Without asking questions, Irina went to follow Stasya and sit on the floor with her. She knew little of what the girl could do so it was probably best to talk things out before they tried to do any type of exercise. She wanted to answer all of Stasya’s verbal and non-verbal questions but things would get somewhat complicated, seeing as how she did not know how to control her telepathic ways of communication. Given that Abel would also be with them, then things would be even more difficult since she did not know how to make multiple connections.

‘You can always talk to me. I might not speak Russian too well, but I understand it and can just respond through my thoughts. Everyone seems to think in similar ways.'

The young woman’s attention and concentration was suddenly ripped from Stasya, causing her link to be broken as another voice filled her head and rang in her ears. It was Abel who once again seemed to be having another of the terrible headaches that came along with his ability. Irina cringed as she witnessed what was going on within the young man’s head. Her eyes scanned the room to try and find the source of his pain, but as fast as it came, it was gone. The only clue as to what was causing anything was the small trail of smoke that came out of a wall. Irina’s brow furrowed with confusion as to what exactly had happened, but she quickly pushed her confusion away to quickly run over to Abel.

“Abe, are you okay?” Her voice was full of worry as she met him at the door while he walked in, and placed her hands on his arm as she checked him. Her eyes met his before quickly looking down to the red liquid that trickled down from his nose. Her face paled slightly, as she did not fair well with blood, and she quickly motioned for him to clean his nose. “There is blood. Do you need help?”

As the two walked over to where Stasya sat, Irina fought hard to once again find a link with Stasya’s thoughts and explain to her what had just happened through images.

’I think Abel can communicate or understand and see technology? Kind of like how I feel with humans but him with computers and things like that. I do not know the abilities of many. I know Nikolai can teleport but it is very random. There is a young man here who is very strong. Christian is his name? Um, I think Mara can slow down time but it has not been proven. That’s about it though. I usually don’t ask about abilities…. What can you do?'

“Abel, this is Stasya. Stasya, this is Abel. ” Irina then spoke in a hushed whisper as she looked up at her friend and she placed a finger on her temple to show him that she was communicating with Stasya through her telepathy. “I will try to connect us… but that might be dangerous. You both might hear what is going on in my head… which means all of the voices.”

URIEL ATTICUS - LOCATION: TRAINING ROOM

"That sounds like a plan. Although 'there must be no touching of the hair or face!’"

Uriel cracked up at the Brit’s attempt at a Will Ferrell impersonation. He wasn’t gonna fool anyone with that accent but hey, it was the thought that counted.

“We’ll work on that later,” he struggled to say through tears of laughter, “Alrighty, arms and chest it is then.”

He complied with Arthur’s suggestion and they shifted to a more isolated area of the room. Couldn’t let anyone get in harm’s way, right? Though Uriel doubted that his punches would be much of a threat to anyone in the group besides Stasya or Mara.

"Alrighty then, time for the world's most one-sided boxing match. Ding-ding!"

Uriel played along for a bit, imitating a boxer’s stance with his fists in front of his face and his feet doing a few hops. Hell, he might have even thrown in a few shadow punches in there. He seriously hoped that no one in the room was watching him. He was more embarrassed by his poor form than the play-fighting.

“Well folks, it’s the match of the century!” Uriel continued in his announcer voice, “In the red corner, we have the defending champion, the steely gentleman from the land of shepherds’ pie and 60s pop music, Redcoat Ragnarson!”

“And in the blue corner, the inexplicably handsome and talented devil from the Land Down Under, all the way from across the Pacific Ocean, everybody give it up for Earth-Shatter Atticus!”

Uriel feigned some audience noises, making whoops and applause.

At this point he was just stalling. He was honestly surprised by how uncomfortable he was with doing this. He did have Arthur’s consent after all, and it wasn’t like it was going to cause any major long-term harm to his new friend. Probably. Didn’t Houdini die from a gut punch? This definitely wasn’t something he wanted to do on a regular basis. Ah well, Uriel was just going to have to suck it up. He could pay back for it by lessening the pain. The pain that he was about to inflict. Geh, uncool stuff.

“Okie dokes, here goes…”

Uriel did a comically big windup with his right fist while glancing at his target, Arthur’s chest. It was a good place to aim, an area that would make it impossible for Uriel to miss, while also suffering very little damage. Unless Uriel broke a rib. Aargh, he just needed to try and not think about it so hard.

Earth-Shatter Atticus scrunched his eyes closed and threw his fist forward.

@Jinxer

Stasya's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the boy. He can talk to computers? Like how you're talking to me in my mind? Her mind erupted into a whirlwind of possibilities. Here, sitting right in front of her, was someone who could turn the whole facility against their captors. He could unlock any door, shut down any camera. If this “Abel” was on her side, escaping was suddenly not just a hope, but a possibility.

If he wasn't, then it would be the greatest of cruelties to be inflicted upon her.

Swallowing, Stasya shyly raised her hand in greeting. “Эм, привет. (Um, hello.)” This is great! If we could get him on our side, he could keep them from watching us, we could go anywhere! Nervously biting her lip, she gestured towards the boy's bloody nose. “Ты в порядке? Как ты больно? (Are you, okay? How did you get hurt?)” If he was anything like her, then he probably had difficulty controlling his powers. And if they were being watched all the time… she swallowed hard. Ouch.

