Blade glanced at the computer again as it emitted a quiet beep, then turned away. It wasn�t anything significant. Blade stepped out of the lab, then headed to the old laboratory, which was being remodeled completely. He watched the progress of the worked for a few moments, then turned and walked to his office.
Walking into his office, Blade immediately noticed a large stack of papers on his desk. He grumbled, then sat down in his chair and began shuffling through papers.
�I�m being paid to do experiments and tests, not paperwork,� Blade mumbled.
Blade sighed, then debated whether he should put it off or not. He was already on Giovanni�s bad side, so it probably wouldn�t be a very good idea. He pulled out a pen, then began filling out the paperwork and signing where necessary. He was interrupted after a few moments when his phone rang.
�Yes?� Blade said as he picked up the phone.
�How is the cloning process coming along?�
�That same as always,� Blade replied, somewhat irritated that Giovanni was asking his about it so often.
�Keep it that way and you keep your job,� Giovanni responded quietly.
Blade hung up the phone, a disgruntled look on his face. What�s Giovanni trying to prove? I swear. He�s looking for one tiny mistake as an excuse to fire me.
Blade hit his head on the desk, then glanced up at the pile of papers in front of him. �To hell with him,� Blade said, pushing the papers into the garbage can. He stood up and rushed out of his office quickly, then headed straight to the lab where the machine was humming quietly.
�Just you wait, Giovanni,� Blade said sinisterly. �Once that Mew or Mewtwo develops and becomes alert, I�m going to send it after you . . .�
Colli looked around at the Underground Headquarters of TR47, rather fascinated. Ai was explaining about everything, but Colli was too busy looking at everything to pay attention. At one point Ai stopped and looked at Colli, then cleared her throat loudly.
Colli jumped a bit, then turned to face Ai. �Sorry.� Her tail twitched back and forth slowly, displaying her lack of attention span. Ai shook her head and mumbled something, then resumed explaining.
Later on Ai and Colli returned to the cabin and joined up with the other members in the living room. Colli glanced around, then looked at the TV, which was turned off. She didn�t know that it wasn�t working.
�How come you�re all in here and the TV�s not on?� Colli asked.
�It�s broken,� Jads said without looking up.
�Well then, what�s everybody doing?�
Ira stood up, then stretched a bit. �We were waiting for you two to get up here so that we could have a meeting.�
Colli nodded, then sat down on the floor in front of the couch. Ira looked around at everybody, then smiled. �Okay, don�t look so bored. You all look like zombies or something.�
Jads giggled, then said, �Well, we�re going to turn into zombies if we sit here doing nothing any longer.�
Ira smiled again, then cleared his throat. �Well, the main reason that we�re having this meeting is because we need to know what our plans are in the future. First of all I�d like to say one thing. Plan on meetings like this at least once a month. They may not be very necessary at the moment, but they will be once we get more members.�
�Yeah,� Jads responded, �but first we have to actually recruit members.�
�I was about to get to that,� Ira said. �But you�re right. At some point or another, we�ll pair off and go on recruitment missions. Basically as often as needed.�
Ira continue to talk, explaining other various topics such as possible expansion of the Underground Headquarters when they had more members. When the meeting was over, everybody left the living room to do various other activities.
Shrieker, Joey, Crystal, and Colli headed down to the Headquarters to train and refine their attacks, though they really didn�t need much work. They were mainly doing it to kill time since there wasn�t very much to do around the HQ.
Ai and Jads head to their room, Jads shutting the door and locking it. Locking the door wasn�t really necessary, but Jads did it as a precaution. She flopped onto her bed, then looked over at Ai, who had changed into a light T-shirt and sweat pants.
Jads gave her an odd look, then asked, �How can you stand to wear sweat pants when it�s this warm in the room?�
Ai shrugged. �I guess I�m used to it.�
Jads shrugged, then stood up and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of cotton pants and changed into them, then hopped into bed again. She pulled the blanket over herself, then yawned. She drifted off a few minutes later.
Ai looked over at Jads, somewhat surprised that she was already asleep. She shook her head, then mumbled, �I don�t understand how people can fall asleep so quickly.�
Ai picked up a book that was sitting on the night stand next to her, then opened it and sat against the wall with the blanket over her legs. Ai had discovered in the past that it was difficult to just climb into bed and fall asleep. She figured that the best way to remedy that was to read until she fell asleep.
