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Last night's rain had washed away the dirt that
always seemed to cling to the concrete and steel of the city. It was invisible
dirt, created by smog and all the little molecules of filth produced by
a city full of millions of people. The clouds still churned over the sky
and gave everything a drab, dreary air, but the bustle and life of New
York was unbroken by the bout of bad weather. The rain had soaked everything,
but it was nothing extraordinary.
At five in the morning, the city was filled with people
going after their work or going to work, and it wouldn't stop throughout
the day. For one group disappearing inside an office building, another
three groups spilled out of the underground and into the streets. Seven
million people living within 309 square miles almost on top of each other.
It made the city something unique, something special.
Away from the crowds and the noise, except for what drifted
over through the wind, stood a rather run-down looking building. It used
to be a ferry building for the Staten Island Ferry Company, but it had
been abandoned a while ago. Now it was used for private matters, doubling
as a lab and living quarters. At this time, no one was awake yet.
No one but one person.
Sitting on top of the roof, Dr. Nico Tatopoulos gazed
out into the coming dawn, the twilight almost hiding him. He was a slender,
tall man, dressed in jeans and a warm sweater, a jacket draped over the
attire. Brown hair moved gently in the wind and blue eyes held an expression
of thoughtfulness, He sat on the lip of the roof, cross-legged, as if he
wasn't afraid to fall. And he wasn't. He wouldn't fall very far. If he
would fall at all.
Curled up next to the building like a cat was one of
the largest creatures the Earth had ever seen. It wasn't the only monster,
but it was unique in many ways. At least to Nick. Grayish-green scales
plated a tall and long, muscular body, powerful, long legs able to run
long distances and jumping heights, and equally muscular forearms lay in
a heap left of the building. A large head rested on the foreclaws, orange
eyes partially slid open. Nostrils opened and closed regularly, breathing
slow and relaxed. The whole body was relaxed, but ready to spring into
action if need arose.
Nick gazed at the lizard, smiling involuntarily as he
felt a ripple pass through him. An orange eye turned up to look at him
and he smiled more. The presence in his head grew, leaking into his conscious
mind, but he didn't care. It was so normal now. He couldn't think of what
it had been like before..... before Shanee Kaplan had injected him repeatedly
with the experimental Rush drug and turned his brain into a very receptive
instrument for someone else's empathic emanations. Someone... namely Godzilla.
They had always been linked, but now it was more than just gut-feeling
and strange coincidences. Now it was reality and hard fact that Nick and
Godzilla shared a strong, empathic bond.
Godzilla's presence was like a blanket, though he could
seriously compromise Nick's sanity if he surprised his human parent and
broke through the mind shields. The shields were something normal now as
well. He still had trouble maintaining them under pressure, but after almost
a year of hard and relentless training, as well as encounters with monsters
that had called Godzilla to the defense, Nick was getting really good at
it. He had to. Prolonged exposure to the aggression Godzilla always projected
when battling an intruder in his territory turned Nick equally aggressive.
He had more than once snapped or nearly bodily attacked one of his friends
in the beginning.
His friends.
They understood. Now they did. In the beginning, feelings
had been diffuse and all had been confused, including Nick. Monique had
taken over his shield training, though she couldn't call herself an expert
on the subject. No one was. This was unique. It had never happened before
and was unlikely to ever happen again. She had taught Nick about control,
about shutting out emotions, and he had learned to shut out Godzilla's
emotional broadcasts. Elsie had helped him with her unconditional friendship
and her belief that Nick could do it. Randy had simply told him that he
could do whatever he set his mind onto, and he had done it over and over
again in the past. Mendel had been afraid of Godzilla from the start, trusting
him as far as he could throw him, and always keeping his distance if possible.
The link had freaked him more than the rest, but the scientist inside had
broken through the fear. And he was Nick's friend.
Friendship was what had helped him through the darker
hours. Friendship and the loyalty and protective presence of Godzilla.
It was what he had always felt when it came to Nick. Nick was his adopted
parent, the one who taught and protected him, just like he protected his
parent. Nick had always known it, right from the start, but now he could
feel it. And it grew with every encounter.
In the beginning, there had been just random projections.
Nick had been unable to actually tell what was going on. Then he had learned
to tell them apart, to recognize patterns. And then something else had
happened. He had felt a kind of intelligence behind the presence. Warm,
strong, caring, feral, aggressive and territorial. The intelligence understood,
though it needed to learn, but it understood.
Nick had been freaked and surprised in one. Yes, Godzilla
wasn't just an animal. He was much more. But the intelligence, the sheer
power behind it, had amazed him. It had been unexpected to say the least.
He had been aware of the fact that Godzilla solved problems with cunning
and he remembered tactics. He used different strategies to battle enemies
and he grew. Nick had never been more acutely of this growth than since
the establishment of the link.
