A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

“I can’t be a bride anymore…” What was a bride? Alexa didn’t know.

 

“[Bride, the partner of a groom in a marriage agreement. This is a social construct made by the humans to symbolize the union of a man and woman in a single household to procreate new Humans without judgment from society.]”

 

Alexa heard many words but understood none of them! What she knew was that she couldn’t be a bride anymore!

 

“Don’t be such a drama queen and spit the toothpaste. It is bad for your tummy if you eat it,” [Eleanore] said at her side while letting water out from the sink. "Here, grab the cup and fill it with water. We want to make sure your teeth are sparkling white, so you need to rinse them.”

 

Alexa…wasn’t quite sure if that statement was true or not.

 

“[ Components of Designation: Toothpaste include:

Water (20–40%)

Abrasives (50%) including aluminum hydroxide, calcium hydrogen phosphates, calcium carbonate, silica and hydroxyapatite.

Fluoride (usually 1450 ppm) mainly in the form of sodium fluoride.

 

The probability of causing ill effects on host are above average. Especially since host may attempt to eat tremendous amounts of this component, it is advised to host to not consume this in significant quantities or host risks inability of being able to eat more Mango.]”

 

IT WAS A DANGEROUS CHEMICAL!

 

“IT IS A DANGEROUS CHEMICAL!” Alexa said as she took her kiddy cup and filled it with water. She rinsed her mouth and repeated it a few extra times for good measure.

 

“Good, now smile at the mirror˜,” [Eleanore] said as Alexa continued rinsing her mouth. After the fourth rinse, she did as instructed and… “That is a cute smile for a cute girl. Good work!”

 

[Eleanore] clapped at her success, and…to be honest. It was indeed the cutestest smile possible, since it was her smile. Alexa was the cutestest after all!

 

“Now we grab this bottle and pour some of the liquid in the cap,” [Eleanore] said as she brought a second mysterious liquid. "Don’t drink it either. You want to gargle in your mouth with this and then, after 15 seconds, spit the liquid.”

 

….Why was she putting so many things in her mouth that she couldn’t eat? Wasn’t the mouth for eating?

 

Alexa did as instructed and….it tasted funny, it felt as if her [Mouth] was fresh and itchy, it almost seemed as if the liquid wanted to eat her [Mouth]......

 

“[Notice, current beverage seems to include a small dosage of alcohol in tandem with the same chemicals as Toothpaste care is adviced as current body does not have the same level of resistence to these chemicals as Young Adult stage.]”

 

Alcohol? The not tasty drink?

 

“Bleeergh,” Alexa said as she let the liquid fall from her mouth and into the sink.

 

“Careful there, we need to ensure you don’t dirty your uniform, cute girls don’t dirty their clothes.” [Eleanore] said while she rushed to pass a towel over the parts that the nasty liquid had dripped.

 

Alexa stealthily absorbed the parts that had been dirtied and made new ones to replace them, so she was clean as the cutestest girl she was!

 

Still, these [Humans] are such dangerous creatures. They wash the mouths of their young ones with such dangerous chemicals, as far as her own data implied. This liquid was dangerous! It made Alexa dizzy, and it made her do weird things, and it made her feel weird things!

 

It was a no-no liquid!

 

“Alexa dear? Did it hurt your mouth? I know some kids have a hard time stomaching the mouthwash….” [Eleanore] said in a small voice, “But I guessed that you would manage since you seem so mature sometimes….”

 

“I can deal with it!” Alexa said while hitting her chest with her hand. Why had she done that? She had no idea! But the Alexa in the mirror looked cute doing it! So she was right at doing it!

 

“Okay, so what more do we need to do…” [Eleanore] said, looking around. "We washed our mouths and made sure our breath was mint-flavored…We put on our clothes and prepared our backpacks… We have lunch money and snack money…”

 

[Eleanore] brought two envelopes at the last part, each one with those words written on them, so she would use one for lunch and one for snacks? Such words held no meaning to her, but she liked them anyway!

 

“[...Lunch refers to the time when humans eat a well-designed food to recuperate lost energy. Snack refers to food meant for amusement, usually with high dosages of sugar and calories.]”

 

SHE WANTED SNACKS!!

 

“We are all good, you have your shoes on, socks…, and your change of clothes in case of emergencies?” [Eleanore] asked looking her up and down.

