#WhatIsThePhoenixProject

[ThePopcornFairy]

"............"

He couldn't get up. He could barely move. His energy was fading and his body was giving out as his strength poured out of the bullet hole in his back. With a heavy heart, Jack realized that he wasn't getting out of this situation. The pod wasn't safe with him anymore. All he could do now was ensure that it was placed in more capable hands than his.

His options were... limited.

With the last of his resolve, Jack raised his gloved hand, touching his index finger to the unconscious man's rear end...

His thumb fondled the button hidden inside the glove's knuckle...

He took a deep breath...

POP

Then, with the glove's cartridge quickly emptied, Jack rolled off of the younger blond and lay sprawled out on the ground as his blood mingled with the icy water, his hazel eyes growing dim as they stared calmly into the sunlight.

---------------------------

It was a sunny day in Void City, and an uncomfortably warm one at that. This wasn't strange in and of itself –it was summer, after all– but the sun seemed especially intense this afternoon, a white-hot haze against a pale blue sky, bombarding the atmosphere with a stifling dry heat.

In hindsight, he probably should've stopped wearing sweater vests a month ago.

Nonetheless, though he was a little hot under the collar, Jack didn't seem especially bothered by the weather today. He casually sat at a table under a restaurant awning with a strawberry feta salad, a glass of iced tea, and a book lying in front of him. He normally took his lunch breaks at the lab, but today he felt like treating himself. He'd had a pretty hectic morning setting up for the next Proteus II mission, so he figured a little indulgence and respite was called for.

Despite the rough start, Jack felt... good today. Calm. At peace.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Hey, stranger."

When Jack looked up from his book, he was greeted by a familiar young woman dressed in a plain white tank top and khaki shorts, carrying a tray with her own salad sitting atop it, shooting the intern a playful smile. "This seat taken?"

[ThePopcornFairy]

"O-Oh...!" Jack hastily bookmarked his page, adjusted his glasses, and offered her a geeky smile. "Lydia, hey! N-No, go right ahead!"

As Lydia sat down, Jack fidgeted in his chair slightly. He clearly hadn't been expecting company. He wasn't sure how he should entertain his sudden guest, and his partially-open-mouthed smile was obvious evidence of several failed attempts at starting a conversation. Eventually and somewhat unconsciously, he managed to speak up, "So, uh... crazy morning at the lab, huh?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Tell me about it," Lydia sighed as she started stirring her fork through her mixed greens. "If I have to hear my dad say the words 'anti-magic field generator' one more time, I might punch something. As if the pod doesn't have enough weird gizmos for me to keep track of."

She took a small bite of her salad. "At this point, I feel like he keeps finding people to inject me into as an excuse to try out all his new toys."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Well, in... all fairness, you're not too far off the mark," Jack sheepishly responded with a shrug. "No better means of testing than field testing, right?"

Almost immediately after saying that, Jack sunk back in his seat with a nervous, guilt-stricken frown. "Th-That's not to say you deserve to get thrown under the bus for the sake of scientific development! I-I just meant...! Well, with the...! We have all these ideas and...! Er..."

After a moment of awkward silence, Jack let out an anxious whine, grabbed his iced tea and desperately started slurping it down.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Lydia let out a weak snicker and offered him an even weaker grin. "I know what you meant, Jack. Gotta push the boundaries of science one way or another. And in all fairness, it is a neat little ship. I'd be lying if I said I've never had fun piloting it."

She smirked and pointed her fork at Jack. "I see that sparkle in your eye, though. I know you get a kick out of seeing me use all the machines and programs you help create."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Am I that obvious?" Jack murmured with a dorky grin and a hard blush. "I-It has been interesting, I'll admit it. I'm really flattered that Dr. Pendleton okayed the development of my Neuromuscular Facial Response Program, and helping him build everything else was a great learning experience with a lot of potential for good."

