Subject 562 / Johhny

"We are stronger than them."

Johnny nodded quietly and looked down at his hands again, clenching them into fists as he felt the warm power inside of him continue to boil and surge through his body. The light on his collar lit up in warning, but Doc's orders to follow them broke his focus. He knew what girls were, he knew what that meant, but he didn't know how. The only confusion was how he woke up knowing himself so much if he had just woken up for the first place? Johnny walked behind the rest of the guys with confidence, meeting the eyes of a scientist observing from a distance and staring him down. The scientist blinked a few times, waiting for Johnny to look away, but instead nervously whispered into his earpiece.

Two more guards approached from behind on the scientist's orders, and Johnny realized a small smirk had begun to grow on his face.

Everything was happening pretty fast, then again, seconds felt like years with all of the stuff Johnny had to take in. Some of the guys had things figured out for themselves already, Johnny realized just how different everyone was. Compared to the others, he was quite unremarkable. He wore no stars, his hair wasn't a bright color, he was just himself. He was the tallest, and appeared to be the most muscular of the boys but did it mean anything? He would soon find out, then again, they all would.

He understood the girls had just woken up too, and from what he could tell, the one called Red was walking them through their first moments same as Doc was. They were an assorted bunch, but then again so were the boys. Anyone that so happened to meet his eyes received a friendly nod and smile, but he didn't really know what to say. Doc and Red conversed so naturally and everyone just stood and stared like it was an awkward high school dance or something.

They proceeded, Johnny taking strides next to the one of the girls he didn't get the name of, just about to say something when everything decided to go down. There was one more. This one was being oppressed, and had some real fight in him, Johnny could see it. As Red got involved in the altercation and the security team, Johnny was overtaken by an apparent pre-programmed sense of duty. Rushing to the front so he could intervene, Johnny was cut off by one of the larger guards, digging his open palm into Johnny's chest and stopping him in his tracks.

"Not another step 562, this has nothing to do with you."

Johnny swatted the hand out of his chest and readied himself to lunge forward until the two extra guards called in just a bit earlier grabbed his arms and held him back. The guard leaned in to meet his gaze and the two locked eyes like two fighters at a weigh in and Johnny's personality finally boiled out from inside, everything he had listened to and seen ran through his mind.

"What're you gonna do? Huh?"
"Young man, the security team will be sure you enjoy your time here." the guard replied with a dry tone.

What did he mean by that, and what the hell was that beeping sound? Johnny looked down to see the glow from the light on his collar flashing frantically, warning the guards that he was trying to use his powers and if the collar was broken, there would be trouble. Called off by the lady in the lab coat who seemed to be in charge, the guards let him go and hustled away on orders. Johnny turned to follow them but it was the shrill cries of agony that made him stay. He turned back around to Doc and the one in the cat onesie and watched the executions. It was intense, sure, but Johnny watched calmly without realizing how heavy his breathing had gotten.

"I could'a done that with the collar on."
"I don't think any of us would last long in here like that."
"We'll see." Johnny said, looking back at the door the guards left through.

---

"Prisoners? Wouldn't that mean we actually did something to get here? You make no sense ..."

Darlene didn't reply although she unexpectedly felt her heart racing as she realized that the girl was addressing her previous remark.

"I..." She wanted to reply, she knew what to say but she couldn't as an invisible wall formed in her mind, built on fear and anxiety, feelings she could identify but not understand or get out of the way. And she stayed silent, lowering her head and tightening her sweaty palms into fists.
She kept her distance as the two groups mingled, exchanging pleasantries and watching how both boys and girls reacted to each other, so naturally. She wasn't like that, she knew that much about herself already.

And then all hell broke loose. As the large metal door standing in their way, opened, the group came across some guards roughing up another one with a collar and just as she expected, the petite one, rushed to defend him with her words only to be beaten to a pulp with no one, not even the one who was leading the boys, assisting her.

They have broken him. she thought. Just what horrors has he faced in order to abandon her in her hour of need so... so... so easily! So nonchalant--

She watched Red's skin heal the very moment the collar broke and then she saw the reason why they had those collars in the first place. She didn't mind the violence nor the blood. Not even death as she saw that mysterious guy shoot the guard in the head as if it was nothing.

She glanced towards the woman who apparently called the shots, she ruled over life and death as if it was an everyday matter, she was used to such extreme events and that further proved Darlene's thought that they weren't the first.

Darlene wondered how many of her group would face such a death, herself included, as conflict between them and those in charge was a matter of time.

Or will they break us too? It's obviously not their first rodeo so they certainly have their ways to make us submit. And if all else fails, who can be sure that they won't kill us all.

She took a deep breath and focused her gaze on Red.

This is a circus. A twisted circus and we are the wild animals, forced to learn how to obey. If we don't we're screwed. If we do, we're also screwed. Obey and live, disobey and die. They are certain that they are in charge, that their control over us is complete and it's true, so far, it is. But...

She smiled and slightly nodded towards Red, Darlene's way of showing her respect to her guts.

Ever seen a wild animal that if you crossed paths with, you were sure it wouldn't bite?

Sony jumped up and down, clapping her hands in delight. She had successfully made a friend. She liked the idea of that. The girl who was patting her head and rubbing her stomach while standing on one foot, suggested that she call him "Fallen Star". But personally, Sony preferred Mr. Star- face and Mr. Star.

Then, Doc caught her attention by loudly introducing himself. "I think I'll call him Dr. Monocles," she has already decided in her head. She watched Doc spin Red around and eventually kissing her hand. Her face turned a bit red just from watching and the others' comment about "procreating" or "fornicating" did not help. She found it incredibly cute to watch but at the same time, she was a little bit envious of the intimacy of their relationship. Though she quickly shook it off. She still had time and the chance to have that "special someone" in her life, one day. By the time she has reached her conclusion, Mr. Star had asked if she was ready to go. She nodded, skipping ahead and following everyone else to who knows where.

When they had stopped, there were guards who were beating up a boy that was one of them. She did not understand why though. It was not a good-nature punch like how Red punched Doc after the kiss. This was different and more hostile. How could they be so cruel? They were hurting him! What could anyone do to deserve such horrible treatment?

When Red stepped up to intervene, Sony felt a horrible feeling in her stomach. She wanted to scream out and beg her not to go. That she would get hurt too if she did. But there was nothing coming out of her mouth. She was speechless. Her hands extended out as if they wanted to reach for the smaller girl. She couldn't bear to watch and kept her eyes focused on the ground. She could still hear the sound of screaming, but it was no longer Red's cries of pain. It was the guards'. Eventually, it became eerily silent. She did not want to think about it, but she knew in the back of her mind that they were probably dead. Red and the other boy...had killed them?

She felt a hand on her head for a moment, and froze until she realized it was just the tall girl checking up on everyone. Sony was relieved that Red was okay, but at the same time she was afraid of her. Sony's eyes were wet and she was shivering from shock. Her legs were starting to feel wobbly and she fell to the ground, not knowing what to say or do.

---

Doc groaned as Red punched him in the stomach. He was prepared for a slap across the face but not a punch to the stomach. He made a mental note of that just so he may be better prepared next time. "How could you get me? I barely understand myself," he chuckled as they led the other subjects to the security room.

