The Lazarus Project No, 3: Old Dog, New Tricks

## The Story

The sounds of cluttering of pans and meat sizzling fills the kitchen, Steven cooking dinner as per usual. Humming whatever he has in his mind at that time happily. The elevator door slides as a ding echoes down the hallway. He looks down quietly thinking of how bad it could have been this time. Arms rap around his waist as a figure hugs him while hes cooking.

"How bad Maya." Steven says worriedly

"Uggghh" she groans, "That shoulnt even be a question anymore.." As she hugs his back.

"HEYYYYYYY!!" Odinya twirls into the kitchen waving at Maya. She stares at Odinya, annoyed but knowing that she deserves no hate. Maya walks over to the couch and lays down with Odinya as Spongebob plays on the TV in front of them. This shuts up Odinya enough for Maya to start to lean over, dozing off. Steven wipes his hands and sits down next to Maya holding her while she falls asleep. But something caught his attention, he held up his wrists to see bruises all over them. He thought of what could have happened to have caused this before pulling her shirt collar to see red marks and bruises along the side of her neck. He slowly put his hand on them like he was choking her to see that the shape fit the bruises.

He quickly nudged Odinya out of her trance to ask her about the bruises.

"Do you know anything bout' this?" he asked, his face stern and his eyes filled with anger. Odinya looked down at the bruises and wrapped her hand softly around Maya's wrist.

"Thats human..but who could ever hurt Maya?"

Steven stood up and leaned Maya against a pillow. he took the lanyard of her neck and started to walk to the elevator. Odinya, worried, started to follow but Steven urged her to stay with Maya, and that he'll be back soon. The elevator door opened as he stepped in, clicking the 3rd floor. Mitsumi walks out hearing the elevator door's close, confused she walks into the kitchen thinking Maya had left early. She heads to the kitchen ready to ask where Maya went, she turns the corner to see Odinya watching TV while Maya is asleep on the couch. She peers into the kitchen seeing Steven's food that he was cooking just sitting on the counter.

"Maya!" she says as she naps her fingers "Wake up, where did Doc go."

Maya slowly starts to lift her eyes up "wh-whaat?"

"Where. Did. Doc. Go."

"Hess in th-" She lifts her head up from the couch to see the empty kitchen. "Wait. where did he go?"

Mitsumi looks down at Maya's neck to see a dark mark down her neck. Mitsumi's eyes widened realizing why Steven left, she frantically shows Maya her bruises to the dismay of both of them. M pulls her down the hallway, darting into her room to grab her katana and heading to the elevator. "Whats going on??" Maya says as she is being yanked around down the hallway.

"Dude hes gonna KILL him!" she says trying to access the elevator.

Steven exits the elevator wearing a black KISS t-shirt, blue jeans and no shoes. He enters into the office section of the facility, filled with walking scientists and board rooms. He makes his way down to a doctor's office, a doctor that he knows from one Maya's stories. He opens the door quietly and shuts it behind him, still startling the women. She gets up from her chair and questions him,

"Who are you-"

"Now Ms please im just looking for someone, can you help me?" he says trying not for her to dart out the door and scream bloody marry.

"Now im just looking for someone, thats all..now is that something you can do?"

"Who the fuck are you. You dont look like you work here"

"Maybe i'm just a secretive guy..i'm friends with Maya Ochomo, you know her correct? I'm just looking for a man she hangs around with, you wouldn't know anything about that now would you? You're not in any trouble or anything of the sort. Just work with me here." His massive stature huddled and standing in the corner of the room near the door.

Something clicked in her head, that she knew who he was talking about, her face dropped from confusion, to fear. She quickly tried to exit the situation but Steven wouldn't let her, pestering her until she spilled the room the man who he was looking for was for.

"I-I dont want to be apart of this, do you know how much trouble im going to get into?"

"I know you know who im talking about." he says with a cold tone. "I really do not want to be sitting here all day"

(It pans back to Maya and Mitsumi)

Mitsumi opens her katana, pushing it between the crevice of the elevator door and prying it open like a crowbar. M grabs Maya's arm as the two leap through the elevator shaft, dodging cable and wires to the next door above them. Mitsumi stabs the next door, opening it and throwing Maya into the second floor hallway. The both catch their breath before bolting down the hallway trying to find a staircase they can use to get up to Steven. Steven walks out of the room and closes the door, speed walking down the hallway, making sharp turns.

He ends at an office room, the only thing keeping him from his target is foggy tempered glass. His massive scale looming behind the glass as his shadow creeps to the door, clicking the handle and swinging the door open. Dr. Irwin stands before him in all of his glory, an average height, lanky man sitting at the end of the room, stacking papers and typing on a laptop. "Who the hell are you?"

"That really doesn't matter now does it...do you know of Maya Ochomo." Steven says with a deep grumble in the back of his throat, scratching to get out.

"I have no id-"

"Dont LIE TO ME!" Steven flips the giant metal table with ease, slamming against the wall.

"Okay! Okay! We are dating...did she..send you?" he says with a slight realization.

"Sure."

"Its not what it looks like see-"

Steven begins to pick up a metal chair from the ground and hurled it at Dr. Iwrin's head, missing by inches and hitting the wall with a loud slam. He starts to walk towards him, the doctor landing on the ground trying to get away. Steven grabs his leg and throwing him into the closest wall.

Steven walks back to him, ready to deal vicious damage but a loud crack rings throughout the thin air of the room. Blood splattering across the carpet and glass, bright and colorful to the grey contrast of the office. Steven's hands go to his side as his head lowers to look at the ground, holding his face and breathing in deeply. Dr. Irwin holding a metal chair leg, splattered with blood. He strikes again, going for the head.

This time its not a crack, but the thud of Steven's hand catching the chair leg. He peers up as his grip tightens, his jaw cut and broken and his bloody teeth showing. Steven almost crunching the leg like an empty soda can and kicks Irwin to the ground as pops his jaw back in place. Bone, muscle and flesh growing back as blood trickles down his jaw. Maya and Mitsumi make it to the office as a body is thrown out of the tempered glass, hitting the hallway wall and landing on the floor with scientists gasping at the sight. Steven's massive figure steps out of the empty pane, beating down upon Dr. Irwin with bloody knuckles.

Steven rises again to turn to the duo, his jaw bloody and some of the skin still not healed. The two standing in shock in the middle of the hallway.

"Holy fuckin' SHIT doc!" Mitsumi says as Maya holds her hands over her mouth, exited but not really knowing what else to feel like.

His stares as Maya with glossy, hurt filled eyes. He walks over to her slowly as they both hug deeply, M gagging from fake disgust in the process. They make theri way back to the elevator, Steven barely making it to the couch as he slumps down onto Odinya, completely asleep. Odinya peers at him and then back at the TV unbothered. Maya and M walk to the kitchen, looking at Elliot and Micheal who are chowing down on whatever had been half cooked by Steven.

"De fush happen do hem?" Michael says with a full mouth.

"You wouldnt believe it if I told you" M says, already eager to tell them everything.