Project Alpha

By NukaCola101

DISCLAIMER: All characters from Team Fortress 2 are copyrighted by Valve and their respected owners. I own nothing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a long, LONG time since I wrote any fan fiction for TF2 (or fan fiction in general!). But now that I've recently got back in the TF2 fandom, I went back and looked at some old drabbles I wrote years ago and finally cleaned up and expanded on this one in particular. Read and Review!

Miss Pauling was minding her own business when the sounds of something crashing onto the floor caught her attention. She was in the middle of collecting last night's reports from the Reliable Excavation Demolition team's base when the noise alerted her…and it was coming from the Medic's lab.

"Great." She said with exasperation. Miss Pauling was about to open the door when she paused, realizing what she was about to do. Why should I? After all, that creature isn't my responsibility; it's his!

In fact, Miss Pauling was impressed by the very existence of the creature given the man who was behind it. The Medic was a bit (well, OK, a major) loony just like the rest of the mercenaries that where hired in the battle between brothers Redmond and Blutarch Mann over gravel. The German could have been a successful and respected doctor given the man's vast knowledge of medicine. But his ego and blood lust over powered any sort of moral guidance, thus he ended up getting caught stealing a patient's skeleton and having his medical license revoked.

Despite this setback, the Medic continued to perform underground and on the black market, which gained the Administrator's attention and immediate hire for RED. When they were in the process of hiring the Medic, Miss Pauling was tasked to prepare a summary of the background check on the German. Needless to say, it was colorful.

"Unauthorized experimentations. Illegal surgeries and transplants. Hospital and pharmaceutical theft. Grand theft auto?" Miss Pauling quizzically read the last of her notes. "Oh, it seems the Medic will be bringing along a flock of doves he acquired when he stole a wedding van after a hospital heist fell through."

"Hmph! All geniuses have their quirks." The Administrator told her young assistant as she skimmed through her copy of the former doctor's information. "But from what you gathered, it seems that Mr. Ludwig will make a fine addition here at RED."

Since then, the Medic has proven himself to be a vital team player. So it was a concern when for the last several weeks his overall performance had dropped substantially. The Administrator ordered Miss Pauling to investigate why and thus a friendship has developed between the two. He was wary at first, knowing for a fact that Miss Pauling would be reporting directly to her boss what was really going on.

"You have every right to feel that way, Medic." She explained to the German. "But I cannot stress enough that if I feel it jeopardizes your position here at RED…"

"I understand." He said, still off-put by her lack of empathy.

Miss Pauling noticed his miffed look. She bit her lip slightly and sighed. "I suppose everyone deserves a few secrets to themselves." She didn't like going against her superior's wishes, but Miss Pauling did admit that she liked this private arrangement between the two of them; it was exciting and thrilling.

The man's face softened upon hearing her response. "Ja, very good."

And this is how she became acquainted with the creature that was just behind the door in front of her. Given how much the man enjoyed pushing the limits of medicine, the Medic had concocted a radical idea: create a super mercenary using human and animal DNA. Thus the former doctor spent many late nights perfecting his outrageous hypothesis. These late nights did affect his performance on the battlefield and thankfully, it paid off. The experiment was a success. And with every success, a new set of problems made themselves known.

"He may be young, but his intelligence scores are exceptional! He can comprehend and speak several languages plus solve complex puzzles." The Medic informed Miss Pauling with great excitement.

"So that's the reason for the triple locks on the door." She pointed to the numerous locks on the doorway.

The German chuckled. "No matter the combination, der kleine manages to break the lock every time. Pretty soon he'll be the one to create the locks and having me solve them!"

Miss Pauling thought it was funny that the Medic had given his experiment such an enduring pet name, but it showed her just how proud he was of his work. The Medic had given her a set of keys to the lab.

"If anything happens while I am out in the field, you have my permission to access my lab and see to it."

"And if it gets to be too much for me to handle, I will alert the Administrator."

"Yes, though I hope it doesn't come to that yet…I still need more time to properly prepare him to interact with other people."

"And time isn't a luxury here at RED." Miss Pauling reminded the Medic. "You know…it is getting harder to keep her in the dark about this." She wasn't terrible at lying, but the assistant suspected that her boss was starting to catch on.

He noticed the worry look on her face. The Medic enjoyed spending time getting to know Miss Pauling and appreciated her genuine interest in this diversion from his normal duties as a mercenary. He placed a comforting hand on the small woman's shoulder.

