Conspiracy Theorist
Chapter Six
Scarlett and Jocelyn wore matching suits that clung to them and Scar felt extremely uncomfortable. She pulled at the material and to her surprise it quickly expanded. She let go in shock and it snapped back to place. A glance in Jocelyn’s direction told her that her friend had discovered the same thing. They exchanged a quizzical look but Jason’s smooth voice snapped them out of it.
“This way, please.”
The four of them were being led to the same deep, dark abyss that the flight test had been performed at and Scarlett’s stomach dropped. She sent a pleading look at the boys but all they did was look at her sympathetically.
Her resolve hardened to not be a baby in front of Adam again. She didn’t know why, but he didn’t seem to have any fears and he had suffered through the same amount- if not more- of abuse over the years. She told herself that that was the reason, but something in her gut told her that there was more to it.
Gem prodded her back and Jocelyn and she stood next to each other at the base. She opened her mask to ask what they were supposed to do, but she was knocked of balance as Gem slammed a hand into her back. Scarlett didn’t even have time to scream because her eyes widened with shock. Jocelyn’s arm had stretched. The fabric had traveled with her arm to grasp a beam above their heads.
Scarlett continued to fall like dead weight and the wind was knocked out of her as she slammed into the icy water. She broke the surface and fought to breathe again. Somehow Jocelyn stretching was worse than Adam flying or Kasper turning invisible. It was just gross to think that her arm was like a rubber band. It seemed the powers they were being tested for got increasingly worse and Scarlett couldn’t imagine what the last one- her one- would be.
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even realize that she was still in the water and there were shivers ravaging her body. Her limbs went numb and she struggled to make her arms and legs move to propel her towards the ladder. Eventually she managed to grasp the rung and she gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. She began a tedious climb.
Scarlett didn’t know how long she was climbing for, but it felt like hours. She managed to drag her limp body onto solid ground and everyone- save for Gem- let out sighs of relief. Gem just scowled at her then after a moment her lips spread into a cruel smile that made Scarlett skin crawl. She didn’t know what made her smile like that, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She stood on shaky legs and tried not to fall down.
“You’re blue,” Adam said and made his way over to her. A worried expression was plastered on his face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and at first she tensed from the show of affection that she had never had, but then relaxed into his heat. She was still shivering but then eventually his warmth spread through her and she began to steady her body.
“Oh my Evolution, Scar,” Scarlett smiled as Jocelyn said that, since neither of them believed in god, they said Evolution in any spot normal people would say god. Jocelyn continued, “Did you see that? Wasn’t it so cool? I like totally stretched!” She let out a high pitched squeal and Scarlett was happy her friend wasn’t as repulsed by her newfound power as she was.
“Very cool,” Scarlett lied. She was trying to convince herself that it wasn’t such a bad power and she hoped when she got over the surprise of it all that she would come to except it.
Jocelyn threw her arms around Scar’s waist, which was an awkward position because Adam still had an arm around her. She was relieved to realize that Jocelyn’s arm still felt human, it was warm and fleshy. She had been expecting it to feel like rubber and most of the disgust she had felt shrank into the far recesses of her mind.
Gem’s hard voice made Scarlett tense. “Not to break up this love fest, but we now know what all of your powers are.” Scarlett became confused because they had never tested her for a power and found one.
“What’s Scar’s power?” Kasper’s timid voice made all eyes fling to him.
“She has the fourth and most powerful one. The Boss always likes to spend… extra time training that one personally.” At her word Adam pulled Scarlett closer to him as he had an overwhelming desire to protect her.
***
The boss sat drinking rum in his office and watched as Gem strolled in. “Hello, sir,” Gem started.
“Don’t bore me with small talk, just get to the point.”
Gem paled slightly but continued, “The Fourth is Scarlett Evans, sir.”
The Boss smiled to himself, he liked that one. She was feisty, pretty, and didn’t show fear, just the way he liked them. Of all of this year’s experiments, she was his favorite. He always preferred it when The Fourth was a girl; he liked to watch them as they trained. Too bad the gene in her blood stream giving her powers would kill her in about a year. He wished his lab technicians would perfect the formula, every time they changed the formula the test subjects would live a bit longer, but not by much.
He sighed and looked at the woman in front of him, he didn’t like her much, and she was kind of a bitch. He was thinking of… replacing her soon. “Are you going to sit there wasting any more of my time?” He inquired in a bored tone.
