“I- I just… I know we have a plan and everything, but we have no idea how long it’ll take, and the longer it takes, the worse things will get! There’s got to be something you could do to… I don’t know, speed things up a bit? Get some proper evidence that de Vygon is mistreating her?”
The desperate look on Vivienne’s face tugged at Steve’s heartstrings, but if he was being honest, he was a little lost about this whole thing.
He rubbed his eyes. “Hold on. Can you just… say that all again from the beginning? A little slower this time?”
She squinted at him from across the dining table in his tiny apartment. “Are… Are you hungover?!”
Given how much the hum from the refrigerator was irritating him, and considering how much he drank last night, that was likely. Still, he didn’t like being called out on it. “Maybe. But that’s not important right now. Do you want my help or not?”
“Yes!”
“Then repeat what you said, slowly, in a comprehensible speech pattern, please.”
Vivienne sighed, running a hand through her hair. “You know how we theorised that de Vygon was hurting Seven back when she got shot?”
“Yes?”
“Well, now I have confirmation that he is. She literally admitted it to me! She- She was crying and drunk because one of his friends forced her to drink, and she said that he would hurt her if she didn’t get back to the fucking facility underneath the precinct where she lives!!”
Steve blinked at her.
“And… she just told you all of this? Despite the fact that that sounds like something de Vygon would definitely have told her not to talk about?”
“Like I said, she was drunk. Super drunk. Sobbing into my shoulder drunk. Why don’t you believe me?!”
He sighed, standing up to go get a glass of water. “I do believe you. The problem is that I wish I didn’t.”
Despite the fact that his back was turned, he could practically hear the confusion on Vivienne’s face. “Huh?”
He filled a glass from the sink and took a long gulp, draining it. He placed it on the counter and turned back. “Do you remember what happened last year? My so-called ‘psychotic break?’”
Vivienne frowned. “Uh, yeah?”
“Well, with all of this Seven stuff coming up, I’m starting to think I wasn’t just hallucinating that night. I saw something that shouldn’t have existed, but it did, and de Vygon ruined my life for it. And you know where that ‘something’ came from? Underneath the fucking precinct. Whatever he’s doing down there, he doesn’t want it getting out. If you go poking the beehive, you’re gonna get stung. You could lose everything. Your degree, your apartment, your reputation. He almost left me on the fucking streets, Viv, and that was after convincing me what I saw wasn’t real. Don’t underestimate him.”
His niece looked at him like he was crazy. It was a sight he was used to. “What are you talking about? What did you see?”
Steve looked away, staring into the middle distance as that night came back to him once again. “Two girls, running out of the precinct. One was about your age, the other was… early teens, maybe. Both of them had shaved heads, dressed in this weird black get-up. The older one had these huge wings. The weirdest part, though… Both of them looked like…”
He hesitated. Maybe… maybe Vivienne didn’t need to know every little detail. Telling her they both looked like her dead friend would just hurt her; make her even more hellbent on finding the truth. What were the odds that he even saw what he thought he saw? Some things were just better left unsaid.
“They both had the exact same face,” he decided, “like they were twins. Only, that wouldn’t make sense, because of the age difference.” He shrugged. “I dunno. I haven’t been able to make sense of it. Take it with a grain of salt, I guess. I might still be crazy.”
“Wings…” Vivienne muttered. “Like… like the one that shot Jordyn?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Jordyn?”
“Oh, um… that’s Seven’s real name. She told me when she was drunk.”
“Well, I can only assume the bird lady was the person who shot her. Assuming I even saw anything.”
“B-but, so, you agree, right? Something weird is going on down there?”
“I guess. But, like I said, you are not going to look into this. De Vygon’s not the kind of man you mess with, especially not with your whole life ahead of you.”
“But we have to do something! You saw a literal child escaping from there! Who knows what kind of stuff he does to Jordyn behind closed doors? Who knows how much we don’t even know yet?!”