"Don't worry fräulein. Whatever the outcome, we'll get through it together." The Medic's sincerity for their predicament eased Miss Pauling's doubts. She placed her hand on top of his. "Thank you." "You're welcome, mein liebling."

So she stood in front of the door, not really in the mood to want to deal with whatever the creature was up to. Miss Pauling just wanted to get those reports back to the Administrator and go about her normal duties. But a promise is a promise. She had to investigate the source of the crash. Hopefully it was something quick and simple. Digging into her pocket and producing a set of keys, Miss Pauling unlocked the door and entered the RED Medic's lab.

At first glance inside, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The lab was in its normal, clean orderly fashion with two examination tables separated by a metal and cloth divider. The medical cabinets where in their designated corners, stocked and ready for use. The overhead light fixture for each station hovered over the tables. Directly across from the stations was a large double sink with deep basins with a shared long, flexible faucet. On the counter by the sink where various pieces of assorted medical equipment air drying on a mat.

Over near the entrance was a small rest area. The Medic had set it up when he was up late working on perfecting his creation. He would often be so tired that the German could be found fast asleep on the well-worn couch. The rest area also included a small kitchenette to which the Medic would have a constant brewing pot of coffee or kettle for tea. On a small nightstand was a cherry-colored radio. The former doctor would play it softly at night when he was writing up his reports, providing some comfortable atmosphere in the otherwise normally dead silent lab. Nothing out of the ordinary here. But that was just the front area; there was still the rear of the lab to explore.

Miss Pauling walked slowly forward. This was the part of the lab that housed the creature. The former doctor had repurposed the extra operating room into a holding pen for his experiment. Another crash solidified this query, as Miss Pauling was heading in the right direction. She felt naked without a weapon. It was foolish to try and defend herself with the clipboard and manila folders, but the assistant was good at improvising. Tightening her grip, Miss Pauling continued to the holding room, her nervousness causing her heart to pound harder and harder in her chest. She didn't know what to expect, as the creature's behavior as hard to pin down. While the Medic had stated it was fairly docile, the creature was quick to being defensive when it came to facing anything deemed a threat. Hissing, growling and nipping where a common sight that the young woman saw whenever she visited the lab and made contact with the former doctor's creation. As of late, the creature's behavior toward her had changed. No longer did it become irritated at the sight of Miss Pauling, but it would now gaze at her with quiet intrigue. It made Miss Pauling uncomfortable, the way it stared at her with its blank expression.

When she entered the holding room, the first thing that caught Miss Pauling's attention was the fairly large tank in the center of the room. The rectangular container was clear so that one could properly observe the creature. The water inside was still and the low hum of the dimly lit light fixture cast a hazy glow in the room. Despite the limited visibility, Miss Pauling could make out that the cover on the tank had been jimmied open, letting her know that the experiment had indeed escape.

"Wonderful." She muttered. But where did it exactly escape to was the million dollar question.

A rustle was heard and it was coming from a large pile of laundry that was piled up in the far corner of the room. It was obvious that was where the creature was hiding. Gently placing her clipboard and files on the adjacent table, Miss Pauling slowing lifted away pieces of used towels, blankets and other items. Upon removing the last towel, a pair of yellow eyes showed themselves to her. The assistant let out a little gasp.

"There you are." She said to the creature, who replied with an annoyed hiss. "You know better than to hiss at me! Come out, NOW." Miss Pauling commanded. It only answered with an aggravated growl.

"Fine! I don't have time for this." Miss Pauling then proceeded to grab the being from out of its hiding spot. But he darted past her. With a disgruntled huff, she gave chase. Just when it seemed like it was going to be an almost comical experience, once the two had entered the better lit portion of the lab, the creature immediately stopped running. He turned to Miss Pauling, who could now have a better view of the Medic's pride and joy.

The creature was a perfect hybrid of human and octopus. As to why the Medic has chosen to use an animal not native to the New Mexico desert still baffled Miss Pauling, but she dare not ask. As to whom provided the human portion of the genetic material needed to create this oddity was apparent: the BLU Spy. Oh, Miss Pauling knew about how the German had kept the head of the former Frenchman in his refrigerator, but never did she think he would find a use for it, let along for an experiment such as this.

