Test Subject: 016 - October 2120
"Beat it, kid," I say around a mouthful of sandwich. "I told you already, I've got nothing to say to you."
"Oh, come on," Jack insists, leaning in way too close for my liking. "You used to go on missions with Kai, right? I wanna hear about it."
I don't even hesitate. I lift my hand and push his face away, shoving him back into his own space.
"Can you not see I'm eating?"
"Then I'll wait" he says, completely serious.
I stare at him for a second, already feeling my patience slipping. "You little-"
"016" 009 cuts in, his tone enough to stop me before I start something.
I roll my eyes and go back to my food, chewing slower this time, more out of irritation than anything else.
The kids here have no discipline and no awareness. They talk over you, get in your space, ask questions they shouldn't. Back at the facility, that kind of behaviour wouldn't last five seconds.
But they're not like us. They're just kids here.
That's what makes it… different. Annoying, yeah, but not in the same way.
Since we got here, everything's felt off. It was too open, too unstructured. There was no one telling us what to do, no one watching, no constant pressure hanging over every move. At first it felt wrong, like something was about to go bad at any second.
I didn't understand why Kai would choose this place.
I'm still not sure I fully do.
But it's… easier here. The beds are comfortable, the food's actually decent, and no one's barking orders or waiting for us to mess up.
There is just time... too much of it and It's boring.
"You know," Jack starts again, clearly incapable of staying quiet, "Kai once took down a guy who could control lava. Even after he got hit, he just kept fighting."
I glance at him, then smirk slightly despite myself. "Yeah? Well, 004-Kai," I correct, "got hit by shrapnel on our first mission together. I had to carry his sorry arse back to safety."
"016," 009 says, not even looking up. "That's not exactly what happened."
I shrug, taking another bite. "That's how I remember it."
009 exhales, already done with me. "I remember you ignoring orders, rushing ahead, and nearly getting yourself killed. Kai took the hit for you."
My jaw tightens slightly, but I don't look at him.
"Yeah… well" I mutter after a moment, "whatever."
I keep my focus on the sandwich, even though I'm not really tasting it anymore. Because that's the problem, every story about him ends the same way. Him stepping in, him taking the hit, him doing what the rest of us wouldn't.
I should hate him for leaving, for turning his back on everything, for proving there was a way out and not taking us with him. But every time I think about it, that anger never quite lands the way it's supposed to.
"That does sound like something he would do."
The voice comes from behind us, calm and measured, and it catches me off guard enough that I turn straight away.
Noah stands there with his hands clasped behind his back, posture straight, and expression unreadable.
It's still strange looking at him. Like staring at a reflection that learned how to feel differently. Twins have always unsettled me, but this is something else entirely. He has Kai's face, but none of his weight. None of that quiet heaviness.
"May we take a seat?" he asks.
009 nods before I can even decide if I want to answer, gesturing to the chairs like we're actually hosting them.
Noah sits, and the other two join him. I recognise them instantly from that day, but my attention keeps drifting to the one with the blonde curls. He was the one who looked like the world had ended when Kai was in danger. That kind of reaction doesn't come from nothing.
"We haven't had much of a chance to introduce ourselves," Noah says. "This is Finn and Ethan, and I am Noah, Kai's brother."
"Well, no duh," I reply, leaning back slightly. "You don't think we don't know who you are? You've got his face, and we've seen you plastered all over the GeneX posters."
He shifts, just barely, but his expression doesn't crack.
009 nudges me lightly. "Sorry about her," he says. "She's just… concerned about Kai."
I shoot him a glare sharp enough to cut, then turn my head away and rest it against my hand.
"Was there something specific you wanted to talk to us about?" 009 continues, slipping neatly back into diplomacy.
"Jack," Ethan calls, glancing over at the kid, "do you mind keeping an eye on Kai while we talk?"
Jack looks like he wants to argue, but something in Ethan's tone shuts that down before it starts. He leaves, reluctantly dragging his curiosity with him.
I notice then how empty the tables around us are. Not naturally empty either. Deliberately so. Like people are giving us space… or keeping their distance.
"I believe you two worked closely with Kai at the facility?" Noah asks.
009 nods. "We were on the same team."