"Sorry to hear about your father. I see how that would fight me, if you could hit me before I poof then you could win." Nikola said calmly. The smaller girl before him looked uncomfortable then immediately blurted out a substantial paragraph explaining her circumstances. After she'd finished he noticed the pinkish tint of her face after having told him about her incident. He decided to change the subject. He more than most knew the discomfort discussing parents brought.

"First time my power sent me on a random teleporting streak. I did not stop moving till I was two story up, then I fell."

He imitated a snapping noise and slapped his side, "Bruised ribs. Pain stopped teleporting and knocked me out, then I was in hospital. Then woke up poofing into hallway. Next thing I know Irina kick me in ribs."

He was silent for a moment then put a hand on the girls shoulder, "How do feel about getting hit?"

---

Abel used the hem of his black muscle shirt to wipe the blood from his nose. He sat against the wall, pulling his right knee close to him and propping his elbow on it while laying his long left leg in front of him. "Hi, Stasya." He said when they greeted. He swept his hair out of his face as they talked for a second. When Irina mentioned a mental link, Abel sighed shortly. He swallowed and the shook his head.

The moment he felt a shift in his mind, he knew they were connected. It felt like an attack was lingering at the edge of his mind, but now it was just constant and irritating. He felt a slight twinge of pain, and he could tell it was oscillating from Irina.

"If I can feel the voices, then the two of you might feel my technopathy. Trust me, Rina, you don't want to be in my head when that comes." Abel said, trying to convey his reservations. "So I don't know about a link. It's dangerous. I might be tough, but I almost passed out the first time I felt it." He didn't say it out loud, nor did he recognize that every thought was now visible to Irina, but in the back of his mind, he echoed, "I don't want you to have to go through that. I can't put you through that..."

@Wolverbells @Thundercrash

(Trigger: bladed things involved in this post).

@Gonzo@banjoanjo@HellHoundWoof@Lillium@Thundercrash@SheriffLlama@wolverbells@HecateProxy



"Ding dong! Gooooood morning everybody and welcome to another day of training! We're going to spice things up a little bit as you've made so much progress in your group sessions. Please report for your individual session as normal today. In the meantime, enjoy breakfast!"

Time being difficult to measure in such a place, with no apparent movement of the sun and no real nighttime, besides that designated by the facility coordinators, the month they had been in the facility (again, according to the coordinators) felt like an age to the residents. By now they had all grown thoroughly accustomed to the schedule, the occasional and perpetually upbeat announcements from everybody's favourite Head Researcher before and after every meal and once again in the 'evening' to remind them to get a good night's sleep; chivying them to their coaching sessions or the group session and sometimes just some random piece of information.

As a group they had all noticed their own, and others', advancements. First came the understanding and appreciation of their power in its basic form and from there came the practising, controlling and developing. The group sessions had enhanced the practice, not always in a combative role and sometimes became a discussion group on how best to proceed with input from the coaches. All in all, with the facility's sumptuous facilities, ample food and supportive coaches, the place was becoming less... bad.

---

"Alright, I'll see you guys later. Gisela prefers to start earlier rather than later." Arthur waved to those assembled in the cafeteria, the early wakers and the still-asleeps alike, before heading towards the interview rooms. It was strange how familiar the monotone walls of this facility had become, how easy it was to wake up to the same routine everyday. He wouldn't go as far as to say he was enjoying the time spent here but it had certainly been a novel experience, to say the least. In the past month he had seen things that he would have thought belonged only in a superhero comic and had come to understand his own ability.

A couple of weeks sparring with Uriel, or rather, letting himself be hit, had made him realise his power protected him from pain to some extent as well as accelerating healing. Now it took barely a couple of hours for any small bruises to heal and he received them less frequently, there was also very little pain and certainly no aching. Of course, more serious injuries would take longer as it was all relative but nevertheless, he was pleased with the progress. Even with Uriel inflicting the world's worst hangover migraine on him, the pain went away pretty rapidly.

The only thing was his power didn't appear to extend to illness. The last three or four days he had felt nauseous, although less so each day. At first he thought it was just a passing cold or flu, or maybe some food he had prepared badly but the consistency had been odd. In the end he put it down to the stress of first arriving here and, when his body relaxed a little, the after effects catching up with him.

His thoughts on and review of the last month had wiled away the time on his way to Gisela's room and before long he was knocking on the door.

"Ah, Arthur? Come in!"

The same as every day, Arthur turned the door handle and walked in, shutting the door behind him. Gisela was sat in her normal seat, legs crossed with the same clipboard she seemed to carry everyday placed neatly in her lap.

"How do you feel? You said you were a little under the weather the other day." She looked concerned. Arthur liked to believe that they had formed a mentor-mentee bond recently and had almost discussed some personal matters. Almost. He wasn't ready to cross that bridge just yet.

"Better, thank you. Must have just been a bug or something." Arthur smiled and took a few steps towards his usual chair. Gisela was nodding, writing something on her clipboard.

