“I went to look at the scene today and the maintenance guy was changing out the fluorescent lights above his desk. You used them. Made them flicker. That was the trigger?”
I nod again. “Many organisms on earth are programmed to respond to changes in light. Migration of animals and birds. Reproductive cycles. Hibernation in bears. All these things are biologically programmed into their brains. And the Prodigy School figured out a way to make people violent using light to trigger it.”
She lets out a long breath and then she places her palms flat against the table and stares at them. “What do your hands do?”
“Nothing spectacular. The special food I consume feeds the virus inside me which powers my brain like electricity powers a computer hard drive. It generates a lot of heat that has to be dissipated. I do that through my hands.”
“They’re vents. Like the pads on a dog’s foot.”
“Simply put, yes. But they have a few practical applications. They are magnetic and the color of the light can be altered to act like a laser in a scanner.”
She stares at me with her mouth partly open. In awe? I almost chuckle. Hardly. More like in shock or disgust. “And me? What part do I play in all this?”
I shrug. “You’re the one running the show, Molly. They made you to stop me if I ever went too far.”
“Like how a superhero opposes a supervillain?”
“I guess. But more like a bomb and the wires that control the bomb. I’m the bomb.”
“And I’m the wires.”
“We’re an unfinished project. I got you out before the really bad stuff started. It’s part of the reason I agreed to Thomas’ plan. First they put us together as partners. Then they made us hurt each other. In my case, they made me take care of you afterward. They bonded me to you. Made me sick at the thought of hurting you. Behavioral conditioning, genetic manipulation. And other stuff. It’s too much to explain simply. But even now, after all these years, I would not be able to kill you.”
“Lucky me,” she whispers.
“But you could kill me quite easily.”
“What? How?”
“That was the purpose of the Omega. To kill us after we were no longer useful. If your training had completed then you’d be able to hold a gun to my head and I’d be powerless to stop you.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Lincoln.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I got you out before that happened.”
“Yeah.” She looks down at her hands again. “So those people you’re killing. They’re bad, right?”
“Very bad.”
“And that sorta makes you good, right?”
“It’s debatable, but I’m doing my best.”
“So…” She pushes her palms against the table and stands up. “You really are Batman?”
“No,” I say, letting a small chuckle escape. “He’s not real, Molly. I am. And even though what I’m telling you seems pretty fantastic, it’s my life and it’s not romantic or inspiring or any of that fantasy bullshit they push with a character like that. It would take a lot of effort to rise to larger-than-life status and even more to be considered the good guy. Because that’s what you’re thinking, aren’t you? Good guys don’t kill people in the name of revenge.” I rise from my seat and walk around to meet her. “I’d really have to want it and—”
“But if you did want it…” She cuts me off, steps around the table, and walks towards me. She stops when we are only a foot apart and looks up at me with her wide hazel eyes. “Then you could use all that super stuff to do good things instead of bad. To help people.”
“Help which people?” I snarl. “Blue Corp? Those people? They hired scientists who did this, Molly. They made me hurt you. They changed us and we can’t ever get that back.”
“So you’re going to just kill them all? One by one?”
“Not all,” I say, turning away so she can’t see the evil smile. “Only the ones who deserve it.”
“But who are you to pass judgment on them? Who are you to say they can’t be saved?”
“You’re missing the point, Molly.” I’m really starting to lose patience. “These people don’t deserve to be helped. They ruined us. They stole our childhood and made us do unspeakable things to each other. So let me just say it straight out. I’m not interested in saving people. And if you know the history, neither was Batman. He was out for revenge, just like me. Saving people was a consequence of taking out those he hated.”
“I don’t think so, Lincoln,” she says, shaking her head. “People make choices and if you’re a superhuman, then couldn’t you just choose to be a superhero?”
“But who would play the villain?” I give her a sideways smile. “Not you.” I laugh. “You’re not wired to hurt. You’re wired to save. I made sure of it.”
“Except in your case. You said I’m able to hurt you. And I’m not saying I want to be your opposite, Lincoln. I’m just saying you could be your opposite.”