Chương 8: Is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world

{Nuclear Bunker, 1 year AMW (After Mushroom War)}

"Scared? I'm not scared, you should be the one who's scared."

I looked at the small girl who looked to be no older than six, she had a defiant look on her face, still I could see trace marks of fear in her eyes though that should be completely normal since I did come flying in a metal suit.

I tapped twice on my arc reactor the nanobots retracting into it leaving me with a yellow sweater with the MO Co. sigil on its right arm, a black shirt on which my reactor lay shining slightly, black pants and black and yellow sneakers, all in all a pretty good get up if I said so myself.

"Whoah, how did you do that?" The girl asked her fear turning to fascination, she closed our distance trying to look where I had stored my armor.

"It's a magic trick. How about you tell me your name and I tell you the trick."

"Okay. My name's Marceline now tell me how you did it."

"Well Marceline, let's just that they get stored in this." I replied pointing at my reactor, "and when I press it twice they unfold, like a sheet of paper."

"Can I have it?" She said her eyes dilating in cuteness, though it still couldn't compare to B.M.O.

"Sadly no, I only have enough to unfold this suit or something around this size."

Of course, I was lying I had built extra nanobots and stored them as well with two other arc reactors in my capsules but I wasn't going to let a kid wear one of these, though saying that I realized I was also a kid so I guess I'm a hypocrite, a genius hypocrite.

I looked around the bunker, corpses both big and small littered the beds, in a corner was makeshift house built with blankets and pillows, a plant pot lay at its side with a sign saying Marcys House, shelves of canned pork and beans at the other side of the bunker, painted cans sitting in a circle, the whole place gave the creeps and it was weird how Marceline had been able to get here all on her own.

Still looking back at Marceline I was wondering if she had already been mutated because of the radiation, her sharp fangs, and grey skin a sign of that.

"FOOTBALL scan her vital signs."

A blue light emerged from my retina which circled Marceline for a few seconds.

Then FOOTBALL spoke in a low voice which only I could hear.

[Sir, her vital signs are fine in fact she is stronger than you. Her muscles and bones are denser than average humans and her grey skin is a byproduct of her melatonin levels. As for her canines they are filled with much more enamel and cementum than the average person, though for some reason it's just her canine teeth it may be a genetic disposition.]

"What about radiation has she been exposed to it."

[Negative sir, there is no radiation in her bloodstream.]

"FOOTBALL, scan the rest of the bodies tell me their cause of death."

Blue light left from my retina once more this time scanning the bodies of each one.

[There is uranium radiation residue in their marrow, primary evidence suggests that they died becuase of radiation poisoning.]

"Then how come she doesn't even have an ounce of uranium in her body?"

"Hey kid you in there, what are you doing spacing out? Hello. HELLO!"

I came out of my daze at the snapping of Marceline's fingers in my face.

"Are you like me? Your blue scan thing, are you weird like me?"

"I guess I kind of am." I chuckled in response after all the Hall of Humanity was pretty weird much weirder than her unnatural physique.

[Sir, there is a message box with an unopened message.]

I looked where FOOTBALL directed and there it was plain as day, a message box with a red blinking light indicating it had a message inside.

"Hey Marceline, just wondering but how long has that light been blinking?"

"Red Light? It's been blinking since I got here, I even made a song for it wanna hear."

"Not right now, how about we hear what the red light has to say."

"Okay."

"FOOTBALL hack into it and play the message."

[Yes, sir.]

Then a voice from the message box rung out two seconds later.

*One new message*

"Marceline you're there aren't you, brave girl. I'm sorry I had to trick you. cough cough cough. But you're tough enough to handle this world on your own and it's not gonna change you because you have a good heart. I love you Marceline. I hope you can forgive me."

*End of messages.*

The red light stopped blinking still the place wasn't silent, first it was smalls gasps and then a shriek.

"Aahhh, mommy I forgive you!! I forgive you! Just come back please!"

I looked at Marceline at my side balling her eye out, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried out in pain, I didn't know what to do, I had never seen anyone cry.

She just kept crying and crying calling out for her mother, so only one thing came to mind something which B.M.O used to do to me whenever I felt down I knelt at her side and hugged her.

She placed her hands around me as she cried and cried and cried. I just stayed there in silence trying to console in what little way I could to a kid who had just lost her mother.