March 13th, 2042
Present

She could feel the bright lights on her sweaty skin, the touch of gloved hands slipping her wrists into straps, forcing the top of her palms down hard on the cool, hard metal. She heard a hum of voices above her, one deep, another higher, one too fuzzy to distinguish. Rolling her head to the side, her curly auburn locks falling onto her face, she concentrated on loosening the strap on her right hand. 'Too tight, too tight, too tight!' she kept thinking over and over, as she began to buck her torso upwards, opening her mouth to scream, but with nothing coming out. She didn't have time to think why her voice wasn't working as two large, gloved hands grabbed either side of her face and pulled it back to the left a bit, then swiped her hair out of the way, placing a gas mask on her mouth.

"She needs to calm down; her pulse is quickening."

"Don't worry, the low dosage of anesthetic will do just that."

'You...' She thought, trying to fight the gas, fighting to see past the fog in her eyes. She was on the verge of sleep now. A dream was already emerging, but everyone was faceless. That's where she was now, right? Was it a dream, or reality? In a last burst of panic, the girl gripped the rim of the table with a force brought upon by fear, and squeezed, hoping the pain would keep her awake. There was blood on her fingers now, she could feel it. They were burning and stinging like after you put a cut in saltwater. All of a sudden she felt someone grab her hands from the rims and start wiping off the blood with a damp cloth of some sort.

"Now, Charlotte dear, try to be calm. Don't hurt yourself."

Charlotte's eyes widened at the sound of his voice, and then closed as the gas took it's affect. Leopold grinned down at her and flicked another curl off her forehead. "You shall be beautiful, I promise." He gazed down at her a moment more, enjoying the feeling of the moment, the feeling of something eerie, something strange.

"Sir?" A apprentice to his right looked at him expectedly and said, "Shall we continue with the beginning of the operation now?" Leopold thought about the seductive offering, felt a chill go down his spin, but finally decided to go with another plan. "No. Right now we will take yet more information, there can't be any mistakes. None." He turned around and picked up a syringe from a sanitary try behind him and handed it to his second assistant. “Take another blood sample, then shut off the anesthetic and measure her blood pressure.” Leopold E. Siegfied felt the excitement pulse through his body at the revelation of what was happening. His dream, dammit it! His dream! But, no, he could not afford to lose Char now. He couldn't just go ahead with the operation, not after what just happened. And the state that she was in would push up the fatality percent more than he would like. She was one of the very first that he had found that was good enough for this experiment. Not just good, more than that, almost perfect. So, no, not today. Besides, the government did say no more deaths, did they not? Not like he really cared about what they said. 'Ah, but, either way, this one will not be a death.' Leopold thought, looking at Charlotte's pale face.

"No, no, no! Not that, dammit! You and I both know that will never do, Rends!" Leopold repeatably banged the palm of his hand on the armrest of his chair, glaring at the older man sitting in front of him. All around him there was seated different members of the EN Laws Science Academy, the elite of the science in todays world. Although all people call him mad, Leopold was able to detect a tense atmosphere when in one, despite his normally aloof behavior. He glanced to his right at Sebastian Hannen, one of the few scientists in the room whom he considered a real threat. Truthfully, Siegfied found himself admiring the man for his ingeniousness. "'One of the only men that keeps me on my toes.'" would be his description of him. Leather creaked as a man with jet black hair and dangerous, brown eyes leaned backwards, a smirk on his face. 'As outspoken as ever.' The man thought, as he watched Leopold.

"What would you like me to do instead, Leo? You know the government would never permit you all to such things.."

"Ah, but that is why you are our inside man!" Leopold opened a small box to his left on the table, produced a cigar, light it, and then breathed in heavily. Leaning back into his recliner, the younger of the two puffed out his smoke into midair, sighing heavily as he did so. Rends watched him, knowing all too well that the scientist was planning something. Leo snatched the cigar out of his mouth, held it in between his thumb and middle finger as her leaned over the desk with a gleam in his eyes. "Why not just keep everything from the government?" He suggested to all the scientists around the table. The dark haired man across from Siegfied smiled now at his fellow scientist and reached across the table to retrieve a cigar himself, snatching Leopold's lighter as well.