He was still smiling until he saw a familiar face being dragged into the room. It was D. And he was talking his mouth off to the guards and getting beaten up pretty badly. This time, he could predict exactly what Red was going to do. She was going to try to intervene. Then, in doing so, the guards are going to "punish" her too for her misbehavior.

Doc's blood began to boil as he watched his partner get beaten up but as he was going to do something, he noticed that her collar was broken. There no longer was a need for him to step in. Their deaths were already inevitable now.

After it was all over, D gave Doc a wink in which he returned with a death glare. Why was he back? He has already caused so much suffering. He... should just die. Doc's anger quickly dissipated as Red clung onto him from exhaustion and his expression softened. He put an arm around her waist to help balance her. She has exerted herself too much, especially since they just had a Box fight recently. He checks on the others. Some were shaken, one girl was even on the floor. Others seemed angry at the display of cruelty from the guards and staff. But there were some he could not decipher as to what might be going on in their heads. Either way, they should get away from here and regroup.

"Subject 133, if you wish to help, please attend to Sony. Come on. As soon as we're all back on our feet we are heading to the Lock Down for a quick tour then you may all finally get some rest. I am sure it has been a long day for all of us," he said.

He glanced over at Dr. Oshimi and muttered softly so she could not hear him, "You should be glad that she isn't dead or else I don't know what I would have done..."

Doc, while allowing Red to use him as a crutch, slowly made his way to the Lock Down, making sure the other subjects were still following him. He felt bad that they had to see such horrible things on their first day even, but what's done is done. Besides with what was coming up for them next, perhaps a little taste of violence was not a bad thing.

Eventually, they arrived at the living room area. He gently placed Red on the couch and said to her, "I'm going to carry out the rest of the tour myself. You just stay here and get some rest."

He turned back to face the new subjects and coughed to clear up the tension in the air. "Well, let's continue on with the tour. So this is the Resting Quarters, you can just relax and talk to your fellow subjects here and 'hang out'. Next I'm going to take you all to the library so follow me."


About an hour later, Doc had finished showing all of the facility with the exceptions of the blocked areas and the Box. They would find out about the Box another time. Now they were back in the Resting Quarters."And that concludes our tour. Now you may all get some rest and do what you wish. Just be sure to be in your Living Quarters by 22:00. I will see you guys around."

After excusing the subjects, Doc rejoined Red and took a seat beside her on the couch. "How are you feeling, Red?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Alex nodded, stepping back. "Of course." He turned around and walked back to where Sony was now on the ground with an ashen face, her eyes wet and red. A brief pang of fury mushroomed in his chest but Alex quickly brought it under control, they had just seen what happened when they went up against the guards here. No, not guards. Wardens was the more appropriate term, he decided. He knelt down so that he was more at Sony's level and extended a hand, rather than presuming to take her in hand and guide her.

"Try not to think about it, Sony. Come, it'll be easier if we're away from here." Alex had no idea why he felt that way, it was not like he had any experience with death and violence in his tiny lifespan but the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' had sprung into his thoughts. After helping her to her feet, Alex helped steady the girl as they all exited the room after Doc.

I'll have to tread carefully with these wardens and keep my head down.
Alex wondered whether that was why Doc and Red were here, as their mentors. Clearly there was at least one other left from when they were born or at least one who they knew. But so far they had only seen three from previous groups, Alex assumed that there weren't going to be many more so he thought it best to follow Doc and Red's example and keep their heads down, not antagonise the wardens like the others seemed intent on doing.

Thinking of survival led Alex on to question how many batches had come and gone before them and what their actual purpose was in the first place. Clearly it was something to do with their powers, the wardens didn't have them and they were afraid of the subjects so that meant their abilities weren't fully understood.

Too much to think about... I'll just follow and listen and figure it all out later. Doesn't look like we're leaving here any time soon.

They continued on, Red left behind to recover for a bit. Alex had thought it a good time to ask Doc some questions but he had a sense of danger hidden below the surface and so stayed with Sony, talking quietly about the facilities Doc was showing them. When they came to the library his eyes gleamed, masses of information and knowledge just sitting there for him to investigate, query and improve upon. He resolved to return to the room once they had finished their tour.

It didn't take long to go around all the rooms, they weren't exactly living in the lap of luxury after all. Doc headed off, clearly going to check on Red, leaving them to go about whatever they wanted to. The immediate draw for Alex was to return to the fountain of knowledge calling to him down the corridor but he didn't want to leave Sony by herself in case she was still troubled by the earlier events. Which would be fine; he himself found it hard to remove the noises of pain and death from his mind.

"How're you feeling, Sony? I'm thinking of heading to the library, what about you?"

Red sat down and watched Doc walk away, breathing out tired she closed her eyes until she heard humming. Opening her eyes, D was leaned over her, standing on the back of the couch "Well hello there, seems like someone still isn't use to their powers, eh?" she groaned and waved him off "nice to see you again to Red, pleasure is all mine of course" he jumped over the couch and sat on the table in front of it, crossing his arms "Hey, since when have you and Doc been a thing? Was that because of the whole situation or has this been an underlying thing for a while now i just missed it?"

"What are you talking about asshole? And you're welcome, a thanks or something similar would be nice, I just got down with my level 4 and then you have to come and stir up shit again, what are you even doing here D?" she crossed her arms and sat up, looking at him.

"Oh what am I talking about? I'm talking about you bein touchy feely with him. I remember back a couple of months ago, you had a thing wit-" she glared at him, her collar lighting up slightly and he held his hands out "alright fair enough, thank you btw, I was kinda waiting for them to beat the shit out of me so I could get the collar to break, I apologize for dragging you into that, but keep in mind, you also did it on your own accor-" he got a firm punch in the chest that made him fall over on the other side of the table and he held his chest sanding quickly "fucking ow..." Red rolled her eyes and sat back, still breathing labored. D sat back on the table cross legged and put his elbow on his leg, propping himself up "I'm sorry Red."

"For what?" she looked at him confused.

"For what happened to the group, to what happened to the last attempt" he lowered his voice.

Red leaned back and looked up at the ceiling "i haven't really thought about it since it happened, there's no need to dwell on things that have passed D" he looked at her and sighed.

"I'm older then you, but somehow you took that better then I would have, goes to show what type of person you just really are Red" she shrugged her shoulders.

"What are you doing here D, you shouldn't even be any where near close to the island to get captured, and you're the one person I know that wouldn't get caught and brought back here willy nilly, so the hell are you doing back in this hell hole?" she stopped looking at the ceiling and looked to where he would be, but to her surprise he was gone. Looking around he was no where to be and she sighed "he's still a slippery cat like always..."

After a little whiles, she heard people starting to walk around in the resting area and Doc came up to her, opening her eyes, she patted his arm and leaned against him "I'm just tired Doc, don't worry to much alright?" she felt nice knowing he was worried about her, was that selfish? kinda, but she still felt nice, like she was wanted.

"This was what I was talking about, there's most definitely a thing going on between you two that wasn't there before" D appeared behind them again and jumped over, walking over to the other couch and sitting cross legged.

