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Adam walked up to the control room still totally at a lose as how to handle the newest twist in his life. After being confronted with the “cat kids” as he has taken to calling them, he still couldn't get the other group out of his head. Yes the cats were going to cause a stir, but would they cause as much of a stir as the Intel team? He really didn't know.
Adam had told Chang to get with Ronnie and get all the new kids rooms split up how ever they wanted to be split up, he had to go talk to Logan. He had been told that the helicopters and those cargo containers were full of equipment for them to use, but he hadn't been able to give that more then a cursory thought, his mind was definitely elsewhere.
He knew that Juan and Jory were staring to go through them, and he also knew that Will was looking at the birds. He also knew that the base was not out of lock down yet. He figured it would be a good idea to introduce the kids here to the new kids all at once, so he had told Logan to make an announcement that everything was under control, but they didn't want people to leave their stations yet. That also meant that Janet wouldn't run into the Intel team yet. Emily and Donnie were escorting them to the main conference room while Adam went to get Logan so at least everything could be handled away from everyone else.
Adam also had Dr. Marcus on his mind. After all the introductions, Marcus had handing him a large briefcase full of more information on project Genesis. Things that Adam didn't even know, but knew that it was about to turn two people's worlds upside down, and he hated having to do it.
The doors opened onto the control room, and all eyes were on him. Logan could immediately tell something was wrong, but waited for Adam to tell him what was going on. “Jack, can I have a word with you... out here?” Adam said from the door way.
Jack got up from his seat, and made his way to the doorway, where Adam stepped back allowing the older man outside. Once the door was shut, Jack turned to Adam, “okay, what's going on?” He asked Adam.
“There was so much about Project Genesis that we never knew, Jack. We got just over a hundred more kids out there that were part of it, most of the genetically altered in some way or another. Hell there's twelve kids out there that are half cat!” Adam said as he leaned up against a wall.
“WHAT?!?!” Jack exclaimed
“Yeah, half cat. From what I saw, and I may be wrong, but three of them are half tiger, Three are half lion, two jaguar, two cheetah, and two are cougar. But that's not the worst part.” Adam said while rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying, in vain, to stave away the head ache that was forming.
“Wait a minute...that's not the worst?!?! What could be worse then that?” Jack said not able to believe that there could be more then that.
“There are thirteen kids out there... their Intel team... they were all cloned. All from the same person.” Adam said now looking Jack right in the eyes.
“Who?” Jack asked not really sure if he wanted to know the answer to that question.
Logan watched Jack walk out the room and was now very curious as to what was going on. They had been able to see much detail about what happened outside, all he knew was that a bunch of kids got out of the helicopters and lined up in a military formation. That made sense if they were actually Genesis kids. He knew that everyone else was watching what was going on closely, so he split his attention between what was going on outside, and the latest project he was working on.
He had heard when Adam reported that all was okay, but to still keep everyone on station for a bit longer, and that Adam was coming up to talk to Jack personally, so Logan just had to wait. He was insanely curious as to what was going on, but knew that he would find out when the time was right.
He looked up as Jack walked back in the room with a strange look on his face. Logan looked over to Adam who was still standing in the doorway. When their eyes met, Adam cocked his head in such a way that Logan knew that he wanted him to follow him. Logan looked to Jack who just nodded before sitting down in his chair in the middle rubbing the bridge of his nose as if trying to get rid of a head ache.
Logan logged out of the system, got up and followed Adam back out of the command room. “What's up?” Logan asked once the doors were shut.
“Logan, we've got a situation to deal with, and I'm not really sure how to handle it.” Adam began as they started to walk down the corridor.
“Okay... well tell me what it is, and we'll see if I can't figure it out.”
“I... I don't think I can explain it right, so I might as well just show you.” Adam said as they reached the door to the conference room.
Adam stopped and turned to face Logan. “Just remember love, we can handle everything together.”
“Adam, what's going on?” Logan asked as he locked eyes with Adam.
“Just... well... I think it would be best... umm.... oh hell... I'll just show you. I know you'll have lots of questions, but let's wait for mom to get here first.”
Adam leaned forward and gave Logan a quick kiss on the lips, but Logan was starting to get worried. Adam was really beginning to scare him.
Adam broke the kiss, and Logan let him take the lead into the conference room. He stopped dead in his tracks just inside the door, and his jaw rebounded off the floor. Logan stood there shocked as he looked around the room at the thirteen identical faces... thirteen faces identical to his.
“Mother?” Chang asked from the doorway to the cafeteria. The room was pretty full right now with all the young kids in here, plus the other adults.
Looked up from where she was reading a book to Lincoln, saw Chang, nodded and spoke briefly to Lincoln before setting down on the floor. With a pat on the butt, she sent the little boy on his way. She got up, and walked over to where Chang was still waiting in the doorway.
When she got close enough, Chang spoke in his normally formal tone. “I was asked by Adam to bring you to the conference room.”
“Okay, and I suppose you can't tell me what's going on?” Janet said with a slight smile on her face. Of all the boys, she knew that Chang was the only one who she couldn't get any answers out of unless he was willing to give them.
“I am sorry mother, but I was instructed not to discuss this with you yet. Please forgive me.” Chang said while turning and leading her away from the cafeteria.
Janet was really starting to wonder what was going on, but knew it had to do with the new kids that just showed up.
They made their way up to the conference room in silence, Janet's thoughts wondering exactly what was going on, but knowing that she would find out soon enough.
Chang knocked on the door, then opened the door, and motioned for Janet to enter. Janet walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. She saw her son, Logan walking towards her, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from the kids that were sitting around the table.
She took a quick count and realized that there fourteen Logan's in the room. Her son was the oldest she saw, but it was like looking at moving pictures of when he was younger.
She closed her eyes tight, and opened them again hoping she was just seeing something, but no luck there. “Mom?” She heard “her” Logan say.
“Ummm... would someone mind explaining to me what's going on?” she said as she moved to a seat and sat down hard. She didn't trust her legs at the moment.
“I think I can explain that,” came a voice from down the table and Janet stared in shock again. Standing there was an older version of Logan. Not an exact copy like the other kids were, but definitely related somehow.
“Okay, and who are you?” Janet asked and after looking at Logan knew that he was wondering the same thing.
“My name is Anthony Marcus Jr.” the man said and Janet couldn't help but take in a surprised breath.
“I never knew he had any kids... but... I mean how... this doesn't make sense.” Janet said not really sure how this man who was Dr. Marcus's son could look so much like Logan.
“The explanation is not going to be an easy one for either of you to handle.” The man said as Logan sat down next to Janet and Adam next to him.
Dr. Marcus got up and handed Janet, Logan, and Adam folders that all had Project Genesis on the front of it. He had one himself and opened it up.
“This is the official project history. As you can see, the project started well over one a thousand years ago with selective breeding. The military got wind of it, and took over the project about twenty years ago. That's when they brought my father into the program. See he was actually apart of the project. He was one of the people who was “breed” into the program... so where his children. See Dr. Marcus had two children, obviously me, but he had a daughter as well. One that was raised by another woman.”
Anthony stopped there and was looking right at Janet. 'Was he saying what I think he was saying? No... it couldn't be... it makes no sense.' Janet was fighting with her self now.
“Doc, are you saying what I think your saying?” Logan asked after a minute of uncomfortable silence. “Are you saying that mom was actually part of project Genesis?”
“Yes and no.” Anthony answered, and everyone stared at him demanding a better answer then that.
“You see, before the Military got a hold of it, there wasn't really a name to it, it was just a selective breeding program, trying to get the best and brightest to have children with others like them. They were trying to breed out undesirable characteristics, and genetic defects. However, what they didn't realize is that there is a certain randomness to genetics that we have yet to figure out, right Janet?”