Ai gradually became drowsier and drowsier as she read on, looking up occasionally when Jads moved in her sleep. She yawned and turned a page, knowing that she could be out like a light at any moment.
Suddenly out of nowhere, something hit the window, causing Ai to jump and snap wide awake. She looked around in confusion, then stared at the window for a few moments, half expecting someone to be standing there. After waiting in the silence for a few moments, she calmed down, trying to convince herself that she hadn�t heard anything.
Ai eventually resumed reading, satisfied that nothing was at the window. She eventually switched off her desk lamp and crawled under the blanket, allowing herself to become overtaken by the drowsiness . . .
Blade stretched and looked again at the computer screen, patiently waiting for the development process to complete. According to the previous experiments, it would end within a few minutes. He wanted to be there when the fully developed Pokemon emerged from the machine.
There were still two major hurdles, however. The first was the length of time it would take before the Pokemon would gain consciousness. The second was whether or not it would obey Blade.
If the Pokemon took too long to gain consciousness, Blade might lose his job. Additionally, Blade would lose his job if the Pokemon happened to turn on everybody and escape as the others had done. He sighed and shook his head. There had to be a simpler way to gain the trust of the Pokemon.
Blade glanced over his should as the door to the small lab opened, then his face fell when he saw that it was Giovanni. He turned back to the computer, cursing under his breath. Of all people, he didn�t want Giovanni to be around when the Pokemon�s development was complete.
�I take it the experiment is still going smoothly?� Giovanni said quietly.
�Of course,� Blade replied, snapping a bit.
Giovanni glared at Blade, then looked at the machine. �Magnificent, isn�t it? It�s one-of-a-kind technology. Nobody in the world has even come close to developing a similar machine, or anything close to it.�
�Yeah, it�s great,� Blade mumbled, not paying attention to Giovanni.
�Don�t sound so enthusiastic,� Giovanni said dryly.
Blade mumbled something incoherent, causing Giovanni to come up behind him a bit quickly. �Look, Blade. You�re one step away from become an ex-Rocket. I suggest you show a little more respect when I�m talking.�
Blade stood up slowly and turned to face Giovanni, then sneered. �Be careful who you say that to. Just you wait, Giovanni. One of these days your words are going to come back to haunt you.�
Blade stood silent for a few moments, then turned away from Giovanni and sat down again. Rather than losing it completely, Giovanni calmly walked out of the lab. What Blade had said left a mark.
Giovanni knew that Blade could unleash one of his supercharged cloned Pokemon on him, so he decided that it would be best if he laid off for a little while. At least until the current Pokemon gained consciousness. Giovanni smiled maniacally, taking pleasure in the thought of having one of the most powerful Pokemon ever in his possession.
In addition, if Giovanni could control it, he wouldn�t have to worry about Blade anymore. It would be the perfect opportunity to force blade out of Team Rocket forever. No cloned Pokemon of Blade�s could stand a chance against a clone of a Mew, and Giovanni knew it. He cackled quietly as he walked into his office, letting the door slam shut behind him . . .
Crystal sat up in bed, the looked around in confusion. Something had woken her up, but what? She hadn�t heard anything, a sliver of a moon shone outside, and her psychic senses were calm as ever. She sat up, a confused look on her face.
What�s going on? It�s not even a full moon tonight. Crystal laid back down and sighed, then began falling asleep again. Moments later, however, she snapped awake again. Somewhat irritated, Crystal got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She hopped up onto to sink and turned it on, then splashed some cold water onto her face.
Crystal shut off the sink and dried her face off on the towel next to her, then looked into the mirror. Crystal looked at the reflection of herself, then sighed. Suddenly the reflection in the mirror changed. For a few moments, the figure in the mirror was a large man with long black hair.
Crystal shrieked in alarm, then fell backwards off the sink. She hit the floor, then laid there for a few moments, somewhat stunned. She stood up eventually and shook her head, then looked up at the mirror above the sink.
Amazingly enough, Crystal�s surprised shriek hadn�t woken anybody up. She was glad, because how would she be able to explain something like that? She was catching onto English rapidly and could speak easily, but that wasn�t the problem. It would be difficult for her to explain the phenomenon that had just occurred.
