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It hadn’t been long since she’d moved to the N109 zone and even less since she joined Onychinus. Scooter was still very jittery and on edge, always expecting something to happen. Her walls were very high and very sturdy. It took Sylus days before he could even coax her name and age out of her. But, he’d let her stick around with the deal that she helped his business, and Scooter didn’t want to leave so she got him information.
Since she was small and had a teleportation evol, Scooter could get all over and gather as much information as she could without getting caught. She had a few near misses, but she was good at running and slipping away even if she did get noticed. However, she wasn’t given many missions lately which meant she was stuck at the base doing nothing. A bored Scooter was usually a dangerous Scooter. At least, it used to be.
Luke and Kieran had been menaces at first when Sylus brought Scooter home. They were naturally mischievous and weren’t exactly used to Sylus bringing people home to stay, especially people around their age. Scooter was about a year younger than them. Luke didn’t trust her at all, but Kieran was willing to give her a chance.
“What kind of name is Scooter?” Luke had huffed, scrutinizing Scooter. “It’s clearly a fake name. Who names their kid Scooter?”
“Luke, maybe it’s an alias?” Kieran suggested. “If Boss man thought she was dangerous and didn’t trust her, she wouldn’t be here.”
“She’s hiding something.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m going to find out what it is.” He glared at Scooter from behind his crow mask. Neither twin had told her who was who behind the masks.
Even still, Scooter had trouble differentiating the twins when they were wearing the masks. Luke still didn’t trust her, but he was warming up to her after she kept delivering Sylus good intel. The only thing she seemed to be lying about was her name. On the other hand, Kieran was friendlier with her. He didn’t press her about personal things. She liked that.
Currently, Sylus was out on a mission that required Luke and Mephisto with him. Kieran didn’t need to be there, and Sylus didn’t want Scooter alone at the base. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. He’d just rather make sure nothing happened. Scooter was bored as hell and laying on the couch trying to figure out what to do. Nothing on the television stole her attention, and none of Sylus’ books entertained her. She groaned and stared at the ceiling.
“Bored?” Kieran blinked, leaning over her. He wasn’t wearing his mask, and Scooter could see the scars that marred his face. She knew he and Luke were supposed to be identical twins and wondered what had happened to cause those scars. Maybe that’s why they wore identical masks.
Scooter huffed and sat up. “What do you think?” she frowned, looking around. Despite living there for a couple weeks, she still hesitated before moving around, afraid she’d get in trouble for going in the wrong room.
“Boss has a gym in the basement. Wanna join me downstairs?” Kieran casually offered. “I can teach you to throw a punch in case you need to defend yourself.” He didn’t wait for a response before walking towards the stairs.
Scooter watched him go before following him. She hadn’t been in the basement yet. Part of her thought it was Sylus’ torture chamber for his enemies. She adjusted her jacket, tying it around her waist. Sylus had mentioned wanting to teach her self-defense if she was going to stay any length of time, but his enemies had decided to try to invade the N109 zone again taking his time away from training her.
The basement was full of different gym equipment and had a boxing ring in the corner along with a punching bag and gloves. On the other side were different workout machines and a treadmill. Scooter tilted her head, taking everything in. “Hm, what’s…” Her eyes lit up. In an adjacent room was a pool, the water clear and sparkling in the lights. She couldn’t smell any chlorine and her smile widened. She loved salt pools.
“Oh, that? Boss had it installed a while ago,” Kieran grinned. “Something about building it for his pearl.” He tossed Scooter a roll of bandages. “I’ll show you how to put these on so you don’t hurt your knuckles.” Kieran demonstrated how to wrap her hands and Scooter did her best to copy him. She’d always been told she was a quick learner, except for art. She was terrible at drawing. “Up here,” Kieran grinned, holding out his hand to help her up into the boxing ring.
“Don’t put your thumb there, you’ll break it throwing a punch,” Kieran rolled his eyes. “Hold your hands like this.” He held up his fists, arms tight and close to his body. “Extend your arm slowly to get used to the feel before putting more power behind it. Once you’re used to that, we’ll work on getting out of holds.”
Scooter nodded, throwing punch after punch. Once she was used to it, Kieran held up his hands for her to hit. She punched his palms, smiling brightly as he gave advice and praises. “Alright, I’m going to grab you, and it’s your job to get out of it. You can use momentum and my body weight against me by throwing me over your shoulder.” He demonstrated the motions.
“Okay,” Scooter nodded, shaking her arms. “I’m ready.” Kieran grabbed her, holding her arms to her sides. She struggled, elbowing him in the stomach. Kieran groaned, and Scooter lurched forward, tossing him over her shoulder and onto the ground. His arms were forced open and he let go. “Oomph! Good job, Scooter!”
Scooter smiled brightly. “Can we try again?”
“Absolutely!” Kieran laughed, getting up. “Try it faster this time. I’m going to tighten my grip and make it a bit more difficult. If I hurt you, let me know, and I’ll let go.” When Scooter nodded, he grabbed her tighter. Scooter grabbed his forearms and slammed her elbow back into him, but he didn’t let go. he only tightened his grip, trying to pick her up. Scooter threw her weight forward, panting heavily. She grabbed his arm and pulled.
“Ack!” Kieran groaned as he hit the mat hard. “Fuck!” Kieran shouted as pain bloomed in his arm and a sickening crack resounded. He cradled his arm close, cursing and gritting his teeth in pain. Scooter froze, eyes wide.
