Final Apocalypse: Infant

Shedding Light

Tamara woke up on an operating table, screaming her friend's name in anguish. She took a moment to compose herself, and sat up, checking her surroundings for danger. A man was leaning over a table, staring at something under a microscope. He didn't seem to notice that Tamara was awake. She shivered, realizing that she had no clothes on.

As if the man could hear her thoughts, he looked up from the microscope and turned toward her. "Great, you're finally awake. Now, the real fun can begin."

He laughed and fell back against the table, then stood up straight as a board. "I'm sorry about that, just an attempt at humor. I'm not really some mad scientist."

Tamara tried to lash a tendril but found that she couldn't. "What the hell did you do to me?"

The man approached her with a brown paper bag. "Your clothes were destroyed. I went out and bought you some new clothes. Change, and then, we'll talk."

Tamara took the bag grudgingly and spilled its contents onto the operating table. A black leather jacket. A pink tank top. Blue Jean pants, and underwear.

She hurriedly changed into the provided clothing before she noticed the six holes on the back of the jacket and top.

"What the hell is up with the clothes?"

The man faced away. "For your tendrils. Speaking of which," he motioned her to the microscope. "They're really quite remarkable. Self-regenerating, and quite durable."

Tamara pulled him back. "How do you know this?"

He smiled. "I operated on you and took a sample. I think you may have noticed that earlier. You looked like you were struggling with something, and now, I have an idea of what. Your tendrils are connected to your spinal cord. Took me a bit to figure out how to take a sample. I injected you with a neurotoxin that nullifies them for now. I also removed your venom sac. Also self-regenerating."

Tamara punched him and grabbed a scalpel, aiming it at his throat. "How do you know so much? And who the hell are you?"

He pushed the blade away. "My name is Calvin Stien. Your father kicked my ass about twenty years ago. And I know about your abilities because I saw you ransack Recon. I must admit, you have impressive speed with those tendrils. I've never seen anyone catch three rockets at once," he turned away and pulled out a small, black music box that was covered in dry blood. "There's also a magic element about you. Such as this little fella. It would only appear when you were nearby, and only your victims could hear it. Pretty eerie, don't you think?"

Tamara pulled on the jacket. "How long until I can use my tendrils again?"

Calvin took up a notepad and did a quick equation. "With your body type and weight, probably about two days, three at the most."

Tamara sat back on the table. "So you know what happened to Marriko?"

Calvin nodded. "You think I wouldn't check on my own granddaughter?"

"Marriko's your granddaughter?"

Calvin nodded again. "That she is. I love her very much. Several times I thought about killing you. What you did to her was unforgivable in every sense of the word."

"Is she alright?"

Calvin held up a test tube filled with a blue liquid. "This is the antidote to your venom. I snuck into the hospital and pumped it into her IV. She's lucky to be alive after what happened. So are you."

Tamara roundhoused Calvin against the desk. "You injected her with an antidote, and you're not even sure if it works?"

Calvin grabbed his shoulder as he rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, revealing several needle marks. "I've spent the past week working on an antidote to that dreaded poison. Even though I cured myself of it, it still causes excruciating pain. Count yourself as lucky, because you're immune to it. Somehow." He winced as he dragged himself to the door and opened it. "Go ahead. Leave if you want. I only needed you as a guinea pig to make an antidote to save my granddaughter."