|
    |
White walls. White floors. White ceilings. Whatever facility the group is being held captive in is
overbearingly white. Four cells make up this space, small and home to a single uncomfortable
bunk a piece; vibranium bars separate each cell from its neighbors.
David isn't sure how long he's been in here. Long enough that he could use a shave, that's for sure.
Rather than pacing his cell, as has become a habit of his, he is presently seated on the floor near
the bars that separate his cell from Jean's, his arms loosely curled around his legs while he
studies the floor.
*
While different from David, Jean has been in the same place for the entire night. Maybe it was days.
Surely days had passed. The only time she's managed to sleep were in small increments that had her
dreaming of home, waking up to only find out that.. well, the nightmare was still real. There were
even little pinches on her arm, and sometimes she even took to biting her thumb at the wall to bring
on the pain to make sure that yes. This nightmare is one that she won't wake up from. And there is
no escape. Not ever. Ever ever.
So stayed in the same spot she did, curled up into a ball against the bars, her back towards the
outer lining of the room. There were times sniffling could be heard. And sometimes crying. And
sometimes an alteration of crying and sniffling to downright sobbing. And whatever food they sent in,
was practically thrown at the wall to give a different color other than white. Soon enough, she'll
paint the floors in ketchup. Or blood, especially if she keeps biting herself.
*
Akihiro has been groggy and out of it since he arrived in the cells, and only seems to be coming out
of it now. "What the fuck." he grumbles, reaching up to rub at his cheek which is now covered in a
relatively shaggy beard. "How long have I been out?" he doesn't ask anybody specifically, he doesn't
even seem to realize who all is here as he pushes up on uncertain feet and clutches his head between
his hands.
*
It was depressing, but David was starting to hear Jean's crying in the same way he heard the buzz of
the lights overhead: just white noise. He'll feel terrible about it later.
When he hears activity in one of the other cells, David is quick to haul himself up to his feet so
he can look in that direction. He blinks twice, his brow furrowing… and then he pales. "Oh, hell.
No, no, kid, you can't be here," he says quickly, practically scrambling up to his feet.
*
It was honestly the best way to take it. Her crying, after all. Even though it made her head hurt at
times, for once she wanted to breathe out of her nose instead of her mouth. It makes everything
easier. But this time, she slowly awakes, hearing the sound of another voice, finally moving with a
slight crack of her bones. She doesn't rush to stand, but she was sitting up, her face pressed
against the bars as she sees Aki.. and frowns..
"Akihiro?" Her scratchy voice says. "You too?" She glances towards David. "You know him?"
*
"Can. And I am. But where the hell is here?" Akihiro asks, sounding more like his father than
himself. But his nose seems to be working now, and after a few moments of it flaring slightly, he
perks up. "Wait, shit. I know you." And then Jean speaks up, "Oh shit. Jean?" He moves forward,
grabbing the bars that separate the cells. "Where the fuck are we?"
*
"We met once or twice," David explains to Jean, his hands coming up to grasp onto the bars. He
slowly shakes his head, blinking hard before he focuses on Akihiro again. "I don't know where
here is, but this is not a good place for you." He hesitates a moment before he tightens his jaw.
Hell with it. "It's a government facility. Weapon project. You need to get out of here, kid."
*
Akihiro has partially disconnected.
*
Jean watches the two men with a slight frown, the news that it was a government facility and that it
was a project for .. well.. it makes things a little bit clear. Especially with David's words
towards Aki, she frowns just a little, then slowly pushes herself to stand. "Aki.. is your father
here?" She asks with a certain emergency. "Can you smell him or.. something, but is he here?" She
glances around, maybe there was some help to be had after all.
"I was with him when I was taken.. I haven't seen him since.." She glances towards David.. "His
father, he.. they did something to him and made him metal on the inside. Someone. But I've never
really known -what- or who.."
*
"No. Just that girl. She smells like us, but I don't smell him." Akihiro answers Jean quietly,
taking a moment to take the situation in. "Weapon project you say? Shit." He sounds extra unhappy
about that. "I just got away from one of those." he steps back to look over his cell. "Gotta be a
way out."