Janet just nodded her head still trying to take everything in. However, once Anthony started talking genetics, she calmed down, and the doctor side of her took over an what he was saying. “Yes, the one line one of my professors used to always preach is “no matter how much we think we know about genetics, mother nature will still stick her nose in and change things.”
Anthony laughed in agreement. “Very true, as a matter of fact, that point is brought home very clearly with the children sitting in this room. See Janet, you were also a part of this project.” Janet could do nothing more then blink in surprise. 'How was she a part of it. Could it be that...'
“Janet, I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, but Dr. Marcus was your father.”
“How?!?! I mean... how could that be.” Janet sputtered. She felt her entire world rocking with those few words. Everything she had always “known” was being changed.
Anthony reached into his brief case, and handed Janet another folder, this one having her name on it. Slowly she leafed through the file, every once in a while having to wipe tears from her eyes. This was more then she could take in right now, but she still had so many questions. Logan beat her to it though.
“So... your saying my mom is Dr. Marcus's daughter?” Logan asked in disbelief.
“Yes Logan that's what I am saying. Which of course also means I am your uncle. I was sure that both you and your mom would have difficulty believe this, which is why I had a complete genetic work up done on my father, myself, and your mother. I am sure by know she is looking at those.”
Janet was indeed looking at those, and it was proof, irrefutable proof, that what Anthony was saying was true.
“Okay, but... that still doesn't explain all of this.” Logan said while sweeping his arm indicating the other thirteen boys there. For their part, every single one of them was both nervous and intrigued. They hadn't know all the details either, just that they were all related to Logan.
“Well Logan, you see, the Military doctors, who studied all the records that were kept about the selective breeding program, hypothesized that the culmination of the program would be the “perfect” human. No pre-dispositions to getting ill, pre disposed to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible, and extremely intelligent.” Anthony said while alternating between looking at Janet, Logan and Adam.
“So... your saying that mom was the culmination of this selective breeding project?” Logan asked looking wide eyed.
“No Logan,” Janet said, putting the file down. Logan turned and looked at his mother with wide eyes. “What he is saying is that YOU are the culmination of the project.”
Logan's jaw hit the table, and Adam reached out to take his hand. “How...what... I mean... it can't be... I'm not special.”
“Oh come on babe, you know that's not true. Look at how smart you are. Look at how quickly you picked up on the training. I can tell you for a fact the neither Juan nor I took it easy on you. Hell we were both shocked at how well you did.”
“No... it's can't be... I'm not like you guys.” Logan said still shaking his head. Adam got a somewhat hurt look on his face when Logan said that but he was too far gone to notice the look.
Janet took Logan in her arms, “honey, we're not saying that you were engineered or altered or anything like that. But if this is true, you were the culmination of a selective breeding program.” Janet still didn't fully believe it, nor was she comfortable with it, but the evidence was right there in front of her face, and as much as she may not like it, she had to put her own feeling aside about the matter, and try and help her son through this.
Anthony meanwhile knew that there was one final part to this that needed to be explained, and while it might not be the best time, he thought that it needed to come out now. “Logan, I know this is hard to accept, but there is one more part to this that you need to be aware of.” All eyes were again on Anthony. “See, I'm not too sure about the details here, only what's in the reports, but it was reported that you were reading by the time you were two, and by the age of four, you already were doing complex math problems from a high school grade equivalent.”
Both Logan and Janet were nodding at this point. Janet always knew that Logan was brilliant, but she didn't think that it had really been tapped yet. “Well the military thought that is what would happen, so, right after you were born, the took the umbilical cord, and saved it. When it became clear how smart you were, they tried to duplicate it. They made clones from your DNA. Three different batches of clones to be precise. One set, four of them, were born just over a year after you were. Another set, six this time, were born about a year after the first group, the last group, three of them, are now eight years old.” Anthony stopped there to let that part sink in.
Both Logan and Janet just couldn't help but feel a little bit violated at what they were just told. To learn that your DNA was used to make other people, and never even know about it, that was something that was just beyond Logan's frame of reference. But then something struck him. Something that really began to make sense in his head.
Since he got in here, he was wondering why the other boys were looking so fear full of him. It was almost like they were afraid of him. Now he could understand why. If all this was true, then he was their father? No, that didn't fit... he would be their older brother.
“What they didn't expect, was that none of the clones were of the same caliber in the intelligence department as you were. They were off the chats on IQ tests, but they never reached the levels you did, Logan. No one could ever explain it, other then to say that mother nature stuck her hand into things.” Anthony finished up and sat down.
For a few moments, Logan let everything sink into his head. It made a certain amount of sense, but, he still didn't like it. Logan knew what he had to do as he stood up, and one by one, he went around the room, and took each of his brothers into his arms, welcoming them into his family.
Janet, taking the example of her son, walked up to Anthony. She could see the uneasiness in his eyes, and knew he was afraid of how she would handle everything. She put his fears to risk and she took him into her arms, and whispered softly into his ear, “I guess my dream of having a brother came true.”
When she broke the hug, she was greeted with a smile and the beginning of a tear in his eye. She knew she would have to spend some time getting to know this man who was her brother.
Once everyone was settled down, and the tears were dried, Adam went over to the phone, and punched in the code that would bring his announcement to the entire compound. “Attention on base... Stand down from alert status, repeat, you may stand down from alert status. In ten minutes there will be a full briefing in the auditorium, I would ask that everyone on base be there. Again, in ten minutes there will be a full briefing for everyone on the base, please make your way down there as soon as possible. Capt. Adam Casey out.”
Adam turned to Logan, smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “I'll meet you down there.” Logan returned the kiss, nodded, and smiled as Adam walked out of the room. He turned back to his brothers, smiled, and started to get to know them better.
Adam walked into the auditorium, still not exactly sure what he was going to tell everyone. Sure, everyone in the base knew about project Genesis, but how much did they really need to know? He figured for right now, and until they had a lot more proof, he would just leave things the way they were.
People were starting to file in, and he was glad to see that the “cats” were already there. That was another thing he wasn't really sure how to take. Up until this point, he hadn't even thought about the possibility that they would try and make something like them... yet here they stand. He was really wondering how they would be taken by the rest of the kids that lived here. Yeah, they were all very accepting of Adam and his brothers when they showed up, even once they found out who, and more importantly, what they were. But they did still look to be normal humans. Khan and his group did not, nor could they really hide what they were. The rather long tail got in the way.
“OH MY GOD!!!!! It's the THUNDER CATS!!!!!” Adam heard the shout, and spun around. There, in the doorway, starring open mouthed was his little brother Kent. Adam suddenly remembered Kent's fascination with the cartoon, and had to groan aloud. Kent tried to drag Jory, who had come in with him, over to the cats, but Jory leaned in and had a short, but very animated conversation with the little boy. After a few moments, Jory led Kent off to the seating area.
Finally, everyone was in there, and Adam moved to the podium, and looked out at the assembled group. 'God there's a lot of kids here,' he thought to himself. The entire group quieted down, and Adam began.
“For those of you who have been here for a little while, I'm sure you've noticed that we have a few new additions.” That comment got a few chuckles from the audience, and Adam couldn't help but smile as well. “Okay, more then a few. They have asked for asylum, and we are going to give it to them. They are all refugees from Project Genesis, just like we were. Yes, some of them look strange, but all of you know what they were doing with the Project, so it's understandable.
I already know that some of them have been trained as pilots, and some have been trained for strike teams. What I would like to propose is this, over the next week, the new kids get settled in and figure out how things run around here. Then, I will meet with each one of the kids that don;t have a specific job, and see what it is you would like to do. Unfortunately, everyone here has to learn how to do something, it may not be combat, but there are a lot of things that need to be done to support the combat teams.”
