"Gemini"

Cain Laboratories, Domestic Quad, Inner City;

On-site Home of Dr. Raymond Cohen

2:49 a.m. -- 3 hours, 9 minutes after inception...

Two slim teenagers of similar appearance, one male and one female, quietly opened the sliding glass door of Dr. Raymond Cohen's private residence within the Cain Laboratories domed complex. It was a small house amidst the artificial countryside. Just beyond it, away from the fields of synthetic grass and metamorphic trees was Cain Labs itself, but it was night and the usual activity of the place was at a standstill.

One of the teens, the male, too careless about his surroundings, tripped as the two of them entered into the darkened house.

"Jacob, shut up! Do you wanna wake up the Doc?" the female whispered harshly.

"Don't sweat it, Jan, he's out cold," the male, Jacob, replied confidently, "He never stays up this late."

"I don't care. If he finds out that we snuck out again, he'll --"

The female, Janis, was cut short by a flick of a switch and the lights of the kitchen turning on. Standing before them was Dr. Cohen, wearing his robe, a cup of water in his hand, and a look on his face that suggested he was not surprised to see them at all. In fact, he almost seemed amused.

"Hi there, kids," he said and yawned.

"Uh, Doc...hey...what're you doin' up?" Jacob asked, then beamed, trying to look innocent.

Cohen smirked tiredly. "Watching you two sneak back into the complex. You took my car, too, I see."

"Listen, Doc, we were just gone for a little while," Janis tried to explain. "We -- "

"Come on, you two," Cohen chuckled. "I was a teenager once. I know what goes on."

Jacob tousled his blonde curly locks, searching for an excuse. "Doc, we're sorry," he said, "We just can't help it. Bein' cooped up here all the time is drivin' us crazy...you know?"

"I know, I know," Cohen sighed. "But it's for your own protection. You're both very important -- "

" -- Aw, Doc, you're embarrassin' us," Janis joked.

"No, really, you are. And we can't afford to have you two wind up injured or dead somewhere in the Outer City," Cohen said, wagging his finger.

"Doc, it's not that bad out there," Janis said, rolling her eyes.

Cohen chuckled again and took a sip of water. "It would be if you ever went out of Sector 1. That place is the safest part of the city, next to the Inner Circle. But everywhere else, it's a mess. Drugs, gang wars, terrorist groups -- don't even get me started on what goes on in the Labeled District!"

"But all we do is go clubbin', see some people we know outside, that kind of stuff," Jacob argued. "We don't do anything that bad." He paused a moment and his eyes brightened. "Besides," he added, "we're supposed to be designed for experience, right? Well how much experience can we get behind a glass dome, huh?" He looked to Janis, who nodded in agreement.

Dr. Cohen gave them a frustrated stare. "Look, I understand. But, really, you've been out four times now -- that I know of! If anyone upstairs found out you've been out even once..." He trailed off, rubbed his neck, lost in thought. "...well, I don't know what the consequences might be. They might decide you've been contaminated and shut down the whole project!"

Janis gave him a quizzical look. "Contaminated? We're just as healthy as we've ever been."

It was Cohen's turn to roll his eyes. "Not your bodies, your minds. You know, deviated thoughts. Rebellion, recklessness, sex, violence, drugs."

Jacob laughed. "Doc, we're teenagers."

"I just don't want to see anything happen to you two, okay? Besides..." Cohen said, moving to the fridge, peeking inside for a midnight snack. "...The experiment's almost over. You're going to be eighteen in two weeks. Then, well...I guess you'll be free to do what you want." He closed the fridge, finding nothing.

"Yeah, what is gonna happen to us after our birthday, Doc?" Janis asked.

"They just gonna stop studyin' us or what?" Jacob added.

"Well, I imagine they'll study you all your life," Cohen said. "But once you're adults, they'll probably let you live on your own, periodically checking in on you, updating their information. Something like that, I don't know." He moved back to them, looking very drowsy. "But, my point is, you've got two more weeks before you're free to do whatever. So please, please just follow the rules until then. Okay?"

Janis gave him a reassuring smile. "Sure thing, Doc. We'll do what we're told. We wouldn't want to get you in trouble with anyone."

Cohen smiled. "Thanks, kids. Now, how about you go and get some sleep, huh?" He flipped the switch and the kitchen was dark once more. He made his way for the stairs, up to his bedroom.

"'Night, Doc," Jacob and Janis said simultaneously. They watched him go up the stairway, waving them goodnight, but Jacob noticed something through the glass of the front door of the house.

"Uh, hey, Doc, guess who's at the door."

Cohen stopped and looked to Jacob. "What? At this hour? Who is it?"

Jacob pointed to the door. "It's the suit."

"Who?"

Janis nodded. "You know, that Preston dick."

