Matty Ballard (halosandthorns) wrote in the_next_step, @ 2009-05-15 13:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | laura/x23, matty ballard/thorn |
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3; Laura and Matty
((OOC: This takes place directly before the rescue mission. :D))
Laura had refused to leave the relative safety of Matty's arms since the moment she had launched herself into them. Matty would rock her and quietly sing to her. The girl would sleep fitfully, whimpering as she tried to escape whatever nightmare plagued her dreams, and Matty would pet her hair, murmuring soothing words. When their meals were brought to them, Laura wouldn't eat until after Matty had taken her first bite, and then she'd stuff as much of the food into her mouth as she could. Matty figured the girl had been on her own for some time. She reminded Matty so much of the scared little girl she had been once upon a time.
When the guards came for them, Laura was asleep. One of the guards, the tall, absurdly bulky one, rattled a Maglite against the bars, making a series of loud metallic clangs. Laura jerked awake, her fingers tightening against Matty's shirt as she looked at the two men with wide, frightened eyes.
"Get up," the scrawny one ordered. His voice was surprisingly deep and assertive. "Both of you, get the hell up."
Laura looked up at Matty, who pulled her to her feet as she stood, keeping the girl close to her. "Where are you takin' us?" she asked.
The burly one shrugged, an ugly grin on his even uglier face. "You'll see." He and the other both raised their guns at the girls, while the scrawny one punched in the code to their cell. The door slid open, and Matty could feel Laura trembling with the desire to run. But she didn't. Not with those two blocking their escape.
They were led down the short hallway, and through another labyrinthine series of hallways, all of which looked exactly the same. Matty tried committing the twists and turns to memory, but she had a feeling it would be fruitless. Even if they did manage to escape, the moment they took a wrong turn somewhere, they'd be screwed. She wouldn't be able to follow scents, and there were no markings along the wall to designate where they were. She assumed that you had to know where you were going to begin with.
They were brought to another short hallway, this one with two doors on either side, each with little red lights over them, neither of which were on at the moment. The scrawny guard, in a matter of seconds, had managed to divide Laura from Matty's arms, and pulled her away, the girl kicking and screaming. Just as Matty reached for the girl, she felt the burly one's arm coming around her neck, tugging her back, making the collar dig into her skin. Coughing, Matty tried to squirm out of his grasp. She'd never felt so weak in her entire life, not against a baseline, no matter how much he could bench press.
Lights sparked against her vision, and the last thing she remembered seeing was Laura being dragged away, screaming her lungs out, until she disappeared behind the door to the left.
***
When she came to, she found herself strapped against a table, arms and legs and chest held down by tight restraints. She groaned, her voice choked and raw, opening her eyes. The room, wherever she was, was cold and silver and so very... wrong. As she turned her head, she noticed a long mirror that took up the majority of the wall to her right. A two-way mirror, she thought. She wondered who was behind it, watching her humiliation.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," came a dull, male voice. She turned her head to see a doctor approaching - well, she guessed he was a doctor. He carried himself like one, all self-important and shit.
"If you call this living."
He grinned, tugging a little flashlight from the pocket of his labcoat. "Do you have a name?" he asked as he shone the light in her eyes. She stared at him for several long moments, sticking her chin out brazenly. Finally, he said, "I guess I'll continue to call you #2299." He replaced the flashlight in his pocket, and leaned in close, tugging up her lip with his latex-gloved fingers. He pondered her fangs for a moment, then moved his hand away. "I was told that you were responsible for several deaths of our team. That's quite a feat, you against an army of trained soldiers."
Matty snickered. "If they were trained, they'd 've shot first. If that was the best of the best, you'd better talk to whoever's doing the hiring around here."
"Perhaps." He tied a band around her arm and swabbed the crook of her elbow with an alcohol pad. A nurse, all pretty and petite, brought over a tray, placing it beside the table. On it sat a syringe and several empty vials. "We're going to be taking some blood today," the doctor said evenly, bored. He was trying too hard not to sound excited, she could hear the strain in his voice. "I hope you're not squeamish." He found her vein and stuck the needle in, not bothering to be gentle.
"Nah." Matty attempted to shrug, but grinned instead. "Should've seen the mess I made out of your soldiers. Got into one of 'em's jugular. Blood was everywhere."
The doctor looked at her, and then to the mirror. "No wonder they want you."
Matty glanced at the mirror, quirking an eyebrow. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, to press for answers, she could hear a muffled, piercing scream coming through the wall. Laura. Matty jerked, testing her bonds. They wouldn't give, and the needle only dug even further into her arm. "You fuckers," she spat. "What the hell are you doing to her? She's just a kid!"