Adam took a deep breath and looked around the room, trying to gage everyone's reactions. No one seemed to have a big problem with it, so he continued. What we need to do now, is everyone that is available, needs to head outside. When they came, the new kids decided to bring us some presents, so we need to go see what they brought us.” Adam said with a big grin, and that got everyone's attention. Soon the room erupted with questions about what was in the helicopters.
Adam was really glad to see that the kids that had been here for a while, immediately went over and introduced themselves to the new kids. Of course, Kent immediately went over and started talking to the cats. He was very insistent that they were the real thunder cats.
After a while of getting to know each other, everyone moved outside. There were many different people that marveled that the size of the helicopters. Adam knew about this style of helicopter, but never really thought he would see the monster. The thing had pretty much the same cargo capacity as the C-130 cargo plane.
He was just standing there staring at the thing when suddenly Juan came running out of the back of one screaming. “ADAM!!!!! You gotta see this shit!” The young boy exclaimed as he dropped the crate he was carrying, literally ripped open the top, and pulled out a shoulder mounted surface to air missile launcher.
The thing looked obscenely huge on the small boy's shoulder, and Adam wondered what would happen if Juan actually tried to fire the damned thing. It would probably make him fly backwards.
He started to walk over to Juan who was excitedly trying to get the loaded, when he heard another cry of excitement. This one came from Logan and it made Adam wonder, as Logan has never really been all that excitable.
“Juan!!! do NOT load that thing!” Adam said as he started over to where Logan was.
“But Adam?!?!” Juan cried out.
“NO!” Adam said with a smile, knowing that if he let him, Juan would have the thing loaded and would fire it off as soon as he could.
“Oh damn it!” Juan exclaimed as he stomped his foot. “No one lets me have any fun no more!”
Adam was laughing as he reached his boyfriend. “What do ya got Log?”
Logan, who was just staring at what was inside the container he opened up, looked over at Adam,mouth moving, but no sound coming out.
Adam's curiosity was peaked, so he took a peek inside the thing. What he saw inside the container didn't really impress him much. It just looked to Adam to be nothing more then a bunch of computer equipment. It was about that time that one of the youngest of Logan's “brothers,” came up to the two of them.
“Hey Logan, if you like that, you'll love what's in that one!” He said while pointing to a different container. Logan shook his head, and ran over to it. It took him a second to pry open the door but when he did, he took a few steps backwards sputtering. Adam got over there and looked inside. All he saw one large piece of equipment.
Logan finally got his wits about him, and turned to the younger kid. “Ummm... sorry, what's your name again?”
“Alvin.” The younger boy said with a smile.
“Okay Alvin, is that what I think it is?” Logan said, his attention again riveted to what was in the container. Once Alvin started to respond, Adam knew he was well out of his element, they started talking techy, and he was lost by the second word. It only took a minute before Adam had to leave cause he was starting to get a massive headache trying to keep up with Alvin and Logan's conversation.
Will in the mean time, was looking through another one of the helicopters. He was pawing through all the equipment when he found a few things that got his gears spinning. He looked over to Charlie who was there with him. “Hey Charlie... you thinking what I am?”
Charlie, who was in the military as a pilot for a long time, knew exactly what he was thinking. “You really wanna try it? The military never got it to work right.”
Will just grinned and nodded his head, very much the kid in a candy store. Charlie just grinned, then shrugged. “Okay, but I have a few thoughts about how to do it better.”
Will nodded, “so do I... I think this'll be fun, and Bill will love it.”
That set the scene for the next few months. Everyone was very busy playing with all there new toys, and Adam was both happy and very frustrated with all the new things going on.
It had started as soon as Logan had become aware of the equipment that he had available. His mind had started creating. He had the raw equipment, but it required a plan and detailed knowledge of the various types of hardware. Over the next several days Logan ate, drank, and slept with his little brothers.
If you were to open the door to the computer room you would be greeted by deafeningly loud classical music and the sight of Logan and several of his brothers working as hard as they could in front of the computer screen. One of the littlest guys was almost always with him. They had latched on to him, and it seemed that they were afraid to be separated too long. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore had become his shadows.
A funny thing had happened one day when one of the kids from supply had asked them what they wanted to have on the sign for the door to their Intel Room. They had debated it for a good five minuted before Mike Walker had interrupted and suggested the “Spook Room.” They had all stopped and then decided that was it.
Logan had designs that he had been working on for the last several years. The scale and sophistication of the equipment he now had available made it possible for the first time to fully implement what he had created. He had been working on his own operating system and had already deployed it when he first had set up the computer systems on the base. It was designed to do things more efficiently than your standard OS, but the hardware had limited what he was trying to do. Now... Well he would now be able to go in directions that he had not considered before due to lack of equipment. It had been his intent to get into a university such as the Institute, or even the Academy. Hell. He had considered going to both.
The Intelligence Division was undergoing some major changes. Logan had discovered that his brothers had brought 30 high end state of the art mainframe/servers and the makings of a scalable supercomputer network. Well, not just any supercomputer. This supercomputer would be able to do very complex calculations in just minutes, that would take the high end server units weeks to do.
With the help of his new brothers he had found and cleared out a level they had discovered below what they had previously thought was the lowest level of the complex. It was already set up to house a server farm. It had redundant power, it's own backup generators, and was set up for three phase industrial grade power needs. The depth it was at would help the HVAC keep the computer systems cool and make maintaining a suitable temperature easier. It had wonderful air filtration and ionizers to attract dust.
Logan had gone around mumbling under his breath about the discovery. He had rewired the entire base, and now had discovered why none of the existing computer networking in the base had worked. All the fiber had been routed through this previously unknown level and had ended in several rows of patch bays. Nothing had been connected to anything else. If they had found this months ago it would have saved so much work. Poor Adam had been hearing about it almost every time he was with Logan.
One thing that was turning round in Logan's head was that the more they got to know their new home, the more it seemed tailor made for them. It made him suspect something, but he just wasn't sure what. It seemed like he should know, but it would never come to him. When he had mentioned this to Adam he had said that he kinda felt the same way, but could not put a finger on it either. They had both talked with Jack and Janet about this and received about the same response. So Logan pushed the feeling from his mind and got on with the tasks at hand.
Kent could not get over his fascination with the Cats. He was convinced that they were the “Thunder Cats.” He knew that they weren't the “Thunder Cats” from the television series because they were “real Thunder Cats.” The youngest kid, Lincoln, would squeal, “Kitty Cats,” at the top of his lungs every time he saw one of the cat kids.
The Cats for their part, were amused by this more than anything. The “Cats” had jumped and let out startled noises at first, but once they saw the little three year old they would smile a toothy grin and roar or scream for him. He would clap his hands and do a little dance while continuing to say, “Kitty! Kitty!” Of course this always set Kent off, who would tell the little boy that they were not Kitties, but “Real Thunder Cats.”
It was a great relief to everyone. Jack, Janet, Logan, and Adam had discussed this at length with each other as well as the other adults on the base. Adam's brothers assured everyone that they would keep an eye on things. Even Juan had seemed to understand that he needed to watch what was going on with the little guys. It was mainly because he had been hanging out with Jory, and since the little guys were with Jory a lot he had gotten to know them, and he had already become very protective.
When Khan had been asked about the possibility of one of the cats hurting the little kids because they wouldn't leave them alone he had laughed. “None of my pride would hurt a little one. It would not go well for them if they did, even by accident. It is the job of the Pride to take care of their young.” Khan had gone on to explain that they considered every resident of the base a member of the Pride. Besides, he had told them, he thought it was cute when the Lincoln did his dance and screamed “Kitty” at the top of his lungs.
