Nuclear Links

Growth

(Author's note: Gore and smut in this chapter. Also, Aleks is being experimented on constantly. Not everything is permanent. Most things will be relevant in the future, don't worry! Thanks for reading!)

Jordan didn't know what happened, but he found himself face to face with a shaking, crying Eddie. He sent Eddie to go and retrieve Aleks a few days back, but he came back empty handed. Eddie didn't exactly talk about it, but when Jordan asked, he completely broke down. Monica came in to try to comfort him too, but decided to go and make a meal for Eddie instead.

"I-I..." Eddie hiccuped. He wasn't even able to conduct a sentence. "He... He tried to-" "Shh. Look, we'll talk about this later. Just calm down. Are you hungry?" He asked in a soothing voice. Receiving a nod from the other, he pat his back, and pushed himself up. He was about to exit the room and check up on Monica, but Eddie called out, "Koots?"

Jordan stopped, instantly softening to that old nickname. "What?" Eddie fiddled with his hoodie strings. "T-there was something wrong... He had extra limbs, Koots. And he didn't want to come back. He looked scared." There was a quiver of anger in his voice, but he immediately lost it. Laying back down on his back, Eddie practically melted into his bed. Not wanting to cause a scene, Jordan brought him to his room after he broke down outside.

The white room was small but comfortable. Light dully shone in from the blinds, the room otherwise dark. Posters covered the walls, and plush toys resided on his bed. It would be a typical room for a teenager obsessed with video games, but that was Sly's personality. Childish, fun, bubbly. Ever since he got back, all of that was gone. Even when he was in it, the room seemed quiet and lifeless.

Since his bed resided against the window, Eddie peeked up to see out the window. Dry grass ran in patches outside, dirt hills residing along the distance. Colorado- the perfect base location, with mountains and rural area everywhere. So much different than the base Aleks was at, residing in Montana.

He failed to get Aleks out. It may have not seemed like it, but he wasn't sure if he could go back to get him. Pushing himself up, Eddie got up, and walked to the kitchen. Half-heartedly eating Monica's soup, he thanked her. She smiled and walked off. She handled financing. Her job seemed stressful, and she also had to supervise the lab's progress and planning.

Well, pre-planning, really. Planning to blast Kevin's and Steven's base into the ground.

Negative thoughts flocked to Eddie obsessively. Absent-mindedly, he pushed himself up from the table. He wasn't even sure if he would help, but it was worth a shot. Shuffling down the white hallways, he finally reached a door. A metal plate on the wall read, 'Bio Lab #3".

He pushed the door open gingerly, only to be met with a blast of cold air. It was like a meat locker, just without the meat. Slipping inside quietly, he marveled at the room. He was rarely in here, but the lab's cleanliness always awed him. Walking over to the corner of the lab, he saw someone hunched over a blueprint. The person was on the phone, talking rapidly.

Brown hair stuck out from the black beanie, and a white lab coat rested loosely on him. Eddie snuck around him, not wanting to scare him. The person didn't notice. Examining closer, the lab coat had the person's name on it.

"Steven- Ze" it read, black cursive etched against the white material. Eddie glanced at the blueprints, and his stomach dropped. It was an outline of their current nuclear tests. So far, #8 was the most successful with explosion, but #3 had the most distance. Of course, Eddie had no idea what that was all about. He just handled financing (with Monica), general security, and inspections. Small jobs.

Finally Ze took notice. Holding up a finger to Sly, he muttered something into the sleek, black phone. He hung up. Turning around, he looked at Eddie questionably. "So, where's Immortal?" Eddie's lips tightened, and he managed, "Yeah, about that... Ze, do you know anything about crossing DNA?" Ze sighed. "A bit. What do you need to know?"