Slayer HQ.
Biocontainment Level, HIgh Security Quarters
6:32 P.M.The fairly sparse, 18x18 ft room had been all but silent up until now. Although “lights out”, or the time designated to shut off the lights to encourage sleep among most subjects, wasn’t for a few more hours, X was feeling lethargic, ready to end the day like he had many times before: lying quietly on the floor and staring off into space, rather motionless, waiting for “bedtime” when the room would be locked down he would stop being overseen for the day (though he is still recorded/videotaped).
Commonly, as he would subsist on a single meal, frequently nutrient supplements (or a large allotment of raw meat occasionally) in the middle of the day, he didn’t eat along with lab personnel or other slayers, which was preferable for its own reasons. Matters pertaining to testing, training and exercise would take up the rest of his time until about 6:00, when the science team tended to find him growing unruly and incompliant.
The room, or cell as it was originally designed around and is largely still considered by most of the scientists, is outfitted with state of the art equipment with more tech being added on to meet the needs that stem from containing a subject of this kind. Currently, it is equipped with a robust ventilation system which is activated prior to anyone entering. On the ceiling, there are four high resolution cameras, one near every corner. The room’s walls, ceiling and floor are comprised of a durable composite alloy, made to withstand a great deal and degree of damage, not that X ever bothered to really test its limits. They made for a dull, all-white tiled, laboratory aesthetic.
Still, it was not without a few creature comforts to appease its occupant. Aside from an expanded living space, made thusly after it was eventually figured out that X would spend hours of his free time tapping and picking at the walls to communicate that his living space was too small, there is a simple, armless wooden chair that X positioned in the middle of the room and a wooden stool nearby. Additionally, there’s a four wheeled, tiltable, patient restraining table that has been his bed for as long as he could remember.
Aside from these three things, his room would be very much featureless if not for a series of deployable components. For example, on one of the walls there is a switch that, when activated, causes a section of wall next to it to extend out a few feet, revealing a clothing rack for X’s apparel. A similar sensibility was put towards the nine foot high door, which is “hidden” behind another part of the wall whose segments part longways when the door is activated from the outside.
Now however, the wall opposite the entrance hummed and whirred to life. This was accompanied with a kind of alert system: a series of special lights on the ceiling began to blink red upon the already dimmed cell as a somewhat loud, audible signal filled the space with its tedious tones. Although considerably annoyed, the boy would likely have continued lying on the floor under the assumption that the alarms would pass eventually, if not for the PDA on his right wrist blinking and vibrating in an irksome manner.
The sensation too strange to ignore, X rose to his feat with the intention of removing the device. But as he got up, a perceptible sideways line became distinguishable on the aforementioned wall, segments shifting out of the way to reveal a large display monitor. Curious, X approached the monitor tapping the screen to see if it was interactive in some way - it wasn’t.
He placed his right hand on and over various parts of the device, investigating the foreign object. Suddenly a message appeared, Lucia jerking his hand back in hushed surprise and immediately reading the communication amidst an adjustment of his glasses. As the machine receded and disappeared behind the enclosure, X stood there for a minute eyeing his room’s digital clock. Planning out the following morning’s schedule in his head, his thoughts turned to matters beyond punctuality.
Lucia stepped over to the wooden stool, finding on it the one thing he wanted at that moment. Neatly folded and measuring about 70 inches long by 8 inches wide, this grey wool scarf is easily one of his two most prized possessions, the other being the glasses. He picked it up, wrapping it around his neck, enjoying its soft texture and warmth. Yet, sitting on his chair and facing the concealed door to the outside, something concerned him. Would he be allowed to take either precious treasure out on assignment? Probably not - but that’s not what disquieted him.
Teammates... So these are the individuals he must not kill under any circumstances.
Personnel Elevator (Biocontainment Lobby to Base Proper)
5:37 A.M.“Do you understand? The shock collar will be taken off before you’re on the field. Until then, it’s staying on for as long as you’re on ground level... I expect you to be on your best behavior.” Dr. Harper sighed in his usual exacerbated way, never quite sure that Lucia was really listening.
Lucia was being transported the usual way: via his restraining table, escorted by the head of the science team, Dr. Harper, along with an assistant to push the table and two armed security guards. Fresh from a shower, the young would-be slayer was allowed his glasses for the briefing, but had a black wool bag over his head to ensure he’d stay calm during transport. As the good doctor mentioned, instead of his scarf, subject X wore an electric security collar. It wasn’t so much the collar that annoyed him as much as its place in lieu of his favorite article.
“Your equipment is in the armory. You’ll collect them once you’re given your assignment,” Harper explained as the car reached its destination. “Remember the notifications on your PDA’s map. You’ll know where to go.”
The doors opened, letting the group continue on for the Auditorium, their footsteps and rolling wheels adding the ambient sound of a facility alive until they reached a few yards from the stylish facility’s entrance. The bag was lifted per Harper’s nod to the assistant, Lucia wincing at the onset of light. His straps were undone and he came to his feet, easily assuming that the room before him was where he needed to be.
Wearing a plain black, hoodie sweater and a pair of his favorite, gray, rather loose khaki pants, Lucia took a few tentative steps before looking back at Harper, who was in little mood for the boy’s blank gaze in protest. The doctor folded his arms, approaching him to make sure he heard. “X, you know you’re hanging by a very thin thread as it is, right? I’ve fought long and hard for seven years to keep you from being decommissioned. Now it’s your turn make sure the work hasn’t been in vain,” he stated matter of factly.
Whether that satiated Lucia or not, the doctor would remain uncertain. Nevertheless, Lucia turned again and entered the massive Auditorium. However unenergetic he seemed, to him, this room is a whole other world, its occupants - aliens and rogue elements.
A few individuals were already there, most appearing to take the front rows. That worked out well since, with his glasses (or even contact lenses), even the farther seats are acceptable choices. This is preferable considering a seat further back and near an exit gave him a better vantage point and options in case any situation called for a quick escape. The only drawback would be that he wouldn’t get a closer look at the giant, high end aperture, which teased at the land he had only been told about.
The entire facility was a relative shock to the senses, including the daunting scale and the bewitching echo effect, even from his subtle footfalls on the positively reflective, hard floors. As a matter of fact, on inspecting the acoustic phenomenon, Lucia looked down and noticed his darkened reflection looking down/up at him, to which he crouched to get a more preferable view. The semblance shared his unenthused face, both of them balancing on the front end of each others’ feet and touching the tips of their index fingers (Lucia’s right, the reflection’s left).
Inquisitiveness considerably indulged, Lucia and his mirror image walked as quietly as they could to the a seventh row seat away from the center and the other slayers, deftly lowering and interlocking their respective hands together, leaning back for now but remaining alert.
1x Thank
| 