"Good, good. It won't interfere with the results then." She nodded over Arthur's shoulder. There was a crackle, a sharp touch to his back, blinding pain and then nothing.

When he awoke he found himself bound to a chair in a room he had never seen before. The surfaces were all metal, cupboards lined the wall and he could see through the glass cabinets rows of bottles marked with hazard symbols as well as test tubes and syringes. Files were stacked on shelves and he could just about make out the names of a few of the others' on the spines. One file was open with several stacks of paper spread across a nearby metal desk.

I'm guessing that's got my name on it.

He couldn't see anyone but there were definitely people in the room. There was the occasional clatter of metal on metal, footsteps and the low murmur of a few voices. The large light above him made it difficult to make out much that wasn't close by, as if he were in a spotlight and the rest of the room were in darkness. Footsteps began to approach and then he was surrounded by a few scrubbed up people, presumably scientists from the facility, looking down on him.

One of them checked the restraints on his wrists, ankles, legs, arms, head and torso while another shone a small light in each eye before disappearing, Arthur assumed to write down whatever he had seen. Someone was wheeling a metal trolley in from his left and he somehow doubted they were just tools for dentistry; the young Brit doubted anyone hated having their teeth prodded enough to require all these restraints. Then there was the manner of his being brought here.

They tasered me! The hell is going on? I can't keep up with all this.

The trolley was manoeuvred close by and caught the light a little. True fear began to spread and his heart began to beat rapidly in his chest; for on the trolley he could see small circular saws, scalpels, forceps, syringes and other assorted blade and tools of surgery. One of the scientists sorted through the array of tools, picking up the circular saw and testing the electric feed to it. They spoke and he recognised the voice of Gisela, his 'coach'.

"Test subject Arthur Ragnarson, classified as Regenerator. We begin the first session with an incision on his chest, one inch deep to begin with, to see how rapidly the body defends itself. Please make sure the rapid capture camera is deploy appropriately. To ensure there are no variables we will be conducting this test without anaesthesia. For clarity, the subject has recovered from toxins previously applied. Let us begin."

Arthur began to involuntarily struggle against his restraints but found himself barely able to shift, his eyes unable to point anywhere but right at the arm reaching towards his bare chest, a hand applying pressure at various points before apparently settling at the desire place. The buzz of the small saw began to sound. And then contact.

“Фокус. (Focus.)”

Stasya sat cross-legged on the floor, her eyes closed as she took slow, deep breaths through her nose and released them from her mouth.

“Расслабьтесь. Пусть ваш ум будет пустым. (Relax. Let your mind be empty.)”

In, and out. In, and out. Every thought that threatened to intrude was accepted and dismissed. She was an island amidst a lake.

“Сконцентрируйтесь на вашем теле. Исследуйте каждый дюйм со своими мыслями, от концов ваши волосы на ногти пальцев ног. (Concentrate on your body. Explore every inch of it with your thoughts, from the ends of your hair down to the nails of your toes.)”

Picturing herself in her mind’s eye, Stasya travelled through herself, starting up in her head and flowing down into her torso, her arms, her legs. No part was missed or left out, all was explored. She remembered the fear of her first days at the facility, then anger of when she learned that Lyra had been taken away, because of “complications” with her condition. She remembered the itching sensation that those feelings brought, when her body would shift on its own.

“Представьте себе изменения вы хотите сделать. Смотрите это произошло, от начала до конца. Прими это. (Picture the change you want to make. See it happen, from start to finish. Embrace it.)”

She travelled back up to her head, focusing on her eyes. She thought about their colour, like the sky on a clear winter’s day. Fixating on that image, she made the sun set, watching the sky turn a flaming yellow, orange and red, then dim to a deep, dark purple. She pictured her eyes being that same color, changing her mental image of herself to match, her brow furrowing slightly. The itching sensation she remembered returned, making her eyes water beneath her eyelids.

“Теперь откройте глаза. Смотрите изменения становятся реальностью. (Now, open your eyes. See the change become reality.)”

Stasya opened her eyes. In the mirror before her, a naked teenage girl stared back at her, identical in every respect, right down to the dark purple, almost black irises, and she smiled.

In the chair behind her, Kara clapped her hands, smiling proudly at her. “Вы сделали это снова! Поздравляю, Стася! (You’ve done it again! Congratulations, Stasya!)” She glanced at her tablet, tapping once at the screen before making a note. “На этот раз вы взяли пятнадцать минут, улучшение по сравнению с предыдущей восемнадцать. Ваша практика начинает приносить свои плоды. (This time you took fifteen minutes, an improvement over your previous eighteen. Your practice is starting to pay off.)”

Giving herself a shy but still proud smile, Stasya reached for the small pile of neatly folded clothing beside her as she wiped the tears from her eyes. After the first few attempts at trying to see if she could consciously shift herself, Kara had suggested that she try being naked during their private sessions, as a way to make her be more aware of her body, and avoid any damage to her clothing in case she changed uncontrollably. At first, Stasya had been extremely resistant to the idea, and it had taken Kara three entire sessions to convince her to try it. Even after, she’d been very uncomfortable exposing herself in that way, and not at all convinced that it would help.