“Ki—Kieran?” Scooter swallowed thickly, heart pounding. “Are you…are you okay?” Oh God, did she break his arm? Did she hurt him? She thought she was holding back. The twins weren’t as durable as her. Oh, she’s such an idiot. Sylus was going to kill her. She hurt Kieran.
“I’m, ow, fine. I’ve broken my arm before,” Kieran groaned, sitting up. “Can you…Scooter?” his voice lowered with confusion and concern. Scooter trembled violently, tears welling in her eyes. “Scooter, look at me. What’s wrong? I’ll be okay.”
“I hurt you!” Scooter cried out, hyperventilating. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to.” She didn’t want to leave him, but she couldn’t stay there. Sylus was going to be so, so mad. She hurt Kieran. “I…I…how do I…”
Kieran grabbed her hand. “Calm down, okay? Get me the first aid kit over there.” He pointed to the far wall. “I’ll be okay.” Scooter shook as she grab the med kit, wiping at her tears. She handed him the med kit before freezing.
“KIERAN!” Luke’s angry and scared voice yelled. Scooter jolted and instinctively teleported away. Seas, Luke was mad, too. Scooter’s panic returned even stronger. She didn’t even know where she’d teleported to, but the dark hallways showed she hadn’t left the base. She scrambled and hid in one of the rooms, tears sliding down her cheeks, pearls rolling across the floor.
Back in the basement, Luke was fussing over his twin. “What happened? It was Scooter wasn’t it? She hurt you.” He grit his teeth, anger flaring. “I knew she was trouble. I knew it!”
“Luke—” Kieran tried to speak.
“Kieran, what happened?” Sylus said, using his evol to help Luke set his arm and splint it until they could get a doctor. While he was angry his son was hurt, he wanted the whole story. “Luke, stay here.” Luke froze by the door before reluctantly coming back over.
Kieran swallowed thickly. “I was teaching Scooter to punch and get out of holds. She didn’t mean it. She just threw me a little too hard,” he wetly laughed, tears of pain in his eyes. “I didn’t think she was that strong with how small she is. She looked really upset, please, don’t be mad at her.” Kieran looked at Sylus with worry. “She’s really, really scared.”
Sylus nodded, sighing heavily. “Luke, call the Doctor. I’ll go find Scooter.” He stood up and went upstairs. She couldn’t have gotten far. Mephisto cawed, holding a small pearl in his beak. “Hm?” he held the pearl. It wasn’t one of Rafayel’s. Rafayel’s pearls were much bigger and had more luster. He’d had his suspicions about Scooter’s origins. “Where did you find these?” he asked the mechanical crow.
Mephisto cawed and flew towards Sylus’ room. Sylus raised an eyebrow and pushed open the door, hearing soft cries. Sylus found Scooter hiding under his desk, pearls surrounding her. He could see some green scales littering her skin. ‘A lemurian, just like my pearl.’ “There you are,” Sylus said softly.
Scooter jumped, eyes wide. She pressed back against the desk, roughly wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt Kieran. I’m really sorry! Please, don’t send me away! I don’t…I don’t have anywhere else to go, and I—”
“Shh,” Sylus soothed. “I’m not going to send you away. That’s bad business. I can’t send away my best informant.” He crouched in front of her. “Why are you so upset, little one? Kieran is fine. His arm will be in a cast for about six weeks but he’ll be fine.”
Scooter sniffled, hugging her knees. “You’re not mad?” she asked, her voice small and quiet.
“I’m not mad,” Sylus confirmed. “I am, however, concerned. For both of you. Why are you hiding?” he looked at her and the multiple pearls, “And why didn’t you tell me you’re a Lemurian?”
Scooter froze and avoided eye contact. “I…” she swallowed thickly. “I thought you’d abandon me, too. I’m just a problem. I only cause problems.” She hugged herself tighter, burying her head between her knees. “I’m here because my family left me. Abandoned me because my sister was taken. I was the one to ask her to go with me. She was taken because of me! She’s hurt and probably dead because of me, so they got rid of me. I thought…that you’d do the same because I hurt Kieran.”
Sylus quietly listened to her. Anger rose, but not at her. He was angry at her parents. How could anyone abandon their child over an accident? She couldn’t have known her sister would be taken. Unfortunately, Sylus had grown up seeing the worst of humanity. The twins were a prime example of the worst of humanity being survivors of EVER’s experiments on them.
“I didn’t say anything about being Lemurian because I didn’t know if you’d take advantage or not,” Scooter admitted quietly. “It’s safer that no one knows what I am.”
“Onychinus will never do anything to harm Lemurians,” Sylus told her gently. “My husband would kill me if I did that. All of them would,” he chuckled. “You’re safe here, Scooter—”
“—Kaia,” Scooter mumbled. “My birth name is Kaia, but…can I still be called Scooter?”
Sylus paused and smiled. “Of course, Scooter. Now, come on. It’s cramped under that desk, and you probably should have some rest. All that crying must have worn you out. I’ll get some medicine in case you get a headache.”
Scooter crawled out from under the desk, making a noise of protest as Sylus picked her up. “Hush,” he admonished. Instead of taking her to her own room, he set her on his bed. His room was the darkest after all. “Get some rest. Kieran will be fine, and don’t worry. I’m sure Luke will come around eventually.” Scooter’s eyes drooped and fell closed as she relaxed on the soft mattress. Sylus pulled the covers over her. “Get some rest, little one. We’ll all be here when you wake up.”