"Just like that, nice moments are ruined..." she thought in her head.

"A pleasure always seeing you Doc..." he looked at him through one opened eye while the other closed.

Wow this a pretty big place.

That was the first thing to pop into Virgil's head as the tour was wrapping up. If they were being kept prisoners in this place than why were they given so much room to roam free. The questions just kept flowing into his head as Doc brought them back into the living quarters and started to talk again.

"And that concludes our tour. Now you may all get some rest and do what you wish. Just be sure to be in your Living Quarters by 22:00. I will see you guys around."

This pulled him back out of his head as he looked up at the cloak to see that it was only 18:00 right now. His brain did the math for him so that he instantly new that there was still four hours of freedom left. Interesting the concept of time, who came up with the idea of time to begin with. He thought as he quietly left the group and headed in the direction of the library.

Virgil still could not get over the imagine of his fellow subjects being beaten right in front of him and it made him clench his fists in anger. There had to be something he could do for them or was he just a useless subject and a failure. He just couldn't live with that idea of lose dwelling in his head and wanted to get it out of his head as soon as possible.

Soon, he arrived at the library drifting between the shelves looking for anything that might catch his interest. He found what he was looking for deep into the aisles in a section labeled comics. Just the name stood out to him as something different from the other books as these looked smaller with bright colors on the front. He looked over the books for a second before grabbing a few of them heading back to the center of the room where the tables and chairs were located.

The tour of the Lockdown was met with a child like wonder. But Andarta felt her heart skip a beat at the training facilities, the amount of space and various equipment. "I am home..." but alas the trip moved on.
As would be expected of someone of Andarta's personality she was trying to do anything but sit still. Constantly running to here and there, she was going absolutely mad with the inability cut loose. Sure she could physically move, but it took no time at all to figure out she was a Falcon in a hamster cage. She needed to get out, or at least go for a real run, her body desired to improve and push past itself. If ever an opportunity arose she was definitely going to attempt to drag someone to the training facility, and by someone it was most likely going to be Parkinson...

She acclimated fairly well in the short period no longer shocked by the common occurrences like an ideas or emotions, that said she still is shocked by the actions of others. Parkinson constantly informed her of things that annoyed her. It was like the list was ever expanding! Andarta worked hard to try and keep it in mind. The boys where pretty, in the literal sense, and that irritated her as she has watched them none of them had square features and for the most part looked delicate. Johnny being the exception, she really wanted to trade blows with him, he just seemed like it would be fun...

On her 7th lap she finally sighed, opting to stop and find someone to bothe-talk too. Rather than act civil about it she started to Jog calling out for "Hey Parky! Parkkkkkks! Blondiiiiie!" Nope not in this area.....She started to bolt full sprint to the library...Something about Parkinson made her seem the type to hide in a quite boring place like a library..She closed her yes as she thought about it, while sprinting almost 40kph,
"How're you feeling, Sony? I'm thinking of heading to the library, what about you?"
Wow that sounded like it was...Her thoughts lead to the opening of her eyes, allowing her to notice she had almost trampled the pair of Sony and 'star-face' in a last second reaction, she vaulted over the pair, she naturally turned it into a axel spin as to help burn momentum....and look reallllllly cool.

"Yo!!!! Sup' Tiny!" She tosses Sony a nod before asking the pair. "You seen my little friend? Shes this tall, and looks like shes about to hit me at any moment." While the words may sound snide her tone and phrasing made it obvious she thought nothing of it.

---

Things seemed to cool down after Doc had taken command and gave the tour they were aiming for from the start, quite a contrast compared to what had just happened. The violent event didn't really scar Parkinson's mind like it seemed to do in Sony's, which made the blonde whimper in sympathy for the bubbly female, but something just kept her back from tending to the traumatized individual. She didn't feel comfortable approaching her, or at least around the others, plus someone else was tasked to handle her. Parkinson didn't want to seem like some kind of attention wanting tryhard, and as such refrained from expressing anything whatsoever than what she slipped out while acknowledging the event.

She followed the group, staying in front this time right next to Doc during the entire visit of their new home. The tall blonde felt at ease around this figure of authority for some reason, despite him being a male. She didn't trust him, that's for sure, but her natural instinct to follow a well instilled leader simply took over. Andarta, however, wouldn't help but pester her for no reason she could actually recall. Despite her attempts to shrug off the titan, she came back for more, seemingly unable to take a hint. This of course slowly purged the adrenaline in Parkinson's body that relieved her from her series of headaches.

Why me ... Whyyyyy ...?

She only gave the amazon the most basic of negative replies, uninterested in engaging in a longing conversation with the woman. Finally, the giant's attention span reached its tiny limit and she ran off to do whatever, it wasn't like Parkinson was going to stick around to find out. Doc had released them, and she could barely acknowledge most of what he said as her head pains continuously plagued her cognitive capabilities. Hand pressed against her left temple, she once again tried to relieve it, but it vain, and the concept of adrenaline was still one that flew right over her mind for some strange reason. She was probably afraid of reliving the idea of physically hurting.

When freed, she noticed that in the normal hang out lounge there were quarters with basic beds for them to rest on. She had never seen a bed in her life, but they seemed comfortable and would maybe be the solution to her current problems. She looked both directions, making sure her overly annoying and loud colleague wasn't around to see where she'd run away to. Swiftly, Parkinson jumped on one of the beds and marveled in the concept of physical comfort. Her head felt at ease when lying on a pillow and her body quickly went numb when her almost automatically when into a resting state. She even figured out the wonders of bed covers that prevented her from being cold like before.

"This is so ... Sublime. Nothing can get me n- No. Please."

She whispered to herself before being interrupted by Andarta's obnoxiously loud voice echoing through the nearby area. Parkinson curled up in a fetal position, praying that the nightmare would go away.

Parky.

Parks.

Blondie.

Nope. No way. This isn't happening.

Three nicknames in one go, something Parkinson couldn't bear any longer. She already had two names, why making it anymore confusing than it already is? Parkinson's rationale blocked off this kind of playful and affectionate concept, wanting to be as clear and concise as possible when talking with these people she was already so uncomfortable with. She got off her bed, walked up to the sounds that the female was making. She was talking to Sony and the tattoo kid she found strange from the get go. Andarta was looking for Parkinson, and Parkinson wanted to be clear with Andarta. So they both got their wish.

"Hey. You. It's Parkinson. P-A-R-K-I-N-S-O-N. Or 332, 3-3-2. Not Parky. Not Parks. And ABSOLUTELY NOT Blondie! Got it, AN-DAR-TA?"

She aggressively exclaimed as she approached the group, though the target of her focus was most obviously the giant she referred to. When she finished her little fit, which seemed somewhat a lot less hostile than she hoped it would appear, she crossed her arms. There was a slight vibe of awkwardness in her posture, Parkinson seemed nervous but also quite vulnerable as she looked up to the much taller female, almost in submission. It was like a tiny dog barking its throat out to tall person, it appeared more cute than anything else to people like Andarta, heck even those watching would likely find this rather comedic.

