Chapter 29 Many faces of Alex

But it was a confusing dream, beautiful but confusing. She dreamed of a globe on which an old, golden tiger was sitting and watching, with smaller cats climbing on it or sneaking around it. Somehow it reminded her of her family. 

She woke up smiling, lying just as she had fallen into bed, stretching and straightening up. 

She saw Babsi standing in the doorway watching her.

"Mei told me that of all the people in the world, you called your godfather."

Liz nodded. 

"I didn't tell Mei, but I've called Dad's number a lot just to hear his voice. He tends not to answer the phone right away, he's always distracted. "

Babsi sat down next to her. 

"And why not him?"

Liz looked at her.

"I was scared, I was at my emotional wits end. Ever since I was a mercenary, I had to call Uther when I was really in the shit. Which I was a few times and now it doesn't matter where in the world. He came and they were scared of him. Really scared Aunt Babs, Dad now, they think he's a despot. But Uncle Uther..."

Babsi looked at her for a long time. 

"Did you know that your holotattoo also has an SOS mode?"

She shook her head. 

"I don't know how he did it, but he told me once when he saw a news program about you when your holotattoo was briefly visible. Well, they didn't see your face. Another one of those things he had a hand in."

Liz remained silent. 

Babsi ran her fingers through her hair.

"Aunt Babsi, why are you the only one who never makes plans, you know, like mom and the others."

Babsi laughed. 

"I knew your father long before he broke out. He was the way he is now, he's got too big a heart, believe me, but it's hiding behind his mind. Have you ever looked at his file? "

"No. Mom says it's just blacked out."

"I had my father with me just before he died. He wanted to talk to me. You know, it kept him busy and worried."

"What was bothering Grandpa?" Liz looked at her. 

"The north block. He never really believed in it at first. He thought it was a crazy idea of your dad's and he was desperate at the time. So desperate and he told me that. When he saw that your father's ID was activated in the system, he thought it was a bad joke. So he called and found out that it really was your father. "

Liz watched his facial expressions, she had a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, but why did it bother him?"

"It was on his mind when Julius Miles showed up in the system."

"Yeah, that's Dad, I know ... Manticore." 

Basi smiled.

"Smart girl, but" She pulled Liz's tablet towards her and clicked through the systems to pull up Miles' file. 

It showed a picture of Alex at 26, but it looked different, yet familiar. 

"He worked for the Americans then too, the name popped up when the American system was integrated. Miles is his mother's maiden name. His father was a gambler in Vegas and a womanizer who squandered the family fortune. 

Baba said he only squandered his pocket money. His mother was a young lady from an American dynasty. Her family was not happy when she got pregnant. Baba said she had to make a lot of phone calls. When his parents died in an accident, he ended up with Baba. Can you imagine a 4-year-old child with Baba? "

Liz looked at the folder. It was full to bursting.

"But what about Dad and the covenant now? "

"Your grandfather has spent the last few years researching the archives, now that everything is accessible. " She thought for a moment.

"Your father only lived with Baba until he was 6 years old, then the family took him in. He grew up as Julius A. Miles. Then he suddenly turned up at the army officers' school as Alexander Julius Kaiser. Kaiser is his father's surname. Very good degree, then at the DSK and so on. Then worked for your grandfather."

Liz continued to leaf through the file.

"After the incident with your mother and he went into reserve, he didn't become a police officer until 3 years later and that matches what Bettina told me. She said Alex was only on the force for a year before he was transferred to her station. Mike told me that he met your father in an American bar and at first thought he was on the force. Until he found out he was a policeman. And even then he didn't play his cards clean. "

" Huh?"

" In the past, training for the higher service was 3 years. Intermediate service 2 to 3 years. Your father did the senior civil service, but because my father blocked it, he was shunted into the intermediate civil service. Not even Bettina knew, I only found out about it through my father."

"So he was an agent now?" 

Babsi laughed out loud. 

"No. Maybe... I don't know, he's a restless creature, Liz. A very dangerous one, especially after what Earl did to him."

"You mean the genetic boost and the immunization against the infection."

Babsi looked at her.

"No, Earl played with him and only after that came the genetic refreshment, but do you know how many opponents there are for that? A lot of them. They don't want to be genetically modified. The demand is minimal Liz."

"The doctors told me back then that I couldn't do it."

"Of course not, you and your sisters were already born modified."

Liz stared at her.

"Please what?"

Babsi sighed.

" Well, we didn't want to get old too quickly Liz, you know? Vain. Well, we got pregnant after the fall of the wall. Sue smaller is normal, that didn't work."

"So we're mutants?"

"Yeah something like that."

Liz looked at her thoughtfully.

"Why, you flinched when I told you about Uther."

Babsi smiled.

"Because he's someone. Who's been a question mark ever since I've known him, Liz. His file is fake, all the psychologists' techniques bounce off him. My father feared him, my mother feared him. Baba loved him."

"Why? And why did Baba love him?"

Babsi laughed.

"Well, that was the only time I ever saw him as a little boy. Alex dragged him to Baba without being asked because she needed something. I don't know what she saw in him, but she was suddenly the grandma on duty and they got on too well. "

Liz looked at her questioningly. Babsi sighed.

"They were on the same wavelength and believe me, Baba had the same dirty sense of humor. We had to listen to so many jokes because of them and to make things worse, she wanted to see Grimm too. Tes well she had respect for her and Grimm you know her personality even when she's not out and about. "

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pulled up a photo of Baba and Erwin standing in front of a company building. Next to them stood Uther, Grimm, her sister, Tes and her cousin. 