 

“Here!” Alexa answered pointing at her backpack, on the interior of it in one of the hidden compartments was another set of clothes, from a blouse to underwear and shorts. All that was missing was a new pair of shoes, but she guessed that she could make a new pair if needed.

 

“Good, then we are set. Are you ready to meet new friends?” [Eleanore] said with a smile as she kneeled besides Alexa.

 

“Yes!” Alexa wasn’t quite sure what these new [Friends] would do for her, but for now going to that place guaranteed [Snacks] so she would go!

 

All for the [Snacks]!!!!

 

“Okay, now we need to set some rules, repeat after me.” [Eleanore] said in a more serious tone. “I will not use my Core Powers on the other kids.”

 

“I will not use my [Core Powers] on the other kids.” Alexa repeated, that seemed…obvious? Why would she want to use her powers on the other kids? At best she could get some new samples… Actually, she may do that. Does that count? Her [Core Powers] seemed to be focused on the generation of the Mk1 Nanite swarm.

 

Yeah, she would not use those nanites and would use only the derivated ones, that way she would not break her promise!

 

“I will not change into the other forms unless I am alone and school ends.” [Eleanore]added the new rule.

 

“I will not change into other [Forms] unless alone or school has ended.” Alexa repeated. She also didn’t understand that rule, but rules are rules. And she would follow any [Rule] set for any [Test]. She didn’t need to understand them, so long as the ones at the top followed the rules, she would do the same.

 

Who was at the top on this case? She hadn’t found them, but surely someone should be monitoring such an intricate test. She was sure.

 

“And lastly… I will come back straight here, if I go somewhere else I will call beforehand.” [Eleanore] said as she brought her phone, and a string of numbers was shown to her. “Also save my number, call me if you need anything.”

 

“I will come back straight here, and if I go somewhere else, I will call you before doing so,” Alexa said as she brought out her own [Cell phone] and saved the number again. Right, she had it saved beforehand thanks to the [Elder]. “What are [Friends]?”

 

Alexa asked after [Eleanore] didn’t brought any new rule.

 

“...that…” [Eleanore]’s lip trembled a little and she saw the beginning of some liquid forming in her eyes, [Tears] had they been called? “They are other people of your same age with who you can have fun and play around.”

 

“Like [Skye] and [Golem]?” Alexa asked back, they had been played around right? At least Alexa had some fun with them before.

 

“....something like that yeah, but Skye and Eduardo are more like friends to your…older form. To this form you are more like a little sister.” [Eleanore] answered with a wry smile, “You need friends of your age.”

 

“So I need friends in the [5-year-olds] range, and then I will need to find [Friends] in the [12-year-olds].” Alexa asked, as that seemed like…too much trouble.

 

“For now we will focus with the five-year-olds first. That is the easiest one to deal with, we will also need to confirm how much it affects your development.” [Eleanore] said while grabbing Alexa’s hand and pulling her towards the door. “But that is enough for now, we need to move on, lest we arrive late. I called in some favors so you will be going to a friend’s classroom.”

 

A friend?

 

“So I will meet one of your [5-Year-Olds] friends?” Alexa asked. She wondered how that would be, and in what kind of setup would one meet another [5-year-olds] as an [Adult]?

 

“....no. My friend is around my age.” [Eleanore] laughed silently, “ Good joke though, keep that up.”

 

Joke?

 

“[A way to refer to an expression that searches to make fun or create a better environment to increase the chance of socialization.]”

 

Did Alexa make a joke?

 

“Most of the time your friends are around your age group, at least while growing up they tend to be your age. Once you start working you can make friendships with people older and younger. But that is because you share an interest or work environment.” [Eleanore] said as they left Alexa’s apartment.

 

Alexa had equipped her [Backpack] and placed the envelopes with [Money] in pockets hidden within her [Uniform]. Those pockets hadn’t been there; she made them, of course.

 

“So [Skye] and [Golem] can be Alexa’s friends since we work together?” Alexa asked at [Eleanore] while looking at the older woman.

 

“I guess? I still think you need friends your age, but if they want to be your friends and they respect boundaries, they can be your friends.” [Eleanore] answered, “To be honest, I don’t think you should make friends with other Minions, some are good people. But we are a Villain Organization, some of those working with us are…dangerous to society.”

 

[Eleanore] seemed angry at that fact, but was that weird?

 

Main Core?