Sony dried her eyes on her sleeves before taking Alex's hand. They weren't exactly warm nor soft, but she learned that human contact could have a comforting effect firsthand. With his help, she got back on her feet, feeling much better but her eyes and nose were still a bit red. "T-thanks Mr. Star," she said softly, not wanting to look at him. For some reason, she felt a bit embarrassed. Probably because she was the only one who reacted so strongly and crying in front of everyone. She must have looked so weak and pathetic.

She followed the rest of the group as they continued on with the tour. She had to admit that she wasn't really paying attention too much at first but as the tour went on, she began to feel better, the incident pushed to the back of her head. It was interesting to her how she could feel so horrible one moment yet better the next. Both moments and emotions seemed to be fleeting. Her favorite part of the tour and what mostly cheered her up was the interaction between the amazon and the girl she seemed to stick to like glue. "Wow, they became very good friends, really fast. How lucky!" " Sony thought, amused but a bit envious. She decided that later she would try to join in on their fun. The other people in their group were a lot more quiet than they were but Sony hoped that she would get the chance to get to know all of them too.

Once the tour was over, she was surprised that Mr. Star had waited for her. "I hope it's not because I'm worrying him..." She was actually kind of happy that he did though. Does that mean that he cares about her? He could have just been polite. Either way, she appreciated it.

She was going to answer when all of a sudden, the amazon was running at them at full speed but fortunately and incredibly, jumped over their heads. Sony forgot all about Mr. Star's question and clapped, completely awed by the feat. "Wow! That was amazing! You're so cool!" she cheered. Now she definitely wanted to be that girl's friend.

And then things got even more fun! The other girl, Parkinson apparently, walked up to them and began scolding Andarta. She finally learned their names. Sony could not help but giggle as Parkinson was yelling at the much taller girl.

Suddenly realizing that she had not responded to Mr. Star, she began to feel bad. It was guilt, she discovered. "Sorry... I got distracted. I'm feeling a lot better, thanks for asking. I don't know where I want to go right now," she said, shifting her feet. Apologizing seemed to relieve some of her guilt, though it seems forgiveness might be the only way to absolve it completely.

She really was unsure about what to do now though. There were too many things she wanted to do at the same time. She wanted to go with Mr. Star to the library, stay to hang out with the comedy duo, and explore to see if she could find anyone else to talk to. Too bad she could not do all of these things all at once. Trying to make a decision is hard. Finally she decided after what seemed like forever to her but in reality was probably no more than a few seconds. "Actually, can I go to the library with you? If you don't want me to, I understand."

---

Doc let Red lean on him; she went through a lot after all. He gave her a smile, relieved that she was okay. However that smile was quickly replaced with a frown as soon as he heard D's voice.

"No, no the pleasure is all mine," he replied, ignoring his earlier comment about a 'thing' going on between himself and Red. However he was still affected by what D had said and found himself inching away from his partner. "Even you aren't stupid enough to get caught after running away," he said to D. "So what are you doing? Haven't you learned your lesson from last time?"

D shrugged. "I got bored, really bored? Decided a new change of environment would be healthy, know what I mean? I mean look at this place" he stood up and then stepped up onto the back of the couch and balanced for a second, before effortlessly walking on it and spinning. He smiled and stopped, widening his legs and looking through them upside down "I see not all of us have gotten past last time, eh Red?"

She looked away and got up, realizing the moment was finished. Moving to the other couch, she laid down and put an arm on her stomach and on behind her head "I have no clue what you're talking about, don't include me in this situation..." she looked at the ceiling blankly.

D jumped and turned and squatted looking at Doc "Why does it matter to you Doc?" he asked curiously.

Doc simply watched as Red left, though not very far. He didn't really want to include her in this anyways. He would have actually preferred it if she went back to her room. He was having a hard time controlling his temper and he did not want her to see this side of him. "Do you even..." his volume began to rise until he stopped himself.

"OH there he is, Mr.Chester came to play, do I even what?" he smirked, knowing full well what he was doing.

Doc was also aware of what D was trying to do, but refused to let him get into his head. He took a deep breath and smiled back. "Do you even care about what happened? After that whole mess that you caused, what did you do again? You ran away like a scared, little kitten. And now this poor kitty came back because he got homesick? You expect me to believe that?" he taunted back.

"What does it matter how I feel? It happened. The fact you bring it back up is not my fault nor will it effect me in anyway. It is not my fault I chose to leave because I did not want to die and it was not my fault you and Red and her previous lover boy did not follow me.What was it Red that said? "I can't leave Azrael and everyone" And what happened then? I'm sure you remember. You two were probably better off leaving with me, but then again you two wouldn't be able to be so close, eh?"

He tilted his head. "Know what I think Doc? I think you like have Red all to yourself. Now that her previous lover boy is all gone, you can do whatever you want, and you have her in the palm of her your hands. Don't speak down to me like you're better then me, I know damn well somewhere inside you, you're glad to have Red here with you" he sat back down on the couch and crossed his legs, putting his hands together. Red had turned on her side, to hide her angered face, but her collar lit up several times through D's rant.

Doc began to laugh maniacally. "Why do you keep bringing her up? What does Red have to do with any of this? People have died and you are talking about something as petty as romantic feelings? Romantic feelings that I do not possess, nonetheless." Doc began to get up and stood in front of the cat-like boy, looking down on him. "I was worried that you were here to stir up some unnecessary trouble. But it turns out that there was nothing for me to be concerned about."

Red heard the words of Doc and it hit her like a brick wall. "Cool, thanks, good to know where I stand..." standing up, she looked at D "Thank you for clearing that up for me, also, fuck you D. That didn't need to be said, regardless of what I learned, so fuck you..." she turned and vaulted over the couch, heading towards the living quarters.

"Oh looky, things getting more and more interesting" he leaned back and smiled, before standing, meeting eye to eye with Doc "You again and again, never cease to entertain me Chester. I have my reasons for coming back, and you will learn that soon enough" stepping up onto the back of the couch again and turning "I am sorry for what happened Doc, don't get me wrong, but you should know just as well as I, you did not have to follow Red, but you did, and because of that, you gave that girl false hope when you two became the last of your group. Honestly for someone who's suppose to be smart, you are quite stupid on somethings."

Jumping down he waved a hand in the air "Always a pleasure talking to you Doc, hope that trouble didn't include chemistry with your partner" he turned and winked, before walking towards the library with his hands in the black cat onesie and disappearing through the door.

Doc stood there for a moment, still processing everything that happened. D really was nothing but a stupid, black cat, bringing misfortune and creating messes everywhere he went. He punched one of the couches in frustration and ended up causing it to flip over. The loud sound startled him enough to help cool him off. He put the couch back up before slumping onto it and sighed. He hadn't mean to hurt Red's feelings like that. But was it his fault? He cared about her as a friend and partner. He stayed because he also felt that it was wrong to leave everyone else to die while they escaped to freedom. He reflected back on earlier on how he acted. Hm... Yes, it did seem like he was very affectionate with her but that was just him being, well, him. Did he have feelings for her? He didn't want to think about it anymore. No, there were far more important things to think about.