Gem gulped, “Of course not, sir.” She scurried out the door trying to get away from him as fast as possible.
The Boss watched her go and pressed the button for his intercom. “Send Mr. Stokes, please,” he said into the speaker. A moment later a short man ran into his office. Stokes bulging stomach pushed against his belt and made it very entertaining to watch him waddle.
“Sir,” he greeted The Boss bluntly. He looked like a timid man but it took a lot to intimidate him and The Boss was still working on doing so.
“Work on finding Gem’s replacement. You may go,” The Boss waved a hand dismissively. Stokes left without another word.
***
Adam watched Scarlett closely as they followed Jason- Gem had run off somewhere. He didn’t know what she felt about having The Fourth power. But apparently it was a big deal. He didn’t want her to be stuck training with The Boss alone because, to be honest, The Boss scared even him.
Today was the day that they would start some serious training that would nourish their abilities.
They still hadn’t told Scarlett what hers is and it was easy for him to tell that she was getting restless. He absentmindedly pulled her closer because his arm was still around her, realizing what he did he loosened his hold. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He had sworn to himself that he would never become attached and he was already realizing he didn’t want to let her go.
Adam looked around and realized Kasper was nowhere to be found. “What happened to
Kasper?” He thought out loud.
Jason’s head swung around violently, “He’s gone.” It was a statement instead of a question.
Suddenly Kasper appeared in front of them and Adam and Scarlett stopped in their tracks. “I’m right here!” Kasper sounded very excited, like he just won the lottery. It suddenly struck Adam that Kasper was never gone- just invisible.
Scarlett drew in a shaky breath and Jocelyn had the same smile as Kasper plastered on her face. It seemed like he and Scar were the only two who realized that this was no joke and it wasn’t just a game for them to play with powers. This was real; this was a dangerous government conspiracy where people get hurt. He gently tugged Scar closer again and even though he swore to never get attached, he had a feeling he would.
***
Jocelyn stretched an arm up to the rafters and felt a remarkable connection to Mrs. Incredible. She had always been Jocelyn’s favorite character in The Incredibles and she was elated that she got to share a power.
Jocelyn knew she shouldn’t be so excited being stuck in a government facility being trained to be super-weapons, but she couldn’t help it. She got to leave her sperm donor and got to hang out with her best friend and Kasper- who seemed like a really cool guy- and even Adam wasn’t so bad. She didn’t care at the moment how she was probably going to be screwed over in the end, she was just thinking about now.
She retracted her arm a little bit to be lifted off the ground. Switching back and forth between her arms, she traveled around the room. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the exhilaration of moving like that. She felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist and saw Adam grinning at her.
He pointed towards Scar who was sitting alone on a bench; they refused to tell her about her power so she had nothing to do.
Jocelyn nodded her head, knowing what he was getting at. He flew towards the blonde girl and dropped silently behind her. She didn’t even register his presence until he wrapped his well-defined arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. She let out a squeal and relaxed into Adam’s arms, enjoying him and trusting him completely.
Adam released her and before Scarlett had an opportunity to scream she was gripped by Jocelyn. Jocelyn expanded her body to act as a parachute and Scarlett couldn’t help but smile.
She drifted gently to the ground and a pair of invisible arms caught her.
She laughed and realized that she truly cared about these people. And by the way they included her- even though she didn’t have a power yet- she guessed they liked her too. They all laughed with Scar and her heart warmed to them. She didn’t think anybody had ever made her this happy before- not since her father- and she accepted the idea with open arms.
Her eyes traveled to Jason and even his lip was twitching. She waved to him and the grin broke free as he waved back. Kasper couldn’t help but notice how cute Jason was when he smiled. He didn’t know why anybody would like girls when there were men on the planet.
Scarlett turned away from Jason and saw Adam fly down from the ceiling to land beside her. He gave her a smile, not a smirk or a half-smile, but a real smile that showed a dimple on his cheek and she smiled a genuine smile back. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and her breath caught.
“That was so cool, you guys!” Jocelyn’s voice ruined their moment. Scarlett felt disappointed, but she pushed it away and ran to give her friend a hug. Before she got to her loud footsteps caught her attention.