Now, she still wasn’t sure if it was helping, but she was used to it enough that she was somewhat comfortable. And she admitted that Kara was probably right about one thing: if and when they moved on to trying bigger changes, taking clothing out of the equation would just simplify things. Of course, she still remained clothed during the group sessions, and Kara hadn’t ever brought up the idea, but the possibility still lingered at the back of Stasya’s mind. She wasn’t sure if it was something that she would be able to do or not, especially knowing that the boys would all probably look at her. Just the thought made her scales come back.

Finishing dressing herself, Stasya stood up and dipped her head towards her coach. “Thank you,” she answered slowly, the words thick on her tongue. That was the other change that they had made during the last couple of sessions: to help speed up her learning and comprehension of English, Stasya was not allowed to use Russian at all when she was with Kara, and when she was with the other teens she was to use English as much as possible. It was a rule that Stasya was finding almost as difficult to follow as the no-clothing rule, but one that she was much more willing to stick to. The sooner she could communicate without the translator in her ear, the better.

Smiling in appreciation, Kara closed the notes on her tablet. “Похоже, это все на сегодня. Почему бы тебе не пойти и получить некоторый завтрак, и я буду видеть вас завтра. Я уверен, что Ирина и Авель ждут вас. (Looks like that's it for today. Why don't you go and get some breakfast, and I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sure Irina and Abel are waiting for you.)”

The comment reminded Stasya that she was indeed hungry. After the first couple of days, Kara had changed the schedule of their individual sessions so that they were the first thing that Stasya did in the “morning”, or at least what the researchers chose to define as morning. She hadn’t had a chance to eat anything yet. “Good bye,” she said as she let the session room.

Making her way down the hall to the cafeteria, she grabbed herself some cereal, taking note of who appeared to be awake and who was still waking up as she sat down next to Irina. “Hel-lo, Irina. Abel. Sleep, good?” Her brow furrowed again, sure that she hadn’t gotten that sentence correct.

Everyday was the same. She'd wake up laying in some sort of twisted entanglement in her bed staring up at the same blank ceiling with a feeling of dread weighing heavily on her chest. Everything bled together. All the disappointments stacking up on one another as she failed to even grasp the small edge of her so called power.

Mara curled up on her side with a sigh. Felix wanted her to come in early to get some one on one training done, though she couldn't imagine what was left to try. They had tried pairing her with the Russian boy. Hoping she could slow him down mid jump and get a better look but all it resulted in was a series of headaches and of course; failure. By this point she fairly skeptical if she even had powers anymore or if it was just a freak happenstance.

Felix was kind to her though. Through each failed stimulus he assured her she was in the right place and they just had to find her 'trigger'. Even the usual sarcastic voice that seemed to delight in her failings had fallen quiet in the myriad of self pity she chose to wallow in.

"I wonder if they'd mind me skipping today?"

She mumbled before dragging herself out of the warmth and into the cool air of her room. It's not like she had anything else to do plus, everyone else seemed to be getting some sort of grasp on their abilities and Mara could start to feel herself shrink away from the places they dwelled.

There it was. That slight twinge of jealously that churned her stomach. They were amazing. All of them. Mara had no idea what their future was here but she was certain that her housemates were going to be able to do amazing things at the end.

Padding outside, still dressed in her pajama shorts and tank, Mara wandered towards Felix's session room. She didn't even bother to knock as she swung open the door catching the older man by surprise.

"Good morn-" Felix had started to greet her before scowling at her appearance, "Interesting choice in wardrobe." She could feel his annoyance but shrugged it off as she slid into her usual spot.

"So what's on the schedule today?"

Felix's face brightened as he broke out into a grin, "I'm glad you asked! We're going to a special room today."

There was an eagerness in his voice that caught Mara's attention. She had never seen him so full of energy and naturally she felt herself stir in response.

"Oh? A new room? What's in there?"

"The boys in the lab have finally figured out how to trigger your abilities."

Mara could feel her heart leap in excitement. Could it be true? Could she finally be taking a step forward?

"After analysing your results and your bodies responses to simple stimuli they've decided to up the anti, or so to say. I wasn't expecting to go this far right off the bat but it should yield good results." Felix rambled on, mainly to himself.

Mara's brows arched together in puzzlement. 'Go so far?' She didn't understand but she wasn't sure if she cared at this point. Any type of progress was still progress. She simply smiled back at him as she pushed her fretting thoughts to the side.

Felix gathered his clip board and a few other things before motioning her to follow.

She did was instructed. Her fingers plucking mindlessly at the fabric around her waist as nerves crawled up and down her spine. Mara was excited, thrilled even, but his words settled heavily on her soul. Adding a poison to her joy as worry ate at the back of her skull.

Felix took her to a new corridor with a whole new set of locked doors. How big was this facility? And how did he know where to go? None of the doors were labeled nor was the hallway and yet, Felix navigated them with ease.

"Prepare yourself Mara." He said with a tinge of mischief in his voice as he reached towards a door on their left.

She took in a deep breath as he swung the door open. Inside the room was the same pale white as the rest of the facility. Cameras hung low and wide on each corner all aimed at the center where a little chain link fence stood.

'What?'