"Indeed, why not." He smirked a second time as he lit the cigar and stuck it between his teeth, tossing the lighter back to Siegfied, who caught it without looking. "Let's not tell the bloody stuffed pigs about our plans. I vote yes."

"Of course you would be willing as long as it throughly pisses off the government, Mr. Fauss." Hannen commented, taping a finger on his cheek as he readjusted his elbow on the table edge. There was a moment of tension between the two men, Eadwine Jack Fauss and Sebastian Hannen, once partners, now enemies due to an event that no one really knew much about but that it was possible that Eadwine was the cause of Sebastian having lost his right eye and a jagged scar which traveled from the base of his neck upwards, to the bottom of his right ear. A glass tined as Rends helped himself to some more Burly, all the while eying the two men and all the other scientists seated lower and higher at the table. The inside man to the government for the EN Laws Science Academy decided right then that Mr. Siegfied had painted the walls of such a lush room that deep shade of red. 'No one would really be able to notice if there were blood splatters...' He man thought with a sense of dark humor, smiling into his glass. There were no doubt about it that there were occasional fights and brawls among the men and various women in the E.N.L.S.A. Finally, the moment passed, and Eadwine smirked for about a fifth time that night and said, "Well of course, Sebby, that is what makes it all fun. Is that not what we're all here for? Come on! Who votes yes?"

Romona Leicesterson, a woman with bright, emerald eyes and wheat blond hair trimmed A-line style, swung her legs up onto the old, mahogany table. "Well it's about fucking time! Come on, men! Why are the women of this group always ahead of you?"

"Maybe because you sit on your asses all day long thinking nonsense as we men do the real work?" Romona smiled coldly at Mr. Fauss and said, with false charm, "Oh, of course we couldn't all work as much as you do, dear Eadwine." A second woman, brunette with cold, gray eyes, yawned and mumbled something about all men being conceited ingrates for all the work that the three women of the group truly did. Leopold tapped his fingernails on the old wood grain in a impatient sort of manner as he snuffed out his cigar by dropping it into a half full cup of Brandy, not caring much for the drink in the crystal glass to begin with. He preferred a true wine; sweet, elegant, and not just a bland "burnt wine". Honestly, the first word that came to his mind to compare it to was vomit, sadly.

"So, not that I don't want to have a nice little, bitchy chat via scientist to scientist, but do we all agree on being all lip tight against the government from now on?"

"Aye, aye, sir.” Eadwine said sarcastically. Lana (the brunette woman) nodded while Romona simply said "yes" (while trying to fit her hand under her tight left boot to scratch her knee).

"Agreed." Mumbled Sebastian.

The other two scientists, Lulu Laura Darken and Jackson E. Alfred, stated their agreements as well. "I think I might agree, but not that it really matters what I think..." Rends grumbled, not really caring anyway as he poured himself a fourth glass of Brandy for that night.

"Good!" Mr. Siefied clapped his hands together once and then smiled a bit, turning towards Rends. "And, as I assume you still know, our challenge, of which will span ten years, is still up, the prize being world's best scientist?" Rends nodded. "Yeah, yeah, but I haven't told them that, of course. Good lord, Leo! How thick skulled do you believe I am!?" Leopold E. Siegfied grinned and rested his chin on the top of his hand, studying Rends. "Sometimes I wonder." He whispered, sending a slight chill down the man's spine. Rends used to get those chills often, he had thought that he was used to coming here. After all, he would be getting a great deal of money, plus also an alliance with the world's top scientists would be a offer not many men could pass up. Rends tilted his glass and let it saucer around before stopping it in it's tracks. "Your humor never fails to leave one unhumored, Mr. Siegfied." The old man said, trying to cause an air of familiarness, get ride of the foreboding atmosphere. Lord knows what would happen to him if they thought he was a betraying hem, as well as the government.