The Boss strolled in wearing a pinstriped suit and his polished shoes squeaked on the floor. “Come with me, Scarlett, it’s time to talk about your ability.” Scarlett’s heart sank as she followed him from the room.
“This way, please.”
The four of them were being led to the same deep, dark abyss that the flight test had been performed at and Scarlett’s stomach dropped. She sent a pleading look at the boys but all they did was look at her sympathetically.
Her resolve hardened to not be a baby in front of Adam again. She didn’t know why, but he didn’t seem to have any fears and he had suffered through the same amount- if not more- of abuse over the years. She told herself that that was the reason, but something in her gut told her that there was more to it.
Gem prodded her back and Jocelyn and she stood next to each other at the base. She opened her mask to ask what they were supposed to do, but she was knocked of balance as Gem slammed a hand into her back. Scarlett didn’t even have time to scream because her eyes widened with shock. Jocelyn’s arm had stretched. The fabric had traveled with her arm to grasp a beam above their heads.
Scarlett continued to fall like dead weight and the wind was knocked out of her as she slammed into the icy water. She broke the surface and fought to breathe again. Somehow Jocelyn stretching was worse than Adam flying or Kasper turning invisible. It was just gross to think that her arm was like a rubber band. It seemed the powers they were being tested for got increasingly worse and Scarlett couldn’t imagine what the last one- her one- would be.
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even realize that she was still in the water and there were shivers ravaging her body. Her limbs went numb and she struggled to make her arms and legs move to propel her towards the ladder. Eventually she managed to grasp the rung and she gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. She began a tedious climb.
Scarlett didn’t know how long she was climbing for, but it felt like hours. She managed to drag her limp body onto solid ground and everyone- save for Gem- let out sighs of relief. Gem just scowled at her then after a moment her lips spread into a cruel smile that made Scarlett skin crawl. She didn’t know what made her smile like that, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She stood on shaky legs and tried not to fall down.
“You’re blue,” Adam said and made his way over to her. A worried expression was plastered on his face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and at first she tensed from the show of affection that she had never had, but then relaxed into his heat. She was still shivering but then eventually his warmth spread through her and she began to steady her body.
“Oh my Evolution, Scar,” Scarlett smiled as Jocelyn said that, since neither of them believed in god, they said Evolution in any spot normal people would say god. Jocelyn continued, “Did you see that? Wasn’t it so cool? I like totally stretched!” She let out a high pitched squeal and Scarlett was happy her friend wasn’t as repulsed by her newfound power as she was.
“Very cool,” Scarlett lied. She was trying to convince herself that it wasn’t such a bad power and she hoped when she got over the surprise of it all that she would come to except it.
Jocelyn threw her arms around Scar’s waist, which was an awkward position because Adam still had an arm around her. She was relieved to realize that Jocelyn’s arm still felt human, it was warm and fleshy. She had been expecting it to feel like rubber and most of the disgust she had felt shrank into the far recesses of her mind.
Gem’s hard voice made Scarlett tense. “Not to break up this love fest, but we now know what all of your powers are.” Scarlett became confused because they had never tested her for a power and found one.
“What’s Scar’s power?” Kasper’s timid voice made all eyes fling to him.
“She has the fourth and most powerful one. The Boss always likes to spend… extra time training that one personally.” At her word Adam pulled Scarlett closer to him as he had an overwhelming desire to protect her.
***
The boss sat drinking rum in his office and watched as Gem strolled in. “Hello, sir,” Gem started.
“Don’t bore me with small talk, just get to the point.”
Gem paled slightly but continued, “The Fourth is Scarlett Evans, sir.”
The Boss smiled to himself, he liked that one. She was feisty, pretty, and didn’t show fear, just the way he liked them. Of all of this year’s experiments, she was his favorite. He always preferred it when The Fourth was a girl; he liked to watch them as they trained. Too bad the gene in her blood stream giving her powers would kill her in about a year. He wished his lab technicians would perfect the formula, every time they changed the formula the test subjects would live a bit longer, but not by much.
He sighed and looked at the woman in front of him, he didn’t like her much, and she was kind of a bitch. He was thinking of… replacing her soon. “Are you going to sit there wasting any more of my time?” He inquired in a bored tone.
Gem gulped, “Of course not, sir.” She scurried out the door trying to get away from him as fast as possible.
