Page 1 of The Lab: Rigg

1

RIGG

I didn’t know how to do this dad thing—not even close. But when Connor and Lily crossed my path, there was no way I could leave them on their own any longer. I recognized their scent instantly and knew they were from the lab, but not the one I had been to. They were from a different lab.

And wasn’t that the biggest fucking problem?

Every time somebody shut down one lab, there were five more popping up. I still didn’t know how Connor and Lily got away or how they ended up sitting in a dumpster behind the department store in the city. They had no memory of anything that had happened, and when they looked up at me, they asked me if I was their dad.

It just about broke my heart.

At that point, I had two choices. I had to find someone to take care of them or take care of them myself. I chose the latter. I told them I wasn’t their father, but that I would care for them as if I were. Given what I knew about their conception, they probably didn’t have actual parents. So many children born in the lab were conceived in petri dishes and implanted into surrogates. It would be impossible to locate all the people who made up their genetics, and even if I could, the odds of them still being alive were low.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a network of people to help me figure out my next steps. The man I’d called father was gone. It was just me and my adoptive grandpa left, and I worried I was putting him in danger every day. It wasn’t safe for him to be around me, but I needed his help. And he was always quick to give it.

Grandpa Joel was a normal human who happened to be there when my father and I were on the run. He knew more than he should, but not enough to put a target on his back. At least that was what I believed in the beginning.

As I got older, I realized that no one was safe around me.

Not too long before my father died, he told me to be human. He wanted me to live a human life and never, ever use my abilities or share who I was with anyone. He thought that would protect me. And it might’ve, but I’d never be fully protected.

My abilities were too coveted for the lab to let me live in peace.

If the lab had been completely shut down, I could've tried the human thing. I could’ve obeyed my father’s last wish. But they were still harming shifters, and since I was one of the few beings who had the ability to do something about it, I couldn’t walk away.

Once Dad died, I took to this weird life where I would break into various labs at the most opportune times and either mess things up or try to get information leaked in an attempt to get those inside the help they needed.

I wished there was more I could do, but there wasn’t. I even attempted to create some networking groups through the dark web using names I thought might connect to the right people. But so far, that didn’t get me any connections at all. Maybe that was for the best given I had not one, but two little ones counting on me for everything.

As I watched the kids absorbed in their “quiet time,” I heard a car coming down the gravel drive outside my window. Sure enough, when I glanced out the window, it was my grandpa. He had a laundry basket full of what looked like grandchild-spoiling supplies. That was his way.

He knew that Connor and Lily were here, or as I described it, “I had some new pups.” Because even with someone I trusted as much as him and the burner phones, I didn’t dare say more than that over the phone.

I estimated that they were a few years old, but that was all it was—a guess. They knew so very little about themselves, and most of what I’d learned was from them telling me their “bad dreams” which I had no doubt were actually memories.

I opened the door and my grandpa walked right in, setting the basket on the table and pulling me in for a hug.

“Are they from—” He didn’t say the word. He didn’t have to.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how long they’ve been out. I tried searching to see if I could figure out where they came from, and I can’t. Obviously, they don’t know. All they told me was they were thrown away.” Since I found them in a dumpster, I had a feeling they meant that literally.

He gasped, then gave me one last squeeze and walked over to where they were eating little fish crackers and watching a bear cartoon on the tablet.

It wasn’t good parenting—I knew that—but I had to get ready to leave. I was out of money, and I wasn’t going to be able to get a job until they were a little older. But that was the best I could do. I couldn’t risk putting them in daycare. I felt guilty as it was for bringing my grandpa into this. If they shifted early or had some sort of abilities, no provider should have to witness that and put a target on their back.

He smiled warmly as he watched them. “You must be Connor and Lily.”

They both looked up at him and nodded.

“I’m Grandpa Joel. I’m gonna hang out with you guys, if that’s okay.”

Connor picked up his dish of fish crackers and held it out to him. My grandpa picked one up and popped it in his mouth.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I called, and left without making a big deal of it. I read someplace that’s better for kids. Who knew if it was right or not? The learning curve for this parenting thing was steep.

I climbed onto my motorcycle and drove into town, where my car was parked in a public lot. It was awkward and uncomfortable on my bike. I was wearing multiple layers of clothes and had my backpack on instead of my normal gear, but that couldn’t be avoided. I was doing something that could get me in trouble with the humans today, which meant I needed to take extra precautions.

Once the garage was in sight, I parked my motorcycle and headed into the municipal bathroom to strip out of my sweatpants and hoodie, leaving me in slacks and a button-down shirt. I took out a picture of the person I was about to impersonate, and after absorbing the image, I shifted into his look-alike then shoved my sweats back into my backpack and left

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