But first, he needed to find Red and fix things between them. It wasn't very hard to guess where she went though. Judging by the direction she was heading and from what he knew about her, it was easy to tell she was heading towards her room. No, the harder part would be mending their good relationship.

He walked to the living quarters and stood in front of her door. He began to hesitate. Perhaps he should give her a day to cool off. No, he must not waste another second. But...

He quickly knocked on her door, not giving himself enough time to hesitate any longer and back out. "Red? It's me. Can we talk?"

Subject 562 / Johnny

Things had eventually taken a more peaceful turn. Red was attended to and the introductory process was continued. Johnny's instincts told him to stay out of the way and let those who knew Red better help her out. As they entered the curiously named Lockdown area, Johnny's mind was half focused on the useful information of the tour, whilst the other have explored ideas of what he could do with all of this space, or even what he was supposed to do.

The day had been just the tip of the tip of the iceberg and had instilled an ambitious desire for discovery, both of his self, of the others and of his environment. Parts of his personality and psyche were like motors of a car, they needed time to warm up before getting going. The floodgates had indeed been open and as Johnny studied his situation with a keen eye, he grew determined to find a place in the group, more importantly, he was determined to sate the need to reach his full potential that continued to boil in his mind.

Lockdown was amazing. There was really everything they would need, all they had to do was figure out what they wanted to do. The idea of having this enormous space to roam around in brought excitement to 562, although he chose to maintain a calm exterior as everyone else did, well, for the most part. Doc was a great guide, you can tell he was used to his surroundings. What did that mean? How long has he been doing this?

Johnny's focus was brought back down to reality as the tour concluded, having to stop himself in a flash before bumping into one of the girls in front of him. They were dismissed and everyone slowly dispersed, some linking up and gallivanting off into the facility whilst others simply wandered. Doc took his leave as well, leaving Johnny on his own. He was not worried however, the 6'2 young man with the athletic build knew exactly where to go, the room that piqued his interest more than his own quarters.

The training room was silent, most, if not all of the equipment was brand new and untouched. Johnny entered with the apprehension of a cat exploring new surroundings. There was nobody else even around, and so he examined all there was to see. The weights, training machines and practice mats. When his eyes met the punching bag, it was all over. Something took over, a combination of instinct, muscle memory and excitement. He strutted over to the bag calmly before rearing a fist back and delivering a quick but forceful hay maker, hitting his mark with sharp accuracy. He looked at his fist, still tightly coiled and hungry and smiled.

"Yes, this is good." he whispered without even realizing.

His body did the rest, punches, kicks, knees, elbows. Johnny displayed fluent proficiency in forms like muay thai, krav maga, sambo, boxing and jiu jitsu in a matter of minutes and he had no idea how. He just knew it felt good, his muscles were working hard for the first time and it was apparent. The punching bag was already lumpy and worn. He hadn't even broken a sweat, Johnny smiled, catching his breathe as the tired bag swung back and forth until he heard screaming from somewhere down the way. Poking his head out, he saw the small group of his peers gathering and let out a sigh of relief as no trouble seemed to have been brewing. Casually walking over to the group, Johnny put his hands in his pocket and found a spot in the circle of people to stand in. Still feeling jovial from his punching bag session, Johnny smiled and waved to everyone there.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Alex awaiting Sony's answer but before she had a chance to reply the Amazon had hurtled over their heads with her usual, loud presence. The only expression of his irritation was his lips pressing thinly together; they had only been together for a bit so he was trying not to judge anyone's character just yet however this woman was beginning to get on his nerves. She was too loud, too active with no apparent filter; yelling out whatever came into her mind and then expressing the surprise she felt at her thoughts.

Instead, he forced a smile although it didn't reach his eyes. "Sorry, I haven't-" Then the target of the Amazon's search appeared, clearly as irritated as he was but forced to express it as she was the most affected by their overly active fellow subject. He admired the fact that Parkinson was upfront about her feelings, establishing what she would accept in terms of naming from the outset. While he had no qualms about what he was called, concerning himself more with what he called himself, he could see why the array of names being laid out before Parkinson would be a source of annoyance with everything else that was already going on.

Feeling like he should step in, even for a moment, Alex coughed to draw the attention of the two and then gestured to Parkinson before speaking in his mild-mannered way. "Andarta, is it? I think you should listen to Parkinson. She's clearly upset about your nicknames and we're under enough pressure and stress as it is without anyone adding to it - don't call someone by something they don't wish to be called by. I think we can all appreciate that, no?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as some of the anger he felt towards the apparently arbitrarily chosen name he had been given bled through but he quickly quashed the emotion and nodded to the two before turning back to Sony.

"I'm glad, it wasn't something you'd want to see at any time. Especially in one of our first moments." After she had made her decision he nodded, acknowledging it, and smiled softly. "Of course. It was this way, I believe." He gestured in the direction of the library, quickly informing the tall boy who had just greeted them of where the two were going, before heading towards the room. Once they arrived he stared hungrily at the books piled on shelf after shelf, trying to decide where the best place was to start.

There was just too much choice, too much to learn.

He turned to Sony and nodded towards the shelves. "What were you going to look for? I want to find a reason to use the name they gave me... so it's my choice. I'm sure I can find an answer somewhere in here." Then he noticed that they were not alone in the room and he remembered the boy's name as Virgil; he seemed to be the quiet type so Alex made no move to include him.

It didn't take him long to find an array of books in the history section which appealed to him.

Alexander the Great? Is that what they term ego? Well, let's see why they called him 'Great'. Maybe then I can use this name.

"Hey. You. It's Parkinson. P-A-R-K-I-N-S-O-N. Or 332, 3-3-2. Not Parky. Not Parks. And ABSOLUTELY NOT Blondie! Got it, AN-DAR-TA?"

.....P-A-R-K-I-N-S-O-N....Letters are fun to think. The way they separate and take more time to think and say than how they do combined is so strange. They are the same amount but more?! Ooooh and numbers as well.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Looked at the man, he was a man. Unlike the boys. He had the proper build for it, she thought of how his musculature lines up and folds over the skeletal structure. His limits in flexibility would make it ideal to...Her mental bout was interrupted by Starface! HOW DARE HE

"Andarta, is it? I think you should listen to Parkinson. She's clearly upset about your nicknames and we're under enough pressure and stress as it is without anyone adding to it - don't call someone by something they don't wish to be called by. I think we can all appreciate that, no?"

Her smile never dropped but now her brow furrowed, annoyed with the 'boys' attitude. She tossed Johnny a Half-ass Salute noting the direction of where he arrived from "Heeeey I wanted to use that stuff first! You didn't break anything did you! You look like you could break stuff! We should fight I wanna break you!" A light-hearted tone despite the gravity of her notion. Her eyes shifted to the midget little punk-ass who needs to step off before...." I don't like you Starboy, Shuddup!" Her attention shifts back to her inital Objective. "Sorry sorry! P-A-R-K-inson! I was just looking for you because they have the big training center and the food stuffs! Oh and the lights are soooo bright here! Did you see the chair in that one room! It was a really nice chair!" The woman had not noticed she had walked over to the girl, and at some point in her questions she had picked her up, similar to how you pick up a smaller child.