Felix had started to lightly push her into the room as Mara looked on in complete confusion. Behind the caged area was a wall of dark tinted windows. If she squinted hard enough should could make out the faint outlines of shuffling bodies. 'I guess they're here to observe.' But observe what? She still couldn't figure out how any of this was going to help her.

"Go on."

He urged her through the opening in the chain link cage. It was then she saw the little machine set up inside. Mara halted mid step as she tried to figure out where she had seen such a contraption before.

"It's a batting cage."

Felix filled in the gap in her memory but it did nothing to help ease her confusion. Turning towards her mentor, "So playing baseball is going to help me?" This was bizarre even after everything else they had put her through this definitely ranked high on the weird level.

A door slid open and a man clad in a lab coat carried something small out to Felix, the two whispered to each other feverishly before he took the object and sent the man on his way.

Felix hurried over to Mara as he presented a small metal circlet. "It may not be the height of fashion but they want you to wear this." Like usual he wasn't keen on giving away too many details about what they were hooking up to her but Mara trusted him.

Tentatively she took the object and placed it like a crown on her head. They must've taken her measurements because it slipped perfectly around and sat snuggly upon her forehead. "Uhh, okay."

"Now I need you to go stand over there" He pointed to the area in front of the machine and mindlessly Mara obeyed.

Part of her wondered if she should ask more questions. Demand answers because none of it made sense but she didn't. She just went and stood exactly to where he had told her to. As soon as she had turned to face her mentor she could hear the machine begin to fire up.

'I don't even have a bat?!'

She didn't have time to voice her concern before the first ball shot out. Mara squealed in surprise and leapt to the side. Suddenly pain shot through her skull as the device on her head began to press into her flesh

"Get back to your spot and it'll stop." Felix called out as Mara scrambled back. Like he had said the pain ceased but she could feel tiny beads of sweat or maybe even blood begin to well up underneath the circlet. Another ball hurdled towards her as and instinctively she dodged out of the way, only to be rewarded in pain once more.

Moving back to her spot she realized she wasn't going to be allowed to move.

"Slow or stop the ball and we can call it a day."

How was she going to do that? Mara was beginning to panic. She had no control over anything. She didn't know how to stop them. 'I can't do t-' her thoughts were cut short as another ball shot out.

This time she didn't dodge as the ball struck her hard in the abdomen. Mara felt all the breath in her body whoosh out as she crumpled in pain.

"Get up."

Through bleary tear stained eyes she looked up at her 'trusted' mentor who nearly stood there, eyes hard against her pleading ones.

Mara had only gotten back up on her knees when the next ball came. She raised her arms defensively just in time for it to smack into her. Tears began to stream down her face. She couldn't do this. Why didn't he understand that?

"Felix...I ca."

Her voice cut short as she cried out once again as pain swamped her body. The balls were coming faster and there was nothing she could do. Mara huddled on the floor trying to defend herself from the onslaught of fast balls flying towards her when her circlet began to dig into her skull once more. She tried to claw it off but the device tightened in response.

"Get up and stop the balls." he barked.

She tried but her body protested. Everything in her screamed to lay down and curl up until it was over but the pain in her skull was becoming overwhelming. Mara moved to stand up with she heard a loud crack. At first it didn't feel anything. Just some pressure before pain bloomed and burned across her skull. Mara screamed as blood began to gush from her nose and pour down her lips and chin.

Mara clamped her hands around her certainly broken nose, trying to staunch the bleeding. Her eyes wide and frantic as they looked for Felix but he wasn't moving. Through her bleary eyes she could see his figure standing stoicly and the pain continued to increase from the circlet. They weren't going to stop. Not until she stopped the balls. Not until she unlocked her powers.

'I'm going to die here.'

Somehow she managed her way back on her feet as her body continued to be abused by the ever increasing rate of balls. She didn't want to die. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare, home and safe but that wasn't going to happen. No matter how much she clung to that hope. Inside she felt eerily calm. The pain had began to dull as she stood there. Mara felt lost within herself. Like being set adrift in a vast ocean. [I]There. [\i] There was something there. It felt cool to the touch as it began to wrap itself around her. Her whole body hummed and without much thought she could feel her arms beginning to raise into the air before her. There was a need to do something more. Something extra but what? Considering the game the scientists had her playing a part of her drew on the small irony as her hands formed the classic 'T' shape that referee's would use to signal a time out.

Slowly she opened her eyes. Everything felt sluggish around her as she looked curiously at the two balls that hung in the air just inches from her abdomen. Without a second thought she grabbed both of them in her hands and suddenly the world around her seemed to jolt forward.

Smiling she looked up at Felix with a small sense of triumph before she crumpled to the ground. Her vision went dark and her body threatened to upheave the acid in her stomach. Mara couldn't move. Her entire body pulsed with pain and fatigue. She strained to listen as the thud of heavy footsteps approached her, "You did good, girl." She could hear the pride echo in Felix's voice.

Mara couldn't find the energy move and respond but somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear the sarcastic and angry voice mutter a faint, 'Fuck you.' before passing out.