Jory pretty much spent his time with the little guys. He was every bit as good with them as Jeremy was. Everyone had been a bit worried, but after watching him with the kids for a short period of time, it became obvious that he was very good with them. He kept his eye on them and made sure that whatever they did was safe. Now some people might think that showing a five year old how to make plastic explosives was dangerous, but C-4 is well known for its durability, reliability, and safety. It does not explode even if hit by a bullet, punched, cut, or thrown into a fire. He would stay with them the entire time, and make sure that they only mixed things when he was right there with them. Besides, the only reliable method for detonation of C-4 is to use both heat and pressure to make it explode. That means a detonator or blasting caps are needed, which he would never let the little kids near.
Lynn Masters had felt some trepidation at leaving Lincoln in Jory's hands at first, but after she had watched him with her son, and been assured by first Adam, then Logan, Janet, Jack, and finally Jeremy that Jory was really good with the kids she had relented at bit. After a week of carefully spied on visits, she was even ready to admit that he wasn't just good with them, but that he was great with them. He taught them things and explored with them. He showed them how to do stuff in ways that they could understand. He also seemed to revel in his time with the younger kids. He was getting some of the childhood he had missed out on back, and Lynn was left with the thought that it was very sweet.
The little guys had introduced Jory and Juan to Wile E. Coyote / Road Runner cartoons one day. After much debate, they had gotten all the little guys together and gone out to find road runners. Vishnu had seen them all going outside and decided to follow them at a distance. His curiosity just couldn't leave it alone. He had watched as they had searched all over for something. He was dying to know what it was they were looking for on the plains. Finally he decided that he would need help to figure this out. He called his brother Kartik through their bond and had filled his brother in on what was happening. Once Kartik had been told what was going on he couldn't suppress his curiosity either.
The “Cats” had stalked Jory and crew for the better part of fifteen minutes before Lincoln and Danny Schavers had come upon some large boulder and decided that they needed to check if a roadrunner was hiding in them. Vishnu had jumped on top of the largest of the boulders where he could observe them unseen. Danny had put Lincoln onto his back and begun to climb over some large rocks blocking their path. Vishnu had seen the rattlesnake before it had become aware of the children heading it's way, and he made a silent leap toward the boys. As the boys came over the edge of the ledge where the snake was sunning itself, Vishnu landed and snatched the snake away from Lincoln's face just before it struck him in the cheek. Danny had panicked and fallen backwards down the face of the rock, but before they hit the ground fifteen feet below, Vishnu had let out a scream and then propelled himself to the ground with a powerful thrust from his legs while flinging the snake into the distance. He had caught the boys and set them down on the ground.
Danny had found himself speechless and shaking, however that wasn't a problem for Lincoln. He had simply said, “Kitty,” and thrown his arms around Vishnu. The little guy had then hugged the stuffing out of Vishnu who began to purr loudly. Kahn would be proud of him. He had protected the Pride. Soon Kartik arrived followed very closely by Jory and Juan. After everyone had appeared, and Danny had calmed down, everything was explained.
Juan and Jory had moved off to the side with their group of roadrunner hunters, and they had all decided to let Vishnu and Kartik in on the hunt. When the “Cats” told Jory that they didn't know what a roadrunner was or who Wile E. Coyote was, they made for the base immediately to show them the cartoons they had watched earlier.
They had continued their search for roadrunners for several more hours, until Juan and Jory had received a message through their bond from Adam that Lynn was looking for her son. Defeated they had called it a day.
Juan was disgusted. Why couldn't they find a roadrunner? Finally he decided to ask the smartest person he knew. After Logan had stopped laughing when Juan had told him what they were doing, and he had wiped the tears from his eyes, he told him that the only place in Utah that had roadrunners was the extreme southwest of the state.
Juan had screamed his thanks, then he had immediately gone to find Will. He would load up everyone in one of the helicopters and they would head down to Southwest Utah to find a roadrunner. After searching all over the base he finally used his bond to contact him. Will was down in the hanger working on the helicopters. Juan had shaken his head on hearing this. He knew that he should have started there in the first place. Then the image of a middle finger entered his head and Will said clearly, “NO ADDMITTANCE, AND YES THIS MEANS YOU!” Juan's eyes had flashed yellow, and he had stalked off in a foul mood to find Jory while muttering all the awful thing he was going to do to Will under his breath.
Will for his part of the “playing with new toys,” had taken all the people that were interested in either flying a helicopter, or working on the ground crew, and had gathered them all in the hanger. “Okay everyone, here's what we got.” He started, and then went through and explain the plans that he and Charlie had developed over the last few days. Basically it was turning one of their helicopters into more of a gun ship. The military had tried it, but it hadn't worked out very well. Both Will and Charlie were convinced that they could do better.
“...So for the next little while, if you guys are up to it, we'll be eating, sleeping, and shitting here in the hanger. It's gonna take all of us if we wanna get the modifications done anytime soon, but I guarantee you that by the time we're done, you will know your helicopter, or your job, inside and out. Any questions?”
Will looked around and nothing but excitement in the eyes of everyone there. He knew that this was gonna work out great. But then there came a small voice from the back. “Umm... Will, I'm not sure why I'm here...”
Will smiled as Ray came up looking really confused, as he worked in the kitchens, not on the helicopters.
“Well, you see Ray Ray, your job is simple. No one other then those of us here, are going to be allowed in the hanger till this is done. Not Adam, not Jack, no one. However, we are gonna need to eat. Thats where you come in. your gonna be the only one outside of the helicopter people that are allowed in here. Now that also means you gotta keep it a secret. I'm sure Adam'll try to pry this secret out of you. But... you wanna know what'll happen if you tell him?” Will asked, and before the seven year old could answer, Will launched himself at the boy, grabbed him, and started to tickle him mercilessly.
Everyone was laughing hard, and Will didn't let up till the younger boy was begging him to stop. When he did though, Ray had to run off to the bathroom. That sent everyone off laughing again. When he came back out, he was all smiles, but when he got to Will, he popped a salute, “no one will pry the information from me! SIR!” Will returned the salute laughing, then reached down and ruffled the boy hair. This was going to be fun he thought to himself as they all got down to business.
Logan was busily connecting a server rack in the Intel Office. It would be the primary server for Intel and interface with the server farm and supercomputer cluster they were constructing. Several of the kids they had drafted to help them set things up, had asked all sorts of questions. At first it had annoyed Logan and his brothers, but the questions were intelligent, and they sometimes gave them another perspective. Now they listened carefully and tried to answer all question to the best of their ability. Logan and his brothers knew programming and how to make these things work, but the kids helping had shown them the need to make a user interface that even the littlest kids could use.
It had so excited them, that they had cobbled together a user interface that was simple and efficient. You could add and subtract control elements. It was very intuitive. They had enlisted the help of the three five year olds, Kent, Andy, and Paul, to test out it's features. It took the boys little time to be able to get the computer system to do the tasks that Logan and his brothers asked of them. It had been quite a success. Every pod would be equipped with a terminal, and there would be an interface that everyone could use.
Logan for his part was so excited about the great leap his Intelligence Section was making, that he had not heard Adam come up behind him and say hello. Adam had then tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Logan hardly responded, and Adam tapped again.
“Logan. I wanted to know when you're coming to bed? I wanna play.”
“That's nice Adam.” Logan said, his attention still elsewhere.
Adam was somewhat hurt by this. He didn't like being ignored by his lover. “Logan. Are you even paying attention to me?”
“Uh huh.” was the monosyllabic response.
Adam was further convinced that Logan was not paying attention to him. “Well a new form of life came out of the shower drain. It looked up at me and said, 'Mama'. Kinda strange huh?”
“Yeah.” Logan responded. Adam knew that Logan was totally consumed by his current project. He gave Logan a defeated smile and turned to make his way out of the storage area, when suddenly it had clicked for Logan, and he realized what Adam had said.