“I said no, Vivienne. I won’t help you ruin your life. If you really want to do something, go ask the Union.”
“I already told you, their plan will take too long! If we wait until we get a chance to invite her to the Union, it might already be too late! I can’t stand the thought of her suffering any more than she already clearly has!” She clenched her fists, tears building in the corners of her eyes. “What’s the point of… of even being a hero in the first place if I can’t help someone when they need me?”
Steve looked at his niece. He saw the pain in her brown eyes; the righteous anger burning behind them and contorting her freckled face. There was a fire raging inside of her. Where on earth did she get it from? It certainly wasn’t from his brother.
One thing was clear: Vivienne wouldn’t take no for an answer. If he said he wouldn’t help, she would just ask the next person, and the next, and the next, until finally getting fed up and no doubt trying to go through with it herself. He couldn’t let that happen. She had too much to lose.
All Steve had left to lose was his niece.
He let out a sigh that shook the dust off of the very foundations of his being. “I’ll think about looking into it, okay? Just- please. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”
Her face lit up like the sunrise after a cold, lonely winter’s night. “You mean it?!”
“I said I’ll think about it.”
Vivienne grinned, suddenly teleporting over to the other side of the table so that she could hug him. “Thank you so much! Let me know when you make up your mind, okay? We’ll go in together.”
Steve stared up at the ceiling, still wrapped up in his niece’s arms. It was a nice thought; doing it together. The hero and the detective, working together to help put a stop to a corrupt police captain and his evil machinations, or whatever. Her powers would probably give them a fighting chance if push came to shove down there. They could do some real good, together.
He would think about it.
—
It didn’t take much thought.
He made up his mind laying in bed that night, staring out the window and thinking about everything. There was no way he could bring Vivienne with him. If this was happening, he needed to do it alone. He wasn’t wrong about it being the chance to finally do something good with his life, but he wasn’t going to drag his niece down with him when it inevitably went wrong. She had far too much to lose.
It occurred to him that this decision may very well mark the end of his life. De Vygon could easily have him killed for poking his nose where it didn’t belong, all because his niece didn’t know when to give up. But, in the reality of the situation, where it was a clear-cut choice between sacrificing himself for this, or letting Vivienne get herself killed, it was an easy decision to make. His life was pretty much over, anyway. Vivienne was the only member of his family he still spoke to. He had no spouse, no kids, no friends, a tiny apartment, and a dead-end job. Really, there just wasn’t that much to live for. Why not go out in a blaze of glory, sticking it to the man who ruined his life and maybe saving an abuse victim in the process? It was as good a way to go as any.
With that decision made, now all he needed was a plan.
—
George Sadler yawned, leaning against a support rail in the elevator, heading back up to the precinct. For once, he’d been lucky enough to not get a night shift, but with the way his schedule had messed him up, he was still pretty tired. All he wanted was to get home, say hi to his cat, and go to bed.
His phone chimed with an alert as the elevator came to a stop, and he went to check it as he stepped out. Of course, it was just his luck that someone happened to be standing right in his path as he did so.
George crashed into them, tripping over and collapsing to the ground in a heap.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, are you okay?”
The person grabbed him, pulling him up to his feet, probably a little rougher than was strictly necessary. He readjusted his glasses as he straightened out and came face-to-face with one of the detectives.
“Y-yes, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Thank you for your help, Mr…?”
The man glanced to the side briefly before looking back. “S-Smith. Robert Smith.”
George nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Smith. I should get going, but you have a good evening, alright?” He turned, making his way to the front entrance.
“You too!” Robert Smith called. What a nice man.
George left the building and got into his car, turning on the ignition. The radio started up, filling the space with electric guitar and whiny vocals, just the way he liked it. The Cure was always the best way to end a shift.
…
Wait.
Robert Smith?!
—
Steve smirked, looking at the clearance badge he’d just swiped off of that dorky guy. That was much easier than he’d been expecting.
“Thank you, George Sadler. You’ve made my night that much easier,” he muttered, reading the name off of the badge.
Now for the hard part.
Steve got on the elevator and swiped the card through the reader next to the buttons. The bottom two, which usually remained dark and inactive, lit up. Bingo.
They were unmarked, so Steve just pressed the top one and hoped for the best. The elevator started moving, quietly descending into the earth and sealing his fate. He didn’t doubt for a second that there was a camera watching him right at that moment. There was no getting out of it anymore.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears, his stomach swirling so bad he felt like he might throw up. He needed to get himself in check. The only way he was going to actually get what he needed would be if no one tried to stop him, and for that, he needed some damn confidence. Fake it till you make it, as they say.
The elevator arrived at its destination, and Steve’s heart leapt into his throat in time with it. He forced it down as the doors opened, keeping his back straight and his stride bold as he picked a direction at random and started walking. The place didn’t look that different from the precinct upstairs; just a whole lot of corridors lined with fluorescent lights and linoleum floors. The only real difference was how clean and orderly everything was.
Sure enough, his feigned authority masked the fact that he clearly wasn’t supposed to be there, and aside from a few stray glances, no one that he passed stopped him. Just like most of the people he’d seen come out of the elevator, including old Georgie-boy, a lot of them were dressed in lab coats. If he wanted to blend in better, it might be a good idea to find a spare one somewhere. First things first, though; he should find a map.
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Thankfully, there was one nearby, plastered on a wall. Steve examined it, trying to get a picture in his head of where he was.
Most of it seemed pretty innocuous; things like ‘mess hall, boardrooms, offices, labs, supply closet,’ but then there were rooms like ‘training halls, medbay, examination room, subject housing, tech development,’ and, most worryingly, ‘penalization room.’ Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to know what went down in there. He took a picture of the map on his phone just to be safe, and started heading towards the training halls.
He passed by the supply closet on the way and checked inside. Sure enough, there were spare lab coats in there. He grabbed one and shrugged it on over his dress shirt. Hopefully that should give him a little bit more of a plausible excuse should anyone stop him.
Following the map, he made his way over to the training halls. Most of them seemed devoid of life as he passed, glancing in through the observation windows, though some of them were filled with various set-ups clearly designed for… well, training. Obstacle courses, punching bags, weapon racks lining the walls; the works. One room, however, seemed to have attracted a small crowd of scientist-looking people, all peering in through the window.
His curiosity piqued, Steve crept up behind them to see what they were looking at.
“Augh!”
A choked cry came from beyond the window as Seven, clad in her black armour, was launched across the room by a single punch from a simply-dressed man. Well, simply-dressed aside from the massive gauntlets covering his fists, clearly the source of whatever just sent Seven flying.
“On your feet!”
De Vygon was there too, directly observing Seven from within the training room, with his hands clasped behind his back and a judgemental, unhappy look on his face. Clearly, his ward wasn’t performing to his expectations. Steve subtly pulled out his phone and started filming the scene.
Seven shakily lifted herself up, grunting and audibly wincing all the while. “I- I don’t understand why I’m doing this. No one I fight on the street is going to be equipped with this sort of-”
All of a sudden, her body seized up and she screamed, collapsing to the ground in a writhing heap while clutching the back of her neck. Shadows flickered out of her armour, licking across the floor impotently, trying to do anything to stop the agony she was so clearly in.
“What have I told you about backtalk?!” de Vygon yelled. “Are you really so stupid that you haven’t learned your lesson yet?”
“I- I- I’m s- s- SORRYYYYIIIIEEEEE!!” Seven screeched, her voice changer morphing the cry into a garbled, electronic wail as her back arched from the pain.
Steve caught it this time. He noticed the subtle unclenching of de Vygon’s fist as Seven’s body went limp and the screaming stopped. Whatever he did to her just now, it looked like he had total control over it with a simple gesture. Vivienne was right. This whole situation was messed up.
“On your feet,” de Vygon repeated. “Do not make me ask again, or you’ll be missing out on dinner tomorrow as well as tonight!”
The sound of electronic sobbing filled the room as Seven struggled to stand. Steve considered himself a pretty jaded guy in general, but even he couldn’t stand to watch this without his stomach crawling. The fact that all of these scientists were just passively observing this horrific abuse made him sick.
He’d seen enough, and that recording should be as good evidence as any that something wasn’t right here. He needed to move on before de Vygon turned around and saw him.
Steve made his way back towards the elevators. If it was up to him, he would have quit while he was ahead and bailed right then and there. Vivienne probably wouldn’t be happy with just the recording though, and if they were gonna stand a chance against de Vygon’s army of lawyers and rich friends, they needed more. He wasn’t sure he could find any better evidence than what he’d just witnessed on this floor, but the next floor down was still a mystery. At least he knew for certain that de Vygon wasn’t there right now. It was worth a shot.
Thankfully, the elevators were still free, and he was able to get in and press the button without any issues.
At least, no issues up until that very moment.
Right as the doors were about to close, a hand slipped in between them, forcing them back open. Steve’s heart leapt into his throat as a woman entered the elevator and settled in next to him without pressing any buttons.
The doors closed. The elevator began moving down. Steve remained silent, praying he wasn’t sweating too noticeably.
“Haven’t seen you around before,” the woman said.
Steve cleared his throat, stalling for long enough to formulate a response.
“Uh, y-yeah. I’m new here.”
“Oh? I didn’t know Andreas was still hiring new staff. The name’s Cheryl.” She held out her hand.
“A- Arthur,” Steve replied as he shook her hand, remembering how lucky he got with the ‘Robert Smith’ slip-up earlier. No more naming himself after celebrities; that was a sure-fire way to get caught.
“You seem a little nervous. Complete all your training, dear?”
Steve nodded, hoping that an affirmative would get this woman to leave him alone. “You know how it is. First day jitters and all.”
“Oh, I get it. Well, don’t worry, we’re pretty laid-back here. I mean, most of the work’s already done, y’know? Now it’s just on us to keep things running smoothly, and have a back-up ready in case something happens to G-7. I’m actually heading down to R&D to check up on the subjects in stasis right now. If you want, you can come with me? Get comfortable with how things are run? If not, I don’t think anyone’s manning the surveillance desk right now.”
While the offer was tempting - Steve very much wanted to know what a ‘subject in stasis’ was - it was probably safer to turn her down. Besides, how was he supposed to collect evidence with this chatty woman watching his every move? He would just have to make do at the surveillance desk.
…Wait, the surveillance desk!
Ever since he first stepped onto the elevator, Steve had resigned himself to the fact that he probably wouldn’t live past the next week or so. Not an easy thing to accept by any means, but it was made easier by the fact that if he hadn’t, Vivienne would be taking his place. Even if no one noticed right away, the camera footage of his incursion would no doubt spell his demise sooner or later.
With access to the surveillance desk though, he could delete any evidence of his presence, and so long as no one recognised him before he got out, he could get away scot free!
It was dangerous to get his hopes up, but Steve couldn’t help it. If he made it out, he was gonna turn his life around, starting with finding a new job. Fuck working under de Vygon any longer than he had to.
“Uh, I’ll just take the surveillance desk, thanks.”
Cheryl shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
The elevator opened to a dim room illuminated by a large array of monitors. The surveillance desk, presumably. Cheryl made a beeline for a door across the way, labelled ‘subject development,’ and disappeared through it. Hopefully, that would keep her busy long enough for Steve to get what he needed.
Steve sat down at the desk, looking up at all of the monitors. Most of them displayed CCTV footage of different parts of the facility, but the one directly in front of him was just showing a screensaver. He wasn’t an expert with computer stuff, but he knew a decent bit, and if he had to guess, that computer was probably the one that controlled all of the cameras and managed their recordings.
He moved the mouse a bit, and the computer woke up, asking for a password. Steve cursed under his breath, looking around the desk for anything that might be a clue. Thankfully, he found a notepad in the top drawer that had exactly what he needed.
So you don’t forget: password for the computer is ‘ProjectGenesis’
“Probably could have guessed that…” Steve muttered, inputting the password.
The desktop was pretty sparse, but one thing did catch his eye: a text document titled ‘PG_subject_notes_MASTER_FILE_DO_NOT_EDIT.txt.’ He made a mental note to check it once he was done deleting the backed up camera footage.
To that end, Steve un-minimised the camera control program that was already open in the taskbar, did a little digging until he could find where the recordings were being saved, and deleted the last hour of them from every feed just to be safe. Then, he made sure to turn off the camera in the elevator to cover for his escape. It wasn’t a perfect plan by any means, but it was better than nothing.
Now, to check out that file. He double-clicked on the shortcut, and the document opened.
—
PROJECT GENESIS SUBJECT NOTES
Subject G-1
* Formation was promising, but subject was found to be brain-dead upon release from formation tank. Subject disposed of. (note: in the future, remember to periodically wake the subjects up during formation! It helps with brain development, especially past the foetus/newborn stage. - John)
Subject G-2
* Initial results promising! Subject came out of formation tank awake and aware, though notably disorientated. Moving on to physical habilitation.
* Two weeks in, and the subject seems to be distressed. She doesn’t believe the story Andreas has told her about why she’s in such poor condition. Demanding to see her wife.
* Subject is deceased. It appears the presence of the Source’s memories caused her to panic. She broke the mirror in her accommodations and slit her throat with it. Body disposed of. In future, subject should be a blank slate for more receptive programming.
(won’t that slow down the project? Then we would have to worry about mental habilitation as well as physical. - Hana)
(It’s a necessary adjustment. The project will never go anywhere if we can’t even control our own subjects. Memories leave too much of the Source’s personality intact to be reliable, even if it saves time. - Andreas)
(Also, just a suggestion, but it might be a good idea to give the subjects actual names, instead of numbers. It could help provide a sense of normalcy that will endear them to us. I’m sure Two didn’t appreciate being called ‘Two’ all the time. - George)
Subject G-3
* Subject deceased. Mistake in protein levels during development resulted in stunted growth. Subject couldn’t support itself outside of formation tank. Body disposed of.
(Whoever’s fault this is, rest assured I will find out, and you will be sternly reprimanded! This mistake just cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars! - Andreas)
Subject G-4
* Initial results promising. Birth went off without a hitch, subject development falling under all expected parameters. Subject named ‘Gwen.’ Moving onto mental and physical habilitation.
* Two months in. Habilitation is progressing well. Subject can walk, talk, read and write, and do basic arithmetic. Power is expressing itself as some sort of superspeed, though the subject is struggling to control it. Locomotive training starting soon.
* Training is progressing well, though subject still struggles to control her power. Obstacle course times are slower than Andreas would prefer, slowed down further by injuries from subsequent punishments.
* Subject deceased. Twisted her ankle on the course and broke her neck in the fall. Body to be disposed of.
(I can’t believe it. She was doing so well! What happened out there? - George)
(I may have pushed her too hard too soon. We will take this into consideration for future subjects. - Andreas)
(Still, it would be a shame for her to go to waste. She was our first promising subject, after all! We should build off of it! Why don’t we
[CONTENT REDACTED]
* Upon further examination, subject’s DNA was found to be slightly corrupted. May be the potential cause for programming and development issues found in subjects G-5 and G-6.
(I’m putting a stop to second-generation testing effective now, and disposing of any remaining subjects/samples from the program. It’s too risky, and has no discernible benefits. From now on, it’s back to basics. With all we’ve learned, I’m sure the next subject will be our winner. Let’s give it our all, team. - Andreas)
Subject G-7
* Subject off to a promising start. Development and Birth stats falling within expected parameters. Given the name ‘Jordyn.’ Her power to control shadows seems to have a lot of potential, but has proven to be dangerous if it gets out of control. (Get well soon Ben!)
* Physical and Mental habilitation successful. Subject is receptive to orders and seems to enjoy carrying them out. Programming successful. Subject has a notably softer personality than previous subjects. Sensitive and prone to fits of crying. A gentler, positive-affirmation approach may be beneficial to future training.
(I will not coddle her for subpar results. Delete that note. - Andreas)
* Locomotive training through the obstacle course has proven effective, though not without hiccups. Heavy punishments slowed down training, though have been successful in “toughening her up,” as Andreas put it. Less prone to outbursts and tantrums, though they remain an infrequent issue. Subject seems eager to please Andreas, despite diminishing rewards when she does so. A good sign for her conditioning. Combat training beginning soon.
* Subject excelling at combat training, despite an apparent dislike for the activity. Easily appeased by the promise of a larger portion at dinner for good performance, however. Crying fits not an issue anymore, though subject occasionally speaks out of turn when she doesn’t understand something or has conflicting thoughts on a situation to what Andreas has provided. Will continue to monitor.
* Subject failed her first combat exam. Upon sustaining an injury, the subject panicked, causing her shadows to rampage when the lights went out as part of the test. Every prisoner used for the test was killed. Andreas resorted to use of the ‘correction chip’ as a reprimand. Long-term effects of chip use haven’t yet been studied, but subject is showing no adverse side effects so far. Still, it’s recommended to keep use of the chip to a minimum.
* Subject passed second combat exam. Subsequently deployed in Tombguard. Subject displayed fascination with the outside world, but maintained composure. Had a minor encounter with a monster, where subject displayed a fear response. Potential holdover from the Source? Need to study more.
* The night after her first day out of the facility, the subject exhibited some as of yet unseen behaviours. Subject engaged in masturbation after waking up in the middle of the night, and was subsequently targeted by the Godling. Exact specifics surrounding the incident are unknown due to a camera malfunction, though subject suffered no major injuries.
(Edited the note. Can we please try to be professional about this? ‘Straight up jorkin it’ is not appropriate note-taking etiquette. - Hana)
* The subject has taken well to deployment, and has proven effective in her police work. Continuing to monitor.
* Subject still exhibiting minor rebellious behaviours despite frequent reprimand, such as talking back to Andreas and failing to carry out orders. Punishments remain effective as a temporary preventative measure, though they can hinder performance.
—
Steve blinked, coming back to himself as he stared at the bottom of the page. It was strange that Seven’s notes ended there, with no mention of the shooting or anything past that. Either the research team just decided to stop taking notes there, or this document wasn’t the most recent version. That, or de Vygon was trying to keep something hush-hush. With the way that the entries for G-5 and G-6 were expunged, he wouldn’t be surprised.
Still, this was a lot to take in, and not a lot of it made much sense to him. What were the subjects? What was this ‘Source’ that kept being mentioned? What did they mean by ‘development?’ As far as he could gather, Project Genesis seemed to be some sort of genetic modification program, taking people and wiping them clean for whatever purpose Andreas had. That didn’t explain what ‘foetus/newborn stage’ meant, though. Unless the program was literally modifying these people from birth. But surely that would take decades, right? There was no way the program had been running for that long.
One thing was certain, though. The notes for these experiments clearly documented the unethical treatment and deaths of multiple people, all before Seven even came along. A jury would eat this stuff right up, if they could just get it to court. Of course, the notes themselves wouldn’t be enough by a long shot, but it was a start. A single spark to light the roaring fire of justice, as it were.
Steve smirked to himself. Rosalyn Garcia-Holmes would be proud.
He pulled the USB he’d brought just in-case out of his pocket, and plugged it into the computer, copying the document over. Once it was transferred, he pocketed it again and made for the elevator. No need to stick around for any longer than he had to.
Thankfully, no one intruded on him this time, and he was able to ride all the way back to the surface without any issue.
Now, he just had to wait and see if anything would come back to bite him.