Now the intelligence touched him, almost if asking a
question, and Nick projected a feeling of warmth and pride. It got him
a soft snuffle from the gigantic lizard. Godzilla raised his head, the
scaled snout now at Nick's level, and he automatically reached out and
touched it. In his mind, he relayed the touch that was barely felt, if
at all, through the heavy armor, and Godzilla rumbled ever-so-softly. Nick
felt an embrace he had gotten used to only slowly. It was reptilian, unlike
anything human, but it was an expression of trust and love. Another smile
crossed his lips.
They were such a strange picture, he knew. A small human
being and such a gigantic creature. Nick was barely the size to reach halfway
up to Godzilla's knuckles. Still... they were friends. Linked empathetically.
One in mind to the point of being inseparable. The thought alone that the
monster could view such a small creature as his parent was ludicrous in
most people's eyes, but now.... more had developed. This was a bond no
one could break. Sometimes Nick wished he could do more than what were
his limited capabilities. Size was a big problem, but Godzilla had never
learned it differently. His parent was smaller, more fragile, couldn't
do the things he could, but he was his parent. End of discussion. Those
who dare to threaten Nick beware.
The presence shifted, wrapping itself protectively around
Nick for a second, then retreating slightly. Godzilla was still there,
a bit stronger than usual, and Nick rubbed his hand over the rough skin.
It got him another snuffle and Godzilla pushed his head gently against
his hand. Nick laughed as he was nearly thrown off the ledge he sat on.
"Easy, big guy," he called.
Godzilla gave a rumbling whine.
He had arrived at the ferry building throughout the night,
drawn through whatever had made him come, and had curled up. He had acted
like this in the beginning, when he had still been a 'teenager' in human
terms. He had slept on land next to where his parent was, guarding and
protecting. Later, as a fully grown adult, he had moved into his own place,
an underwater cavern beneath New York. This morning, though, he had decided
to pay Nick a visit.
Nick had woken out of a deep sleep, immediately aware
of his charge so close by, and he had decided to go outside and spend some
time with him. As cold as it was at this time of the day, the warmth inside
Nick made up for it. No one would ever understand what he felt, what he
could feel when it came to Godzilla, but he didn't really care. Yes, this
bond had probably destroyed his relationship with Audrey, but he had gotten
over it. Even without Godzilla, he knew it wouldn't have lasted. She had
run out on him before, had turned down a proposal, and it had just been
a matter of time. He might end up being all alone, but he still had him....
Godzilla. As strange as those thoughts were, they didn't frighten him.
But he still had his friends, loyal friends, his team.
Each and every one of them cherished and valued. Nick's thoughts drifted
and he unconsciously leaned onto the head next to him. Godzilla made a
ruffling sound and playfully nudged him.
"Hey, cut that out," he chuckled.
The lizard raised his head slightly while also tilting
it and Nick was lifted up, hanging on to the scales. The tilting had made
him slide onto the flat snout and he laughed openly at the sheer exhilaration
Godzilla projected. He was playing, without hurting, and he did it with
incredible thoughtfulness for the fragile human body. Sitting on the flat
head, he could see for miles. Everything was so small below, like was when
standing next to the mutant, and for a moment, Nick was lost in the thoughts
of another being. So much larger, so much stronger, but still able to be
thoughtful and caring.
Nick was lowered to the concrete below and he slid off,
smiling like a child at Christmas, feeling joy race through him of such
an intensity, he wanted to lose himself in it. Godzilla rumbled and curled
his long, powerful tail around his body, the tip coming to rest in front
of Nick. The young biologist leaned against the large foreclaw behind him,
reveling in the feeling of the intelligence he felt share his mind and
thoughts. No, he didn't really want it any other way. This was what he
shared with no one else, what made him unique and maybe a freak as well,
but it was only for him. Godzilla was his only. Possessiveness touched
his mind and he embraced the presence, letting it feel his pride. A large
nose lowered next to him, a questioning rumble replacing the silence.
"Don't mind me," he said softly, patting it. "Just contemplating
and appreciating."
A snuffle. Agreement. Nick was his parent, he shared
him with no one else in that matter, even if Nick might choose a partner.
He laughed again as he interpreted the empathic response.
Godzilla was asexual and had had to accept the concept of mates and sex
drive, but he had learned to cope.
They lived and learned.
Continuously.
The sun rose slowly over the city and the first, weak
rays touched the tall buildings. They crept over the horizon, reflected
off the water, and the dawn bathed everything in an angelic surreality.
Nick watched the sun, Godzilla's head hovering above him, protective and
possessive. They were an odd sight to behold, but no one would ever come
close to discovering just what they shared. As much as he had wished to
find a way to break this link in the first few months, he wouldn't let
anyone try now. Going back to what it had been before was no option; for
none of them. The link gave Nick a certain kind of control over the giant
lizard, one he had had only randomly before. It also brought with it a
negative taste though. What if he was no longer? What if something should
ever happen to Nick?
Nick sighed, chasing the dark thoughts away. Sometimes,
they just happened. He couldn't fight thinking about the future and what
it might hold for them.