“What do you mean a new life form? Oh! I'm sorry Adam. This stuff has me stoked. I. Well this is equipment to make a high end server farm and a supercomputer cluster. I never thought I would get to actually use anything on this level. I mean I have read about what is being done. I have studied the schematics for these very machines and I was thinking about majoring in electrical engineering and minoring in applied mathematics. I always thought I would end up doing my doctorate in Artificial Intelligence. But, I mean, to actually have the equipment to work with. We are setting up an information / computing network that will be the envy of small and large countries alike. We can set up server...”
Adam had looked at his boyfriend's eyes. It wasn't going to happen. He was not going to get a cuddle with his boyfriend tonight. He could tell by the eyes that Logan was all business. He was talking with his youngest brothers telepathically. Adam knew how distracting this could be at times, especially when you were just beginning to get a handle on it. He felt frustrated. He just wanted to spend some time with Logan, but this was his boyfriend in his element. He knew that he could convince Logan to come with him, but part of him would still be here. Adam sighed. He knew a losing battle when he saw one.
“...So once we get that wired though the fiber network, anyone on the base will be able to connect to the supercomputer and use it to run complex calculations like digital signal processing, discrete Fourier transform calculations at various chirp rates and durations, things like that. We could do proteome folding, flaviviridae anti-virus research, or even perform climate prediction calculations. It could give us the ability to...”
Adam felt his eyes begin to glaze over. Logan was running on a mile a minute about Nodes, FLOPS, peta this and tera that, and giga whats. What in the world was Massive Parallel Computing? This was the boy for whom he had fallen. He is so smart that he doesn't realize that most people can't keep up with him if they tried.
“Uh. Logan. In English please.” Adam said this with a small grin.
Logan looked annoyed for a moment then smiled too. “It means that we would have a computer that the NSA would envy. I mean there are countries and organizations that would literally kill to get equipment like this.”
“Well, why didn't you say so in the first place.” Adam said with a laugh.
“I did.” Was the mumbled response from a blushing Logan.
“Logan.” Adam said this softly and looked him in the eyes. He leaned toward him and gave him a kiss on the lips. They were interrupted by the giggling of an eight year old. Alvin had been watching them for a while, and he could feel how good Adam made his big brother feel. When they had turned their eyes on him he had suddenly felt panicked. He was going to be abandoned. Suddenly Simon and Theodore appeared behind their brother. They all clung to each other. Adam looked questioningly at Logan who mouthed silently, “Give me a moment. I'll explain then.” Adam had smiled and nodded.
“Guys,” Logan began. He was projecting this to them through their bond, but he was also speaking out loud so that Adam could hear as well. “You are my brothers. You will always be my brothers. I haven't known you guys for very long, but I don't know what I'd do if you left me. I mean... Well, that I love you guys. Adam is someone that I love too. He won't make me love you any less, or want to abandon you.”
Silently the little guys communicated with each other, then almost as one they came over to Adam and threw their arms around him and gave him a hug. Adam for his part was a little taken aback. He was still finding it difficult to relate to others outside his immediate family. The awkwardness faded almost immediately when he looked down at the little guys and saw the peaceful looks on their faces while they hugged him with their eye squeezed shut. It hit him from out of nowhere. It was sudden, and certain. These were his love's little brothers, and that made them his little brothers. He felt very protective of them all of a sudden. When his eyes found Logan's, he saw the smile on his face, and that he had tears trickling down his cheeks. Adam was sure that Logan knew what he was feeling.
They had all sat down for a moment and talked. It had been a strange thing for Adam, but something to which he was becoming accustomed. It left him feeling a bit out of sorts though. After he kissed Logan goodbye, which was accompanied by three sets of giggles this time, he went in search of Chang or Kahn. He needed to think, and always found that a good fight helped him to center.
Adam enter the upper level of the practice room that served as an indoor running track. It ringed the top of the entire practice room and allowed people to run while others used the practice room for exercise or martial arts. He looked down and had found Chang and Kahn using the practice room already. There were already several others watching the battle.
Chang was very deliberately pressing Kahn back. He sliced back and forth going after one vital spot after another. Chang's skill with the blades was outstanding. Kahn was physically much stronger and was trying to use his power to overcome Chang, but it wasn't working. Adam dissected the fight in his mind. He was trying to get inside the heads of the combatants. Battles are won and lost in the mind. The crowd had doubled now. Adam now counted twenty two people on the track with him. His blood was beginning to pump harder. His mind quickly ascertained the best way to attack and remove all the onlookers. He reevaluated as five more persons entered the track. Word about the battle was spreading quickly.
Chang's skill with the blade was outstanding. Adam could see the teachings of Master literally embodied in Chang. The blades were slowly shredding Kahn's clothing and trickles of blood could be seen running down his body. The movements were so fast that Adam was certain that it was just a blur to those watching who were not enhanced.
Suddenly they flew past each other. Kahn used his tail to distract Chang and managed to nick him on the cheek. Chang's response had been so fast that Adam had barely followed the motion. Chang had struck four killing blows with the dull side of his katana, while he struck Kahn a blow to the forehead with the hilt of his wakizashi. Kahn had roared his anger at his defeat.
There were now thirty four people watching. It was more than Adam could stand. Adam vaulted the rail, and made weaponless straight for Chang, who simply turned and allowed his brother to fly past him, but Adam had another idea. He planted a foot and changed direction hard. He brought a kick meant to catch Chang in the chest, but was thwarted when Chang fluidly crossed his arms and shrugged off the attack.
It was all the time that Adam needed. He propelled himself into the air and headed straight for his swords that were still on pegs in the wall. Chang, however, read his intention, and was already blocking his brother's path. Adam was barely able to twist himself around the sword thrusts aimed at him. Kahn had seen the look from Adam as he landed just beyond Chang. He charged, but it had no effect. It had been read. Chang's swords were sheathed in a fluid motion, and he leveled a vicious series of blows at both of his assailants. He drove them both back, and Adam was prevented from reaching his swords.
Jeremy had come into the practice area right as Chang had blocked Adam from reaching his blades. He stopped stunned, and watched from the doorway as Adam and Kahn moved away from Chang and placed themselves on opposite sides of him. They were trying to split Chang's attention. It wasn't working. Chang backed straight for where Adam's swords were on the wall. He lowered his body into a ready position with one blade pointing at Adam and the other at Kahn.
Jeremy was floored. Adam and Kahn had charged Chang. They both outweighed him. Jeremy was sure they would crush him, but it was not how it happened. They had both reached him at the same time only to be met with a flurry of sword strokes and kicks. Kahn met these head on, while Adam who had expected this from his brother had kicked out, then suddenly changed legs and used Chang's wrist to propel himself over Chang in an attempt to reach his swords. Chang had read this and had executed a flip over Kahn's sword attack and nailed Adam on the side of his head with a kick, which sent him sprawling.
Adam for his part had rolled and brought himself upright. Kahn continued to press his attack furiously, he noted that the many of the techniques used were the same as the ones he had learned from Tulaey, only the execution and use of them was far above anything that Kahn had seen or been able to pull off himself. Kahn was also startled at the strength of the blows. Someone Chang's size, even being “enhanced,” should not be able to achieve. Kahn let out a deafening roar as he engaged Chang again. They began a back and forth and Kahn began to deliberately drive him away from Adam's weapons.
By this time everyone who did not have an active duty post was watching the battle with rapt attention. A call had gone out over the intercom base wide. “Adam and Kahn are battling with Chang. You gotta see this. It's effing awesome!”
Adam had begun a drunken wobble around the room. He began feinting left and right, up and down. He was using his speed and strength to propel himself around the room in what seemed like a random fashion, but in truth had a plan. Chang was seeing through it though. Every time Adam made for the swords he was blocked.
Jeremy was forced to rethink his belief that he could have taken Juan, even if he had trained everyday. If Juan even approached this level in any way... Well the “little girl” was good. He would leave it at that.