"I like this place! Even if it only has one man for me to break!" Wait break? Is that the right word. She pulls Parkinson close as she questions. "Break is the right word right? I don't want to look stupid." Suddenly she tosses Parkinson in the air as she panics at the notion she had picked her up at all.

"Oh shit! Sorry! You don't like the touching!" Wait she just threw the girl into the air....How high! Wow she was so light If there was not a ceiling how much higher could she throw her?Throw....SHIT! "Wait can I catch you?! I don't want to make you mad!"

---

With the sudden entrance of Johnny in the scene, Parkinson turned her head in such a swift and mechanical fashion that it almost seemed like she emerged from a horror movie. She of course, glared at him, not because she disliked him but of the lack of trust he had toward the males and the current circumstances which simply infuriated her. A wave of relief would breeze through her as the star faced boy would, apparently, side with the blonde on this particular event. Though she would feel she had just gained an ally, she realized that such a reaction was completely unwarranted and she had it completely under control. The only thing now in Parkinson's mind, at least concerning this particular event, was what he wanted from her. Strangely, she immediately assumed that nothing like this could be free.

"Erm... Thanks?"

With that awkward stare, the star faced had finally left along with the short female who barely manifested herself. Oddly enough, Parkinson expected that girl to speak more than the boy, but that was quickly irrelevant when Andarta expelled her obnoxious babbling again. Parkinson's glare directed itself back on the colossus, the smaller Parkinson trying her best to fixate the woman in the eyes, though the exaggerated size made it a not so easy task. Inhaling deeply, she tried to collect herself this time before bursting out, experimenting on a possibly more political approach to see if anything would happen. Waiting for the right moment, the easy enraged female opened her mouth...

"Look, Let's jus- Wait why do want me for the gym? Oh... No no no!"

Andarta was getting way too touchy this time around, pulling Parkinson closer with her massive hands. The thin female could just imagine those hands crushing her very being as the amazon just laughed it off. She was paralyzed in fear, unable to even slap the hands away anymore, like an animal trapped in a corner. All she could do is fixate the woman and hope for a quick end.

Break ... Break?! Oh God ...

Andarta's choice of words were bad enough that even she questioned their consistency in this situation. Of course, Parkinson couldn't say anything in the state she was in. Not that she'd have time to as the following second, she was in the air. At first, the long haired girl didn't understand what she was feeling. She ascended, and her insides felt tingly and she didn't recognize her environment. She just saw white walls, the floor, and the ceiling all at once. It would only be when she was falling down that she'd notice she was, well, falling down.

Oh...

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Catchmecatchmecatchmecatchme!!!!!!"

She screeched for the giant to catch her, the scream being strong enough to echo right to the library. Her body would be flailing in every possible direction as she slowly crashed toward the floor. Only Andarta would prevent her from becoming potato stew.

@MonkeyBusiness

Walking through the library, he whistled and saw a boy with a star face and a girl next to him. He thought for a moment, before waving it off and standing on railing of the giant hole in the middle of the library he looked down and saw it was pretty much empty save a few scientist and guards. They looked up at him and he winked before walking along the railing, whistling and looking for something to do. A guard appeared next to him "Subject, get down before you fall" he laughed and looked over his shoulder "Do you have to follow after me to ensure i don't die from the fall?" he stopped and the female guard stood confused "....I guess?" he raised an eye brow. Turning to her, he put a foot back and she reached out "let's test that out eh?" she shook her head and he smiled "yes? Good!" he jumped back and the guard reached for him, but she reached to far and fell over, yelling. The guards on the lower level got up from the tables and ran towards them. The little man sighed and reached out, grabbing the girl and carrying her bridal style.

Landing on a table, the books and papers were sent everywhere as he landed and it broke. He stood and placed the guard in the care of her partners, who were glaring at D "Damn subjects, crazy mother fuckers..." they checked on the shaken girl and D laughed "she's a good one, she did her job, more than you guys would do..." he walked towards the stairs up against the wall, walking back up, he saw a kid sitting by himself reading, it kinda struck him funny that the guy was by himself, so he walked over from behind quietly, before taking chair next to Virgil, he turned the chair around and sat leaning against the chair with his stomach and chest, resting his head on the back "Hello there, I dont usually do this, but it seems you are alone and Im not doing anything" the little guy raised a hand towards him for him to shake "Names 000 but they call me D" he laughed jokingly.

Subject 562 / Johnny

The blonde's glare was a bit unsettling, to say the least. The dramatic fashion in which she turned to face Johnny was almost enough to make him flinch backwards, instead opting to just blink a few times and let a dopey look spill over his face. She was the one who was doing all of the yelling, but there didn't seem to be too much going on in the group. 133 was saying some things to Andarta as he walked over but he didn't really catch any of it. 133 was so level headed and calm, things Johnny could tell weren't shared qualities. The diversity of the two groups that had recently become one was something to be celebrated, Johnny liked the varied aspect of everyone introduced so far.

There were some like him, and some who weren't in many ways. He would come to learn more and more about the others. Andarta's stare was something different all together. Johnny could see the gears turning in her head, she was analyzing him, scouting him. Johnny looked around at the others to see if anyone noticed, and nobody was really paying any mind, making it a bit weirder. Johnny was just about to say something when Andarta's voice bellowed out, "Heeeey I wanted to use that stuff first! You didn't break anything did you! You look like you could break stuff! We should fight I wanna break you!" she exclaimed.

Johnny smiled confusingly, surely she meant something along the lines of 'break you in, right? What else could she mean?

"I, uhhh-" was all he could manage to get out before she shifted her focus on to 133, proclaiming her disdain for the star faced boy with a joyous vigor that just made Johnny even more confused. That was all before she walked over to Parkinson, picking her up and throwing her in the air like some pizza dough. Johnny's eyes widened as Parkinson floated for a second before coming back down, taking a step forward before stopping himself. Andarta was more than capable of catching her, she was huge, it'd be easier for her than it'd be for Johnny. Plus, the two's familiarity with each other was apparent, he wasn't one to intrude.

Looking around, 562 had seen that many of the others had spread out even more, Johnny caught a view of the one getting beat earlier making his way to the library that Virgil went off to before 133 and Sony. "Hmm." was all Johnny could come up with, standing there on his own with his hands in his pockets as he kept watching Andarta and Parkinson. The want for a friend seeped in, not out of jealousy but out of admiration. They worked well together, albeit a bit dysfunctional but hey, they were alright. Maybe Johnny would have something like that with someone, maybe it'd be something more. Until then, he just stood there, still deciding what was to make of everything that had transpired thus far.

Sony waved goodbye to Parkinson, Andarta, and the boy who had just walked up to them. He seemed friendly enough though, so she made a mental note to get to know him better later as well. She followed Mr. Star's lead back to the library and couldn't help but smile as Mr. Star seemed to be mesmerized by the sight of rows and rows of book shelves. There were a lot, a lot of books which meant there were a lot, a lot of words to go with them. Sony realized that she has never read anything before yet somehow those symbols, or letters, made sense to her and had meanings once they were put together. For example, that sign said 'L-i-b-r-a-r-y' which spelled out 'library' which was a building that holds many books and other resources that people are able to use to obtain information or simply for recreational purposes. It was convenient but kind of weird that they already had some knowledge and skills installed into them.