The human half was just that, human. However, aside from looking similar to the deceased Spy, the creature had the aforementioned yellow eyes and a mouth full of semi-sharp teeth. His hands were also human-like, but had sharp claws that where a deep blue hue that gradually faded up his forearms. His lower half was all cephalopod. Instead of legs, the being had the thick and muscular arms of an octopus in the same deep blue coloring as its claws. The Medic had humored himself by dressing his creation in a blue balaclava, dress shirt and vest akin to the dead Spy. Miss Pauling didn't share the same sentiment and found it distasteful. Aside from the obvious, there was a major difference between the BLU Spy and the creature that stood before Miss Pauling: while the Spy was an adult, the Medic's creation resembled a child no more than three or four. This was the main reason the former doctor was hesitant to let the Administrator know about the hybrid.

"I want to observe how he evolves from prepubescent to adulthood. Is he more human or animal? So many questions…" the Medic trailed off as he scribbled down his thoughts in a notebook.

"I must admit, I'm just as curious as you are, but the Administrator is going to find out the longer you keep him hidden. She'll especially notice when she reviews my monthly accounting reports." Miss Pauling told him. The budget that was granted for the Medic's supplies to keep the sickbay and lab up to par would spike greatly compared to last month's accounts.

"Bah! Just think of all the money something like this will bring in."

"I'd rather not think about it." Miss Pauling shuttered at the thought.

"Well, it could be worse. That das miststück could destroy what I worked so hard on. Now that would be something I'd rather not think about." The German said. Neither idea was pleasant, but both had very real outcomes attached to them.

Miss Pauling watched the creature as the two stared at one another in silence. She wondered what he was thinking. The Medic had said the creature could understand various languages, but yet it never spoke (at least when the assistant was present). It always preferred to make animalistic noises. Perhaps if she wasn't so stern with it, Miss Pauling could coax it into returning to its tank. She stooped down and extended her hand out toward him.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." She told him softly. The hybrid looked at her hand, then her face. He narrowed his eyes with distrust.

"Look, if you are upset with how I reacted earlier, I'm sorry." Miss Pauling said. "We can try again, if you are willing to that is."

The tension in his shoulders eased and the hybrid relaxed his stance. Slowly he slithered to Miss Pauling. He stopped at her hand and gazed at it. The creature sniffed it and then placed his clawed hand into her palm. The woman gently wrapped her fingers around the creature's, which looked up at her with curiosity.

"See, no harm done." Miss Pauling reassured. The warm look on her face made the oddity happy. He let a toothy grin appear on his face, which was a little off-putting to Miss Pauling. Never less, now that she had gained his trust, it was time to set things right.

"OK, I think it's time for you to go back to your tank, kleiner." She told him, using the nickname the mercenary frequently used. Miss Pauling started to walk back to the hold room but the creature stood his ground.

"No, I don't have the time to fool around with you today. I need to get back to work and you need to be back in your tank before the Medic returns." She tugged on his arm, but he began to pull in the opposite direction. It was a tug-of-war and it was apparent that Miss Pauling was on the losing end. She finally gave up. That hybrid most certainly retained the BLU Spy's stubbornness!

"I give up. You win. I guess I can spare a few minutes to play with you." She muttered in disgust. But she than softened her tone. The assistant quickly realized that now with the Medic returning to the battlefield, it meant the creature spent a great deal of time alone with no one to interact with. He was growing restless and was acting out due to pure boredom. Perhaps Miss Pauling should figure out how to spend more time with the creature when time allowed. Despite the urge to return to the Administrator's office was vital, the young woman decided that being a few minutes late wouldn't hurt this time. One more lie was risky, but it was a risk worth taking. "Well, you wanted to play with me, so let's play." She told the hybrid.

He smiled and nodded, then proceeded to lead her back to his holding pen. He managed to turn on the wall light switch so that they both could see better in the room. Miss Pauling noticed that a wading pool had been erected in another corner of the room. The water level was half way in the pool and a few beach toys where lazily floating inside. The creature let go of Miss Pauling's hand and jumped into the plastic pool. The water sloshed about, but managed to stay inside the container as the creature moved about gathering up his toys. He offered her a yellow bath duck, to which Miss Pauling accepted. She knelt down on the floor and began to play with him and the beach toys. Soon Miss Pauling was caught up in just how innocent the Medic's creation was. It didn't matter if he was an oddity, the hybrid that was taking joy in simple play before her acted just like a normal child.

This sweet moment was rudely interrupted by the loud ringing of the phone that was connected in the lab. The shrill of the telephone's bell immediately snapped Miss Pauling out of her trance. The hybrid's ears perked at the sound and gave a wide-eyed glance at the young woman.

"I'll be right back." She told him, but the creature jerked her arm, stopping Miss Pauling. "Kleiner, I need to answer the phone. Don't worry; I'm not going to leave you."