He was pulled from his thoughts as a bleeding Adam charged past him to the wall and removed a pair of swords that belonged to no one in particular from a case right behind Jeremy. His presence had given Adam just enough time get the swords.
Adam had given Jeremy a small smile. They were fast becoming friends, and Adam was happy with the way Jeremy dove into the tasks in front of him. He had begun training him for command and had seen nothing in the boy to make him regret his decision.
Chang, Kahn, and Adam were circling each other slowly. “Now I will have to stop holding back my brothers. I apologize in advance for the pain I will now cause you.” Kahn had been about to respond when he noticed the change in Adam's demeanor. It was obvious that he was taking Chang's declaration seriously.
As Adam began to swing the blades around they became a blur. Kahn knew instantly that Adam was someone whose ability with a sword was practically unmatched. He could learn much from these two. He already had in this match. Suddenly Chang and Adam flew at each other, but Adam veered off his attack.
“You have learned to avoid that one at last my brother. I am impressed.” Chang said this with a serene smile on his face.
Adam gestured to a fresh cut in his thigh and responded, “But I didn't escape getting cut.”
Kahn let out a gasp. He had not seen Chang's swords move. How had he cut Adam. Kahn felt something he had not felt in a long time. It was real fear. It was not like he hadn't felt fear going into battle, but this was different. This was someone who could kill him without a doubt. Someone in whom death resided. Well, how did the saying go? Yes. He remembered it now.
Khan let out another deafening roar and cried out “Today is a good day to die!” Which drew a small smile from both Adam and Chang. With no hesitation he threw himself into the battle again.
It was an impressive display. Those who had seen Kahn in battle before were astonished. He had reached a different level over the course of this fight. This type of battle has been referred to as the 'Dance of Death,' and perhaps a more appropriate name for it has not been found. The movements were fluid, powerful, graceful, and deadly all at the same time.
Blades flashed, hands flew, feet struck powerful blows. Blood was flowing freely from Kahn and Adam after a few moments. Chang on the other hand looked calm and only had some minor cuts, and most of those were already closing up from his enhanced healing ability.
“Regretfully my brothers I must end this most enjoyable workout. I am on duty in 30 minutes and require time to bathe and change into fresh clothing.”
Chang sheathed his swords, grabbed Adam's right wrist and twisted, while at the same time he did a split kick which sent Kahn flying into the wall and sent the sword in Adam's left hand flying. Before he had touched the ground he executed a flip and sent Adam flying after Kahn, while he followed straight behind him. He arrived virtually at the moment Adam collided with Kahn, and delivered several elbow / knee combinations to the stunned pair.
Kahn and Adam were lying on the floor with swords on their throats while a trickle of blood flowed from where the point made contact with their skin. No one had seen Chang draw his swords. Gasps and cries of disbelief erupted from the crowd.
“One of these days you are going to make a mistake, and I am going to get you bro,” Adam said with a big smile on his face.
“Everyone needs a fantasy my brother,” was Chang's serene reply as he left the practice room.
It was going more smoothly than Logan had thought possible. The existing server nodes and switches had made it so much easier than it would have been otherwise. The biggest time saver was the discovery of building blueprints and wiring diagrams. They now knew the location of every wire, microphone, speaker, and camera on the base which included every room and corridor. What might have been months of work was reduced to a single week. Every room was wired and could have a networked computer or terminal installed with little trouble. Suddenly all the extra wires, conduits, and such that had been so confounding before were explained. He would have to see that every pod had several terminals in them so that everyone could use these computers. The most amazing thing about the new setup was that even if every person on the base had a computer or terminal going full tilt on the network, they would never be able to approach the networks maximum capacity.
Logan and his little brothers had mirrored all the information that was part of Genesis onto the new storage units. Everything had at least two if not three or four redundancies. After they had everything set up they integrated the new system into the existing network pipe. Suddenly Logan was connected via a stolen government satellite link and they had 10,000% or more the computing power at their fingertips than they had a moment before. It was a stunning achievement.
Adam and Logan were laying in bed one morning. Adam had woken up and looked at Logan's face. He leaned forward a bit and had wrapped his arms around his love and pulled him closer. As he gave Logan a kiss on the lips he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and gave a start as he found himself looking at a younger version of Logan. Adam had pulled back and bumped into something behind him. He reacted before his mind had time to contemplate what had happened. He had jumped out of the bed and pulled Logan with him, and had let out a startled, “What the Fuck?!?”
Logan for his part had come awake and was muttering curses in between his confused questions. On the bed were three terrified little boys. They were clutching each other and shaking violently. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore had snuck into the room and climbed into bed with them. Adam was shocked. He hadn't heard them open the door, then come into the room, climb on the bed, or noticed that they had snuggled up them. Damn they were good!
Logan had immediately jumped back into the bed and scooped his brothers into a hug, but they let out little squeals of fright when Adam had come close. It had stopped him dead in his tracks. Logan was trying to calm them down, and reassure them that everything was alright, and there was nothing to be scared about . It wasn't working.
“Guys. I'm not angry. I'm impressed. Really impressed. You guys are amazing. It was real cool the way you got in here without me sensing it. Wow.” Adam said this softly. By the time he had finished he had four sets of eyes glued on him. “What I want to know guys, is how you got in here without waking me?”
The little guys could tell from Logan that Adam was not mad, and really wanted to know how they had done it. Finally Alvin had worked up the courage to answer.
“Uhm. Well first we found the door locked, and you guys were busy. So we obtained a blueprint of the base. Then we found all the different entry points, which in the end turned out to be just one, and we made for the hall again. We went up into the ceiling and climbed into the ventilation shaft and made our way through the shaft until we got to your room. You guys were...” Alvin blushed, and so did both of his brothers. Adam waited expectantly, but nothing more was forthcoming. He noticed that Logan had a distant look on his face and realized that they were speaking mind to mind. Simon and Theodore were staring at Adam fearfully. Logan's face turned scarlet, and suddenly it clicked for Adam. They had waited until they had finished making love and fallen asleep before coming into the room. Now his own face turned scarlet.
“Jeez guys. Just knock on the door next time.” Everyone had blushed even more if that was possible and had giggled.
Logan was going through the boxes of electronic equipment that had come from the Genesis Base, and had not made it into the new computer complex. They had all sorts of interesting surveillance equipment, computer accessories, and portable Intelligence systems. You could set up a better “Intel Room” in the field in the back of a van, than the one that Logan had before his brothers had arrived. It was equipment that had been only a dream before now. It was more than state of the art. A lot of this was strictly “no such thing” exists type stuff that wasn't going to be available to anyone officially for another ten to twenty years.
Then something had happened that would change everything. As Logan was going through one of several crates marked “Miscellaneous,” with Alvin he had spotted another one that had strange marks on it next to the label. He had pried open the container and then literally yelled at the top of his lungs.
“No effing way. Take a look at this. Is this what I think it is Alvin?”
Alvin for his part, had looked inside the crate and been surprised himself. He was not sure where it had come from. It was not on any of the manifests. None of his brothers were saying it was something that they had procured, and there had been no record of it the files that they had taken with them. It should have concerned him, but he had dismissed it and smiled at his older brother while he nodded that it was indeed what it appeared to be. The guards in the storage room had all run over to see what was happening. They had asked what was wrong.
“Sorry guys. This stuff is just WAY too cool,” was Logan's excited reply.
For the next several days Logan and his brothers were busy getting the equipment they needed from the storage level to where they were setting up the new Intelligence HQ. It was an interesting sight to behold. Watching fourteen “Logans” of various ages run around directing the kids from supply and support was crazy. They were very efficient in what they did. Everything was done with maximum speed and alacrity. Logan had assumed the position of elder brother and leader of this group within days of them arriving on the base.