Jack frowned and sat up slightly, staring back at Lydia with a deep sense of empathy. "But... for fairness's sake, I don't wanna act like this hasn't been negatively affecting anyone. I know how uncomfortable this whole project makes you. Believe me, I... I-I have my hang-ups too when it comes to Mexus's... methods." He leaned his elbows on the table and bit his knuckle. "There's always this subconscious fear that someone will get hurt because of us. You, your targets, the people around them..."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah..." Lydia's slumped shoulders and heavy head were a clear indicator that she was in agreement. "Wish I could say I knew what I was signing up for when my dad offered me the job. Yeah, I thought his whole Fantastic Voyage project was outlandish and impractical, but I was at least willing to give it a shot for the sake of exploration." She awkwardly rubbed her neck. "And the paycheck. Can't deny that that was a major influence."

She took a deep breath and continued to idly pick at her salad. "Never thought it would go this far. I didn't expect to actually... you know... do the things to my hosts I've had to do."

[ThePopcornFairy]

Jack could only offer a solemn nod, understanding completely. Yes, there were aspects of his internship that genuinely excited him, but there was so much about the Proteus Project that struck him as simply unethical. The dangers Lydia was placed in always shook him, sure, but the tasks she carried out for Mexus, the things she did to the people they injected her into... the level of control this could give Mexus over the island's inhabitants... It was scary. He honestly couldn't think of a better word to describe it than scary.

"Is... Is this what we get for trying to help people?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Lydia jerked slightly as she let out a low, morbid laugh. "I think my motivations were a little more selfish than that, to be honest. It's not like I felt like I owed my dad anything, and like I said, I didn't anticipate my actions hurting anyone except him or myself. Guess it's true what they say about hindsight, because believe me, if I could take it all back..."

She hesitated, her eyes lost on some unseen point thousands of miles away. She nibbled on her salad a little more, though it seemed like her appetite had all but vanished. "If I could take it all back, maybe it would've spared a lot of people a lot of pain. No one would have to worry about getting zapped by nanomachines. I wouldn't have to burden myself with other people's private lives for a paycheck. Max... I... I wouldn't have to keep pushing Max away..."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Oh..." Jack's heart wrenched in his chest to see Lydia so distraught. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt over it himself. "I'm... I'm sorry, Lydia. Really, I... I'm just sorry. I didn't know this was putting such a damper on you and Max's relationship."

He hung his head with shame. "I-If there's anything I did that made you two feel uncomfortable together..."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Jack, this isn't your fault," Lydia insisted. "I... I know how you feel about me, but you've been nothing but respectful towards Max, and we both appreciate that a lot. You're not the one who has to lie to her every day about how your day at work was. You're... It's not your fault she doesn't trust me anymore."

She took a sip of water, her face briefly scrunching up as if she was taken aback by what she was drinking. Seemed she was more accustomed to drowning her sorrows in a different type of beverage. "I don't wanna let Max go because... well, even if she doesn't believe I still think this way, she's still practically my entire emotional foundation at this point. But... given where we are now, it wouldn't surprise me if she decided to drop the dead weight I've become."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Oh geez, I... I'm sorry." Yes, Jack was repeating himself, but what else could he say? Offering his own shoulder to cry on just felt like a selfish rebound, and far be it for him to discredit Max. She was a good person and she clearly made Lydia happy, even if that feeling was only fleeting for her these days.

After taking a deep breath, Jack thought of something else to say, his tone full of a surprising amount of warmth and seriousness coming from the meek intern. "You're not dead weight, Lydia. I think anyone in your position would start to crumble under the pressure. I... I know I feel like I have to share some responsibility for the things Mexus does."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah... Well..." Lydia looked up at Jack, slowly pulling herself together. "At least you're honest about it. At least your heart is in the right place. All those times that I planted nanomachines inside a host, all the times Mexus pushed a button that made someone's life worse... you had nothing to do with those. You're only doing what you're told, just like me."

She offered him a sad smirk. "You're always talking about helping people. About making the island a better place. I might not have much of a future at this point, but I know you'll have your breakthrough one of these days."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Aw, don't say that..." Jack hummed with a shy smile and a slight wave. "Neither of us will be with Mexus forever, right?"

He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm expected to help people at this rate. We've both screwed up quite a bit there; my future's looking pretty murky too. Think I would've had better luck doing that had the Phoenix Project stayed afloat."