He hesitated, but released his grip on her. Miss Pauling sped to the ringing phone, knowing full well who was on the other end.

"Yes ma'am?" she answered once she picked up the receiver.

"Miss Pauling, just where in the hell are you?! You were supposed to be back at my office more than an hour ago!" the Administrator barked harshly.

"I'm terribly sorry! Unfortunately, there had been an accident involving the RED Medic's doves and well, since he is currently out on the battle field…"

"I knew those blasted doves would be a problem eventually." The Administrator grumbled. "Well, I must commend you for taking action and containing the situation. That reminds me, I do need to speak to him about having better control over those feathered rats,"

"I'll make a note of it, ma'am."

"Indeed. Before I go, I must remind you that I do expect to find out what was the reason—"

"Why the Medic was under-performing, yes I know. He has given me a few small details, but rest assure I will find out the whole story."

"My patience is wearing thin, Miss Pauling. I certainly hope there are no…alternative motives as to why you are being so slow to relay information to me."

The young woman almost choked in fear at the cold, passive aggressive tone her superior spoke. "You have my word; I am not undermining you in any shape or way, ma'am."

The Administrator paused, causing an uneasiness to befall Miss Pauling. The assistant did know if her boss had caught her lie or that she truly did believe her. "Good." she replied to Miss Pauling. "Once you are finished in the Medic's lab, please return promptly and deliver those reports to me."

"Understood."

The phone line clicked dead and all that was heard was the hum of the receiver off its hook. Miss Pauling cradled the phone against her ear lost in thought. Things where getting too intense. She had to drop the charade and tell the Administrator the truth. But would the Medic feel the same? Neither knew how the older woman would handle seeing the creature, but anger would be the dominant emotion.

The sound of a set of double doors opening and shutting snapped Miss Pauling out of her daze and panic set in. "Oh no, he didn't." she said before jetting to where the doors led.

The Medic kept his flock of doves in a spare room to which they had run of. The birds would flutter about, cooing and chirping without a care in the world. But now that his creation had come to fruition, the German begrudgingly bought several large wire bird cages to give his pets a place to nest. While he preferred them to be free to roam about the lab, the Medic knew that he had to be extra careful to make sure the hybrid didn't injury or eat his doves. But the creature was sneaky and slick. There were many close calls, such as the time the Medic and Miss Pauling saw that not only did the creature managed to enter the birdcage, but he was holding the German's favorite dove Archimedes and preparing to bite the poor bird's head off. The mercenary quickly swooped in and saved Archimedes and scolded his experiment quite harshly. After that, the creature back off, but liked to test his creator and Miss Pauling from time to time…and now was the time to push Miss Pauling's buttons.

She entered the room and saw that the oddity was hanging on the side of the cage preparing to open the door. The doves inside where in a panic, flapping all around inside the metal enclosure, shrieking and squawking in fear.

"NO!" Miss Pauling screamed and grabbed the hybrid by his waist. She began to pry him off the fixture, but he tightened his grip on the metal bars of the cage. "Stop it, right now! You know better than to harass the Medic's doves!" the young woman reprimanded. The creature screeched angrily back at Miss Pauling.

Unbeknownst to both of them, as Miss Pauling was pulling the hybrid to her, the legs of the cage began to lean forward. Finally after a struggle, the assistant managed to force the creature to let go of the cage and held him in her arms. But the cage lost its balance and was falling forward towards the two. Miss Pauling cradled the creature close to her and dodged out of the way as the cage crashed with a loud clang against the linoleum floor. The poor doves where sent into an even greater panic and flopped about, but it appeared that the flock was unharmed. However, the dirty newspaper that lined the bottom of the cage (as well as the food and water dishes) spilled all over the floor. Birdseed was scattered in all directions and the water had begun to form long trails as it trickled forth from the toppled cage.

Miss Pauling just stared at the mess in defeat. At least her lie she told her boss had come true. She looked down at the creature, which had a surprised look on his face. "What are we ever going to do with you?" she said with annoyance in her voice. The oddity shrugged, to which Miss Pauling had to admit was perfect comedic timing.

Before she could begin cleaning up the mess before her, the assistant knew that she had to keep a good eye on the mischievous entity while she was busy. Thankfully, the dove's room also had another double sink with large basins that could hold the hybrid. Miss Pauling filled it with water so that his multiple octopus arms wouldn't become too dry. He splashed about for a hot minute, but then the creature focused his attention on what the young woman was doing.