*
David's eyes flit around the room, but he's not really looking for anything. He's thinking back and
putting his mind through some mental math, one eye narrowed slightly. "…he's X-1. If he was with
you when you were taken, then Twenty-three called him X-1," he says to Jean, raking his hands back
through his hair. He nods once to Akihiro, "I think he's still loose."
Now David turns to start pacing a slow path alongside the bars, arms crossed tightly over his
chest. "I don't know what these bars are made of, but I can't put a dent in them."
*
Jean looks frefully at David.. "Logan was X-1.." She echoes quietly. "..and.. they're going to do
the same thing to us? They're going to put metal in our bones?" Her gaze flits to Aki, then frowns
again. "The girl who smells like you.. I.. I forgot to tell Logan about her.." She smacks the bars,
then slowly moves away from them, flopping upon the bed as she lays down and curls up again.
God.. she was such a fuck up.
*
"I kept it a secret too." Akihiro replies angrily. "But probably not. Imagine you need to be able to
heal pretty fast for something like that." He pops his claws out and slashes at the metal between
the bars, effectively doing nothing. "That's not good."
*
"I don't think the metal bone treatment is for everybody," David says towards Jean, trying to make
his voice reassuring. "Those twins — quintuplets," he corrects himself, with a shake of his
head, "I doubt they have metal bones. More likely anything the Project's done to them has been up
here," he notes, lightly tapping his temple with a fingertip. How very reassuring.
*
At least she wasn't alone in hiding things, that made her feel a little bit better. Though, David's
words didn't. It was all back to square one..
"There's no way out, is there?" She asks quietly, curling further into herself. "We're done.. just
like those girls.."
*
"Just have to wait it out." Akihiro decides. "With any luck they'll take me out of this cell at
least long enough to get a look at what's outside of this room. Then we'll act." He moves to take a
seat on his bed and begins cracking his knuckles. "Just don't give up yet."
*
"He's right. Don't give up before you've even started," David says, lightly gripping one of the bars
and smiling towards Jean through the gap. "You're not alone in here. We'll figure it out. And those
girls, it's…" His smile fades. "…different, for them. If the quintuplets are like Twenty-three,
they grew up in this," he murmurs, gesturing with his free hand to indicate the room. "This is all
they know. They don't even realize they're being used by these people. They need help, just like we
do."
*
And what if they don't just /take/ you out? What if they hurt you first. Knock you out. Then do
whatever it is they're going to do to you without you ever seeing a way?" Jean asks, slowly sitting
up. She was regretting throwing her food, she could feel the hunger rising, but she doesn't complain
about it yet. She's went days without eating, this was normal. The aspect of giving up was
delightful, really. She was already having thoughts about biting and chewing into her own skin, but..
it was something far off in the horizon. But she shakes her head slowly, leaning forward, fingers
grasping at her face to hide.
"So rescue everyone. Get them all out.." She quietly murmurs, "..even when they don't know that they
needed saving.." It sounded like a hard feet. She almost would rather just lay down and give up the
ghost. "My.. gifts aren't working yet.. I can't reach anyone."
*
"I doubt they'll knock me out just to move me. I imagine they want me as aware as they can get me
before they start hurting me. I'm hoping they aren't as creative about it as the last crew that was
in charge of torturing me." Akihiro rests his hands behind him, sighing quietly. "Regardless, I
should be able to push through it. This isn't my first go round the government weapon projects."
*
"Hey. Breathe. There's more to you than your gifts," David says through the bars, raising his
eyebrows at Jean and offering what he hopes is a reassuring smile. "All our powers do is give us the
opportunity to make choices normal humans can't. They're a luxury. Not an essential."
David looks towards Akihiro now and feels some of that reassuring warmth drain from his face, one of
his hands drifting to his forehead. "They… sorry. They're very creative," he mumbles, glancing
briefly to the redhead before he turns and paces back towards his bunk to sit on the edge.
*
Jean shakes her head slightly at Aki. "You're being -too- calm about this. I hate you right now."
He's probably doing what Logan would have been doing. Staying calm, thinking. Genetics in this room
ran strong, apparently. She was feeling a myriad of emotions about all this, finally standing and
storming towards the bars.