Sony smiled shyly at Mr. Star as he spoke to her, asking her what she was going to look for. She hadn't really thought about that. She just wanted to hang out with him. "I want to read something..." she began, trying to think of something that she could say. Well, there was something she was interested in. "Oh! I want to read some fiction. I don't know what exactly yet, but I think I'll find something I like there." . She glanced over at the large fiction section to discover that it was separated to even more subcategories. Romance, Sci-fi, Historical, Modern, and it seemed to go on and on.

She would check it out later, but first followed Mr. Star into the history section. "I hope you find a good reason to use your name. I... don't think I actually know what your name is but even if you find a reason to use it, can I still call you Mr. Star Face or Mr. Star?" she asked, while tilting her head slightly.

It seemed that her friend had already found a book that caught his attention, so she made her way back to the fiction section. She did not really know where to start and there were so many books, filled with so many things. It was all dizzying. But she needed to start somewhere. She closed her eyes and held her hand out and then spun around a few times before stopping in front of a book shelf. She found her hand pointing at a book titled "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. The cover was pretty enough so she decided to give it a shot.

She found a table, hoping that Mr. Star would find a book and join her. Sitting at another table was another boy, with very interesting green hair that she wanted to touch to see if it was real. It reminded her of seaweed. Then came the cat boy, the one that was getting beat up horribly and then... She felt scared just looking at him. She didn't want to be scared. He looked nice and his cat onesie was really cute. But she could not stop thinking about what happened earlier when she looks at him. She opened her book quietly, but could not focus on the words. She forced herself to read the words out loud, but softly enough so it wouldn't bother anyone. "Robert Cohn was a middleweight boxing champion of Princeton..." Every once in a while, she would pause and look up from her book to see if he was still there. There were words that she did not know and some that simply did not sink in but kept going, half-heartedly.



Red sat against her door and threw a rubber ball across her room "What's there to talk about Doc, you made you point clear." She threw the ball with more aggression, slightly getting angered by the whole situation. D was not an antagonist but he knew what he was doing, very clearly in fact, and she hated that he could be the way he was, he wasn't bound to stuff like this, because he clearly did not give a fuck.

Doc coughed awkwardly. He still hasn't figured out what he had wanted to say to his partner. He leaned back against the door once he was certain that she wasn't going to open it any time soon. "Why has this... we haven't... our relationship has been..." for once the words coming out of his mouth was not making coherent sense. He paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. "Do you care for me in that way?" he finally asked.

She scoffed. "Do I care for you in that way? Can I ask you a question? Doc? How long have we been together? How long have we suffered together that I wouldn't grow an attachment to you? Wouldn't feel things towards you? For a smart guy, you're a fucking dumbass sometimes..."

"So it is only because of the situation? It's not because of who I am?" Doc replied, staring hard at the ground. "If Zayn was here, what would I be to you?"

After saying that, he quickly regretted it. "Sorry, that was unfair of me."

"Ouch cutting deep with that one arent we....." she angrily laughed out and threw the ball with enough force to get it stuck in the middle, before Doc started speaking again.

He slunk down so he was sitting on the floor, resting his back on the door and sighed. He wasn't fixing anything. Now he was simply digging up more skeletons. "Red, I don't know how I feel for you..." he began. "No, actually, I do. What I feel for you is more than some petty romantic feelings. I don't dream about holding your hands or kissing you. But I know that I want you by my side because you are my anchor. And like you have said, after everything we have went through, if you weren't here with me, there would be nothing stopping me from destroying myself." His body was shaking as he spoke, but he had finished his piece. Now, he waited for Red's response.

Hitting her with what he said, she froze in place and didn't know what to think in all honesty, it was Doc...that's for sure, he was being extremely...different with that, she had never heard that from him.

Doc would feel the door open behind him and and he'd d fall back, his head resting on Red's thighs and her face covered with her hair "You realize that was probably the most god damn cheesiest thing I've heard since Zayn was around right? You're a fucking dork..." she laughed and then she realized the position he was in, her face getting serious, she moved her hair out of her face and lowered her face to his, just to kiss him slightly before pulling back quickly "Wait, I'm sorry that was uncalled for..."

Doc's eyes widened as he felt himself get pulled down onto Red's lap. He didn't have any time to respond to her when she leaned down, placing her lips onto his. After she broke away, he did not move and just gazed up at her face. Strange, he never really gotten a good look at her face before. It was hard to imagine that this young-looking girl has been forced to see and do such unspeakable things. Her red eyes revealed her vulnerability at this moment. Was she hoping for something? Expecting something from him?

Awkwardly, though it did not seem necessary at this point, he asked, "Are we okay again?"

She sighed "You're still a dumbass that cant take a hint...yes we're fine, but you know...we're in my room and that's totally against the rules, might as well get into more trouble, right?" she started raising her shirt, until she started laughing hard, lowering her shirt back "I'm just fuckin with ya, now are you going to give me another kiss or are we gunna sit here awkwardly and not doing anything, I figure we're old enough, so you gunna make me keep asking?" she played with his hair and she looked at him again.

Doc sighed in relief as Red put her shirt back down. "We haven't officially discussed the terms of our relationship so I'm not entirely sure how appropriate this is." he replied blankly.

"Oh god dammit Doc-" she leaned her face down until she kissed him and her hands reached to the side of his face. Moving him up she sighed "you suck so much sometimes...." pulling the ball out of the wall, she turned and leaned against the back metal wall of her room "So I guess lets talk about it..."

The second kiss should have been less of a surprise for Doc but it wasn't. He froze and did not move until she lifted his head off her lap to get up. He followed her, getting up himself and walked towards her. "Yes, so..." Doc had only read about the dreaded "talk" in books and never expected to have to do such nonsense himself. But he supposed he kind of knew the direction of the conversation. "...how would you like to define our relationship?" he asked.

"Define our relationship? Gosh Doctor I dont know, sometimes i feel like he doesn't treat me right, he beats me to, Doctor what do i do? Should I dump him?" she joked and laughed "Jesus Doc, are you always gunna be so...I dunno Doc about it? How would you like to categorize our relationship Doc? Answer that first and then I'll answer you" she held her arms behind her back and clasped her fingers together.

"Can we just go back to the way we were before all of this?" answered Doc. "It was working just fine before and we don't need to complicate things. Yes, I liked our previous arrangement very much. Your thoughts?"

Red remained silent, walking to her desk, she pulled the chair out and pulled it up in front of Doc. "You are the biggest fucking idiot I have ever met, after all I just confessed to you and then you want to go back to normal. You said those things and you expect us to go back to normal like that? Really?" she looked at him face to face.

Doc looked into her eyes, without even blinking. "My dear, I do not remember a confession on your part." He gave her a mischevous smile and patted her on the head. "So you were saying?"

Red put her hands on his face "My kiss was my confession you asshole...." she pulled him closer and kissed him again, pulling her face away slightly "and I'm gunna keep doing it until you do it back, so does that answer your question you asshole?" before giving him a chance to answer she kissed him again, pulling back and putting a hand on her hip.