They almost never spoke when working anymore, at least to each other. Once Logan had discovered that he could communicate mind to mind with the youngest of his brothers through their bond they had chosen to work that way. It wasn't really so surprising. The Intel Squad had worked that way before finding Logan. They had found it the most conducive way to work.
Logan had found that while he had this bond with all his brothers, it was very hard to control. Mostly he just knew where everyone was in some vague way. If you asked him where any of them were he could point right in their direction. Sometimes he could share his thoughts with them, but it was erratic. It was different with the youngest of his siblings. After knowing them for no more than a day, he had found that he was always able to reach out to them and they to him. A deep connection had formed, so he communicated through Alvin, Simon, or Theodore with the rest of his brothers. Besides, the volume of music that they all seemed to like made speaking out loud in the “Spook Room” a futile gesture. It was an interesting situation.
Logan was sure that the surprise they were planning for everyone would be ready in a week or so. He could not wait to see the shocked looks on everyones faces when they learned what he had found in that container, and what they had done with it. It was one of his dreams come true. He was so glad that he had found Adam, and that they were doing what they were. He pulled his mind back to the task at hand and asked his brother a question...
An elderly Asian gentleman, one would guess to be in his fifties, made his way up the hall with the assistance of an intricately carved cane which he leaned on heavily. Passersby did not seem to notice that he was there, and when they did he would smile at them and they would go on their way. Isamu Takamura was lost in his thoughts. This had not been part of his original plans, but then life was like that. He knocked on the door to Adam's office. A voice responded from inside and it made him happy to hear it once again.
“Enter.” Was the one word instruction.
“Hello my student! It is very good to see you again.” Takumura said with a small hint of laughter on his face and in his voice after he opened the door and entered the room.
Adam jumped to his feet and whirled around. He looked at the one man he had respected above all others while he had been a captive of “Project Genesis.” He placed a fist in palm and bowed out of deep respect for the man that had given him the tools to survive his captivity. When he looked up he could not contain his emotions any longer.
“Maser. How? I can't believe. How did you?” Adam composed himself and managed his question at last. “I mean. How did you get here past all the guards?”
Isamu tilted his head and looked at Adam with his eyes like they were looking over the top of a pair of glasses. Adam shook his head at the look and said, “Please have a seat Master and tell me why you're here.” As soon as Isamu was close enough Adam threw his arms around the man and gave him a hug. When he thought about what he was doing he pulled back and stammered an apology.
Isamu wanted to put Adam at ease. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a small squeeze. “Don't worry my son. I am very glad to see you too.” Tears had begun to trickle down Adam's cheeks. There were so many things he wanted to ask Master. This was a man who understood him. He smiled warmly at the man's kind face.
“I have come here to seek asylum for twelve people who have traveled with me. They became involved with some people that they would have been better off never knowing. The children have had some hard times, and it has affected their parents greatly. These are wonderful and intelligent people and I believe they will benefit the children here greatly with their presence.”
Adam responded without a moments hesitation. This was the man who never had lied to him. “Of course they may stay here Master. You only have to ask. Will you be staying long?”
Isamu looked at the boy he had trained. He had been such a hurt child when they had met. “I don't know how long I will stay my son. It depends on circumstances, but I do plan to be here for a while.” They are interrupted by a voice from the doorway.
“Master?!?” Chang said from the doorway. “I am most grateful for the opportunity to see you again.”
“As am I to see you again my son. How goes your path?” Isamu said while he looked at the best pupil he ever had.
“I follow where it leads Master.” Chang said as Isamu made his way over to the boy and gave him a hug. Chang's face broke into a smile, and he literally beamed as he returned the hug. “I have missed you Master. It is good to see you.”
Again Isamu was interrupted as Juan Jory, and Will appeared in the doorway. They had sensed what had occurred through their bond and had raced to greet the only person who had treated them like people when they were in the lab. They all had spoken for a while before they had introduced Isamu to everyone and gone to the hotel where he had left the people he had helped to escape a nasty short life and painful death.
Janet and Jack had asked him all sorts of questions about his involvement with “Project Genesis,” but all he had would say was that they had hired him to train some children in combat and tactics and that he had accepted.
Logan was a bit overwhelmed, because he found himself greeted by someone who, just moments before, had been nothing more than just the larger than life person in stories told by Adam. He had been shocked when Isamu had used his name and told him that it was nice to meet the boy who had stolen his “son's” heart. When he had met the “Cats” he had bowed and said, “It is nice to finally meet you and your Pride at last Kahn.”
Soon accommodations were found for everyone. Isamu found himself staying in the same pod as Sam and Martha Washington. The seemed to take to each other right away. Martha had been in the kitchen backing some sweetbread. Chang had made to introduce their new pod-mate, but Isamu had bowed and introduced himself.
“I am called Isamu Takumura Mrs. Washington. What you and you husband have done for these kids is very special. I am honored to finally meet you.”
“Well now honey, you just call me Martha. It's nice to meet you too. My you sure are a polite one, just like our Chang over there.” She smiled warmly at the man leaning on his cane in front of her as she pointed to a blushing Chang. At that time Sam had walked in and Isamu had turned to face the man. He had extended his hand and taken Sam's in his. After he had warmly pumped it up and down he said.
“My name is Isamu Takumura Mr. Washington. I am told that while I reside here that this will be where I live. That is of course if you will consent to it.” Sam looked Isamu up and down with an appraising eye.
“Well now I reckon that you must be alright if the boys there like you. So's I reckon as to how you can stay.” Sam smiled warmly at Isamu. He didn't know why, but he was sure this was someone he could trust.
Kent had discussed his plan with Logan for an hour. He wouldn't let Logan dismiss him. Finally Logan had given in and ordered what the little boy had requested so emphatically. After all, even if the investments he had made hadn't been doing so well, they could afford to spend a small sum like this.
When the shipment had arrived Kent had enlisted the help of Danny Shavers, Jory, and Juan. They had spent an entire day locked inside one of the pods. When Kahn and the other “Cats” had returned to there pod they discovered the trio standing out side the door behind a grinning Kent.
“What brings you here little one.” Khan had gone down to one knew so as to bring himself down closer to the little boy's level. Kent had blushed, and twisted his body around in that terribly cute way that little kids do.
“Well you sees. Since Yous awre weal Thundewr Cats and yous saved Winkuhn 'n all. I thawts thats wes get yous a pwesent!” Kent gasped it all out in one rushed breath in his excitemnt. Jory opened the door to the common area . Upon entering the “Cats” were confronted with a giant ball of yarn. Kahn had eyed it suspiciously before he asked what it was.
Kartik and Thor had made for the mysterious ball in the middle of the room. It was at least six feet around, and seemed to be made from something that had been wound round and round.
“Suwrprise! It yous ball o' yawn!” Kent had screamed at the top of his lungs unable to contain his exuberance any further.
“What....” Kahn began but was cut off when first Thor and then Kartik had taken a swat and made the ball roll. Kuan Ti's tail had twitched once and he had let out a roar as he launched himself at the ball at the same time as the female “Cats” Aphrodite, and Atemus did. They had collided with the ball and latched onto it with their claw as it rolled around the room. Soon all the cats except for Kahn were attacking the giant ball of yarn. His tail was twitching with excitement, but his dignity would not let him join in the fun.
Kent and Danny were jumping up and down in excitement, while Juan and Jory laughed at the antics of their brothers.
Logan had looked up from the monitor in the “Spook Room” and had smiled at Adam. “I guess I had nothing to be worried about love.”
“I was sure of that hun. Even if they hadn't liked it I am sure that Kahn would have thanked them anyway. I think Kent has found himself a job though. He is going to be the 'Cats' official recreational officer.” Adam said right before placing a kiss on Logan's lips to stop his reply. “Lets go to bed.” Logan had smiled.
“Now that sounds like fun to me. Daileass? Will you keep an eye on things and let us know if anything pops up?”
