

With a loud gasp, I sit up and try to regain my breath as the intense pain of my dream still bothers me. Wait, this pain is somehow different, isn’t it?

In my dazed state, I don’t immediately realize I am not dead, just severely burned. I look around in confusion, not understanding where I am or how I got to come here in the first place.

The door slams open and I suddenly feel dizzy when Jaden rushes to me and helps me lay back down on the bed I am in.

“Easy, easy” He says with a soothing voice and caresses my hair as I lay down. “You are still dehydrated. Here. Have some water”

I don’t reject the straw he gently places on my mouth but when I try to drink from it, I find my throat to be extremely irritated and I end up coughing out the water.

Jaden pats my back as I cough and I hear another person coming into the room.

“I see you’re finally awake, sleeping beauty” I could recognize that tough voice anywhere. It’s Cain.

“J-Jaden” I try to talk, my voice hoarse from all the smoke I must have inhaled. “W-what is-”

He doesn’t let me finish and adjusts the pillows under me.

“We found you in the wreckage” Jaden explains. “We managed to bring you back to the bar before your wounds became too severe”

“That was a close call” Cain adds. “You really are crazy”

I look at him frowning, my mind still trying to remember what happened before I woke up in this room.

I remember I was fighting those robots while trying to get the mutants to safety and then... The mutants! I am about to get back up but Jaden stops me.

“The mutants are fine” Cain tells me and I look in inquiry at him, wondering how he even knows about the mutants. “In fact, they are right here”

“H-Here?” I ask in my hoarse voice, very confused.

“Cain knows what is going on, Mia” Jaden explains. “He and his father have been planning this for a long time”

I look back at Cain, still confused with everything that is being revealed.

“It’s true” Cain admits, shrugging. “Dad told me to build a safe haven uptown for all the mutants to live in and I did. The old bar was just a decoy, a fast way to get money to build this place”

I look at Jaden to get some proof from him that this is all true and he just smiles and continues caressing my hair to appease me.

“It’s alright, Mia” He tells me. “You can trust Cain”

“Yeah, sure” Cain says. “You can trust me, Kitty”

I look at him in shock but he just smirks and points at me. For the first time since I woke up, I look down at myself and realize I am still in Kitty Girl form. I never changed back after passing out.

I start to panic and try to change back to Mia, failing miserably as I am too out of control to do that.

“Calm down, Mia. It’s ok” Jaden tries to soothe me but I still panic and continue trying to change back.

“You’re seriously panicking over me finding out?” Cain says. “Because it wasn’t obvious before when you were constantly getting late and looking like you haven’t slept at all”

I look scared at him, my eyes bulging. Now that he knows who I am, it is only a matter of time before he hands me over to Hamato Industries. I try not to imagine the horrible things they will do once they get their hands on me.

“Chill” Cain says and I look at him surprised, but still scared. “Your secret’s safe with me. Besides, I don’t want to help my dad with his wicked plan any further”

“W-What d-do you m-mean?” I ask, my throat throbbing from my effort to talk.

“Dad wants you” Cain tells me, now more seriously. “He thinks you are the key to controlling the radiation emanating from the meteor. He wants to use it to change the world in favor of the mutants, but I don’t think that’s the best way to do it”

I look intrigued at him, his words soaring around my mind like a cloud. Itsuki wants me? That would explain why Monkey Paw is constantly trying to capture me, but why would he think I’m the key to controlling the meteor?

The room starts spinning around me again and I feel the need to hurl.

“You should rest, Mia” Jaden tells me when I close my eyes to try to appease the nausea. “Your wounds will take some time to heal but with the medicine, Cain has brought from the facilities, you will be alright”

I don’t answer, still trying to control the nausea assaulting me. Jaden adjusts my sheets before getting up from my bed and walking towards Cain.

“T-Thanks” I manage to say before an intense weariness takes over me and I feel myself drifting back into oblivion.

“You’re welcome” I hear Cain’s voice say just before my mind dives back into darkness.