"Well," Leo said, scratching his chin and stretching slightly, "I'll be seeing you all next time, yes." Everyone got up and headed for the door, not bothering to shake hands, they've known each other too long to care. All that was exchanged were a few, unenthusiastic Bye's and Until next time's.

"Rends." Leopold said, bobbing his head slightly and then leaving through a doorway behind him, trusting him to see himself out, as usual. The old man was left in the room by himself, which, oddly enough, felt even more dangerous with all the scientists gone. The thing that scared Rends the most, though, was the fact the Leopold meant for all his so called humor to be humor less. "Oh, bloody hell, why did I ever drink so much today?"

Pepper dropped Charlotte's files back into Leopold's Classified bin. Pushing the clear, white bin back into the wall, she turned to a twenty inch mirror on the far left wall. "Ezekiel, lock file bin number 0220 please." The mirror focused in and revealed itself to be a TV of sorts as a man in his early twenties appeared on screen. "File bin number 0220 has been locked and its contents monitored for any sudden foreign danger, Miss Pepper."

"Thank you, Ezekiel." The digitally modified man nodded it's welcome. Normally Ezekiel transmitted his image to have short black hair and blue eyes, but today the computer donned a blond head and emerald eyes, much like those of Ramona. Pepper noticed this and smiled and said, "Has that bitch Romona been using you again?"

"The proper meaning for the word 'Bitch' would be a female dog, and seeing as Miss Ramona is clearly not a canine, I shall assume you are referring to her as being lewd, selfish, malicious and unpleasant, Miss Pepper."

The twenty-one year old woman almost laughed out loud at the computers comment. This is why she found it far more pleasant to talk to computers than actual human beings; software never scolded you and struck out at you. It couldn't even reach past it's barrier to harm someone, it was in it's codes, deep down inside it. Of course, Pepper had a hard time conversing with people outside of the compound, but who cared, anyway? She was there to learn from Mr. Siegfied and become a great scientist, working to make the world a greater place. 'Of course, doing so by my own rules.' Pepper smiled to herself as she flicked a lock of silver hair off her shoulder. She recalled the first day that Leopold had entrusted her with his Classified files. He had been sitting on his desk in this very office, a sly smirk on his face as he handed her some files and informed her to place them in the Classified bins. All four of the apprentice's that worked under the elite scientist knew that he trusted no one with those documents.

"As you may very well know, Pepper, these files are really special to me. You are the very first person whom I have ever dared to trust in sharing them with." He had said all this to a breathless Pepper who was clutching the documents to her chest, taking in every single word of praise from her teacher that she could. It was rare to even see emotion in the man's eyes, least of all words of encouragement. But what he said next was a moment of awe for the then seventeen year old: "I have seen in you what is radiating in me, young Pepper,"-here he gave a small smile of warmth-"and I'd like to trust you as one of my most closest pupils in this building." Ever since then, she was his favorite. After all, she saw the brilliance in his plans, while others were skeptical. That was why he openly talked to her and her alone about information on his "Ophelia #1" project, the Golden of them all.