"I believe you're both trustworthy," Noah continues, and that's when I turn to look at him properly. "Good people."
The words sit wrong. He doesn't sound unsure. He doesn't sound like he's guessing. It's like he's already decided.
He's nothing like Kai.
He's too calm and controlled. Like everything he feels has already been measured and filed away somewhere out of sight. If Kai is a storm held together by willpower, Noah is a locked room.
"What's your point?" I ask, my tone sharper than necessary.
"I'll be direct," he says. "I would like your help."
009 and I exchange a brief glance.
"You want us to be your puppets?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"No," Noah replies, steady. "I'm asking for your help. You're free to refuse, and you're free to leave. No one here will stop you."
That catches my attention.
I lean back in my chair, studying him more carefully now.
"And what exactly would you want us to do?" I ask.
A small smile touches his lips, controlled and deliberate. "Why don't we start with you introducing yourselves?"
I feel 009 shift beside me, the hesitation almost physical. We were never allowed names at the facility, only numbers. So telling others our names feels... wrong.
Ethan must notice, because he leans forward slightly, his voice softer than the rest of them.
"I know it's difficult," he says. "Going back to names after being a number for so long… but once you do, it feels different. It feels better."
I look at him properly then, really look, taking in the way he speaks, the way he carries himself.
And then it clicks.
"You were a test subject, weren't you?" I ask.
He nods slowly. "Yeah. That's where I met Kai. I was 012."
The number tugs at something in my memory before it finally lands.
"You used to hang around with that 018 kid, didn't you?" I ask.
The reaction is immediate. Subtle, but there. His gaze drops slightly, like I've brushed against something he'd rather keep buried.
"Yeah…" he says quietly.
I remember 018.
He was loud and cheeky. Always pushing boundaries he shouldn't. He came in around the same time as me… and 017.
017 didn't make it past the Lunex vial but 018 did.
Maybe that's why I noticed him. Or maybe it was just the numbers being close. Either way, I kept an eye on him from a distance, even if I never said a word.
And when he started sticking close to 012 and 023, I noticed that too. I just never got involved. There was no point making connections in a place like that.
But looking at Ethan now… seeing him here, not as a number, not as something broken or controlled, but as someone standing beside Kai, close to him…
Something shifts within me. Quiet and uncomfortable.
"I'm Monica... Monica Turner" I say.
009's head snaps towards me so fast it's almost funny.
"Monica?" he repeats, like the word doesn't belong to me.
I shrug slightly, meeting his stare. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?" I point at him. "Go on then. Your turn."
For a second, he just looks at me. Then a small smile breaks through, and he rubs the back of his neck.
"I'm Gerald Baker."
I let out a short laugh, shaking my head as I look at him. "Yeah… that actually suits you."
Gerald just rolls his eyes like he expected that reaction and turns his attention back to the others, clearly not interested in entertaining me.
"Monica, Gerald," Noah says, repeating our names like he's locking them into place. "I'd like to thank you both for saving my brother back at the facility."
The amusement drains out of me almost instantly as the memory comes back too clearly.
We'd been sent in to deal with intruders, nothing unusual about it. Straightforward orders, no room for hesitation. But then we saw him, collapsed on the floor, barely holding himself up, blood on his lips while 002 stood over him preparing to finish it.
There hadn't been time to think about it.
One moment I was standing there, the next I was already moving, my body acting before my mind could catch up. I remember the heat in my hands, the explosions leaving my palms as I aimed straight for 002, forcing him back. When I turned, Gerald had already made his choice too, lifting Kai like it had never even been a question.
"No need to thank us," Gerald says, steady as always. "He's our teammate… and our friend."
Noah's expression softens slightly at that, something quiet passing through his eyes.
I shift in my seat, uncomfortable with where the conversation is going and how it's making my chest feel tighter than it should.
"Alright, enough of that," I say, cutting in before it lingers any longer. "What do you actually want?"
Noah doesn't react to the edge in my voice. He just watches me for a moment, calm and composed, like he's already accounted for it.
"What do you know about the counterfeit Lunex vials?" he asks.
As he begins to explain, I feel it settle in my chest.
That shift. Quiet and unavoidable.
This place isn't just somewhere we ended up. It's the start of something and whether I like it or not… there's no stepping back from this now.