Cybernetics Unbound Safe-House - 9:16PM

The safe house was relatively small, about the size of a large flat and furnished in a way that didn't bother to challenge this impression. Three surprisingly well made beds were clustered towards the back, the light from an adjacent bathroom casting a welcoming light on the sheet. A large, torn sofa was closest to the door, positioned in front of a long, low steel table adorned with deconstructed pistols, experimental grenades and bullet riddled armour fragments. Catherine smiled to herself as her bare feet hit the concrete floors, "Just like home..." She chuckled to herself with a twinge of sadness. Would she be able to go back home? For all she knew there were more people like Mireille or whatever the thing outside was waiting for her return. If if they weren't she doubted they had bothered to lock the door after leaving, making it a smorgasbord for enterprising criminals in the area of which there were many.

A head of sparse grey hair appeared from the bathroom doorway, experienced eyes squinting to focus on the figure in the doorway. Recognition and surprise crossed his wrinkled face in no particular order, stepping out into the main room and placing callused hands his boney frame, "Catherine, what are doing here so late?" He began, a thick Dutch accent lingering despite his years in America. He looked down as he stepped forward, "Where are your shoes? You look terrible..." This made Cat smile again, he was always blunt to the point of insult but she knew him well enough not to take it personally, "Nice to see you too, Charlie. It's been a weird night... I didn't really have time to choose a nice outfit."

Charlie nodded and rubbed his wiry haired chin, "I just cleaned the bathroom. Have a shower, then tell me." He waved an arm behind him in invitation, "Thanks, Charlie." Catherine was very happy to oblige to his advice, he shuffling off to the sink and bench that sufficed for a kitchen at the center of the room.

Kaiser-Neo HQ, Roughly 6 months ago

Mireille was on the treadmill. Most tests were already finished by now and the Lab assistants discussed the results. "Its endurance has risen by quite a bit now." "Yes, the special food seems to work, I'm curious how long it will be able to hold out under the influence of T-28 now, the previous time was 31 minutes, 47 seconds before collapse." "I'm pretty sure we can stretch this over 45 minutes." "Yes the results in that regard are excellent, but its reaction-time concerns me a bit." "Let me see the results... yes we have to train it more in that regard." While hearing Mireille grew nearly mad, those idiots didn't care in the slightest, but that would change soon. She eyed the syringe with the T-28 serum nearby. She was tremendously lucky that no Lab assistant had noticed it up until now. She didn't want to think of what would have happened if they did. "C-317/M48, come here, next up is the test of your eyesight, you know the procedure, so lets make this quick. Mireille nodded, oh he would regret all that soon. While walking past it she grabbed the syringe and quickly injected it into her body before anyone could stop her. They weren't paying attention to her at all, even now they were only concerned with the test results, but that was about to change. With a scream she jumped at one of the nearby assistants, her arms raised to strike. Finally the assistant realized her situation, her eyes were wide open in shock as Mireille brought her arm down, aiming directly at her head.

Kaiser-Neo HQ, Containment-Cell No. 265

Mireille suddenly awoke, she was panting heavily, she shook her head No, no! She held her head why do I have to relive that? Why did I do that? I... I killed them. I don't want to see it again! NO! That-that couldn't have been me! She sat up on the mattress, still panting "Ugh" Suddenly she heard another voice "Had a nightmare?" She quickly turned around, seeing professor Steiner, leaning against a wall, a plate with food in her hand. "You were out for quite long. Though judging by your movements and moaning your dream probably wasn't all that pleasant." "Professor... No it wasn't... not at all... it was about the incident 6 months ago... I... I..." "You don't need to continue, I know what you referring to." "I'm... I'm so sorry." "Well you certainly had your punishment for that." She looked at the collar around Mireille's neck "Still having it for that matter." She paused "I'm only here to bring you your food, though if you want to talk, I've got free today, just wanted to check up on you." Mireille looked her into the eyes for a few seconds before answering "Professor, why are you caring for me so much? I'm just another test subject for you, am I not?" Steiner shook her head "Don't know really, maybe because you are one of my first test subjects, your experiment started 14 years ago, that was when I started here. It possibly sounds heartless but maybe I care for you because you're the result of my first mayor experiment. Though don't let it get to you." "No, no... I already thought that it was something like that. Guess I really am nothing more than a test-subject." "Look, at this point for me it doesn't matter why I came to care about you, its the fact that I do that matters. Also I do care for the other test-subjects to." "... thanks, professor."

edited 27th Jan '16 3:10:55 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

Vincent's Hideout, Flashback Stage: Home Alone, 2 years ago...

Summer Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFIR6Bft9g

From now on I'll use the Lisa soundtrack because it sound so damn cool.

(This is just preparation for the upcoming flashbacks of Vincent. He started contemplating his past about 2 years ago and this time would show his present thoughts on it.)

Hours turned into days and days into months as Vincent steadily rotted away in his secret safe house. Eventually time itself lost its meaning and he wasted two years downing bottles of bitter beer, and he drank so much that his large room was filled with it by the time the "cleaners" would come in.

The "cleaners" were the part of the people Vincent hired to take care of him while he was hiding from the government. This service was available to criminals that either needed a whole new life or just wanted to take a vacation in some secluded area. It was thanks to his extensive connections with the criminal underworld that he managed to know that this kind of business was employed when some of his targets had to take up a new identity somehow.

Whenever a target had availed the services of the cleaners, Vincent either had to tell his employer that the target was impossible to catch or that his employer would have to bribe the criminal enterprise that hid the target in the first place; a nigh impossible task in itself since the business was legendary for its loyalty to its customers. It was not honor among thieves, it was just business. None but the most desperate of outlaws would seek its service if they were going to be stabbed in the back, so the business had to keep its integrity.

Vincent was laying around just around the corner of his bed, staring at the drab ceiling with those two dark eyes of his. He wondered how a simple man like him ended up as one of the nation's most feared villains. So he traced back his origins slowly, from the latest fiasco that ended with to his early life as the poorest and cheapest boy in the neighborhood.

"Where do I begin?" The man said to himself, it was harder than it looked like. His life was so unrealistic that it could have been indistinguishable from the Crime dramas that he had often watched in his spare time. He couldn't even get to this place without an explosion almost killing him.

"Oh fuck it," He closed his eyes and went to sleep, "Maybe some other time, this is too difficult."

edited 14th Jan '16 11:44:08 PM by Victor_Skye

Kaiser-Neo HQ, Containment-Cell No. 265 (probably a while after the first post from there)

Mireille was still sitting in the cell, the last few days were actually pretty nice for her, she couldn't remember the last time when she was undergoing no tests, evaluations or something. And indeed for the first time in her life she had indeed true free time, she spend most of that time thinking about her past decisions and actions. Reflecting on what she had done. From time to time Professor Steiner came into the cell, mostly to bring her food or talk to her. She truly appreciated that. Sometimes she read in the books present in her cell, mostly it was very old literature, though some newer ones were also present, most of the rest were some scientific books about various topics, Mireille particulary liked to read in 'On the Origin of Species', while she admired the man she had to chuckle while thinking about what he maybe would have done different if he knew about genetics at the time, or what he would think when he would see what was done with it these days, she probably would make an interesting specimen for him.

edited 30th Jan '16 10:22:08 AM by Sergey_Smirnov