Leopold entered his office right then and sat down at his desk, the ever look of being absent present on his face. The young apprentice knew not to disturb him, so she busied herself with organizing the latest data submitted from Ezekiel and then proceeding to transfer said data to fourteen by ten inch screens, thinner than a quarter inch in width, made entirely of a flexible glass frame invented by Mr. Siegfied himself. What appeared on the smaller screens were numbers on information of Charlotte's latest test, showing the condition of all her body parts, bones, organs, brain, and especially her cells. Pepper knew that her cells had to be of a type that would act positively to the false ones generated in the labs. There was not such a thing as any human having cells that would work perfectly with that of a false origin cell, considering that one is truly living and the other hand made, but Leopold had made a big discovery six years ago. Charlotte, a young, female orphan on the streets of a down on it's luck town in southernmost Florida. Siegfied took her in, cared for her, but of course Charlotte never had a normal life there. Constantly Leopold was running tests on her, and he was never more overprotective over some one in his life. She had her own bodyguards, and was only allowed out at certain times of day or night. Her diet was planned out for each day, and she was expected to exercise regularly for at least three or four hours daily, weather it be in martial arts or swimming, but yes, swimming – the scientist always told her to do that sport most. He even hired her own personal trainer so that by the age of sixteen so was a fit enough swimmer to do thirty some laps without tiring and could swim as fast as Olympians.

When Leonardo first found her, she had lost her memory somehow, not knowing where she was from or who she was. All that Ezekiel was able to gather from an example of her blood and fingerprints was that she was listed in the system to an orphanage for teens some miles away from where she was roaming. So, she had learned to accept the life she had at the lab, no matter how many bizarre tests they had her do or how healthy she was expected to be. She had nowhere else to go but a crowded, old orphanage.

Now she was twenty, and she had somehow learned something from Ezekiel, either by trickery or hacking, no one at the lab knew, but she had gained knowledge to a piece of information that had caused her to run away. Siegfied very nearly went berserk when he heard this, but he proved to be one step ahead of her. The tattoo on her neck was partially used as a cover up for the small, nearly microscopic device right under the layer of her skin. This device was connected directly to Ezekiel, letting the scientist's computer know where Charlotte was at all times. Sending out all her bodyguards and his assistants to retrieve his greatest prize, Leopold had her brought to his lab rooms immediately. It was originally planned to have the first stage of the operation done on her twentieth birthday, but his plans had changed once she learned classified information from his computer. "What the hell did Ezekiel tell her?!" The scientist had wondered out loud to himself. From the rush of the act of running away and the shock what she heard, Charlotte's body was no longer top shape for an operation today, and they couldn't continue if she wasn't anything but if they wanted the outcome to be great and her recovery one hundred percent. 'Better to wait a day or two, figure out what she heard and try to convince her otherwise.'

Leopold was still deep in his thoughts when he noticed Pepper, standing in front of the data transmitter with a look of confusion on her face as she peered closer at the glass frames. "What is it, Pepper?"

"I believe a little lab rat has gotten into our files again, sir." Leopold glared into the distance as he thought about who could possibly be getting into his system. For one thing, it was very nearly impossible, he had built Ezekiel himself and the computer was immune to any outside attacks. 'Unless...' The scientist frowned as a disturbing thought came to him. It had to be someone within the EN Laws Science Academy, they were the only other people on earth who knew how Ezekiel operated. Before all seven of them had become more better know and successful, half of them constructed the computer and all seven had used it. Some (like Romona) still borrowed him by sending for Ezekiel to come to their laboratory screens, but that wouldn't allow for them to view Leopold's documents, only to use his service.

Siegfied was now the only true owner of the computer due to the fact that it was his idea to construct it from the start, but never in his days did he imagine one of his past colleagues would hack into his system.

"Tell Ezekiel to scan for any unnoticed or hidden disturbances of the past two days." He informed Pepper, and then left the room to check on Charlotte. To his surprise, she was awake, looking at him with a blank, cold expression. She was now in her own room, but her wrists were strapped to her bedposts as well as a larger strap across her waist. A white cotton mask was over her mouth, the strap wrapped around the very top of her neck.

Leopold was surprised at the coldness in her eyes, something of which he had never seen before. The scientist had the obvious feeling that Ezekiel told her something far more dangerous than he had imagined. If he could, he would ask the computer itself, but she had somehow locked him from telling. 'No use waiting now, only one way to find out at this point.'

The scientist sat on the right side of the bed, reached over, and removed Charlotte's mask.