Kracken
Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warning:Violence, language, male/male sex, graphic.
Mortal
Wind Up
"I hate you," Duo growled as he flexed his arms in the chair restraints.
"I do realize that," Dr. G chuckled as he eyed a line of carefully
prepared syringes.
The doctor stood, arms crossed tightly over his chest and looking very disapproving.
"You have something to say, Doctor?" Dr. G wondered as he checked a readout on his laptop one last time.
"Genetic manipulation, on a minor, breaks more laws than I care to think about," the doctor pointed out. "The crudeness of your operation also concerns me. Even under the best conditions, complications are common."
"We don't have a shiny government lab, doctor," Dr. G replied testily as he approached Duo with a syringe. "If we are successful here, these injections will most likely save Duo's life, and the lives of many others who will rely on his silence to keep them safe. While I do hope that Duo never falls under the hands of our enemy, it is a possibility that he must be prepared for."
"You're going to go a lot further than genetic altering injections, aren't you?" the doctor guessed, looking pale. "Does he know?" He faced Duo. "Do you know what he's planning for you?"
Duo swallowed hard and nodded. "He said that I have to be tough. He's going to teach me how to take whatever they give."
The doctor rubbed hands over his face and turned away. "I have to stay and monitor him."
"Under full protest, yes," Dr. G snorted. "Duly noted, Doctor."
"This is going to give me nightmares," the doctor whispered.
"Keep your mind on the goal," Dr. G suggested. "We are about to give Duo superior strength, healing ability above what he already has, and a high tolerance to stress, pain, and certain drugs. He'll be far superior to the soldiers he will face."
"And they'll never suspect," the doctor guessed. "They'll treat him like the boy he seems and he'll kill them."
Dr. G nodded, unapologetic. "Doctor, I know that you think I am a monster, tormenting and warping a young boy, but the truth is, that I am far too soft in my methods. We will see, whether my failure, dooms us all."
"Our humanity is why we are striving for our freedom," the doctor replied, "There is nothing worth saving if you are willing to discard it to fulfill your plans."
Dr. G grunted as he swabbed one of Duo's arms. "Tell him, boy," he asked Duo, "Tell him what you think of his idealism."
"What's that?" Duo wondered with a scowl.
"If someone is stealing your bread, and you will die without it," Dr. G explained. "Is it wise to let him take it rather than risk your injury?"
Duo snorted. "That's easy. You kill him, whatever it takes, and get your bread back."
"Even if you have to send others to die to get your bread back?"Dr. G asked.
"Yeah... well, if they get some of the bread too," Duo replied.
"I won't let you over simplify our situation," the doctor snarled at Dr. G. "This is a lot bigger than stolen bread."
"No matter how far along we manage to get in our evolution," Dr. G said as he injected Duo. "It's always about being stronger, defending our territory, mating. People never change in their basic needs, or in fighting over them."
"Mating?" Duo echoed with a wince. "If you perverts are talking about-"
Dr. G sighed. "Never mind, boy. Mating doesn't have anything to do with your usefulness to our cause."
"Good!" Duo snapped back, "because if you think-"
"No one was, I assure you," Dr. G grumbled as he checked Duo's injection site. "Now, I want you to tell me everything that you are feeling."
"Bored," Duo retorted. "How long do I have to sit here?"
"Until I say differently," Dr. G replied as he checked Duo's vitals on a computer screen.
Duo raised an arm, the strap undone. He grinned at Dr.G's startled expression. "Until I get tired of listening to you, you mean."
"How did you..." Dr. G examined the strap and Duo's wiggling hand. It was empty now, but Dr. G was certain that the boy had some sort of device on him. "You demagnetized the locking device," Dr. G surmised.
"You're a genius!" Duo mocked.
Dr. G frowned as he locked Duo down again. "I suggest that you stay restrained. Some of the injections might give you uncontrolled muscle spasms."
"Nice," Duo sneered.
They waited. Duo fidgeted as much as he was able, eyes flicking everywhere, unable to stay still for even a moment.
"What are you thinking about?" the doctor wanted to know.