Crystal hopped up onto the sink again and hesitantly gazed into the mirror, but the only thing there was her reflection, looking back at her. Crystal shook her head and looked into the mirror, then gasped as her own reflection changed, then disappeared from view. Crystal shrieked again, then yelled, �Possessed mirror!�
This time she wasn�t so fortunate. Her yell had been sufficient enough to wake Shrieker and Joey, who were in the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom. They rushed in, the looked around in confusion.
�What�s going on? What happened?� Joey said rapidly, barely understandable.
�The mirror,� Crystal said, pointing to it. �Something weird is happening.�
Joey and Shrieker exchanged baffled looks, then looked at the mirror. They didn�t see anything wrong. The three of them appeared in the mirror like they were supposed to.
�I don�t get it,� Shrieker said.
�First a large man appeared in the mirror, then a little bit later my own reflection giggled and disappeared as if it had a mind of its own.�
Joey and Shrieker exchanged confused looks again, then looked at Crystal.
�Are you feeling okay?� Joey asked.
�I�m feeling fine!� Crystal said a bit loudly. �I swear on my life that what I saw was real!�
Shrieker looked into the mirror again, staring at it for a few moments. Joey, meanwhile, was walking back into the bedroom, mumbling something about Crystal going nuts.
�Are you sure you saw what you did?� Shrieker asked. �I�m not going to harass you for it or anything, but things like that don�t just happen.�
�I�m absolutely sure. As sure as I am that I�m talking to you right now.�
Shrieker continued to stare at the mirror, but nothing was changing. No strange men were appearing, and her reflection was mimicking her every move like it was supposed to. Shrieker was about to turn to Crystal and say something, but suddenly she saw something else in the mirror beside her reflection.
Standing next to Shrieker in the mirror was a Mewtwo a bit smaller than herself, but colored with shades of purple instead of pink. Shrieker turned in disbelief and looked beside herself, but didn�t see a Mewtwo standing there. She looked into the mirror again, and the Mewtwo was still there.
�Okay, this is DEFINITELY not normal,� Shrieker said quietly.
�Are you going to apologize now?� Crystal asked.
Shrieker turned to Crystal, then sighed. �Yeah, I�m sorry that I doubted you. But things like this aren�t exactly believable unless you experience it personally.�
Shrieker looked at the mirror again, but it had changed. The man was back, and holding a gun. Standing a few feet away from the man was the same Mewtwo, looking terrified. An evil grin appeared on the man�s face, then a flash erupted from the muzzle of the gun as he pulled the trigger. The scene in the mirror disappeared, regaining its normal reflection moments later.
Crystal and Shrieker realized that what they had seen was a vision of the future. Crystal wasn�t sure how her own reflection disappearing applied to what she and Shrieker had seen. She and Shrieker also weren�t sure if their own psychic powers had generated the images in the mirror, or if some supernatural force had acted upon it. But either way, what they had seen was a chilling view of events to come . . .
Blade laughed quietly as he gazed into the glass tank, a purple colored Mewtwo trapped inside. It was smaller than the previous Mewtwo had been, but it held the exact same body shape. Checking the numbers on the computer, Blade was surprised to know that the Mewtwo inside of the tank was actually an entire foot shorter than the other had been.
Blade glanced at the tank again, the shrugged. �Oh well. As long as you possess a similar power, I don�t care how small you are.�
Blade typed rapidly on the computer keyboard, then looked over at the tank. The waiting game that Blade was playing had shifted gears. Instead of waiting for the Mewtwo to develop, Blade was now waiting for it to wake up.
Once the Mewtwo woke up, a new challenge would face Blade: keeping the Mewtwo calm. Should it become aggravated, there would surely be a repeat of the previous two clones.
Looking around, Blade was surprised to find that Giovanni hadn�t returned. Perhaps what he had said to Giovanni was effective enough to get Giovanni to leave him alone.
Then again, Giovanni could just be lying low for a while, waiting until the Mewtwo gains consciousness. Blade shrugged off the thought, then glanced over at the glass tank again. Only time would tell . . .
The next morning the members of TR47 seemed to be a bit more active than usual. Although Crystal and Shrieker�s experience had been alarming, they didn�t want to tell the others and get everybody all worked up over something that might not even happen.