"More to me than my gifts? I spent nearly all of my life in a MENTAL INSTITUTION! What the hell does
that tell you?" She winces.. her head lowering to lightly thump against the vibranium bars. "I'm
sorry.. we.. we just need to go home.."
*
"I hate me too, so it's fine. I don't hold that against you." Akihiro waves his hand slightly.
"What's the worst thing they can do to me? Cut my fingers off. Rip my eyes out. Pull my teeth?
Already been done, they just grow back. So I'm gonna put my energy towards figuring out how to get
us out of here, don't need to worry about what they may do."
*
David starts to open his mouth, but his eyes drift towards Jean and he closes it again. Any warnings
he might give to the boy would be of questionable help, and they'd definitely upset her. No
sense making her feel worse than she already does.
"It tells me that people are afraid of what they don't understand," David says instead, keeping his
eyes on Jean. "It's alright. I think your reaction to being in here is probably the sanest, of all
of us," he admits with a light laugh.
*
Jean lets out a little huff of a breath. "I.. I didn't mean it like that. It's just.." She looks at
the both of them, then around her room. Everyone was calm, a little bit more level headed.. and a
lot more heroic than she'd ever hope to be. And knowledgable about themselves. "I'm tired.. that's
all."
Selfishness aside, she does manage to crack a little smile towards David, even though hers was a
little bit more ridiculous. "Are.. are those girls coming back?"
*
"Yeah, you're the only one acting like a real person right now. Suppose I should be more upset."
Akihiro lifts his shoulders in a slight shrug. Though he's actually pretty upset about the entire
situation. "But it can't be that bad."
*
David's eyes flick briefly towards Akihiro before returning to Jean. No sense giving the kid bad
news. Besides, maybe he's tougher than he gives him credit for.
"I hope so," David tells Jean, propping his chin up in one hand. "I owe them an apology."
*
"I've learned that people show it in different ways.." She admits. She was taken to a pacing right
now, her lips twisted ever so slightly as she flops back down upon the floor, scooting herself
closer to the bars. "I.. guess so.." She says quietly. "Apologies.. I mean. Like.. if we're here.
And we're not being rescued.. I'd just like to know what to expect and what's going to happen." So
she can defend against it.
She was preparing herself for a clean mental wipe. To shove all that she knows into that little
cabin and turning it into a fortress. It would be like a death of sorts. At least she could keep
breathing afterwards. She smiles towards David and Aki, and it was sad. "You know.. live to fight
another day.."
*
The door to Akihiro's cell opens rather abruptly, and for the second time, David and Jean her soft,
bare footfalls on the tile. And like before, a short, slender girl with dark peachfuzz hair and a
shapeless white kneelength smock steps into view. This time, however, X-23 steps into Aki's cell,
NOT one unoccupied or full of blonde indentical twins.
*
"Just gotta keep your head up." Akihiro informs Jean, though that's cut short when his door opens
and X-23 enters. He shoots up to his feet an enters a defensive position. "What do you want?" He's
not trying to talk this time, he's learned his lesson.
*
"We will get out," David says to Jean, projecting more confidence than he actually feels. "Just hang
in there, alright? We'll get -"
His words cut off abruptly when the door to Akihiro's cell opens and David is immediately on his
feet, moving to the bars that divide his cell from Jean's. When he sees the familiar face, his jaw
tightens, and he slips his arm between the bars and beckons for Jean to come closer.
*
"You sound like your father.." Jean murmurs quite fondly, oddly relieved at this revelation. Though..
once the hiss of the cell doors open, Jean looks a little worried, seeing the woman enter an Aki
tense up. She says nothing, but catches the movement from David which has her immediately rushing
towards those bars, her hand reaching out to grasp his as she turns to watch. They'll get out.. yes..
maybe.. but in the meanwhile…
*
ROLL: Jessica +rolls 1d2 for a result of: 2
*
X-23 comes to a stop, a slow blink pans her eyes to Jean and David. She doesn't say anything, simply
reversing the process to fixate her gaze on Akihiro instead, giving him a dispassionate tilt of her
head. "You must be evaluated. It will be less uncomfortable if you cooperate."
*
"Evaluated?" Akihiro furrows his brows, relaxing slightly. "Here, or somewhere else?" This could
work. "Alright." He's still on edge, but he's clearly willing to give the tiny woman one last chance,
because it's went well in the past.