"Lunch," Duo replied, "Whether I can pilot again. Calculation for thruster rotation to L4 from the Deneb cluster, the itch on the end of my nose that I can't freakin' scratch, That conduit infraction with panel 456, that keeps shutting off life support in storage bay six, who the heck the bad guys were after when they went after our asses, and why my skin feels like bugs are crawling all over me!" His voice rose on the last and he couldn't help looking anxious.
"Liver?" the doctor suggested.
"Modified to handle toxins," Dr. G informed him. "The faster his system processes, the faster he'll over come any drugs given to him."
"Won't that make me shit faster too?" Duo asked worriedly.
Dr. G grimaced. "Not that fast."
"Oh." Duo looked relieved, but then he squirmed. "I feel hot and my insides are hurting."
"Normal. Don't worry about it," Dr. G reassured him.
"It's really hurting," Duo complained, wincing now and panting a little.
"Want it to stop?" Dr. G asked, bending close.
Duo shivered all over, face going pale, and he whimpered, "Yes."
The doctor pulled on what little hair he had and hunched over, looking ill. "I hate this!" he shouted.
"So do I," Dr. G replied, and then to Duo. "If you want the pain to stop, you must learn to control your body. Listen carefully..."
____________________________________________
"Are you all right?" The doctor asked as he sat on the side of Duo's bed.
"Yeah, great," Duo replied, his voice shaky, though.
"You can chose to stop this at any time," the doctor urged him. "Why go through it?"
"Why not?" Duo shot back. "You don't know nothin', do you?" He curled up on his side, back away from the doctor. "He's giving me a chance to make a difference. If I can't make it, what am I? Street trash. Nobody. Just someone they can do anything they want to... I'm tired of that. I don't want that any more. What's a little pain when I'll be able to get them back?"
"He'll get another pilot," the doctor assured him. "You don't have to be the one to do this."
"You don't listen!" Duo snarled at him. "Nobody else should have to! Why let anyone else screw up their life? I'm nobody. I've got nothing and no one to cry about me if things don't go right. It should be me."
The doctor touched his shoulder. Duo tensed under the touch. "Have you lived your entire life unloved, uncared for?"
Duo's voice was tight, as if he were struggling to control it. "No, but they're dead, now, just like everyone else. I figure, I should be dead too... but I'm not. I don't know why that is. It doesn't make any freakin' sense. They were so much better'n me. Somebody should get the people who killed them. That's my job now. If I die doing it, well, that's just what should have happened a long time ago."
"You're displaying at least a dozen psychological disorders," the doctor complained, "and Dr. G is taking complete advantage of every one of them."
"He needs me," Duo grumbled, "And I need him. That's the way it works."
The doctor tried to rub a comforting hand over Duo's arm, but he jerked away. The doctor flushed. "I'm only worried about you."
"Yeah?" Duo complained, "well, don't. I don't need anybody blubbering over me."
"Duo?" the doctor folded his hands in his lap and searched for the right words. "The people you are trying to kill, have families, children... they think they are only doing their duty. They are not all like the men who hurt you. Some of them are even fighting because they have had tragedy as well."
Duo snickered and it was full of pain. "If someone fights on the side of people who want to kill you, then they have to think that's okay. Nobody stopped what happened. Nobody paid for it afterward. It was an accident, they said. Funny thing is, though, they keep on having the same kind of 'accidents'. Problem with you is, you want to think everybody's nice and just doing what they have to. Ever watch anybody bleed to death? It's not like those stupid vid movies the sweepers got. It's thick, and red, and it comes out like nothin' you've ever seen before. It changes your life when you see it come out of somebody you care about."
"I am a doctor," he reminded the boy, but couldn't help a shiver.
"That's different," Duo told him.
The doctor decided not to argue the point. "Duo, I'm not asking you to love them, but I do want you to understand that killing, wholesale, won't make anything better, or bring back what's lost. It just makes more empty lives, more hurt and pain."
"At some point," Duo replied, "You have to stop them from doing what they're doing. They don't have to die. They can just go away. The ones that won't, will have me to face. I won't feel sorry for them, either, so you can shut up about that."
The doctor sighed and almost stood, but Duo reached behind him and gripped his arm tightly.