Miss Pauling had managed to pick up and reposition the large birdcage back upright and check on the nervous birds. Good, they had no visible injuries and had started to calm down as she gently petted them, easing their tension from what had happened. She then got busy sweeping up the birdseed and mopping up the water. As she was filling up the wastebasket with the debris she had collected, Miss Pauling saw that the creature had been watching her clean. The assistant narrowed her eyes at him in frustration.

"If you weren't such an abomination, I'd make you clean this up by yourself!" Miss Pauling told him curtly. The creature blinked in confusion, not sure why the young woman was so cross. He then lowered his head, ashamed and turned away now understanding her anger at him. "Oh, you better not be playing the sympathy card on me this time. I meant every word!" she scoffed as she finished cleaning up the mess.

After throwing out the garbage out, Miss Pauling went over to the sink. The hybrid was still facing away from her in a somber mood. "Are you willingly to listen to me now and behave?" she asked him. He responded with a nod that indicated "yes". Satisfied with his answer, Miss Pauling reached into the sink and plucked the creature out. She released the drain in the basin and made sure the water drained out properly. While she was repositioning the hybrid in her arms, the assistant glanced at the wall clock. It was growing late and by the time she returned to the Administrator's office, the older woman would have left for the day. Great. Now I'm going to get an earful from her tomorrow morning. Miss Pauling thought as she returned to the holding pen.

"Now it's time for you to go back into your tank." She explained to the creature. He still had a hurt expression on his face. Feeling guilty over what she had told the hybrid earlier, Miss Pauling knew she had to ease his worries before she left him to wait for the Medic to return.

"You are not an abomination. You are…" she had to pause in order to find the right word. "Special." The creature perked up when he heard the word.

"Yes, kleiner. You are very special to both the Medic and I. There is no one else like you. You may drive us crazy for time to time, but we wouldn't have it any other way."

The creature's formerly sad face disappeared and was replaced by one of relief. He nuzzled against Miss Pauling and let out a soft, contented purr. She stood there for much longer than needed, cradling the hybrid in her arms lovingly. The young woman knew better than to form some kind of emotional attachment to such an oddity, but now that she got to spend time with him, Miss Pauling began to second guess her original plans to inform the Administrator about the Medic's experiment. She wanted to see the best possible outcome for the creature, but it seemed that all of them did not end well. Perhaps there was another option…

"Are you ready to go back into your tank?" she asked him, to which he nodded. Using a step ladder that had been set up near the tank, Miss Pauling climbed up and released the creature into the container. He dove toward the bottom of the tank and swam around for a bit. He then turned back to Miss Pauling who he could see on the other side of the glass. She waved at the hybrid, which happily waved back at her. The assistant grabbed her clipboard and reports she left on the counter awhile back, dimmed the lights and left the holding pen.

She walked past the full length mirror that was hung near the examination stations and caught a glimpse of herself. Doing a double take, Miss Pauling saw just of disheveled her appearance had become. Her lilac colored dress, once clean and pristine, was covered in wet splotches from when she had been holding the creature. In between the wrinkles and creases were stains from the dirty birdcage that had fallen earlier. Her simple black flats were also covered in stains from the events that had transpired. The young woman's neatly tied hair bun was no more; it had been downgraded to that of a simplistic ponytail with a few wisps of black hair floating around her face. Amazingly, Miss Pauling's cat eye glasses remained intact, though there was a smudge or two on the lens.

"I'm such a mess." Miss Pauling commented on her unkempt look. "But it was worth it." She smiled softly, content with all that had happened.

Looking down at her reports in her hands, she decided that it wasn't worth dropping them off now (she will see to it in the morning). Making her way over to the rest area, the assistant set aside her paperwork once more and clicked on the radio, fiddling with the tuning knob and managed to find a radio station coming in clear. Miss Pauling kept the volume low, but not so that she wouldn't be able to hear the music coming out of the speaker. The sound of a relaxing jazz standard sung by The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald filled the quiet space as the young woman sat on the couch. Removing her glasses, Miss Pauling closed her eyes and relaxed, not realizing that she had drifted off to sleep.

The Medic had returned from a long day out in the field when he noticed Miss Pauling fast asleep on the couch upon entering the lab. The petite woman was curled up against a pillow, her black flats haphazardly near the couch and her glasses on the end table. The radio had been turned on and a gentle, thoughtful tune played on. The German watched as she stirred slightly, but chose not to wake her. He thought Miss Pauling looked cute as she slept on that old couch. The Medic bushed a lone strand of hair from her face, smiling.