"Who took the photo? " 

"Glaub was Erkiam, according to Baba she wanted a photo. That was back when Baba was in surgery and all the doctors had rejected her. So Erwin packed his things and went to Cairo with Baba. The two of them are said to have asked loudly for Uther in a store there. They were then invited by Omegas and taken to the head office."

"How do you know that? "

"She told Liz. According to her, Uther got the OP in the group, didn't know they did that. "

" If that's the control center, then you'll get everything there. " 

" As I said, Baba had the operation there, and the examinations were also carried out by a group doctor. Then she met the rest of Uther's clan there."

" Hhmm I don't remember her telling you about that. "

" Baba was Baba and my parents stood protectively in front of you."

" Why? And why were they so afraid of him?"

Babsi smiled.

" Liz, you grew up with him. You've seen him for what he is. My parents got to know him in the post-apocalyptic society of that time. At some point, Uther didn't seem to care that the world had ended. When my mother was rescued, he took me, your mother and your grandfather. His soldiers, zero humanity. Invited in and taken away like cattle. "

She drifted off in thought for a moment.

"Okay, so back to the topic at hand. Why aren't you at the group orgies?"

Babsi smiled and stood up. 

"I like the togetherness, Liz. The three of them tick at the same level and your mother has been afraid of losing him since she first saw him. Min is hopelessly in love with him, she has a brother complex and he looks like Lee. They're both big men. And Jannet..." she pondered.

"She's already lost him once and doesn't want to lose him again."

"But what about you?"

Babsi grinned. "I like mysterious guys and ..." She looked at her angrily for a moment.

"Damn, thanks Liz! " She turned around and walked out.

"Gitte to me! Pull the others with you. We need to talk!"

Was all Liz could hear. She looked at the tray again, sighed and decided to take a shower, threw herself sideways on the bed and went into the bathroom. She enjoyed it, a proper shower and soft water. She put on something comfortable, blow-dried her hair and left the bathroom to put on her shoes. There was a knock and Alex came in.

"The others are waiting for you. They want to take you to an amusement park."

Liz nodded and slipped on her shoes.

" Dad, Aunt Babsi said."

He sighed. " Are they checking something out again?"

"Well ... " She thought about it and decided to tell the truth, took the tablet, activated it and showed him the folder.

"Yes. I still looked pretty and innocent back then. "

"Well, she did ..."

He looked at her. 

"Liz, I'm the one you grew up with. That's me."

"But you're still using that id."

He grinned.

"True, you can tell when General Kaiser snaps. You see, Liz. People only see Chairman Kaiser. The man who runs the Northern Bloc, who introduced the genetic enhancement controversy. 

The one who enforces such strict laws and rules in the North Block and so on and so forth. There are Free States who fear me, those who respect me, those who hate me. Some see me as a great personality, others as an unscrupulous despot. It is a fictional character that has been created over the years and in all 10 elections the inhabitants have voted for my name, every time. Even if my name wasn't on it. 

As Miles, I know what people are thinking."

She looked at him. 

"But I don't understand, they know your face, Dad."

He walked in and closed the door behind him. 

"That's one of the reasons I let Earl play with me. Okay he regrets it, I think he went into a frenzy. Said even his people would have trouble undoing anything. "

"I don't understand Dad..." 

Alex changed, he shrank to 5'8" and looked like the photo, his muscle mass decreased and he looked normally toned. Liz dropped the tray in shock. Alex looked at her hands and then at her. 

"Do you understand now?"

" Understand? Wait ... But you always looked like this when we were little ..."

He changed again and stretched with several cracking sounds. 

" No. I'd never have any peace otherwise."

Liz nodded. 

"Dad ... Even if I'm annoying now ..."

"Huh?" He reached for the door handle.

"What I asked you yesterday ..."

He looked at her. "You want me to be Miles?"

She nodded, about to say something, but he smiled.

"I hadn't thought of that. Okay, but you don't say anything."

She nodded.

"Don't keep the others waiting. I'm not coming with you."

"But why?"

"Oh, I want to annoy your mother, and Sue's little boy is afraid of me. "

" HUH?"

Alex sighed and they both went outside to the living room where everything was ready. 

"Say, what took you so long?" came from April, she looked like a younger version of Jannet." 

Sue looked like Babsi, but had Alex's nose profile.

"Dad, he was just showing me a trick."

April rolled her eyes.

" Liz, his magic tricks were bad when we were twelve. Remember that big trick where he said he could make the air stand still?"

Mei giggled.

"Oh yeah, that stunk for days."

Alex looked at her in silence, Gitte was the first to grab her nose.

"Bah!!! Alex!" 

He grinned.

"I've still got it in me."

"I can't believe it..." came from Min.

"And then shamelessly in front of everyone..." came from Jannet.

They walked out of the house together and left him standing outside the door.

"Alex, make sure it doesn't stink when we get back." Jannet reprimanded.

"Yes, sir!" he saluted.

"Don't you dare!" They were pissed off, Liz could tell, and they got into the van. 

She sat behind Sue, Luke and Mei in the van, with Babsi and April in the front. She fastened her seatbelt, realized she had a tablet and a cell phone with her and wondered if Alex had done it on purpose. 

She looked back and saw him standing in the doorway, waving at them with his cell phone in his hand.