The Boss watched her go and pressed the button for his intercom. “Send Mr. Stokes, please,” he said into the speaker. A moment later a short man ran into his office. Stokes bulging stomach pushed against his belt and made it very entertaining to watch him waddle.
“Sir,” he greeted The Boss bluntly. He looked like a timid man but it took a lot to intimidate him and The Boss was still working on doing so.
“Work on finding Gem’s replacement. You may go,” The Boss waved a hand dismissively. Stokes left without another word.
***
Adam watched Scarlett closely as they followed Jason- Gem had run off somewhere. He didn’t know what she felt about having The Fourth power. But apparently it was a big deal. He didn’t want her to be stuck training with The Boss alone because, to be honest, The Boss scared even him.
Today was the day that they would start some serious training that would nourish their abilities.
They still hadn’t told Scarlett what hers is and it was easy for him to tell that she was getting restless. He absentmindedly pulled her closer because his arm was still around her, realizing what he did he loosened his hold. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He had sworn to himself that he would never become attached and he was already realizing he didn’t want to let her go.
Adam looked around and realized Kasper was nowhere to be found. “What happened to
Kasper?” He thought out loud.
Jason’s head swung around violently, “He’s gone.” It was a statement instead of a question.
Suddenly Kasper appeared in front of them and Adam and Scarlett stopped in their tracks. “I’m right here!” Kasper sounded very excited, like he just won the lottery. It suddenly struck Adam that Kasper was never gone- just invisible.
Scarlett drew in a shaky breath and Jocelyn had the same smile as Kasper plastered on her face. It seemed like he and Scar were the only two who realized that this was no joke and it wasn’t just a game for them to play with powers. This was real; this was a dangerous government conspiracy where people get hurt. He gently tugged Scar closer again and even though he swore to never get attached, he had a feeling he would.
***
Jocelyn stretched an arm up to the rafters and felt a remarkable connection to Mrs. Incredible. She had always been Jocelyn’s favorite character in The Incredibles and she was elated that she got to share a power.
Jocelyn knew she shouldn’t be so excited being stuck in a government facility being trained to be super-weapons, but she couldn’t help it. She got to leave her sperm donor and got to hang out with her best friend and Kasper- who seemed like a really cool guy- and even Adam wasn’t so bad. She didn’t care at the moment how she was probably going to be screwed over in the end, she was just thinking about now.
She retracted her arm a little bit to be lifted off the ground. Switching back and forth between her arms, she traveled around the room. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the exhilaration of moving like that. She felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist and saw Adam grinning at her.
He pointed towards Scar who was sitting alone on a bench; they refused to tell her about her power so she had nothing to do.
Jocelyn nodded her head, knowing what he was getting at. He flew towards the blonde girl and dropped silently behind her. She didn’t even register his presence until he wrapped his well-defined arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. She let out a squeal and relaxed into Adam’s arms, enjoying him and trusting him completely.
Adam released her and before Scarlett had an opportunity to scream she was gripped by Jocelyn. Jocelyn expanded her body to act as a parachute and Scarlett couldn’t help but smile.
She drifted gently to the ground and a pair of invisible arms caught her.
She laughed and realized that she truly cared about these people. And by the way they included her- even though she didn’t have a power yet- she guessed they liked her too. They all laughed with Scar and her heart warmed to them. She didn’t think anybody had ever made her this happy before- not since her father- and she accepted the idea with open arms.
Her eyes traveled to Jason and even his lip was twitching. She waved to him and the grin broke free as he waved back. Kasper couldn’t help but notice how cute Jason was when he smiled. He didn’t know why anybody would like girls when there were men on the planet.
Scarlett turned away from Jason and saw Adam fly down from the ceiling to land beside her. He gave her a smile, not a smirk or a half-smile, but a real smile that showed a dimple on his cheek and she smiled a genuine smile back. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and her breath caught.
“That was so cool, you guys!” Jocelyn’s voice ruined their moment. Scarlett felt disappointed, but she pushed it away and ran to give her friend a hug. Before she got to her loud footsteps caught her attention.
The Boss strolled in wearing a pinstriped suit and his polished shoes squeaked on the floor. “Come with me, Scarlett, it’s time to talk about your ability.” Scarlett’s heart sank as she followed him from the room.
♠ ♠ ♠
Hope you enjoy.~Regan :)