"Fräulein, wake up." The Medic gently coaxed to her. "Huh?" she moaned and rose. Getting her bearings together, Miss Pauling noticed that the Medic was back.

"So, you finally returned. Guess it must have been quite a day for you, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it! I swear if I hear another one of those dummkopfs scream 'Medic!' over some as trivial as a paper cut, I will silence them with my syringe gun." The Medic sighed as he removed his gloves and coat. "Other than that, I am glad to have some normalcy again." He then eyed the assistant's untidy dress. "And judging from your careless manner, you've had quite a day yourself, Miss Pauling."

She just shot the mercenary a miffed look. "I blame your little science project for this." She pointed to her messy skirt.

"You can tell me all about it over some tea, if you chose to stay that is."

"It will be my pleasure, doctor."

The two sat on the couch with their hot tea in hand as Miss Pauling recounted her day dealing with the Medic's creation. His initial reaction was that of laughter, which annoyed the young woman.

"He certainly takes after the BLU Spy in most respects!' he snickered.

"You may see it as a good thing, but we need to keep his curiosity in check or we'll be in big trouble." Miss Pauling warned. "At least he didn't eat your precious Archimedes this time." She gave the cocky German a playful smirk, which quickly made the Medic change his tune.

"Yes, I agree." He nodded and coughed out of embarrassment. "Anyway, there was something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes." Miss Pauling said, looking down at her cup. "I think it's time to tell the Administrator the truth." The Medic remained silent as Miss Pauling continued.

"I received a call from her while I was down here with your hybrid. She is getting anxious and I can't keep coming up with excuses. Besides, the longer this keeps going, the worse the outcome will be; not only for you and I, but for him as well." She took a sip of her tea and sighed. "At first it didn't matter what was going to happen to that creature, but now I'm having second thoughts. I don't want to kill him, but I don't want him to be solely for profit either."

Miss Pauling looked at the Medic, wondering what he was thinking. He stared off in thought and finally got up from the couch. "I know what needs to be done." Was all he said as he placed his cup into the sink and made his way to the creature's holding pen. The assistant hesitated, unsure if it was right to follow the Medic. Cursing to herself, she followed suit. When Miss Pauling entered the room, she saw the former doctor looking down at a syringe filled with some sort of liquid on a small metal tray.

"I made this as a fail-safe in case my creation grew unstable." He explained, holding up the needle for Miss Pauling to see.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Maybe, there is another way…maybe I can convince the Administrator to—"the young woman began, but the German hushed her.

"I don't think so. You said it yourself: what chance does the hybrid have? He either is destroyed by her or becomes a tool for profit. It is the only way."

"But it doesn't have to be."

The Medic looked at the tank before him. The creature was sleeping soundly, curled up in one of the corners of the tank. He then stared at the needle in his hand. The Medic balled it in his fist, frustrated. "I want to see my creation evolve at my own pace and not at the hands of that woman. Such a waste to kill this scientific breakthrough this early in its life…so much potential. I can't let bring myself to let such an achievement be forgotten."

The former doctor then handed the syringe to Miss Pauling. "Can you live with yourself if you where the one to kill such an amazing discovery?" She didn't like being pinned against her will to make such a tough decision. Miss Pauling placed the needle back onto the tray.

"I could, but I'm going to make an exception this time; just as you have, Medic."

The two stood in silence side by side as they watched the oddity sleep peacefully, thankful that it wasn't awake to witness what had transpired.

"We still have to tell the Administrator." Miss Pauling said to the Medic, breaking the long silence the two where sharing. "But I'm not afraid of what will happen. I'll make sure your creation is in good hands, even if I have risk my position."

The German nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow is going to be rather interesting, ja? Whatever happens will forever change our fate, including die kleinen. Best we prepare ourselves for anything."

The next day they stood outside the door to the Administrator's office. The Medic had a thick binder in his arms with all the information about his creation. Miss Pauling shared a nervous glance with him. The German then grew confident and nodded a silent "let's do this." The assistant agreed and opened the door to her superior's office.

"What is it, Miss Pauling? I'm a very busy woman."

"The RED Medic is here to speak to you."

The Administrator's eyes immediately caught the title of the binder the former doctor held: Project Alpha. A satisfied smirk appeared on the older woman's face. She had her hunches about what was really going on with the Medic. It was only a matter of time before both the man and her assistant would have to come forward and admit to their deceit. Besides, there was always a way to turn a mistake into an improvement that would benefit all involved.

"Do go on, Mr. Ludwig. I have all the time in the world."

THE END