Cohen stared at them, then at the front door where the form of Lance Preston, personal lackey and right-hand man to Mr. Cain, the laboratory sponsor, knocked exasperatedly on the door.

"Oh...shit," he muttered under his breath. "Alright, I'm coming. Get out of sight, you two."

Jacob and Janis hid in the kitchen while Dr. Cohen came back down the stairs to the front door and opened it.

"Hello, Lance," he greeted the man on the other side of the door. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here about those damn twins of yours, Ray," Preston said coldly.

"Oh, uh...they're asleep," Cohen lied.

"Don't give me that shit. We know."

Cohen forced a laugh. "Know? You know something? Know what?"

"About their little adventure off the premises? Are you going to let me in, Ray, or am I going to have to get a couple Creepers out here?"

No, no. Come in," Cohen sighed. He turned toward the kitchen. "Jacob, Janis! You can come out...he knows..."

"Hey, if it isn't the sponsor monkey again. How's it going?" Jacob asked as he walked out, looking smug. Janis followed behind him, just as obviously disgusted by Preston.

"Cut the shit, kid," Preston said, glaring at both of them. "What're you two doing in the Outer City?"

Jacob smirked. "Nothin', we just felt like a night on the town is all."

"A night on the town, huh? Well, isn't that adorable?" Preston asked sarcastically. "You're not supposed to be out of the complex."

"So what's the harm if we go out once or twice?" Janis asked.

Preston laughed knowingly. "Try sixteen times. You've been doing this monthly for the past year and a half."

Janis tried not to look shocked. "How did you know?"

"When we found out tonight, we did a little research. Turns out that Scanner's club you two like so much is regularly recorded."

"Fuck," Jacob muttered. "Who snitched? It was Zoa, wasn't it? That bastard..."

"You three are in big trouble," Preston said.

"'Three'?" Janis asked.

"Yeah, you two and your beloved doctor here," Preston said, gesturing to Cohen behind him.

"What? No. He had noth -- " Jacob started.

"Yeah, he didn't know," Janis said on top of him.

"His ignorance is a moot point. He was prescribed to be your guardian, to watch over you -- to keep you here -- and he failed. Someone has to be held accountable," Preston said matter-of-factly.

"Then blame us! Dr. Cohen's innocent!" Janis protested.

"You're just kids. You don't know what you're doing," Preston said, writing them off.

"If you do anything to the Doc, I'll -- "

"You'll what?" Lance asked, angry but amused. "Bat your eyelashes at me? Please, kid, you may think you're big and bad, but I can have you on your knees like that."

"You wanna give it a shot, then, monkeyboy?"

Lance laughed hard. "You have no idea how little control you really have."

"What the hell is he talking about? Doc?" Janis looked to Cohen for help. He offered none.

"Now," Preston said, getting sick of the conversation, "go pack your shit. You're leaving."

"What?" Jacob asked, bewildered. "Doc, don't tell me you're gonna let this asshole take us out of here?"

"The project's being disassembled prematurely. You don't have a choice."

"Just...just do what he says, you two," Cohen said, defeated. "We...we have to...our lives don't belong to us."

Preston smiled briefly. "Smart man. That's why he's a doctor and you're just some punk kids."

"Fuck you!" Jacob spat.

Preston grabbed at Jacob's shirt collar. "Listen, you little shit, you'll do what I say unless you want to end up in a tank."

Jacob jerked free of Preston's hold and he and Janis marched upstairs defiantly to get their things. Preston adjusted his hair and his tie, feeling disheveled, and turned to Dr. Cohen.

"What're you doing, Preston?" Cohen asked.

"We're taking the kids."

"But you can't. The experiment's not over."

"No one gives a shit anymore," Preston said.

"No, this isn't how it was supposed to go. The Gemini Experiment was meant to be approximately a twenty-one year study on masculine and feminine identities shared by a single mind duplicated for each gender. Twenty-one years."

"It doesn't matter. They're close enough. Cain's becoming impatient, he wants quicker results. So, we're cutting the project short. Their expiration date is up," Preston explained, almost apathetically.

"Wait...what are you talking about?" Cohen eyed the man.

"They're to be dissected, Cohen. What did you think would happen to them?"

"You sick son of a bitch..."

Upstairs, Jacob and Janis stepped outside their separate rooms (not that they often used both of them, they were too close), knapsacks in hand, and stared at each other for a long moment.

"I can't believe it's gonna end like this," Janis said.

"This is fucked up, Jan. I feel awful," Jacob replied.

"I wonder what's gonna happen to the Doc..."

"We can't just leave him like this. Who knows what they'll do to him?"

They looked at each other a moment longer, silent, feeling beaten and powerless, and finally made their way downstairs.