 

“[Villain: Someone who acts for self interest and cares not for other members of society.]”

 

“[Minion: Accessory of a Villain, they act as their hands and move to follow the orders of the Villain they work for. Usually they are weaker than a Core User, but even so they are to be taken as a hostile element in any crime.]”

 

“[Crime: The act of breaking the law to fulfill a wish that is usually against the common order of society.]”

 

Main Core threw a few definitions about those, and sure enough, she saw nothing wrong with that. She kind of understood why [Eleanore] didn’t want her to socialize with [Minions]; they were hostile.

 

“It’s okay, Alexa can defend herself!” Alexa answered once more, hitting her chest, she wasn’t sure why that felt right. But she kinda felt cute while doing so, and since Alexa was the cutestest then it was fair to do.

 

“Alexa? You can’t leave the building in that form, you need to-” [Fan Girl] started saying as she was opening her door while yawning. “oh…OH!”

 

“Good morning Skye.” [Eleanore] said waving at [Fan Girl].

 

“Good morning fan girl!” Alexa also waved to [Fan Girl].

 

“...Morning Eleanore, small Alexa.” [Fan Girl] waved back at them. “What…are you doing so early in the morning?”

 

“I’m going to [School] to make friends!” Alexa said happily, she also did her best smile with her new shining white teeth!

 

“Yes, Alexa is starting at the school of a friend. So we are going to her first day of school.” [Eleanore] also added to the answer.

 

“....Alexa is going to school?” [Fan Girl] asked confused, “Is that safe?”

 

Was it safe?

 

Of course!

 

Nothing could hurt her! And if something hurt her, she only needed to use her banked biomass to power through it until she managed to take a [Blueprint] and acquire that power for herself!

 

“Of course I will be safe!” Alexa said hitting for a fourth time her chest…it started to hurt a little, perhaps she would need to increase her chest density, like her [Young Woman] stage…but she felt that it would look weird.

 

“...I saw you survive Chrysalis, if a simple school managed to hurt you I would run to another City.” [Fan Girl] deadpanned at her while saying such a thing, this blind faith felt right! “Eleanore? Will it be safe for the other kids?”

 

What?

 

Why did it matter? She had seen what other [Child Stage Humans] did, they played around with other P-series subjects! They were [Monsters]!

 

“It should be fine. I will tell my friend about Alexa being a Core User so she takes extra care of her.” [Eleanore] said, turning to [Fan Girl]. "Also, we need to get Alexa to socialize more. If she only spends time with Minions and villains, her view on society will get skewed. Imagine how she would grow up if she only knew our work environment all her life.”

 

Alexa saw no problem in that!

 

This work environment was fun!

 

“...Fineeeee, point taken, give me…like five? Ten-ish minutes? I will get ready. I can spend this afternoon as a babysitter for her.” [Fan Girl] said, sighing.

 

What was a babysitter?

 

“[Babysitter, someone whose job is to look after human childs, be it to make sure they are unhurt or to make sure they fulfill their alloted work.]”

 

…Jealousy.

 

The [Humans] had other [Humans] look after their [Child Stage] members? That was unfair, she didn’t have anyone look after her while growing up as a [BioWeapon]! Granted, she was a most glorious [CRAB] so she didn’t need help. But still!

 

“...thank you. I was wondering how I was going to convince some Minion to do this.” [Eleanore] lowered her head to [Fan Girl] as she spoke, “I will send you the address. You can come in the next hour or so. I will stay around to finish paperwork, and then we will tour the school to teach Alexa all she will need to know.”

 

Alexa wasn’t sure what the deal was with all of that, she was responsible! At least two-thirds of her were responsible! At the bare minimum one-third of her was! When it wasn’t drinking [Beer] at least!

 

Oh god, was some part of her responsible?

 

“[Yes.]”

 

See! Main Core knew that some part of her was responsible!

 

“Okay, give me a call when you leave and I will rush there. Just give the school a heads-up? And my number I guess? I don’t know how them school for kiddos works from the adult side of things.” [Fan Girl] said to [Eleanore], then turning to Alexa she smiled and said, “Have fun at school Alexa, and remember. The other kids there are civilians. We don’t fight using our Powers with Civilians.”

 

The rest of the walk out of the apartment floor was uneventful, not many [Minions] took notice of Alexa, well. Plenty took notice of her and gave her [Headpats] and [Candy], but none seemed to relate her to Rhapsody. Alexa wasn’t sure if she should be happy or not about that, but since she was getting either [Candy] or [Headpats], for now she decided that [Happy] was the way to go.