Nikolai had enjoyed his past few weeks inside, as much as he could have at least. He was enjoying the three square meals a day, the gym, the hot water and clean clothes. The longer he spent in the facility the more he realized he enjoyed these amenities. He often thought back to where he'd been before, living in that run down apartment building with other runaways and orphans. So little food, cold water, no electricity. He recalled spending many nights shivering, even though he'd wrapped himself in every piece of cloth he could find. He brought himself back to what he was doing, looking at himself in the mirror. He was on the treadmill, watching himself. Correcting his running form ever so slightly. Making sure he was pumping his legs straight and giving himself as much force as possible. He noticed that he'd put on weight since he'd been here, nothing noticeable but he was looking healthier. More muscle had begun to show in his legs since he'd been working out. He looked at his face, clean shaven, his hair pulled into a bun, a trying scowl resting on his face with sweat falling down the side of his face. The gray tank top he wore was dirty with sweat, his gym shorts werent noticeably dirty due to the black color but they certainly smelled it. He looked at his tattoos, as well as he could while he was running. He remembered what he had to do to get them, how he got the cash. He grunted as he slammed a heavy hand on the stop button on the treadmill and slowed his pace as the machine decreased speed before finally stopping altogether. He hopped off and felt the numbness in his legs, he hated this feeling but fought it and moved quickly over to the modern bench press machine.

The facility had all the best equipment, the machine held the bar on a wire so that it didnt fall too fast. Which also prevented his arms from letting the weight bring it down too much. He had to control the fall. He picked up a 45lbs weight and slid it on the side of the bar, then repeated this on the opposite side. He plopped down on the bench and lowered himself under the bar. He pushed up to lift it off of its hooks then re-positioned his hands and let the bar fall slowly. When his arms hit a 90 degree angle he forced the bar back up with an exhale. He let the bar fall slowly, taking in a breath and when his arms bent he forced it up again. Again. Breathe. Again. Breathe. Again. Breathe. As he pushed up his final set the announcement came on. Cheery voice of that woman that was keeping them all here. Telling him to report to the plump woman for more tests and training. He grumbled and rotated the bar back onto it's hooks. He leaned up and set his hands on his knees. He wiped the sweat from his face with his shirt and stood. Walking down the hallway he stretched his arms and focused on the end of the hallway. He stopped then gathered to begin running, he felt the otherworldly feeling that Dr.Thompkins had told him to focus on. He forced his mind to think only of the spot at the end of the hall and then in less than a second he was there. He smiled and looked around, making sure no one had seen his expression of joy. He rolled his shoulders and entered the Doctor's room. She stood at the ready with her clipboard and greeted him with the annoyingly wide smile she always had. She sat him down in the chair and took his blood pressure, temperature, drew blood and examined it.

"Nikolai, I need you to tell me exactly what you did before you came here!" She said not looking up from her microscope.

"Why?" Nikolai asked as he sat up in the chair. She looked up from her microscope and pushed her chair over to him. She took one of his hands in hers and looked up at him.

"You're red blood cells, their doing something different right now. I dont know what it is but they appear to be in a constant state of uncertainty. They are moving incredibly fast, all the cells I can see in the microscope are. It's like they're moving between one another too. Nikolai, I believe this is a serious breakthrough. So what did you do before you came here?"

"I worked out, ran and bench press. Right before I came in I did what you were teaching me last week. Focus on the weird and imagined where I wanted to be. I went poof to the end of the hall."

Dr. Thompkins squeezed his hands and rolled her chair back to the microscope. She looked surprised and grabbed her notepad and began writing something down in quickly scrawled English. Nikolai stood and looked over her shoulder at the pad but could hardly speak English let alone read chicken scratch. She continued writing and then played with a nob on the microscope, and wrote more.

"They appear to be slowing down Nikolai. Reforming normal barriers..." She trailed off and watched as the cells resumed normal movement and formed their barriers, "I cant believe I didnt think of it before. To test your blood right after you teleport. This is a serious breakthrough. If I can get you to keep teleporting I can study your blood immediately after, if your cells are capable of moving through one another and at such speed I believe you could control it easier with some kind of blood thinner."

"So you think I get drunk I control this?" Nikolai asked with a wide smile.

"I did not say that Mr.Luzchezke." Dr. Thompkins quickly added, "Not only are you underage but that would adversary to the diet I have you on. I do think however some medical bloodthinners like warfarin or heparin may be useful. I'll speak with my supervisor to see their thoughts on the matter."

"Your supervisor?" Nikolai asked with great curiosity, "Who is he?"

"That's none of your concern Mr.Luzchezke..." She replied, "But I do think it's time we moved onto your physical training."

With that she stood and motioned for him to follow her, she walked out of her room and into the hallway. He followed grumpily and she took him to a room that looked like something out of the karate kid. Many arms on many moving machines. At the end of the room was a thin wall. Behind it a button.

"Nikolai, when I activate this room these machines will begin moving these arms. They will move in order to stop you, in order to succeed you have to get to the end of the room and hit the button behind that wall. It will stop the arms and you'll have won. There are 10 levels. I'm going to start you on 1."

"ТРОЙКА," Nikolai said. He was excited, something he could work at here. More than just working out and eating and getting blood tests done. The sessions with the other kids werent effective. No one could spur his power.

"Nikolai you wont be able to succeed at level 3."

