Chapter 3

-The Facility-

-Damian-

Waking with a jolt, he found himself strapped down to a stretcher. Wasting no time, he thrashed around in attempt to break the leather straps confining him but having no luck. After trying for a few more minutes, he stopped and gazed over the room... no, seeing beakers, syringes and more he realized he was in a lab.

"What the hell?" he murmured with an undertone of panic. thoughts raced through his mind, 'The last I remember was fighting... no scratch that getting my ass kicked by Kimura.' he thought with no small amount of sass and bitterness. 'I thought by compressing the gravity around her would stop her, well guess it's back to the drawing board.' he continued.

Looking at his arms he found a separate cuff on both of his arms. Trying to use his powers instead this time, he felt nothing there. The usual feeling of heaviness he had grown accustomed to in the time he had been here was gone leaving him vulnerable. 'I can't feel my powers?' he questioned.

Glancing down at the cuffs, 'Dampeners' he thought in irritation.

Hearing the hiss of the door, he looked down past his feet and saw a doctor enter and make eye contact with him. Walking up to Damian with a look of appraisal gracing his face, he moved the stretcher downward so that Damian could be put in a standing position even though he feet never touched the floor.

"What the hell am I doing here." he snarked out, trying to get some sort of information no matter how miniscule.

Walking around the spacious area searching for equipment for what he needed, "You are here because I wanted to see you. You see, apart from X-23 I have not seen many who are capable of such durability, granted she has a healing factor, and you don't." he stopped searching upon finding what he was looking for. 'A syringe?' Damian thought.

Walking back to him, syringe in hand he positioned it on a vein in Damian's arm, injected it and extracted some of his blood. "What the fuck are you doing!" he growled out.

The doctor continued, "In order for you to be more effective for our usage, you need to be more durable than X-23 but, for our safety of course, you will have an explosive implanted in your body should you run amok." Turning back to the table behind him, the doctor began to test his bloodwork.

"You see, when I'm done with you, you will be strong." he turned back around, this time with a sharper syringe. Anxiousness set in a while but now, now fear started to set in as he saw the black liquid contained within the syringe.

"With this you will strong enough to withstand your gravitational abilities. If you survive that is." he injected the contents of the syringe into the spot, he drew blood from previously.

Laying there, fear and trepidation nearly overtaking his mind, Damian breathed shakily as he expected pain. Breathing a sigh of relief, he stared into the doctor's eyes, "That all you go--AAAAARGGGGHHH!" he screamed.

A smile formed on the doctor's face, clearly pleased with the result if the sadistic glimmer in his eye was anything to go by. Watching him thrash around on the stretcher trying so desperately to break free proved useless as he was in a weakened state.

Blood began to pour from Damian's eyes, nose and mouth as he started choking, his face turned from its usual pale to crimson. Convulsion started to make its self-known, hysterical laughter bounced off the walls as Damian smiled and had a look of malevolence and wrath unveiling from his eyes.

Minutes passed by until he went quiet, the doctor had calmed himself and observed Damian's previous actions, "You... what's your name?" the 12-year-old asked, an odd calmness occupying his tone and voice.

Interest arose in the doctor's eyes, "Doctor Rice." he answered. Curious as to why he was asked his name, "Why do you ask?"

"So that I know who to kill when I'm free." he replied with a hatred so palpable in his shadowed-green eyes that it shifted the already grim atmosphere into something more... evil.

Barely containing his composure as a shiver rattled his body as it went down his spine, he looked at the boy with contempt and sneered, "You will do no such thing boy. You can't even free yourself from the binds that hold you, let alone kill me."

Walking up to him, getting right in his face he continued "You are weak, PATHETIC!" he shouted as spit flew from his mouth and landed on Damian's stone-cold face, an icy gaze never left Doctor Rice's eyes. Rice looked away for a moment but that was all Damian needed.

Lunging forward, he latched onto Rice's ear with his teeth and ripped it off. Standing there dazed at what just happened, he raised a hand to where his ear was. Looking at his hand he saw blood and felt it drip down the side of his head. Enraged he grabbed another syringe with the black liquid and injected it yet again.

While this did the exact same thing once more, Damain didn't groan or scream in pain once even though he needed a release from the pain. He just gritted his teeth and stared Doctor Rice in the eyes. Resolve burned in his eyes, the color of his eyes changing to amethyst for a spilt second before changing back to his shadowed-green-eyes.

Rice screamed profanities while Damian just layed there not saying a word. Amusement showed in his eyes as Rice kept raging, destroying parts of his lab when he got no reaction from Damian. Soon after that he just left leaving Damian alone. No longer having to put up a facade, tears spilled from his eyes as he sobbed himself to sleep.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

-The Facility-

-Sarah Kinney-

Making her way through the Facility she stopped at the door to Doctor Rice's lab, unable to peer inside as the glass was tinted black, she could only speculate as to why she was called here.

Entering she found herself shocked, petrified even at what she was looking at. A boy strapped to a stretcher and unconscious by the looks of it, blood gushing down his body and dripping onto the floor, one drop at time. "Ah good, your here." an irritated voice said from the middle of the room.

Recognizing this person as Doctor Rice, anger started to build up at what he did to her daughter, but she kept her cool and ask with a calm but sharp voice, "What did you call me here for Doctor?"

"I need you to take this little bastard back to his cell and keep him there." he groaned out, grabbing a cloth and wiping the blood from his ear. Confused at the order but not stupid enough to go against it she walked to the stretcher and put it back in the bed position and wheeled him out.

Going through the Facility, her eyes gazed upon Damian's figure, 'What could have possibly happened for him to be like this? Did he use the Serum on the boy!?' she thought in horror. Knowing first-hand how dangerous the Serum was she was amazed at how he was still breathing when all the others that were injected with it died gruesome deaths.

Arriving at her destination, she opened up the containment cell and removed him from the stretcher and placed him upon the bed in the room. Moving some of his curly hair aside, she got a good look at him despite the blood that was stained upon his clothes and body.

Sadness and pity flashed in her eyes as she wondered why... why did these children have to suffer like this. It didn't matter if they were mutants, they were still just children. This was just wrong, and she could no longer be a part of what was happening in the Facility.

Making up her mind and steeling herself she began to hatch a plan that would ensure the escape of Damian, Laura and the other mutant children that were held in captivity. This would most likely end with her getting killed and she knew that, but it was risk she had to take, for herself, 'For Laura' she vowed.

•••