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Earlier; tw: tortureMentions: Matthias, Vincent || Interactions: Ezra (in collaboration with @Estylwen)
Upon falling into the other side of the portal, Adel quickly found himself surrounded by men. They were different from the goons before. Hard eyes, and a hunger. As the portal disappeared, they hauled Adel to his feet and patted him down at gunpoint, taking all his belongings and anything he had on him, like his cellphone, his wallet. The panic switch he’d been too tunnel visioned to even use.
Then they left him in what looked to be some kind interrogation room. A concrete box with a steel door and a one-way glass, and a steel table with two metal chairs.
They left him alone for a half hour after binding his hands behind his back, finding that otherwise, at every single opportunity, the man tried to mutilate himself by bodily ripping the negator from his chest.
Then, the door clicked open, revealing none other than a very,
very pissed looking Ezra.
”Have a seat, Mr. Dawson.”"No."Adel had been pacing for that half an hour, shredding at his wrists, terrified but trying to calm his frantic heart. Ezra Blackheart was one thing. A Nocturnian Illuminati controlled by an underground monster was one thing. But losing his gyft? Having long since abandoned his facade, Adel didn't try to disguise his current mental state. If he didn't have his gyft then-
If he didn't have his gyft then-!He paused in his tracks only to look at Ezra, searching the man's dark mask, more concerned with the thing crippling him than the anger of his captor.
"I'm not playing with you anymore Blackheart. Get this thing off me!"Ezra stared for a long moment, his hardened eye soon fading, slowly, being replaced by something a little more dangerous - some kind of twisted joy.
He shut the interrogation door, though keeping his hand on the handle. Staring at Adel.
”Well… I think we're off to a great start already.”His dark head tilted.
”You remember when we had that talk in Pennystakes? What I said I'd do to you if you backed out?”His one eye creased a bit, hinting again at his joy. Before he knocked twice on the steel door, and it opened. At least four Dark Ace suits walked in, carrying a metal chair with armrests, a car battery and red and blue wires on the lower half of a trolly, a filled basin of water on the top half, and another trolly with various edges of tools glinting from under the cloth.
At the sight of them the Silver Canary threw himself back, away from the table, away from Ezra. He hit the wall and slid as far from the Dark Aces as he could while they stalked toward him, but there was nowhere to go. They seized him and dragged him -struggling, snapping his teeth at them- toward his fate.
Adel was shoved into the new metal chair, handcuffs switched out for being bound too tightly with likely excessive rope to each arm rest. His feet were handcuffed to little loops on the two front legs of the chair. And, for good measure, a thick leather belt was wrapped and tied around Adel's midsection, securing his back to the chair.
Ezra had shoved the metal table to one side, pulling one of the metal chairs free to sit across from Adel. He nodded to his men. Two left through the door, shutting it behind them. Two stayed, standing behind at either side of Adel.
Ezra gestured to the ‘toys’ around him, watching Adel's reaction very,
very carefully.
”What shall we start with first, a little drowning? A little electrocution? Maybe snip a finger or two?”Adel's head was hung low, petty defiance so that he could keep his all too easy to read thoughts from his face, and his face from Ezra's gaze. His head hurt from how fast his thoughts were racing, but so far he couldn't see any way out of this. He would, eventually. How simple it would have been to whisper one word and free himself from the chair, even if it just resulted in being beaten back into it, but he
couldn't use his gyft.It had always been the one thing he could rely on; ever since the day it awakened in him, it had given him the peace of mind that he couldn't ever really be trapped again. And now here he was.
Adel forced himself not to shake. He might come across waifish, but he'd spent a majority of his life with Nocturnia's underbelly, beside and inside it. Don Magna had always made sure none of his boys would break under a little pressure. Or a lot of pressure. It would hurt but he could withstand it. Hope Ezra got bored of trying to pull a reaction from him.
But he hadn't completely recovered from the shock and stress of the day before, or the experience with Vincent. His control was good, it was honed, but he had gone a little too still at Ezra's first suggestion. Suffocation meant cutting off his voice. His gyft and his voice were his most precious tools. He'd already lost his gyft. If he could no longer speak then he practically had nothing left.
His voice was the last lifeline he had, so he tried using it.
"Who said I backed out?" he asked, all of his willpower used to make sure his tone was even. He didn't completely succeed, but it was a start. He still didn't look up at Ezra, instead glaring at the tag in his chest.
"Yes, I told FitzClarence about you. So what. He was going to find out eventually. No better way to get close to someone than telling them the truth."Ezra scoffed a little, standing, slowly walking around Adel. He pulled the trolly with the basin of water on top in front of Adel. Adel would notice, with sick precision and intent, the basin was low enough for him to be dunked in quite easily from where he sat.
”You don't get to play both sides, Mr. Dawson. And trust me, we both know who you prefer out of the two of us. You intended to relieve your burden with Mr. FitzClarence, and hoped to God he wiped me out so your little problem would be solved. Mm?”The belt around Adel's waist was loosened so he could properly bend forward a bit. And the men on either side grabbed ahold of him, shoving his face so it hovered just above the water. He stared at his own frightened reflection, eyes wide and dark, and with the damning realization of what was about to happen he started to hyperventilate to pull in as much air as possible.
”You should have chosen me, Mr. Dawson. But that's okay. I'll force you to choose me now.” