The Mutant

Seventeen: On My Own

I didn't know where I was. I had kept going, and went down to a level that well, the button was red and flashy. I didn't know how I had gotten down here. You'd think that they'd protect this area better. As I walked out of the elevator, it was dark. The lights were dim, and some were flashing on and off. As I went down the hall, I could see through the darkness, there was no need for a flashlight. A few feet away, there was a door. And as I approached it, the knob became more and more clear. It was gold, but a symbol was engraved. Simply engraved on the knob of this door, why was I so drawn to it? As I approached, I could see more clearly. I bent down and I looked at the symbol with shock. It was a Phoenix. A bird with flames for wings, standing on top of a dead man, faceless, just a body. The symbol was extremely detailed, from the fire sparks on the bird's' wings, to the wounds on the body below it. My eyes, although they were black, soulless, seemed to glow with color as I looked into this knob.

I put my hand on the knob, it was cold. I shivered and opened the door. Inside, was truly not what I was expecting. It was the room I had seen on the screen father played for me. It was the lab my mother died in. Slowly I walked inside, and looked around. There was the tube, glass shattered outward, like something had broken out. Nothing could've escaped that glass, nothing human at least. I kept going to the computer screen, and watched the screen twitching, and blacking in and out. I touched the screen, clicking on the file that said 'Failed'. It popped up with different video files. I went through, each one was different. Men, and woman. All of them fails of the Project. Many, many people were volunteers. Many, many people didn't make it. I clicked out quickly, not knowing how many more death videos I could watch. As I viewed files upon files, of the original plans, the original inventors, their failures, I learned it all. The algorithms, the formulas, all of it. I felt like the lead on the chemical departments, the machinery department, and the people department.

Then I saw it. The file named 'Titan Project Success 1'. I clicked it open, and dragged it to the screen that was not broken. I watched the screen, and it was my mother's experiment. This didn't make any sense, she died that day. As I watched, I saw the same images before me, then I saw my dad attack Father, and Father Storm out. Then it kept going, the images kept playing. My father kept going with the tube and the injection of 'The Mutation'.

"I'm sorry my love."

He clicked one last button, and shut it all down. The tube went dark, and the lights went dim. As he walked to the door, her body shifted, and she moved in the tube. He turned immediately. She... punched the glass, and made it explode outward. She stepped down, and her hair was black, her eyes were red. They glowed with anger, as she looked around. She turned towards my father, and was immediately even angrier.

"You DARE try to turn me off, to take my daughter as well!?"

"Honey, it's me, your husband."

"I have no husband, who are you? The man who did this to me!?"

"No darling please, remember!"

"Nothing you say is true!"

She looked at him with such anger. She had no idea who he was anymore. She somehow mutated her arm into titanium. It was extremely shiny, and deadly. As she walked towards him, it shifted into something of a knife, and she stabbed him. He made no noise, made no effort to call for help. He didn't care, he loved her. Somehow an alarm went off, and she panicked dropping him. He bled out, and I broke the screen. Not with my mind this time, but with my fist. No pain came to my arm, nothing came at all.

As I looked up from the broken screen, those red eyes were there, looking at me. My eyes went wide, and I backed up a little.

"You see now, daughter of mine?" she hissed "All they want is to use us, I've been 'dead' for at least 16 years."

"Mom?" I asked. "You killed dad."

"That was not your father." She snapped.

"Yes it was mom!" I yelled.

"He betrayed me that was not your father."

"You volunteered!" I screamed.

"You know what I am, you know what I can do?"

"You don't know who I am, you don't know what I can do." I growled at her.

"Are you willing to die, by my hand?"

"Are YOU willing to die by MY hand mother?"

"Is that a threat?" she asked.

"If you take it that way."

She walked forward, and her arm became the deadly metal, and then formed into a weapon. As she began to walk, I looked at her. And she froze mid step. Her eyes went wide, and then she smiled. She pushed against my force, and walked forward. She was breaking my hold on her, and then she pushed me back, and I fell. She jumped and drove her arm down, but I rolled away. Getting up on one knee, putting my palms on the floor, and glaring at her.

"So, they changed the mutation? Very smart of them. Nobody could've handled it."

"Not even you." I said mocking her.

Her smirk disappeared and she scowled at me. Slowly we both stood, and she jumped towards me, and I dodged. In the process, I had managed to pull my sword and swipe it down upon her back. She screamed and turned quickly looking at me. This was my mother, and I was harming her in such a way? I didn't care anymore, she had killed my father. This was no longer my mom, this was an enemy that I must destroy. As she came forward, I put my sword up in the position Scott taught me. As she came forward her arm collided with my sword, and pushed me back a little. As I pushed against her, it was hard. Especially since she had practically indestructible armor, and my sword was failing to protect me. I was pissed, and she was metal. As I stared into her eyes, I could feel the heat rising.

"You have no eyes, daughter. Your hair, it is white. What do you think of the outfit they provided for you? They mock our abilities." She said hissing in my face.

"You don't know what we can do for the world, mother. We can help them."

"We were built to destroy, not to help."

She was distracted, and I took my chance. I drove my sword through her abdomen, then dragged it up. I sliced her chest wide open, and gladly did it. She looked down, and then coughed up blood. As she fell, the blood from her body dripped down onto me, and it stained my gloves and boots. I scowled at her dead body, and felt no regret. The elevator dinged, and then the door was swung open. Father stood there, looking down upon my mother's dead body. Jordan came in next, then Claire, Derek, and Draven. They all looked at me, then at my mother.

"You finally had a mom, and you killed her?" Father said.

"That was NOT my mother." I stated simply.

"She was all that was left of her, Ari." Claire said looking at my stained clothing.

"She was an enemy, I destroyed. That's what I'm here for right?" I snapped at Jordan and Father.

"She was our only success with the titanium trials X!" Jordan yelled coming forward.

As he came forward, Draven stepped up. He put his hands on Jordan's chest, and pushed him back. Draven came up next to me, and touched my hand. I hadn't realized that my hand had gone to my sword and tightened on that. Jordan balanced himself and then glared at Draven. I loosened my grip, and Father stepped forward.

"You killed your mother. I'm sorry Agent X. This is a federal crime, and we must arrest you."

Draven cuffed me. My eyes went wide and cried out in anger. Draven pulled me to him and held me there. My breathing was ragged, and I was pissed off. Jordan was handed a rag, and I knew what they were going to do. Knock me out. I fought, but Draven was stronger. They placed the rag over my mouth and I immediately felt its effects. As I drifted in and out, I saw images. It looked like the Phoenix had come off of the knob on the door, and began to fly around the room. I was hallucinating obviously, but still, it meant something to me. And then I realized alone in the darkness of my mind, I was on my own.