As Doc was being drowned in Red's kisses, he could not help but smile. He raised his hand so his index finger was in between their lips. "Fine, fine. You win. I will play this 'dating' game with you but I assure you, I am definitely not one's ideal lover." He grabbed Red's face and kissed her passionately and when he broke the kiss, he kissed her once more on the forehead. "I am free now, right?" he chuckled, turning around and made his way back towards the door. "Good night, Red."

Red smirked, jumping on his back from the chair, she wrapped her legs around his waist "Oh no you dont, not so fast Mister" she giggled and then put her forehead on his shoulder "I love you Doc...just wanted to say that..." she bit him playfully "Don't you dare use that against me...dork..." she smiled like an idiot out of the view of Doc.

Doc rolled his eyes, though Red wouldn't be able to see it. "Yes, yes. Thank you. Good night," he replied, trying to remove himself from her grasp.

"Mmmm...you gotta join me~" she said holding on tighter.

Doc began to loosen her grip on him, gently pulling her off his back. "Red, I will see you tomorrow." His voice became more stern. "You know the consequences of me staying here with you already."

She looked at him "Please? So I know this isn't me just asleep...Im not asking because Im playing with you, Im asking because im afraid that Ill lose this..."

Doc caressed her face with one hand while the other was placed on her shoulder. "I promise you that this is real. Tomorrow morning, the first thing I will say to you is, 'Good morning, Red.' and the second thing I'm going to say is, 'Fruit cake'. and then you are going to know for sure that this was real. Now good night, Red." He leaned in to kiss her once more on the cheek. Convinced that she must be finally satisfied with him, he left her room and went into his own.

Lying on the bed, he sighed deeply. "Well, today was eventful. Damn D and his meddling ways. Now what have I gotten myself into?" he thought to himself and he just sat there for hours, thinking before he fell asleep.

The magical words, Andarta smiled at this turn of events, Parkinson was begging for her to catch her! Ha! She knew it, no one dislikes pysical contact! Even pain feels good, makes you want to rebel. What is pain anyway, An electrical signal fired off from the nerves to inform the brain of danger, but can also be caused by stress, your bodies tension can trigger constricting of....Parkinson is about to crash into her by that point. A single arm reached out running along Parkinson's much smaller one, to grasp her at the shoulder. In a smooth motion, she would eliminate the momentum of the fall by pulling Parkinson into her, all the while spinning to ensure it wasn't a slam!

The motion ended with Parkinson pulled to Andarta and their other hand held out to the side....

"I know how to Ballroom dance! That was a mixture of figure skating and a Waltz over arch!"

She turned to Johnny, "Wait wait! Can you do that too?!" just as abruptly kneeled down to her much smaller counterpart to look her in the eye. "Lets go practice! We could be the best dancers ever! In the history of our brief lives even!" She began to pull Parkinson along in the direction of the training room. With her other hand she grabbed Johnny's loose garments. "You as well! Lets go punch each other! I feel like you would like it as much as I would." Sure he could resist, but she doubted he would.

Alex smiled and nodded.

"You can call me whatever you wish to, Sony."

They parted as she went in search of her own book to read but he barely registered it, gazing at the rows of books in the history section. Several were on this Alexander 'the Great' but he had yet to determine whether the man was worthy of such a grand title. There were a few other biographies on other long-dead people so he collected a few, most of which were on the Ancient Macedonian, before looking for Sony.

Then he spotted the newest entrant to the library. His eyes instinctively narrowed.

What is this? Jealousy? No reason for that. Irritation? No, it's deeper than that. Mistrust. Yes, but why - I've never talked to him. He was the victim. Or was he? He seemed fairly in control the whole time... which meant he knew what might happen with Red. He's a manipulator then, that's where the instinct came from. Better keep an eye on him - Doc didn't seem quite so ready to leap to his defence earlier. I need more information on this.

Shaking away his internal analysis, Alex focused his attention on Sony. Her face was drawn and the focus on her face was too intense for merely reading. As he approached he could hear her reading aloud while she glanced occasionally at the troublemaker. Deducing the source of her apparent discomfort, Alex moved around her and chose a place so that he was sitting in such a way that he, and his considerable pile of books, blocked most any sight of the others in the library.

"What did you choose then?" He asked, attempting to divert her attention. "Hemingway? For some reason that's in here... some kind of great literary figure apparently. Nicely chosen!" He then gestured to his pile. "I got a few, apparently there's quite a few Alexanders from the past and I can't take just one book as evidence. Apparently I'm a very suspicious person." He smiled mildly with a short, warm laugh.

Is it still a lie if I'm pretending to joke while I know it's true?

---

This was it, it was the end, she was going to die by the hand of a giant lady, crashed into the cold floor of some place she barely even remembered the name of. Such a merciful end it would be, not having to discover more things about this world and thus leaving without a stroke of regret. But alas, Parkinson wasn't in this type of mentality as fear prompted her to beg for safety at the person who put her in this position to begin with. That and she was probably exaggerating the consequences of this fall, but it would nonetheless hurt like hell. She was ultimately caught in such a fashion that it shook her head in a way that it made her lose her orientation senses once more. The next thing she'd notice was the ridiculous pose she was taking with Andarta. The previous spinning had taken a severe toll on her mental state at this point.

I'm dying. Everything is moving, trembling ... Is this heaven? Or maybe hell? I can't feel anything ... Oh wait, I can.

Her head pains were a problem of course, but now the general dizziness made her queasy more than anything else. She clenched her stomach as Andarta expressed something which left the blonde time for a quick breather. But before the long haired grump could even utter a response to the psycho amazon's ideas, she was taken once more by force toward what she would understand to be somewhere they could practice, like the gym. All Parkinson wanted was to have a good sleep, discover the wonders of resting on a somewhat adequate bed and just let everything loose from there.

"Andarta ... I don't even ... You should stop or I'll ... Oh sto-"

And Andarta would have both her thighs drenched in what seemed to be bile from Parkinson's empty stomach. That and some strange nutritional liquid they likely put in her to keep her body fed. Her face was green at this point and the remainder pretty pale. Her dizziness was gone but the terrible feeling of throwing up remained fixed in her mind forever. Throat burning, body aching, general uneasiness and fear of happening again. Strangely it relieved her of any powerful pain, like some sort of release. But the experience itself was horrible enough for her to disregard the small positive she gained from it.

"Ugh ... ANDARTA. Stop! If you keep going, I'll ... You'll ... Crush me to SMITHEREENS at this rate!"

She over exaggerated of course, but she was pretty infuriated by the past experience. The levels of annoyance Andarta had reach pretty much but the titan into the grumpy female's black list. Parkinson would do her best at this point to break free from the tall girl's grasp ans walk away as fast as possible. That was enough rolling around and doing random stunts for one day. She didn't even think of the significance of her thoughts anymore, nor her priorities. She wanted OUT of this insanity. Of course, it wasn't like she had any control over anything that would happen to her. After all, she was likely the most powerless of the group at this point, making her easy prey to pretty much anything.