Chapter 2
Left. Right. Left. Right.
The rhythm of the stairs calms his heartbeat. Each flight brings a little more warmth, a little more ease. A looseness seeps its way through his leg, then his hands, then his chest.
Left.
The military stiffness that clings to his shoulders falls away after the fifth flight.
Right.
A welcome burn curls up his thigh after the seventh.
Left.
His hands are steady.
Right.
Erik pushes open the door to the eleventh floor. Warm, artificial air settles around him and he feels sweat bead down his temple and at his neck. He quickly sheds his coat and walks towards the solid metal doors cut into the opposite wall.
The elevator opens behind him.
He pauses with his pass card raised. The doors unlock with a sharp click that carries in the silence. A voice calls out from behind him.
“Stair day? It’s been a while.”
He keeps his back to the elevator, drawing the door open and waiting as the footsteps reach his back.
“You know we have a gym in the building.”
“Raven. Good morning.” Erik speaks to the open door.
“Body. Odour.” She reprimands as she passes him.
She strides ahead and he lengthens his steps to keep pace. She watches him without turning. She does not ask about the broken blood vessels in his eyes or the dark hollows below them.
Erik wonders if she has her own version of a Stair Day.
Raven moves with confidence. She does not peel off Military Raven each morning. She has sewn her into Raven Before and Raven After. Now she is simply Raven. A rigid spine with an ease to her smile and a watchfulness she can shed from her eyes with a blink. Raven After first appeared trading chocolate bars with 10 year old Alex beside his hospital bed, with Military Raven stealing glances at the mess she had dragged to safety, her eyes promising to give him a moment if he needs to fall apart again. He does.
Erik envies her ease. He envies her wholeness when he claws his way out of night terrors, fighting free from the chrysalis they weave around him.
Erik After is always trying to forget there was an Erik Before.
He is not sure which part of Raven cannot stand the silence but he is willing to bet it is all three.
“We’re testing the knee today. So I hope somebody got the ligament tensile strength right this time.”
“Once, Raven.”
“Almost cut my face in two. What a way to go! Flying metal knee muscle. That was on you.”
“Metal is an entirely different beast to living tissue, Raven.”
She glares at him until he cannot hold his stern frown any longer.
“Bring me something good Erik. We’re close.”
She sniffs loudly at him as they part. He rolls his eyes when she looks over her shoulder.
He enters his workshop and the temperature drops several degrees. The cool air is refreshing and his head clears instantly. His ordered haven awaits.
So does Hank.
He stands, hunched uncomfortably, at Erik’s desk in the corner. His eyes are fixed on the small collection of papers he holds.
Erik forces his feet to step heavily enough to make a sound.
Hank startles briefly before self-consciously adjusting his glasses and gesturing to the computer at Erik’s desk, wordlessly laying the papers down.
Erik joins Hank at his desk, browsing the microscopic images displayed on the screen.
“These are failed tests.” Erik frowns.
“Yes, we didn't get new tissue. The degenerative disease in the cells is too dominant but here, look at the mapping of the failed cells.”
“Regeneration.”
“Yes!” Hank fidgets excitedly. “I only caught them last night. They appear for less than a second before failing. They can’t connect to the existing cells.”
“Too damaged?” Erik asks.
“No! That’s just it. The regenerating cells can’t connect because they are not made of the same material.”
Erik runs his index finger over the data-filled papers on the desk.
“If I can isolate the difference in the composition of the new and old cells, then we can get inside the regeneration process, even direct it.” Hank is practically beaming. His voice rising in pitch.
Erik nods. “The body could change itself. Become something new entirely.”
“Yes, the brain itself could integrate the limbs we build, form composite muscle groups, attach to bone…”
Erik holds up a hand.
“Hank. Don’t tell me, show me.”
Hank nods furiously, gathering his papers in a messy pile.
“I’ll be in the lab.” He turns to leave before halting suddenly. “Did you, uh, need anything?”
Erik’s lip twitches.
He checks his watch before shaking his head. He gestures to his left leg. “I have to be at testing in ten. New knee ligaments. We can’t all grow our own.”
Emma stands before a wide glass window. Logan is on the other side swatting the Tech away and roughly adjusting his own earpiece.
“Is the line clear, Mr Logan?” She speaks firmly.
An obscene gesture is levelled in the direction of her viewing window.
The door opens behind her and Moira enters. Emma turns to see her raising one eyebrow in amusement.
She turns back to the window. “My call.”
Moira nods, coming to stand beside her. She hands over a single sheet of paper.
“The X samples were integrated into the testing pool this week. Shaw believes the doctor will be able to recreate the catalyst within the time frame.”
Emma shakes her head. “The science is unstable. Shaw is risking too much on one chance.”
“He is the only available subject,” Moira replies, “Shaw believes…”
“The only thing he has to believe in is me.” Emma snaps. “I brought Lehnsherr back into this program after Shaw’s…unsuccessful methods. I arranged the players and kept him blind.”
Crash. Logan overturns a chair as he stands to his feet in the other room. The tips of three metal claws protrude from his right fist.
Emma smiles at the sight.
Moira turns to face her.
“Your play is risky too. If this goes sideways we have no control.”
Emma watches as Logan yanks the door open.
“You don’t try to control the uncontrollable. You angle everything else so the damage done is the type you want. You don’t tame it you just point it in the right direction.”
Moira eyes Logan’s back.
“And you are sure this is the right direction?”
“Trust me.” She hands Moira back the paper and turns her back to the viewing window. “All good weapons come with an off switch.”