*
By the time Jean has taken his hand, David has pressed his chest up against the bars. His other arm
reaches through to try and guide the young woman to face him instead of her friend's cell, though he
isn't forceful enough that she couldn't resist it. "Jean. You don't need to see this," he says
quietly, his eyes still fixed on Akihiro and X-23. "Focus on me."
*
"What…" Jean starts, "Excuse me, Miss? What's evaluation mean.." She looks towards David, then to
the other two in the opposite cell. It was hard to read everything without her gifts, those two
seemed calm, David more so. She had a bad feeling, and David didn't make it any better.
She turns to face him then, her other hand gripping the bar as she presses herself against it. She
was starting to slowly panic, a little build that makes her heart beat just a little bit faster as
her eyes slowly widen. "What.. what's going to happen?"
*
The far corner of the room, for those paying attention, sees a change. While most of the time, it
looks little more than a corner, the wall slides open to reveal a camera. While the camera can see
through a small hole in the wall, focus requires greater movement and better field of vision. It
buzzes as it hones in on X-23 and Akihiro.
*
X-23 steps to the young man, holding out her left hand, palm up. When she gets his arm, she pulls it
straight in a surprisingly gentle fashion, rotating it to her satisfaction. "If you are to be of use,
your Factor must be tested." Her right arm comes up, and the glistening adamantine claws appear with
a crisp SNKT. She gives him less than a second, watching his face for a reaction, before her free
hand moves, and she neatly— precisely— flenses his forearm of its skin. Even a baseline human
could survive this with proper medical attention. Physically, anyway. It is a logical place to begin.
*
In the period X-23's claw comes out Akihiro's eyes widen. "Wha-" then his arm is a boneless skinless
chicken breast. "Son of a bitch!" he shrieks and snatches his arm away, clutching his arm as the
skin starts to grow back. It doesn't take more than ten seconds.
*
"Evaluating his healing factor," David says quietly to Jean, moving both of his hands to her
shoulders. "And using it to break you. Cover your ears," he tells her, his eyes flicking from the
shifting corner of the cell to settle, instead, on Jean's eyes. "Focus on me. Focus on breathing. He
will be fine," he promises, trying to keep his voice calm even as X-23 begins her task. Firmly, he
repeats, "Focus on me."
*
"Factor.. what factor.." Jean murmurs quietly. Already, her eyes were turning a little bit red. They
were burning, even as tears begin to swell, her body becomes a bundle of nerves with the need to
look and react. But she was wise enough to quickly do what she was told, her hands raising up but
not before she hears Aki's words. The shriek has her hands smacking against his ears, and instead of
focusing upon him, her eyes immediately close as she leans her head against the bar. Focus? Yes,
when it comes to trying to block everything out.
*
If X-23 is pleased or not, it sure doesn't show. She stands where she is as Aki yanks his arm back,
hands returning to her sides. And again, raises her left hand, palm out. "Claws, please."
*
Akihiro does not look happy, not even a little. He steadies his breathing before offering his hand
out once more, letting his claws extend to their full length. No point in fighting right now, "It's
alright." This isn't said to the woman in front of him, but rather over to Jean. "Just don't look
over here, I'm fine."
*
David actually looks relieved when Jean closes her eyes. "Good. Just focus," he repeats, leaning
into the bars and awkwardly winding one of his arms around her shoulders. It's not the most
comfortable supportive hug he's ever given someone, but there is little else available to him right
now in the way of options.
*
Her fingers press against her ears as she finally opens her eyes. She wasn't a fan of reading lips,
so the temptation of opening them were great. And she did! What did she have to lose, sleep was
already gone from her but it seemed as though she missed the best parts. If Aki was alright, she
took him for his word to turn to look towards them. She didn't see anything but the womans back and
Aki.. well.. being Aki. "But.." She starts out towards the young man, then looks back towards David,
this time her fingers curl around the bar to hold on tight whilst she was being hugged. "I don't
like this.." She whispers quietly.. "..what if you're next.." Could he heal like Aki?