Before they had even reached the bottom floor, they heard it. In the kitchen, they could hear the sounds of Dr. Cohen and Preston fighting, punching, wrestling.

"You fuckin' stupid bastard, do you know who you're dealing with?" Preston was yelling.

"I'll kill you before I let you take them!" Cohen yelled back.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked his sister. They moved into the hallway and saw Preston strangling Cohen, who thrashed violently on the ground.

"Hey!" Jacob yelled, catching the two mens' attention. He ran for Preston and rushed into him, slamming him into the kitchen counter. He held his arm to punch Preston in the face.

"Jake, don't!" Janis called out, but he ignored her and began pummeling the man.

He searched the countertop for the knifeblock and pulled one out, holding it over Preston, who was visibly afraid. In his defense, the man kneed Jacob in the stomach. Jacob fell to the floor.

"You little brat!" Preston shouted at him as he laid doubled over on the kitchen tile. There was a wild gleam in the man's eyes. "You'll regret that..." He pulled out a small communication device and spat into it. "Alright, men. Proceed."

"What?" Janis asked no one.

"He's got back-up!" Cohen said, raising himself off of the floor.

Preston, lost in some sort of rageful dementia, picked up the knife that had fallen from Jacob's grip and held it over the young man.

"Maybe I'll cut you up myself," he mused. "Save the coroners a little trouble..."

"No!" Cohen cried out and ran towards Preston. The two of them struggled with the knife, grabbing at each others' throats, before Cohen finally got ahold of the blade and stabbed it deep into Preston's chest.

"Doc!" Janis cried out, horrified. Taking advantage of the turn of events, she knelt beside her brother and helped him up.

"Jake, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, coughed, "yeah..."

"Oh my god, Jake, what's happening?"

Cohen turned to them, knife still in hand, and Preston's body fell to the floor behind him. From outside the house, the three of them began to hear the heavy thuds of Pale Creepers approaching.

"We've got to get out of here," Cohen told them. "Hurry, follow me!"

He grabbed Janis's hand, who held Jacob's and the three of them ran out of the sliding glass door and towards the garage nearby. Already they could hear the Pale Creepers beating on the door.

Dr. Cohen pressed a button on the outside of the garage and its door began to slowly rise.

"Come on, come on..."

When it was most of the way up, he ran in, the twins following behind him. He opened the door to his car, a flashy red thing he had bought during the time the twins referred to as his "no-life crisis", and the twins got in the back.

"Activate," he said aloud and the car turned on, waiting.

"Password 'Castor'."

The car roared to life and, without a moment's pause, Cohen grabbed the wheel and hit the gas. The car charged out of the garage and drove around the house, where the three of them could see several Creeper trucks lined up in front of the house. There were two Pale Creepers at the front door, standing guard no doubt, who saw the car and ran inside to report to their fellows.

"Shit, did the send a whole squad?" Jacob asked no one.

Cohen drove faster, heading toward the dome complex's entrance.

"Doc, what's going on?" Janis asked.

"You said they'd let us go!" Jacob added.

"Believe me, I didn't know," Cohen said, looking quickly into the mirror back at them.

They came to the entrance, the transparent dome wall rising high above them. But before them, there was a gap, an entrance/exit regularly used by the laboratory staff that didn't live on-site.

"Hurry up and get out of the car," Cohen told the twins. They obeyed.

The three of them stood before the entrance, looking at each other with worried expressions.

"I won't let anything happen to you, not as long as I'm able to do something about it. You kids are like children to me," Cohen told the two of them.

"Oh, Doc..." Janis muttered, tears beginning to run down her face.

"Come on, back out the way you came, it's not safe here. Go! Before they find you."

"Where do we go?" Jacob asked, holding his sister.

"Get out of the Inner City. Find someone you know outside and lay low. But you can't stay anywhere long, they'll be looking for you. Don't trust anyone to keep your secret." Cohen moved quickly to his car and looked for something. He found it and came back out, handing Jacob a card. "Here," he said. "Find this woman. She'll be able to help you."

Jacob looked down at the card. "'Lillian Tracer'?"

"Yes, she's a friend of mine on the Council. Go to that address in the Outer City. If she's not there, call that second number, that's her Inner City line." He paused a moment, looking at the twins with melancholy. "Be careful."

Janis turned from her brother's hold. "But...what about you?"

"Just go!" Cohen insisted. "There's no time." There was the sound of the Creeper trucks being started in the distance.

"I'm so sorry..." Janis said and hugged Dr. Cohen.

"It's alright...better this than to have handed you over to them."

Janis let go and latched back on to her brother. They made their way toward the entrance/exit before Jacob looked back at Cohen.

"Don't worry, Doc. We'll find you."

They ran through the gap in the dome and Cohen turned and walked down the road towards the nearing Pale Creeper trucks to be arrested.