“Certainly Logan. You and Adam go and enjoy yourselves.” Was the reply of a disembodied voice.
“We should really tell everyone about 'him' in the morning Love,” Adam said as he looked into Logan's piercing blue eyes.
“Yeah, you're right. When Master Takamura showed up it kinda threw us a curve ball. I had meant to tell everyone a week ago. It kinda slipped my mind. Well at least we know 'he' isn't going to die now. We'll call a meeting tomorrow and introduce everyone.” Both the boys turned back to the room as they exited through the door.
“G'night Daileass.” They both said at almost the same time as the lights turned themselves off.
A soft, “Night guys,” was the response they received.
Will was really excited the next day. It had been four months of hard work, but they were finally ready to show off the helicopters, all but one anyways. He had set it up the day before, for Adam, Jack, Janet, and the rest of his brothers to be at the hanger right at noon. After showing off what they had done to the helicopters, it would then be time to take them out and show them the biggest surprise, the modifications they made to Bill's Chinook.
Right on time, the group showed up outside the hanger, and Will was waiting there to meet them. “So,” Adam said, “are we finally gonna be able to see what you've been doing these last few months?”
Will just grinned, and opened the door to the hanger. They all walked in, and stopped dead in their tracks. Before them were the three hueys, the four MI-26's, and Will's Black Hawk. Each one of them were painted a gloss black, with a design on them in red. It was a skull and crossbones with golden crossed arrows under the bones. Adam knew that the golden arrows represented special forces, and the design was just cool. He walked up to the closest 26, and read the inscription surrounding the design. “Mourn the Lose of Childhood” was written over the top in an ark, and underneath, read, “Give em Hell Kid.”
“KEWL!” Was Juan's reaction, and everyone mirrored his reaction.
“Okay, as I'm sure you know, it's customary to name your helicopter, so the crews of each of the birds gave them a name. Mine got named “Puff” after”Puff the Magic Dragon.
He pionted to the 26's “That one's the troop transport, and named Phantom. The ambulance was named UMAA, which stands for “Unit Medical Aeronautical Ambulance.” That one's named “The Big Gulp,” and obviously is the re-fueler, and the last one, the cargo transporter got named “the Mule.”
Everyone was laughing at the names, but they all fit very well. He then moved over and gave the names for the Huey's, Clifford, Betty, and Bam-Bam.
“Okay Will, is it just me, or is there one missing?” Adam asked as he looked ot the spot that the Chinook is usually parked.
Will just grinned, “I'll get to that in a minute. What you need to know is this. We also tweaked the engines a bit. The Chinook got modified to be able to haul a heavier load. Unfortunately, that means it's top speed is greatly reduced. The Huey's for their part, were modified to have a greater top speed, which makes the Heuy's and the Chinook roughly equal on speed. The 26 weren't really messed with other then to make it so their ceiling was elevated, since we are in the mountains, their now running with leaner fuel, and can go a bit higher. Other then that, most of the time was spent working on the Chinook. If you'll all come with me to the firing range, we'll show you what we did.”
Everyone then loaded into the jeeps for the ride to the helicopter firing range. When they got there, they saw all the other pilots and the ground crew waiting there for them, but the Chinook wasn't there.
They all off loaded, and looked around. Adam was immediately suspicious as he saw targets set up, and a LOT of them. He knew that normally, the Chinook wasn't armed with anything more then door guns. Before he could ask anything, though, Will was on his radio.
“Viper Lead to Viper one, go ahead with your run.” Will said and everyone could see he was just bouncing with excitement.
“Roger that Viper lead, ETA four-five seconds.” They heard Bill, and all eyes were then riveted on the target area below them. Will was grateful that they were actually on the canyon rim looking down into the range, as that would give them a much better view.
About thirty seconds later, they started to hear the Chinook coming in. As soon as it came into sight, they heard Jack gasp. “No... it's can't be!”
Will just laughed, “Yup, it is.”
Janet looked back and forth between them, and finally said, “WHAT?!”
Jack just breathed out, still in shock. “It's a Guns-A-Go-Go!”
“A what?” Janet asked, but any response was drowned out as the Chinook came charging into the canyon. As soon as it was lined up, Bill opened up with the side mounted twenty millimeter cannons, and the side mounted rocket pods. It totally obliterated the target that Bill was aiming at, he brought the thing in low, and let the side guns take out the targets all around them. There were five different .50 cal machine guns pointing out, two on each side, and one in the back.
While they were doing that, Bill started rotating around a target below him, going to town with his forward mounted grenade launcher. Everyone just stood there stunned as they “killed” all the targets that were there, then flew off.
Once they were gone, Will looked over to the assembled group. “Well now you got to see a bit of what the new and improved Chinook can do.”
Everyone was still stunned into silence, and Will decided to lay the real kicker on them. “By the way... Bill named the Chinook just like everyone else did, but he decided to name it after the scariest woman he knows. It's called the Janet!”
Ronnie knocked on Emily and Donnie's room, and waited for an answer. It'd been almost five months since the other Genesis kids had gotten there, and things had been so damn hectic that Ronnie had forgotten something major he had wanted to do before they all came.
“Come in.” Ronnie heard from inside, he opened the door, and walked in to find Donnie working at one of the computer stations, and Emily drying her hair after a shower. “What's up Ronnie?” Donnie asked.
“Well I was wondering if you guys could take me into town.” He said looking at Donnie with pleading eyes.
“What's in town, and why aren't you talking to your brother, he's the one that normally flies people to town.” Donnie said while glancing over to Emily.
“Well, you see... umm... I kinda wanna get something for Bill, and it's a surprise.”
Both Donnie and Emily raised their eyebrows, “Oh, what did you get him?”
A big smile came across Ronnie's face, “it's a helicopter model that he hasn't been able to find, but always wanted. It's a huge replica of the Chinook, and I think he'll love it. See, Bill used to do models all the time, but since he got hurt he hadn't done any. I really think this might be good for him, and make him wanna do models again.” Ronnie said excitedly, and both Donnie and Emily were touched.
They looked at each other for a moment, then Emily nodded. “Sure brat, we'll take you into town.” Donnie had taken to calling all the younger kids “brats,” but they all knew he was doing it lovingly. He wasn't anything like the asshole he was before Adam and his family got here.
“Cool thanks guys, I just gotta go get my money.” Ronnie said as he turned to leave.
Emily called out right before he got to the door. “Ronnie, just how much does this model cost?”
“Well, I already put half down before the cats got here, and then I forgot about it, when I get in there today, I'll need to give them the other have, just over four hundred dollars.” He said as he turned and ran out of the room.
Donnie and Emily stared at each other in shock. “Eight hundred dollars for a model?!?!” Donnie said, and Emily just shook her head and got ready to go into town.
It was about seven pm when they finally got into town, and Ronnie was giving them directions on how to get to the hobby shop he needed. Neither one of them had seen Ronnie this excited before, and had heard more about Bill's models then they ever really cared to know, but they both played along with the excited boy.
They got there, and Ronnie went proudly up to the desk, and after paying them the rest of the money, was handed a big box that held the prize he was after. He clutched the bow tight to his chest the whole way back to the truck they brought into town, and carefully put it in the back seat.
He had just back out of the truck when he was grabbed from behind and someone slapped a hand over his mouth. He could see Donnie and Emily trying to fight off a group of people, and they were doing a good job of it.
Ronnie bit down on the hand that was coving his mouth, and then kicked backwards right into the shin of the person who grabbed him. He dropped to the ground, spun around, and kicked out right into the guys crotch. Unfortunately, he didn't see the guy come up from behind him. He felt something the smelled really bad cover his nose and mouth, and almost immediately he started to black out. Just before he went unconscious, Ronnie saw Donnie get hit in the back of the head with a base ball bat, and then the guy turned on Emily. After that, everything was black.