"What is it?" the doctor asked, settling down again.
Duo didn't say anything, just curled up again, hands fisted in his pillow. The doctor reached out tentatively and gently rubbed up and down Duo's arm again. They didn't say anything after that, but it was a long while before Duo fell asleep.
___________________________________________
"Get Scythe!" Dr G shouted at Duo.
Trusting the boy, he scrambled for his own shuttle as the entire sweepers force attempted to escape the attacking enemy. Somehow, they had been found out. Dr. G didn't rule out a traitor. It was too coincidental that the outside detectors had failed on the north quadrant, the one in which the attack had come down on them.
"He's never piloted the Gundam in space!" a technician protested as they broke free of the fighting and went on full thrusters for an array of asteroids.
"He's aced every simulator," another shot back. "And he doesn't have G forces to contend with."
"A Gundam isn't a goddam shuttle!" the first man argued. "It handles completely different!"
"There is no one else who can pilot," Dr. G snarled at them as he watched his monitor, waiting for the Gundam to emerge. "Not after we modified the cockpit for his size."
"Once he shows himself, we can kiss our secret project goodbye," the second technician grumbled.
"No," Dr. G replied in a tone that was as cold as space. He opened a channel to Deathscythe. "Boy? These are your first orders. Kill all of them. No one who sees you must live to tell about it."
"Mission accepted," came Duo's prompt answer. "Launching."
The bay doors opened and the enemy turned from pursuit of the fleeing targets to dealing with an emerging unknown. Deathsycthe sprang from the opening like it's namesake. It was death, dark grace, glowing 'eyes', and a power nothing could match. The scythe powered up. It flared, swung wide and awkwardly, and then found a target as the pilot compensated with his incredible skill. An enemy ship shattered and blew as it was cut it in half. Debris and bodies filled vacuum. The head of Deathscythe was surrounded by them as it swung at another ship with the same results.
Death, surrounded by death, and dealing death. It was darkly poetic, even though the horror of it was chilling to the soul. Duo took out all of his targets, not hesitating, and not showing any mercy when one of them tried to flee.
"Back to the bay," Dr. G ordered. "We need to regroup and find another location."
Deathscythe retreated into the bay, the ships redocked, and Dr. G hurried to see his protege'. Deathscythe's cockpit was open and it was powering down. The gundanium was ice cold, and Dr. G was careful to avoid it as he took the line up and faced Duo.
"Boy?"
Duo looked up. He was pale as he stripped off his gloves and hit a few buttons. He grinned and asked, "How'd I do?"
Dr. G tried to gage his mood and failed. The boy was too good at this game. "You were sloppy with the scythe."
"You balanced it like shit," Duo complained. "I did my best with it."
"It's perfect," Dr. G shot back. "This Gundam is the best machine ever built."
"It's crap," Duo grumbled and then he was looking down, his bangs hiding his eyes, as he slumped in his chair.
"You're not going to cry, are you?" Dr. G wondered.
"Boys don't cry," Duo said in a forced, cheerful tone.
"What do they do, then?" Dr. G wanted to know, ill equipped to deal with the emotions of a child.
"They run and hide," Duo snickered back and then looked up as he squared his shoulders. He was serious, suddenly. "What I did was right." It wasn't a question.
It wasn't time for semantics. It wasn't time to hand the boy doubt. They needed him too badly. "They attacked us," Dr. G told him. "They weren't giving any quarter. They would have killed all of us."
Duo nodded, firmed, and then flipped the straps off, the buckles slapping padded leather. He climbed out of the seat, looking very small and young. He moved to the second lift and said, without looking at Dr. G., "I saw some of their faces. They looked... scared. You're right, though. They would have killed us."
Dr. G nodded and watched Duo take the trip down. Near the end , he used the low gravity to let go of the line, do a flip, and land on the bay floor. Men and women cheered him, slapped him on the back, and gathered around to tell him that he was a hero. Dr. G saw him smile at them, but it was a wary smile. Good, Dr. G thought, don't let it go to your head, boy, because it doesn't last.
TBC
On to Chapter Five
Back to chapter Three