"Just turn it on." Nikolai said defiantly.

"Fine..." Becky turned on the machine using a remote she held in her hand. The arms whirred to life and began spinning slowly. Nikolai smirked, they were moving in patterns and hardly seemed to be something he couldnt get through. He bent his knees and watched the pattern for a moment. He spotted several openings then watched as they repeated. He smiled and bolted. As he tucked under one of the arms and found the gap he felt a blow land in his stomach. He went to look down but felt a blow land on the side of his head. He was knocked off balance and growled before he felt another blow land in the back of his leg. He crumpled to the ground and tried to force himself up but felt another blow land on his back, forcing him to stay down. He heard the machines winding down and let out a sigh.

"I told you Nikolai, you need to start slower." Dr.Thompkins said as she walked over to him, "You're going to get bruises from this. Let them be a lesson."

"Fuck you..." Nikolai said as he stood and walked quickly over to her. He snatched the remote from her hand and turned the dial higher before pushing the button to turn the machine on again. This time he didnt wait for a pattern to form. He charged in with his arms near his head and the remote in his hand. He managed to push past one of the sets of arms. The next was not so easily passed. It swung into his thigh and caused him to limp. This limp was all that it took to throw him off. He felt a pointed blow land in his stomach, another crossed his mouth and he felt himself grow dizzy. Another landed on his arm, the remote falling from his hand. He staggered back to try and pick it up but felt another blow on his back. It hit again and he fell to the floor on his stomach. Another landed on the back of his head as he tried to stand, knocking his hair out of it's bun. He felt blood in his mouth. He heard a loud warning sound, like an alarm. The arms stopped instantly and Nikolai growled as he tried to stand. He felt out of breath, and his body was battered to the point of pain.

"Mr.Luzchezke!" Dr. Thompkins said angrily as she pushed past several arms and knelt next to him, "You will not disobey me again and you will certainly never use that kind of language directed at me."

"I dont..." Nikolai began but was silenced as she grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up.

"You dont care, I know. But I do. You're possibly the most useful person here. Instantaneous travel. You could, in theory at least, go wherever you want to go whenever you want. I want to help you. But if you dont listen you will not grow. You will remain without control of your powers and then you will be useless do you want that."

"Let go of me," Nikolai said raising a hand to remove hers.

"Not until you agree to work with me."

Nikolai looked at her with malice and expected her eyes to reflect it. But instead they showed concern. Something he had seen little of his entire life. He looked at her and the anger faded. She saw the look in his eyes and let a small smile cross her face. He shook his head free of her grasp and made an effort to stand. He could feel the area on the side of his head begin to swell. In his mouth he felt all the blood mixing with his saliva, he spit it out and wiped his mouth. His back hurt more than anything and he put a hand to it as he stood. She helped him and he thought to slap her hand away but accepted it. He stood and flexed his leg, it hurt but he would manage.

"You're done for today. I want you to go rest." She said calmly and escorted him out of the room, "The next time you do this I want you to use your ability to get through it. Use your physicality and your power, if you can get the two to merge seamlessly then it'll show that you're getting stronger. But if you just act like a fool you'll keep hurting yourself."

As she spoke she escorted him down the hall to his room. He grumbled as the door slid open and he made his way to his bed.

"If you feel up to it you should shower," She began, "I'll make sure you're not disturbed. If you're up to it later I would like to talk to you about some therapy, for your anger and such."

Nikolai didnt say anything as he sat up from his bed and went into the bathroom. He shut the door and turned on the shower. Becky Thompkins sighed and put a hand to her head before leaving the room. Nikolai listened as his room door shut, he smiled and looked in the mirror. He had a bruise forming the right side of his jaw, and one near his temple on his left. He lifted his shirt and saw a solid bruise forming across his stomach. He couldnt help but smile, he hadnt been hurt in some time. It was nice to feel the familiar pain. It was like a fight but it wasnt, he'd just gotten beaten by mechanical arms. He looked at his face, trying to figure out why he was smiling. It was bizarre but he was happy to have something he could fight, something he could try to beat. He then realized the bruises would be something noticeable to the other captives, they'd probably wonder where he got them. He was looking forward to the looks, he always enjoyed being the center of attention.

He quickly undressed and got into the shower, trying to stretch as much as possible in the warm water. He tilted his head up towards the shower head and let the water go into his mouth to wash out whatever blood there was in his mouth. He reached a finger into his mouth and probed around and then felt the pain that had caused the bleeding. He felt a tooth move loosely as he pushed it around.

"Cyka Blyat" He exclaimed as he grabbed a hold of the tooth between his index finger and thumb. He tilted his head down and made sure he had a grip on it. He quickly threw his head back and yanked his hand out of his mouth. The tooth came loose and he let out a shaky breath. He looked at it and massaged the sore spot where it had previously been with his tongue. He stepped out of the shower and set the tooth on the counter. He began drying off and restructured his hair. He walked out of his bathroom and found a clean pair of underwear, then a shirt, and finally some loose fitting jeans. He smirked at himself in the mirror and found his way to the cafeteria. He was in need of replenishing his nutrients and grabbed as much food as he could. He sat himself down at a table and began inhaling scrambled eggs.