*
X-23 actually smiles, slightly, when he gives her hand with claws extended. It by no means reaches
her eyes, which are dispassionate as ever as she bends his wrist upward. "Good. Compliance is
optimal. Functional Weapons conform to Parameters. Perhaps you will be more useful than the others.
It is pleasant to be useful, without defect." Aki— and David— get a glimpse of a pair of heavy
pliers in her hand as she turns partway to look at the camera in the corner. Then her attention
returns fully to Akihiro, and cold metal pliers abruptly grasp the claw between his index and middle
fingers, near the knuckle. And pulls. Hard. She is considerably stronger than she looks, since
little things like ruining her skeletal-muscular systems mean exactly nothing to her.
About as much as the incredible pain of a claw extraction performed on someone else means, as it
happens.
*
The door opens. Silent footfalls shuffle along the floor, and the two blonde girls pad along the
cool tiles. Their forms, dressed in oddly matching white burlap dresses, make them seem more cult
members than weapons.
Behind them, a figure follows. Heavy booted steps drive the bearded fellow into the room. His gait
commands authority, and every step behind the pair of blondes seems to suggest he's someone who
should command respect. His broad shoulders, all black uniform, and posture generally suggest he's
important, and the blonde's open reaction to him, complete with eyes tracing the floor imply even
more.
"X-23," he virtually barks. "Progress report." His jaw tightens as he casts a glance towards
Maverick's cage, a fleeting invitation for something more profound, before walking to where Akihiro
and Laura reside.
*
The man arrives in time to witness Akihiro's claws being ripped from the flesh of his hand. To his
credit the teen seems to be taking it with his jaws clenched, using every ounce of his willpower to
remain sane for his friend's sanity. "I'll remember this." he manages to hiss out, though it's not
clear if it's directed towards the woman causing him injury, or the man that strutted in.
*
It's probably a good thing that David's been keeping half an eye on X-23. The second he sees the
pliers come out, one of his hands rushes up to take Jean by the jaw and turns her face back towards
him, away from what is about to happen. "Jean, focus on me," he says quickly.
David does a poor job of practicing what he preaches. His own eyes drift back over to the cell in
time for the door to open, and his face pales. The twins. And…
David's jaw clenches tightly closed, his fingers twitching slightly against Jean's jaw as rage comes
bubbling up from the pit of his stomach and he fights to maintain his composure. If looks could kill,
the man in the uniform would have a lot to worry about.
*
ROLL: Jean +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 15
*
ROLL: Jessica +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 32
*
Was that praise? Jean's gaze turns slowly towards Aki, right up until it was snatched away by David.
Something bad was about to go down, and soon she snatches her hands up to cover her ears with a push
of the heel of her palm. Her jaw clenches underneath his fingers, her eyes staring him down until
that expression of his changes. Her hands snap down to grip the bars as she tries to pry her gaze
away. Though.. hearing the mans barking orders makes her blood run cold. She really, really couldn't
put her figure on what.. but she was adamant of not looking.
"What's wrong?" She quietly hisses, her fingers grasping the bars so tight her knuckles turn white.
"Who .. David.." She reaches up to try to pry his fingers away, all points want her to flee but
there was really nowhere to go.
*
X-23 has a tighter hold on his wrist this time, and maintains it when the voice causes her to go ram-
rod straight in the spine. She turns, without releasing Akihiro's wrist, and pauses briefly, tilting
her head for a moment, gaze flicking across the blondes briefly. She holds up the extracted, bloody
claw for inspection.
"Primary extraction success," she reports crisply, offering the bone— and a little bit of ligament,
tendon, and muscle tissue clinging raggedly to it— to one of the twins. "You may take it for sizing.
Factor appears within specification," she adds. "I will acquire the remaining samples now." She
turns back towards Aki to perform… two. Two more extractions. "He has been most compliant. It is
unexpected but not unwelcome."
*
Honey badger don't care if you stare daggers at him, David. Honey badger just don't care. In fact,
it's hard to tell if Stryker even notices when the man seems to direct venom towards him. His
posture changes, arms crossing over his chest, and jaw juts out as he inspects X-23 and Akihiro with
a level of scrutiny typically reserved for mothers when meeting their children's significant others
for the first time. "Do not entertain the words of the prisoners until they've been successfully
enrolled," he orders in that same bark tone.