Taking note of the increased activity in the cabin, Shrieker approached Ira and asked, �How come everybody is more energetic than usual?�
Ira smiled, then replied, �Today�s a recruiting day.�
�You mean everybody�s going out to recruit more members today?�
Ira nodded. �Exactly.�
�Well, what about those of us that can�t go out on public in our current forms?�
�You can transform, right?� Ira asked. Shrieker nodded. �Good. You�ll figure something out eventually.�
Shrieker snorted, then went to find the other resident members who were Pokemon. She joined up with Joey and Crystal, then sighed. �We�re going to have to get ourselves a new look if we intend on going on the recruiting mission today. Colli is okay since she can conceal her Pokemon attributes, but the three of us are going to have to transform completely.�
�Well, I�ll be fine in an Anthro form,� Joey said. �I�ve been working at it already.�
With that, Joey began glowing, her body changing shape and expanding. She took on a more human form as she transformed, most of her Mew characteristics being concealed by skin and clothing. When the glow faded, Joey had the appearance of a young teenage girl.
Joey was now dressed in a tank light tank top and baggy pants. Her purple colored hair hung down just below the shoulder, and her skin was lightly tanned. Her eyes hadn�t changed, remaining the baby blue that she originally had. All of Joey�s characteristics of a Mew hadn�t disappeared completely, however. She still possessed the ears and tail, though she didn�t mind. Anthros were uncommon, however most fit in with modern society.
�Not bad,� Shrieker said, somewhat impressed. She then turned to Crystal. �Your turn.�
Crystal nodded, then closed her eyes and began glowing. Her body began changing shape in the same manner as Joey�s, only her Mew characteristics were fading more rapidly.
When her transformation was complete, Crystal had changed fully into a human. Unlike Joey, none of her Mew characteristics were apparent. The only thing that hadn�t changed was the color of her eyes. They were still the same emerald green color that they had been.
<Note: Eye color may have been mentioned in previous chapters. Disregard errors, if any.>
Crystal was wearing clothing similar to Joey�s, with the exception of a button-up shirt partially covering the tank top. She was a bit taller than Joey, though not much. Her light brown her was about the same length as Joey�s, though her skin was a much fairer color.
Shrieker nodded, then smiled. �I guess it�s me now.�
Shrieker closed her eyes, then could feel her body changing shape and taking on a new form. She kept a vision of her human form in her mind as she transformed, hoping that her psychic powers were as accurate and precise and Joey�s and Crystal�s.
When Shrieker opened her eyes again, she gasped quietly. Sure enough, she had changed in a similar manner, though she was in an Anthro form like Joey. She looked in a mirror, then smiled. She had taken on the appearance of a young teenage girl; the same thing that Joey and Crystal had done. Though it seemed a bit redundant to her, it didn�t matter.
Her hair was blonde, hanging down just above her shoulders. Her skin was similar to Joey�s, though it was a bit more tanned. Her eyes were the same hazel color, though they were a bit more green than anything else. Her clothing consisted of a white sleeveless shirt and cutoff pants. Shrieker held up her hands, then rolled her eyes. She still had the same Mewtwo hands, which would prove to be a problem.
Shrieker concentrated her psychic powers, then her arms and hands began glowing. Her hands transformed quickly into those of a human, so Shrieker was satisfied.
With the transformations complete, Shrieker, Crystal, and Joey went back into the living room and met up with the other four members. Ai, Colli, Jads, and Ira were somewhat shocked when they saw them.
�Um, I�m confused. Who�s who?� Ira asked.
Shrieker, Joey, and Crystal looked at each other, then introduced their new selves. When confusion ensued as to who was named what, Ira decided to create dog tags for everybody to hang around their necks. Not only would they be able to identify Shrieker, Crystal, and Joey with them, but new members would also be able to use them to get to know the others.
Shrieker looked at the dog tag hanging around her neck with a look of mild disgust. She didn�t like the way it looked, and it made her feel like she was going to war or something. Much like the others, she eventually got used to having it hanging around her neck at all times.
Everybody eventually gathered their backpacked and were ready to head to Veridian City. They were interrupted, however, by a knock at the door. People didn�t typically come to the cabin. Immediately a dark feeling came over Shrieker and Crystal. Shrieker walked to the door and slowly pulled it open, then gasped loudly.
Standing at the door was a tall, musclebound man. He had long black hair which was tied back in a ponytail, and his appearance alone was enough to inspire fear in anybody. But that wasn�t the only thing that scared Shrieker so much.
The part that scared her the most was the fact that the man standing at the door was the same man that Shrieker and Crystal had seen in the mirror . . .