Andromeda's Poison

"She's lovely," He placed a hand on the cool surface of the thick glass, lifting his head up and scanning her from head to toe. "Like a french doll."

"She's one of our latest models. Neo-Chi 09. There have been many high offers from our, well, regular clients you could say. Of course we were quite surprised when we received your phone call asking if you could make an appointment to see our pieces." A short smile erupted from her lips, her tight face shifting up and down at him. "So of course, we saved her for a little longer."

He was sure handsome, slight stubble around his cheeks and chin, dark brown eyes, blonde, wavy, curls toppling over his forehead. He had a straight nose, cupid lips, and lovely skin. He was a fresh breath of air compared to her.

"Are you surprised that I called, Mrs. Lowry?" He tipped his head towards her.

"According to our records, you aren't the type of… man who would be interested in such items." She retorted quietly, her voice echoing through the building.

That was true. He wasn't.

It wasn't everyday he developed enough sick curiosity to come to such a disgusting place. Large, glass cylinders filled with blue liquid surrounded the tall room, at least thirty of them containing a human being. They were all different ages, different genders, different bodies floating in the same position, breathing through a mask connected to an oxygen tank, hundreds of small colorful tubes probing inside their skin.

That wasn't the 'disgusting' part. What disgusted him were the price stickers at the bottom of the tanks. What disgusted him were the metal chains attached to their floating arms, legs, and neck. What disgusted him were the fact that as soon as they were captured, ripped away from their lives, their clothes torn away, their bodies spread out for the world to see, and their powers swallowed whole by drugs, they became nothing more than objects ready to be sold to the highest bidder.

What could he do, really?

He had enough money to buy the whole collection of Neo's. He certainly had good friends in higher places. But he didn't have enough resources. He didn't have enough connections or enough power. All he knew about them were that they were called "potentium" meaning "of the mighty" in Latin.

Those who invested their money on this project were the top elite of the world. It would ridiculous to fight against them. There was even a rumor about the United States president. Apparently he had bought a pair of twins a month or two ago, keeping it secret from his wife and his nation.

No one, aside from a certain few around the world, knew where the potentium were kept either. No one had any idea who could possibly be one, aside from the actual person themselves. No one knew. In all reality, the whole purpose of capturing them was to keep them from causing this much trouble. It would cause too much tension and chaos in between nations; too much insecurity.

But greed is human nature.

Who wouldn't want a superpower to back them up when needed? War after bloody war had been initiated, and with help of a potentium anything was possible. They were the super-soldiers of the era.

If you had the money anyway. For a single being you had to pay minimum 1.5 million dollars depending on the amount of power they contained. Then came the insurance policy payment along with the extensive medicines they had to take everyday for the rest of their lives. They even came with their own doctor.

The first question every investor had in mind was if by buying them and letting them loose, would the owner be able to control them. The first time they sold one the potentium had been asked to sign a trust contract asking for his complete and full obedience.

Of course, that didn't last long. The potentium had Wolverine bone claws that extended through his fingernails. The owner was torn to pieces and the guy escaped easily. He was later caught and shot through the skull, so that was that with the trust contract.

It took years to develop Andromeda's poison. Andromeda was a beautiful Greek goddess who was chained to a rock for sacrifice due to her mother's bragging. Essentially, that was what the Andromeda poison did. Every month each potentium had to be injected with this purple liquid. The effect made every investor ejaculate within the minute from the joy.

This special medicine was a two way thing. The owner had to swallow a pill at the exact same time the Andromeda poison was injected to his model. He wasn't too sure how it worked, all he knew was that those two things allowed the owner to gain complete control over the potentium.

For example, if the guy wanted to have kinky sex with him/her, the potentium would gladly ask in what position.

He didn't doubt this example was far from the sick truth of some creepy, rich bastard.

"I like this one." He paused, tapping his fingers against the glass a couple of times. She could almost taste his hesitancy. "She's cute enough. But I'm unsure though. Tell me more about her."

"More?" She raised an eyebrow. "Mr. St. James, I promise you I have told you all that I know about this product."

"You never really explained to me why she's wearing that metallic wrap around her eyes."

"I did." She took a deep breath in. She hated being corrected by clients. "This certain model has a special ability which requires her eyes."

"Like x-ray vision? Laser eyes? Is she the female version of Cyclops?"

"Not exactly. She has an advanced version of telekinesis which allows to not only move objects but move… other things as well."

He turned to her, his dark eyes catching hers. "What other things?"

"She can control a person in a sense. If she were to dislike a person for example, all she would need to do was glance at them and control their air way. Or she could rip off their lungs. Limbs as well." She fussed with her fingers.

"No wonder the price is so high." He gave out a short laugh, licking his lips and smiling at the product. "How old is she?"

"Twenty-one." He looked at her incredulously. She answered before he even asked. "She's 5'3". Her looks might deceive you but her attitude is far from her cute face."

"You met her before she was put in this… state?" He studied the woman's face. Old. From the beginning he knew that she was easily past forty. At least that's what her wrinkles told him. Her bright red lips were thin, her eyes were glassy and tired, and body was too bony. He tried not to stare at her too much in fear that she might break.

"No. But our records spoke about her… fiery attitude. She was a tough one to catch. Thirty-two of our best Snatchers had a hard time locating and capturing her."

"What about her family?"

"I don't know. We have no information about them. She was probably an orphan."

No. She probably wasn't. Mrs. Lowry simply had a hard time admitting that they were probably killed off by the corporation that ran this place. Most of the potentium came from happy families. They had mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles that probably loved them up until the day they were stolen away from their lives.

But she knew. She knew that things like them shouldn't be associated with humans. It was better this way.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He knew she was probably lying. He wasn't stupid. But he didn't know what to say. What to do about it. So he said the simplest question he could've asked.

"What about her name? What's her name?"

Mrs. Lowry raised an eyebrow.

"Her name?" She mocked. "Her name is Neo-Chi 09."