The sisters, for their part, lift their blue eyes and study Maverick far longer than he should be
comfortable. But then he did suggest their sisters weren't worth saving. They've decided they don't
like him. They hold hands tighter until one looks up towards Stryker. Following the man's approving
nod, she reaches out and accepts the sample from X-23.
Both the girls look back towards X-23, with a faint glimmer of mischief in their eyes.
The camera on the wall, meanwhile, buzzes as it attempts to scan the room, seemingly following
Maverick's line of vision.
*
Akihiro growls low in his throat, claws tearing through his skin as he directes the entirety of his
attention onto Stryker. "You act an awful lot like Burr." the way he spits the name makes it clear
that isn't a compliment at all. But he doesn't move to stop X-23 from pulling his claws. In fact the
one she removed should grow back by the time she gets the second free.
*
ROLL: Jessica +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 60
*
ROLL: Jean +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 63
*
Hearing his name seems to snap David out of it, his eyes flicking down to Jean. He immediately
releases her jaw with a quietly stammered apology, giving her shoulder a far gentler pat after the
fact. As to her question, well… he just murmurs a name. "Stryker."
David is no longer physically preventing Jean from turning around, though he does murmur another
quiet "Focus on me," to the redhead as his own attention drifts back over towards the man in black.
And the twins. Their look is enough to make him swallow hard, but he stands a little straighter in
response. No sense trying to address them directly. Not now. Not with Stryker in the room.
David's fingers twitch at his sides, but he remains still. Not the right moment. Wait.
*
She could hear it. That sickening feeling of Aki's claws being torn from his hand. It causes her own
face to go equally pale, the need to gag or vomit up bile was strong but thankfully she holds it in.
And that was only because David was a saving grace (because he was standing in front of her. That
would have been -so- rude.). She was fighting it really, that focus. The inherit need to lash out,
to start screaming at the others in the room just because she could.
Really, what were they going to do? Come into the cell? There was still some slowly drying food on
the wall she could throw at them. HAH! Take that!
Once David lets her go however, his words were immediately ignored. Soon she turns around, her hand
lifting to smack against her mouth as she murmurs an 'oh god' due to the missing.. claw. But that
was all she sees, the twins holding hands, Laura holding Aki.. and the camera that was swirling
around the room. With a quick pull away and towards the entrance to her own cell, she reaches her
hand out, waving it almost frantically towards the girls.
"Hey.. hey!" She tries to call out, all the while trying to hold her guts in from falling out of the
mouth. "Please.. you don't have to do this! Girls.. we can talk about this! Stop hurting him! You're
Stryker right? The both of you! Hey! Come on!"
*
The remaining pair of Akihiro's claw samples are handed over, and X-23 gives him a dispassionate
eyebrow quirk when he mouths off at Stryker. And then her right hand, no longer needed to rip his
claws out forcibly, smashes into his throat in an attempt to crush… well, his vocal cords and most
of the rest of the area. A crisp SNKT rams razor-edged metal through both carotids. There is a lot
of blood involved, more than the skinning or the claws. The mystery of the small drains in the
middle of the cell floors is solved, at least.
"You will speak when spoken to. Weapons do not have an opinion."
*
The blondes' heads snap towards Jean at the assertion, and, for a moment, Stryker seems to freeze.
Their heads tilt back towards Jean and their Stryker-apparition, that the camera can't see, remains
painfully still like a mannequin on display. Their blue eyes stare at Jean with open hostility.
And as Jean scolds them, they offer back, "We are educating him." They blink owlishly, retreating
back into some form of their programming before looking over their shoulders at the camera that is
squarely on them.
If anyone believed that Stryker had commissioned their most recent foray into the cell, that belief
diminishes substantially as they stare at the camera and it stares back at them.
"XIV-2, XIV-3," a mechanical voice calls. "Report upstairs."
Blue eyes sweep back towards Laura, but the girls make no movement, remaining in their spots as
Stryker-apparition finally disappears. The one holding Aki's claw holds it up to the camera,
demonstrating they are still operating in their mission parameters. This might be the closest
equivalent to a Weapon X tantrum.