"No, she's an animal, just as you are." He grinned, filling the last vial of blood. "And we're only doing to her what we're about to do to you."
Matty's head was spinning, and she instantly wished she had her healing factor back - she hated feeling this fucking weak.
When he was done, he threw away the syringe and the nurse walked away with the vials of blood. "Now, the real fun begins." Another tray was placed in his possession, which also held a needle - this one looking far more menacing than the previous. "I'm going to take a sample of your spinal fluid."
A pair of hands were against her head, holding her back, and she was forced to stare into the eyes of Big Bertha as he held her down. He was going to enjoy her pain, watching her suffer. Yeah, she was the animal here alright.
"Now, the important thing to remember is to breathe," came the doctor's quiet voice. "Breathe deep and maybe this won't hurt as much."
A moment that felt like forever and nothing passed before the needle was inserted into the back of her neck. Matty felt the sting of tears and she bit her lip, drawing blood, but it didn't distract her enough. At first she dug her fingernails into her palms, but it wasn't enough. Her claws came out next, digging into the soft flesh of her palms, and blood dripped from her fists. The pain was searing, screaming inside her skull, and every muscle tensed and ached. She was teetering again on the precipice of unconsciousness but only through sheer willpower was she able to remain wide awake. She stared up into the eyes of her captor, his eyes reflecting nothing but malice. Tears shone in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall - so she didn't even blink. Whatever they threw at her, she could take it.
It ended, finally, and Big Bertha made a noise of dissatisfaction and moved away from her.
"Take her in for testing," the doctor ordered. "Put her in with the other one."
Bertha blinked. "The other one? Thought we were supposed to keep 'em separated?"
"You have your orders, just do it."
Her restraints were loosened, and though Matty wanted to fight, to maim, to kill, she could barely even move. The guard grabbed her by her hair and pulled her to feet. He dragged her like that, all the way to another room. He punched in the code, and, once the door was open, tossed her to the floor inside. The door slid closed and Matty found herself alone in the darkness. There was a small beep, and suddenly the darkness wasn't so dark. There was a little light, enough to see by with her feral senses, and she caught an unfamiliar scent and the faintest sounds of someone breathing.
Laura lay crumpled on the floor, and Matty rushed to her. She jostled the girl awake and, when Laura groaned, she checked her over for injuries. Nothing obvious could be found. Maybe she'd cried out more in fear than agony. Laura sat up, finally, and for several moments was utterly still and silent. "You okay?" Matty asked, touching the girl's cheek.
Laura nodded, and Matty helped her to stand. She glanced at her hands, noticing that the wounds from before were completely healed by now. Why would they deactivate the inhibitor collars now? she wondered.
Until she caught the scent of machine oil and the sound of whirring gears. In a matter of seconds, light filled the room, and standing before them were a number of giant fucking robots.
Oh. That's why.
Their eyes - or what passed for eyes, glowed a blood red, and a loud, mechanical voice stated, "Scanning. Mutants designated 2299 and 2316. Ability: regeneration. Threat level: four."
It all happened in a matter of seconds. The machine closest to them raised its arm, which ended in a mean-looking gun. Matty threw herself in front of Laura just as it fired off some sort of pulse weapon, which hit Matty square in the chest. It felt as if every nerve-ending was on fire, and she fell to the ground. Gasping for breath, she pushed herself up on her arms, just as Laura leapt over her, three bone claws protruding from her tiny little fists, claws that looked far too familiar. She launched herself at the machine, claws cutting into whatever exposed wiring she could find. Matty watched her as she pushed herself up to stand. She fought like she'd been doing this all her life. She fought like a soldier, her movements perfectly timed and scarily accurate.
Another of the machines was coming up behind Laura, and Matty threw herself forward in a blur of movement. The machine turned to her, raising its gun arm at her, letting loose with a volley of bullets, several of them catching Matty in her midsection, but she kept coming.
"Mutants designated 2299 and 2316 threat level updated. Threat level: seven."
Matty tackled the thing to the ground, hitting it with enough force that, despite being much smaller than it, its head became loose and wobbled and, after a moment, began sparking. The red eyes blinked out of life.
She rolled off the machine, breathing hard. Looking down, she couldn't help but notice how many bullets she'd taken. "Fuck," she whispered.
Laura was kneeling in front of her a moment later, her face pale with fear, and Matty tried to smile. Another beep, and she lost the girl's scent. A siren was sounding in the distance, and several guards rushed into the room, dragging them to their feet. Matty was weak, and Laura too concerned to fight.
Maybe their friends had finally found them, Matty thought.