A couple weeks had passed since Irina had discovered that she could speak with others using her mind. She had been able to keep it a secret from Esme so far, which pleased her. If this was the only thing that she could keep to herself, then she felt as if she still had control over her life. While she had been practicing how to shut out the voices and keep them out for extended amounts of time with Esme, on Irina's own time, she had been working with Abel on keeping her thoughts from over flowing into him and his thoughts into her mind. It would make the mind links easier to cope with.

All of her mental exercises had been productive, regardless of how tiring they were. She had been able to sleep more now; being able to shut out voices at bed time helped her get about four hours of sound sleep until they woke her up again. She had even taken to taking naps with, or around, Abel. She had become used to his mind and, with focusing on him only, she'd be able to get a couple hours more. The improvement was physically visible. Her dark circles had become less prominent, and her cheeks seemed to have gotten their color back.

"Hel-lo, Irina. Abel. Sleep, good?"

Irina looked up from building a pyramid out of some crackers and smiled at Stasya, "I did sleep good, actually. How are you?" She smiled at the young girl before turning back to her cracker pyramid. Abel had been reminding her to eat while they sat at their normal spot, but she had found her appetite still hadn't returned even after all this time.

"Have you noticed not everyone is in here? People are usually raiding the fridge during this time."

It was at that moment that she noticed Nikolai walk in and make a bee line towards the food.

"Hi Nikolai!"

She watched him until she saw the change in his face which meant he heard her in his mind, and once they made eye contact, she waved at him. Regardless of their rough first impression, the two had formed a strong friendship that felt like they had known each other for years rather than weeks. "Esme will be looking for me since I skipped our training this morning. I slept in on accident. I'm sure I'm in for it later on today." Her voice was quiet as she turned her attention back to her food and began to eat little by little. "I just need a break from it all."

His eyes snapped open, fearing the bright light of the operating table would meet him again but terrified of the utter blackness that came in between. He knew not which was worse, the being awake and feeling every bit of the physical torture or waking up to feel the new horrors inflicted upon him. Now and then he caught bits of what the scientists were saying, their discussions the only moments of reprieve he had. Usually they were arguing over whether to wait for him to be conscious or not before continuing.

This time, though, there was no bright white light blasting him full in the face. The room around him was much better lit with no spotlight upon him. The surface underneath him felt much more comfortable, supportive, and there were no constraints strapping him in place. He started to sit up, to get a better idea of where he was but then flashes of pain from every part of his body racked him, threatening to send the young Brit back into darkness.

"Fuuuuuu..." He whispered through gritted teeth, feeling the satisfaction of the rare swear mollify the pain; a little anyway. After the pain dulled into a numbing throb he moved slowly into a sitting position and took stock. By now it was clear that he was back in his room, lying on the bed. His right leg was in a cast and it felt like most of his body was wrapped in bandages and dressings. His left shoulder cried out in excruciating pain whenever he moved his arm and so, reluctantly, he made use of the sling that had been prepared.

It was difficult to get a proper assessment of his injuries through the swathe of bandages but from the pain alone he knew he had several minor fractures, his leg majorly so, and his shoulder had probably been dislocated. His chest burned whenever he breathed, suggesting at least a few cracked ribs, and he could feel the sharp pain of cuts and gashes across his entire body including a few minor ones on his forehead, left cheek and a light one over his right eye which had mercifully not impeded his vision at all.

With great effort, and excruciatingly slow progress, Arthur perched on the edge of the bed and, using a crutch left leaning against the bedside table, managed to stand. He took some time to adjust to the new balance, feeling distinctly unsteady on his unbroken but nevertheless injured leg, before making his slow way to the door. That short journey, normally six or seven steps, was exhausting and seemed to take an eternity.

As he began to limp down the corridor, keeping close to the wall so that he could lean on it to take a break, he wondered what to tell the others.

Nikolai had been so focused on eating that the intrusion into his thoughts by Irina shook him. He stopped midway through shoveling some eggs into his mouth and some fell over with the momentum. He looked over at Irina and flashed a smile, below the table he was brushing eggs off his pants. He was happy to see her, being in the facility he hadnt really warmed up to anyone else but she had seemed good. Of course he'd selectively chosen to ignore the rib kick he'd gotten from her. He stood and picked up his tray with one hand. With a sly smile he walked over to her table and plopped down, he was hoping she'd notice his many bruises. It was certainly something that he enjoyed these bruises, something concerning but he enjoyed them. They were signs of a fight, and that he'd just ignored them. They showed he was hard, a real warrior. Someone to be feared, or at least he hoped so. He couldnt have these people think of him as anything but, he needed to be someone people feared or else he wouldnt make it. If they werent afraid of him he could easily be swept under the rug. He brought himself back from his depressing train of thought as he looked at Irina.

"Hello Irina," He said as his weight shook the table, "Stasya, Abel."

He nodded at the other two captives and tried to avoid saying anything too jagged around Stasya. She was so fragile, it made Nikolai angry sometimes but sad others. That someone could be so beaten down, to have nothing but that unclear uncertainty that she always seemed to have about her. It unnerved him.

"So how is all you mornings?" Nikolai said his English again lacking something.