Bioshocked

[mitochondriaaya]

Who: Aya and the boys?
When: Once the boys are old enough to remember Rapture? 1960 or so.
What: So they probably shouldn't leave that down there huh?

Breakfast tables were...probably dangerous. Given how often things discussed there determined the fate of the world and all. Or at least that's how it felt some days. They lived on base given Elcy and Yinsi were high assets and Braig and Dilan were likely to be even higher assets. Some days she felt kind of like she'd just managed to stumble accidentally into something that made her so happy. Growing up as a base brat had bled into college that led to liaison to their scientists had led to something of a whirlwind romance had led to special dispensation that ad her waking up every morning with two wonderful men in her life.

Not bad as far as she was concerned, even if it took a particular frame of mind to accept their marriage. They were headed into a era of more openness and allowance, hopefully, she'd like that after growing up in the fifties and it's insistence on perfect modular housing and nuclear families.

And kitchen devices. What the hell was that even about? Granted, she wasn't a modern housewife that spent hours in the kitchen, she had a range of talents that did not...comply with the standard and Dilan was a better cook than she'd ever be. A fact that kind of made her outcast at the base housewife socials but hey, she was usually busy anyway.

Still, some days she almost wished for the standard experience. Days like today when she looked up from her eggs at the breakfast table to blink at her husbands, bemused, as they did the secret language based on prior experience thing. She loved them, yes, but sometimes her brilliant men lost her...

...and then wrote out a list.

Hell.

"So we're going to the middle of the ocean..." she drawled, later, in front of her CO. "For world peace." At least that was how her men had phrased it? Half remembered horrors from a city under the sea. She hadn't had a chance to stop by her inlaws before pinning the commander, but...the boys outranked anyone on base normally. That was what happened when you wrapped intelligent people in a military bodyguard set. You protected your intelligent assets after all...

"A boat and...?"

"I've a requisitions list for the armory."

"...of course you do. You're sure this isn't just some night terror, Brea?"

"Operation Paperclip. All of the files on it are redacted," she noted softly. She'd...checked? Subset of scientists NOT brought to the US had been listed with Rapture destination though. It was...legit? As far as records went. And there had been adverts about an open city, Rapture...

...she wasn't feeling nearly as stable by the time their boat bumped against the small, rocky outcropping and they were threading their way into the dark lighthouse to...go down. Down. Oh hell. The video clip kicked on at eighteen fathoms.

Where the artist need not fear censure...

...where the scientist need not be bound by petty morality.

That was a bad sign wasn't it? "I see why your parents left," she admitted quietly as she leaned back against the boys, shadows playing across the packs at their feet. The neon splashes that shifted through the window as they came in on the approach to Rapture was...almost normal. Neon was the advertisement hook of choice these days but the whale drfting past painted in those reflected colors was certainly...striking.

Okay, admittedly, she was impressed. A city under the sea? All shadowy depths and polished windows and chrome? It was...attractive.

But they had a lot of ammo for a reason yes. Staying grounded was important, this wasn't a vacation. Not...really. "Not seeing much movement in the connecting tunnels," she noted softly as the bathysphere leveled out. "Population is likely low..." Given it SHOULD be a time of day when people were out of work and at their leisure?

Should.

"I demand a proper honeymoon after this," she noted softly. JUST IN CASE.

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

"Pardon?" Braig's surprise made his upbringing show, rather than the rough-and-tumble side he usually showed the world. (To his mother's dismay.) "And you are?"

[mitochondriaaya]

"My name is Dr. Tenenbaum, and the Little sisters are my little ones. They were never meant to be so hurt, please, I cannot offer much do not kill my children and we will find something to make it worth your time."

[sliceitwithwind]

"One of our goals has always been to save them and take them out of here." Braig said, softening slightly, "We don't need payment for that."

[mitochondriaaya]

"It will be things that can help. It is not a kind world here, and even helping my little ones a tiny bit will make their lives better, thank you. I know you won't have reason to trust me, but the ADAM is bad for their minds in high doses, they are not well. There is something to help pull ADAM out without killing them, if you could do this it will help. They often cannot get back to me for draining before they forget to come back at all..."

[sliceitwithwind]

"We'll take that." Braig agreed, although he was worried about what it was going to mean in the long run. "We are going to take them with us, though. The plan is to destroy Rapture entirely."

[mitochondriaaya]

"That would be wonderful," she admitted softly. "My little ones have what they can here, as we could not escape. If they could leave..." that would be GOOD.

[sliceitwithwind]

"We'll do everything we can." Braig promised, gently. Dilan nodded, and spoke as well, "I'm Katzu. You know how we are about children."