Godzilla rumbled almost inaudibly, snorting softly. The
wind ruffled Nick's hair and he smiled once more. Godzilla rarely let him
drown himself in misery. In a way, his charge didn't know misery as humans
did and his reactions to Nick's side wallowing was poking and prodding,
wanting to know, and simply being there. It was all Nick needed.
Thanks for being there, he thought, wondering, as always,
how verbal thoughts arrived in Godzilla's mind. It didn't really matter
because Godzilla interpreted it correctly, but it was simple curiosity
nonetheless.
The reply was a ripple of emotions and Nick closed his
eyes, enjoying them.
Elsie had watched him. She liked to watch, study, learn.
Even after a year she knew she understood barely half of this strange relationship.
Each time she saw them interact, man and monster, fear battled emotional
warmth, and the warmth won. Godzilla would never hurt Nick consciously,
and in their latest battles against all the mutations rearing their ugly
heads, he had become more cognitive of where Nick was, what he couldn't
do because it might hurt his parent unwillingly.
The beauty of this relationship didn't escape her, neither
did the strangeness, but she couldn't think of it being any other way.
Nick was Godzilla's parent, his protector and his fiercest defender. And
he was his mind-linked partner. He had finally accepted it and it had changed
everything so profoundly.
Amazing.
Elsie smiled at the picture beneath her, the large creature
lying relaxed on the concrete, Nick standing just before him, both watching
the dawn. Her relationship with Nick had changed slowly as well. Both had
noticed, but both were careful and she wanted it that way. As much as she
had teased Nick in the past, had playfully poked and prodded, had remarked
on something or other when it came to his personal life, she had never
really and seriously thought about having a chance. That had changed. Not
because Audrey had dumped him. It had to be something else. Still, she
didn't want this to be rushed. Yes, she had helped and was helping him
through the attacks when Godzilla broke his shields, but Elsie didn't want
this to be a relationship built on the heat of the moment. She didn't want
this to be an obligation Nick felt toward her or something formed through
shared pain and stress. Like Audrey, she thought with a twisted smile.
Not like Audrey, no. If something came out of this, it would not be the
result of sharing intense situations, like fighting monsters.
Elsie could accept Nick as he was, could accept that
Godzilla came with the package, and even if it sometimes gave her the willies,
it more often than not filled her with pride.
Suddenly a large, orange eye rolled and Elsie was startled
as Godzilla looked at her. Nostrils opened briefly, air gusting out. The
eye gazed at her, intense and... knowing? She shivered. Godzilla was more
than just a mutated animal. Nick knew it intimately and she had realized
it long ago. There was intelligence beneath that thick skull and right
now, it sent shivers through her.
Elsie held the reptilian gaze, then Godzilla turned his
eyes back on watching the waters. She rubbed her eyes and wondered what
that had been about, but with Godzilla, no one could ever be sure.
As more light spilled over the city and the night was
chased away, Godzilla rose smoothly, lithely, and started out toward the
water. He wasn't exactly safe out in the open, and it wouldn't do to have
people calling in monster sightings. Major Hicks knew what to make of them,
but it would get his blood pressure up unnecessarily. Nick watched his
adopted child disappear beneath the waves and then turned to walk back
into the building. He looked up and smiled at her. Elsie returned the smile
and waved.
Okay, so Godzilla seemed to have spilled his discovery
of her. Uh-huh. So what else was new?
Elsie decided to get the coffee machine going. Nick would
probably need one, just like she did in the morning to wake up, and it
would give them some quality time before the others arrived or woke.
Godzilla slid into the water, the dark waves closing over
his muscular body, and he easily dove into the bay of the Hudson river.
He aimed for the open sea, planning on patrolling the immediate area around
his home. Nick's presence was alive and warm in his mind, cherished and
welcome, and he felt his parent's relaxed state-of-mind. Since his parent
had become such a clear presence with him, Godzilla had learned more and
more about Nick. His parent was mostly a mystery to him, but now that his
mind was so open, Godzilla had become aware of him in so many small ways.
He learned every day and he understood. He understood the differences,
he had learned Nick's way of communication, learned his language, and he
had become aware of who the others around Nick were. He had never really
taken notice of them, except that his parent cared for them, but now he
knew more.
One had especially been on his parent's mind lately and
he had felt her presence on the roof of the building. She was no danger
and she held Nick's interest. Because of that, she also held Godzilla's
interest as well.
Godzilla let the currents caress his body and he playfully
dove deeper, chasing some fish without actually feeling hunger. It was
just that he felt good. Exhilarated. Complete. Checking briefly on his
parent, Godzilla found that he was still comfortable and secure, sending
out signals he had come to recognize. He was talking to one of the others.
The female. The lizard had problems with the different genders and trying
to understand it through his parent was a challenge as well, but he thought
he had an idea. His parent was different; he accepted that.
The ocean opened up before him, vast and peaceful, much
more than the world above. Rising briefly, he exhaled in a gust of air
and water spraying, then dove again. The dark body was soon lost in the
equally dark depths of the ocean as Godzilla followed his territorial instincts
to protect what was his.