Chapter 36: Project Infrared

 Kenji wasn't kidding when he said his lab was in a quiet part of the city. After Sada, Miraidon, and he passed the Hologram Pokémon Show, they snuck behind a burnt-out spotlight and entered a back alleyway.

 Sada didn't know the meaning of claustrophobia until she was in that alleyway, and her head began to spin. It was also too dark and suspicious for her taste. Should she have trusted Kenji? What if he was pulling her into a trap? Sada didn't want him to fix her because she didn't want him to turn her into a robot.

 "Kenji, where are you taking me?" she finally asked.

 He picked up on her uneasiness and peered over his shoulder. "I know it looks weird, but I promise I won't hurt you or your baby, Sada. My lab is at the end of this walkway in an old, abandoned Pokémon Center."

 A Pokémon Center? Why did that sound somewhat familiar to Sada? She seemed to vaguely remember a Pokémon Center on her last trip to the future. She stopped momentarily and crossed her arms. Her eyebrows arched to the point they almost hid her eyes.

 Miraidon ignored the rumbling in his tummy and edged closer to her—to protect her—right when the shadow of an abandoned Pokémon Center appeared on the horizon. It looked like a ship sitting at the edge of the Earth and a haunted house just waiting for its next victim. Its shadow extended across the alleyway and almost reached the trio.

 "Here we are." Kenji gestured at the obscured building. "Are you ready, Sada?"

 "I-I guess." Sada wasn't, but at the end of the day, whatever happened inside the lab—she was doing it for her family, not Project Infrared.

 Inside the Pokémon Center she, Kenji, and Miraidon went. At first glance, it didn't look like a lab at all. It looked like an old Pokémon Center that Kenji brought back to life. He had put new furniture in it, and the reception counter in the lobby was now a kitchen. A few holograms popped up here and there. One showed a map of Levincia, another of Paldea, and one of an incoming phone call, but Kenji didn't pick it up—although Sada had the urge to check the collar ID.

 "Sit, sit." Kenji pointed at a chair. "Take your coat off; stay a while."

 While she was still suspicious, Sada did. She unbuttoned her coat and tossed it over the back of the chair, sitting down.

 Kenji ducked behind the reception counter and bent over. He emerged carrying a bowl of Pokémon food and said, "Here you go, Miraidon."

 He almost knocked down another chair with how fast his tail wagged. Miraidon stood on his tiptoes and chased it.

 Sada chuckled. Miraidon always calmed her nerves.

 Kenji came out from behind the desk and set the bowl down in front of her partner.

 At once, he dug in, and he ate like a Lechonk.

 "Whoa, Miraidon, slow down," Sada said. "You don't want to make yourself sick."

 "I told you he was hungry," Kenji returned, smiling. "Don't worry, my dear. I haven't forgotten about you."

 Another incoming call appeared on his holographic phone screen.

 Kenji checked his watch. "Oh, I really need to take this." He pressed a button, and the screen shut off like a computer. "Excuse me, Sada." With that, he left her and went through some double black doors at the back of the Pokémon Center's lobby.

 The second he was gone, Sada stood and took a stroll. She searched the room for anything unusual, but she saw nothing. Regardless, Sada wondered if there was a way to turn on the holographic screens. She was smart enough to know that if there were any secrets, they were in them.

 Sada quickly sat back down when she saw the double doors opening and placed her hands in her lap.

 "Whatcha doing, Sada?" Dang it! Kenji saw her!

 "I was just admiring what you've done with the place." That wasn't entirely a lie on Sada's part. It was impressive. However, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was familiar about the Pokémon Center.

 She stood again and met up with Kenji at the reception desk. Next to her was a metal roller that had five poles on it. Just looking at it, Sada could've sworn she drooled for the first time. She waited until Kenji wasn't looking, and then Sada ripped one of the poles off the roller.

 "Whoa! What the heck?" Kenji whirled around. "Sada, don't you dare!" He snatched the pole away from her and moved the machine. "There's iron in meat, so that's what I'm gonna give you."

 Sada reached for her lips. "Is meat like metal?"

 "Yes... of course!" Kenji stuttered. "Just sit tight, and don't leave my sight."

 "Fine." Sada's shoulders slumped, and she crossed her arms. Sighing, she pushed her bottom lip forward.

 Iron Bundle hopped onto the desk and kept her company while Kenji fixed her sandwich. It allowed Sada to pick it up and scratch its belly.

 Miraidon finished his meal. At the sight of Iron Bundle, he hurried to the reception desk. He put his head under Sada's palm and whined.

 "Miraidon, don't tell me you're jeal." Sada giggled behind her free hand.

 Miraidon was upfront with her and nodded.

 "You big baby," Sada added. But that was why she loved him.

 "Here you go, Sada," Kenji said soon after. He turned around and offered her a twelve-inch sub sandwich made from Paldean white bread.

 Sada carefully examined it. Where was the metal in it? "Kenji, I thought you said it was like metal," she whimpered.

 "It is," he said, slightly flustered but still smiling. "Meat has iron and protein—all necessary ingredients for a healthy baby. How do you know you don't like it if you don't try it? Eh?"

 "Eh." He was right. If Sada was becoming more human by the day, she should be able to eat a meat sandwich over a metal one. She accepted it and returned to her chair.

 An intrigued Kenji followed her. "Project Infrared is about to eat a sandwich for the first time," he whispered into his watch.

 She heard him but was too interested in the sandwich to react off the bat. That was also because she already knew she was Project Infrared. She actually preferred the term "Infrared Sada". It sounded cooler.

 Sada sniffed the sandwich. She prepared to take a bite out of it, but she stopped when Kenji said, "Let's take a look at this baby."

 "Wait, what?" Sada felt Kenji's cold hands on her belly. "What are you doing?" she shrieked, pushing him away.

 "I'm just making sure the baby is okay," he replied. "I used to work in OB before I became a scientist."

 "Don't touch my baby!" Sada smacked her sandwich across Kenji's cheek, knocking him back a few steps. Mustard, lettuce, and pickles covered it. She tripped over Miraidon while she attempted to get away.

 Sada fell to her knees and ducked behind one of the couches in the lobby. Hyperventilating, she clutched her tummy and shivered with flashbacks of the earthquake and impregnation. "For once," she begged Kenji, "can you not experiment on me? Just let me have my family!"

 He rubbed the mustard, lettuce, and pickles from his cheek. However, there was still a yellow stain on it. "I'm going to get your family back, but I need you to cooperate with me, Project Infrared."

 "My name is Sada!"

 "Sorry... Sada. However, the only way for me to help you is by turning you over to Turo."

 "So, it was a trap!" she spat.

 "I'm sorry."

 Sada was surprised to hear actual guilt in Kenji's usual cheerful voice. She also noticed that Miraidon was no longer in the Pokémon Center. Where did he go? She needed him! Without him, she felt vulnerable, and she sniffed.

 "You see me as a science experiment," she accused Kenji.

 He shook his head. "No, not to me. You're not a science experiment but a mother who will do anything to protect her family, even if it means sacrificing herself to her mastermind."

 Sada gave thought to his words. On the outside, Kenji wasn't evil, and that was also present on the inside. If what he said was true about sending Celebi to get Arven, then that told Sada he wanted the old Turo back, too. Was this her duty as Project Infrared? It sure felt like it.

 She thought about this a little longer. Eventually, she crawled out from the couch and rose to her feet. "Okay, Kenji," she said, clenching her fists, "take me to Mastermind Turo."