 

The same could be said about the reception and finally the street level at the outside of the building, Alexa was almost sure that it hadn’t looked like this when she had seen it as her [Young Adult] stage. Somehow, the building and street seemed more…[Brilliant].

 

“[Notice, host seems to be experiencing a higher level of dopamine rush in the bloodstream. The current body seems to be more easily excitable. Caution is advised.]”

 

“Now, usually I would either call a cab, a teleporter (If it was job-related), or drive. But you will not have access to any of those things. And unless you were an animal shifter going fast is not an option. So we will walk.” [Eleanore] said extending her hand towards Alexa.

 

Alexa took the offered hand and started walking beside [Eleanore].

 

“Okay, there are some extra rules you need to be aware of while walking outside. Do you know any of them?” [Eleanore] asked her.

 

“Main Core! Rules! Give me the rules for walking on the street!” Alexa commanded inwardly in a rush, no one had told her this was going to be a [Test]!

 

“[...inconclusive data. No rules have been stated with those parameters, and a quick superficial search indicates no set rules for society or social activities in an urban environment. There are, however, some addendums to the provisional law for Core Users previously used by Unit Designation: Frank the beetle.]”

 

“Give them to meeee!” Alexa commended, so when the data was on her [Consciousness Stream] she answered “We can’t use our [Core Powers] in urban setting unless we have a [Licence], using them in public can incur in up to $200 Axoltl - Dollar Fine!”

 

[Eleanore] seemed astounded by her quick and efficient answer, “...Yes, that is part of the Provisional Law for Core users, but not what I meant. And you will get…probably two or three IDs that will allow you to use your Core Powers later. Not that you should use them, but they are for emergencies.”

 

That was wrong?

 

What? Main Core! You failed me!

 

“No, what I meant is easier, so take notice Alexa.” [Eleanore] said and stopped at the side of a [Street], Alexa could see one of those square-long mechanical objects that the [Humans] liked to use so often, namely, a [Car]. One of the subsets of the mighty [Van] that her [Young Adult] form had used before, and one that Alexa totally didn’t want to use. She wasn’t jealous of that travel, no sir. Totally. “What do you do when you want to go to the other side of a street?”

 

[Eleanore] asked as they stood there, at the other side of the [Street] Alexa could see a pole with two lights, currently it was turned on the red one.

 

“I jump over it? If that isn’t possible, I dodge the [Vehicles] while moving at high speed? And if that isn’t an option either I [Destroy] the obstacles?” Alexa answered with as many easy options as possible. If she had enough [Biomass] then she could probably summon her [CRAB] form. However, she was still missing some of the more [Exotic] materials for the [Blueprint].

 

She was missing most of the insides of the [Blueprint]. Moreover, when she left the [Den], she had lost some parts of her [Database], namely, the parts that included the complex component for the make of the [CRAB].

 

It hadn’t been a problem while at that [Den] since some of the parts that made that possible had been provided to her, so she hadn’t needed to know how to make them, and since they provided new parts as needed Alexa had never needed to make them herself. A vicious trap set up by the [Humans]!

 

“...No, you wait for the pedestrian traffic light to turn green.” [Eleanore] said pointing at the pole at the other side, when it turned [Green] [Eleanore] pointed at the cars. “See? They stopped, if there isn’t one of them, then you turn to the traffic light over there…”

 

[Eleanore] pointed to one of the poles at the corners of the street, and sure enough up there was a similar system of lights, three bulbs of different colors: Red, Yellow, and Green.

 

“Green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop. You must look in both directions before crossing, but if you see a car coming don’t cross the street even if they have red light. Some assholes like to run the red lights too.” [Eleanore] said as they walked across the street. “Also only cross streets if you have a traffic light.”

 

“I see.” Alexa said as she filed all this new information, so many rules! “But do these apply while my older bully self is working? She crossed so many streets without looking both sides.”

 

That, made [Eleanore] stop and sigh, “If you have your mask on you can ignore most of those rules, just…try to not get hit by a car, okay?” And said as much.

 

[Humans] were so weird, why make so many rules only to ignore them when putting a [Mask]?

 

Wouldn’t it be better to live while using a [Mask] all day long?

 

Alexa was confused.