*
And after Akihiro steps back, clutching at his throat and trying to breath, there's a shift in his
overall demeanor. The teen's shoulders hunch, and his breathing quickens. "Not weapon." His hands
lower to his sides and all of his claws extend save for the one in his wrist, apparently it has not
grown back yet. "Not animal." His hands come up to grip either side of his head as he wrestles with
the rage bubbling up inside him.
*
Despite the rather graphic violence being perpetrated on poor Akihiro, David's eyes are fixed on
Stryker. Rather, on where the apparition of him had previously been standing. The corner of his
mouth twitches and some of the tension in his shoulders seems to vanish. Not the right moment. Thank
God.
Then he seems to fully register what else is happening, his eyes going to Akihiro and widening
slightly. "That doesn't look good," David mumbles quietly, backing away from the bars of his cell.
"Jean. Back up."
*
"Report upstairs," the voice comes back as tinny as before. The blondes glance towards Akihiro and
then X-23 before casting David one more scowl. Then take a single step backwards, and then turn on
their heel to undergo what can only be described as program readjustment.
Jean receives a glare as they pass. That can only mean bad things later.
With that, silent footfalls take them back to the door where the pair disappear into the white wall
and hallway beyond.
As the door opens, those present can hear… is it music?
The gentle tons of Brahm's lullaby echo quietly until the door closes.
*
"NO!" Jean screams out. Aki's abuse was a little bit too much for her to see, especially since he
was a friend. It was all tragic, really. While she couldn't do much behind the bars, she tries to
anyways. Her hand reaching out as far as it could go, jamming her shoulder in between the bar to try
to reach for the two twins, Aki.. or Laura respectively, anything that she could get her hands on at
the moment would be a little bit of comfort to her. And she usually wasn't the violent sort.
"Educating?! He doesn't need educating! He has been through enough!"
Yet, with the twins departure, Jean's primary focus became the mechanized voice, the camera. "You
want to educate someone? The educate me!" And then she does it, breaking the promise she's given to
her parents since the first time she's said the word 'shit' after stubbing her toe as a kid. "Bring
those two little piss poor of an excuse bitch psychics back in and I'll give them a WHAT-FOR and
a howdy doo!" Cue fist shaking. Jean is really shaking a fist at the cameras. "Yeah! That's right! I
said it!"
Her bitching really does go well with the lullaby in the background.
*
How is a Weapon supposed to get any work done with such language! X-23 is game to buckle down and
give it the old college try, though. She releases Akihiro after her strike, letting him stagger on
his own, but does not stay still. No, she tilts her head down in a determined kind of way, stalking
after him while he is busy with his emotional baggage. Claws already retracted, her hand closes
around Aki's neck, fingertips taloning as she doesn't so much find purchase around is neck as in it.
"Weapon," she says insistantly, shoulder heaving to bodily slam the back of his head and shoulders
agains the cold, unyeilding, impersonal white wall. It punctuates her words. Each time she talks, as
she repeatedly pounds him into the wall. "Not Animal." THUD. "Efficient." THUD. "No rage." THUD. "No
fear." THUD. "No pity." THUD. "No Defects." She gives him one last visit to the wall he's getting to
know so well, then drops him and starts for the door.
"Unlike X-1," she throws over her shoulder, "you will be Useful."
*
Akihiro gathers his bearings and howls in rage, that did it. He leaps after X-23, claws slashing
uselessly against the door as it closes behind the woman. It doesn't stop him though, instead he
keeps at it, slashing at the metal to no effect over and over again while frothing at the mouth.
*
David's expression as he watches is… difficult to read. He gives a very slight, almost
imperceptible nod in time with Akihiro's head being pounded into the wall, his jaw working silently.
"Jean," David says lowly, keeping his eyes on Akihiro as he goes after the door at X-23's back.
"Give him space."
*
Jean was completely horrified. No amount of screaming or flailing would actually stop Laura from
doing her bidding towards Aki. She was left with no choice but to back away from the cell,
especially at David's calm words. There was anger mixed in.. wanting to lash out towards David since
he was the closest one. How could -he- be so calm? How could everyone be so calm? She shakes her
head slowly as she continues to back away, right up until she reaches the wall is when she slides
down upon it to fall on her ass.