[mitochondriaaya]

"...oh. Oh. Thank God for you." Yes. That was..."I'm sending a gift, it will be by the Gatherer's Garden with a teddy bear. It's a plasmid, it lets you safely drain ADAM from my little ones. They will come home when they are empty and tired, but...the Daddies will still be a problem. They only know to protect, I am sorry." The relief and new worry combined were making her words bleed with accent but...oh god there was hope now.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Understood." Braig said, taking the verbal lead again, "We're going to head out now...we're ready for the Daddies. Or as ready as we can be without having actually fought one before."

[mitochondriaaya]

"No one is prepared for those..." she admitted grimly. She was grateful they kept her girls safe but...

...yeah. "Good luck. I will be channel eighteen if you get a radio."

[sliceitwithwind]

There were quiet farewells from the men, and then they stepped out again into Rapture...after a brief moment to be sure that there wasn't a third group out to talk to them.

[mitochondriaaya]

No, no third group, but a lot of insane laughter, and young girl screaming, and oh yeah an angry roar with a metallic edge before a large drill punch through a wall ahead, complete with deserving victim on it's spinning edge.

Fun.

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan and Braig looked at each other with one of those shared-history looks, then turned towards Aya.

"This," Dilan informed her, "is going to be bad. Please try to to keep everything else off me while I fight the Daddy."

"Naw," Braig said, "she's on Little Sister duty. Get the LS out of the way while I go after the things dodging and dancing around." Things, not people. He had to think of them like that. Things. Monsters.

[mitochondriaaya]

"I'm on...kid duty," Aya translated, blinking and tucking an extra pistol in Braig's belt. She shouldn't be loaded for bear when handling a kid, she knew THAT from spending time with the military families. Katzu kids in the territories often came with weapon's experience already...

...but there were no katzu children here. Place would have been sunk years ago if there were honestly. "I'll keep ahold of her and then we call the lady again about helping her if we can't find her gatherer's garden bit." Trying to ignore the wet sound of dead man on a drill in a wall? Yup.

[sliceitwithwind]

"You're on kid duty." Dilan agreed, "You can't handle a Big Daddy without shooting up, and Braig's a better shot." Then they headed for the sound of the drill. So much for Aya getting to ignore it, right?

[mitochondriaaya]

Eh, it got better once the guy on the drill wasn't gurgling anymore? Just not pleasant really. At all. They came into a small theater stage, draped red curtains hanging tatters as several people tried to take out a...

...giant.

Yeah.

There was a little, corpse like little girl with glowing eyes behind them all, crouching in a corner and screaming as someone with a wrench stood above her. She nodded to the boys and ran, sliding under a swinging crowbar to take the man by the girl in the knees. Yup, she was on the kid thing.

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan went for the Big Daddy, roaring louder than anyone else could manage to do in the area they were in - he wasn't sure there wasn't a splicer out there who could out roar him - and doing his best to get it's attention.

Braig, meanwhile, put a shot in the splicer's head and then whirled to look around at the rest of the area for whatever was going to come next.

[mitochondriaaya]

The Big Daddy roared as well, recognizing a BIG threat and turning, shaking the corpse off his drill and...launching an arc of proximity mines from it's other hand yes. Fun huh? Should take out some of the small fry though...

And Braig was getting atention, naturally. Worse though was when the little sister screamed again when Aya touched her, making the Big Daddy turn that way.

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan darted out of the way with Katzu speed, and launched himself for the BD's back, grabbing it and trying to bend the bars across it's top in order to become the bigger threat again.

"Aya! Get her quiet!" Braig yelped, taking shots when needed.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Trying!" Aya gritted, tossing a damn NEEDLE gun away from the girl and wrapping arms around her, getting a glove in the girl's teeth as the little thing bit dwn. Thank god for leather huh? Wiggly as hell kid threw her aim off though, meant she only winged the guy in the damn bunny mask coming at them.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig took care of the bunny mask, shooting several times through head and chest. He backed himself over until he was between Aya and the girl and Dilan and the BD.

Dilan, meanwhile, was doing his best to avoid the drill while ripping at his foe.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya nodded to him gratefully and settled for rocking the girl gently in an attempt to sooth the flailing. Hell, the girl was feverish as hell and glowing but...yeah. Instinct?

The Big Daddy was NOT happy with Dilan no. Not at all. In that trying to bounce him off walls kind of way?

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan grunted at each smash of his back to wall and swung around until he was dangling from the top front bar with one arm and doing his best to punch the lights out - literally - of it's front with his other one.

[mitochondriaaya]

The BD roared again, an oddly electrical sound and tried to get his drill to bear, failing that landmines but those arced toward Braig rather than Dilan. It was NOT made fr close campbat with things that didn't squish!

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan laughed, low and loud and like the apex predator that he was in the face of a dangerous thing that he was killing. He may not have been raised in the Territories, but he'd cut his adult teeth on the monsters there anyway. His adulthood rite had gone quite, quite well.

Braig tackled Aya and the sister out of the way of the mines, landing on top of them so that if one hit anyway it would go through Braig, then Aya, and then the Little Sister.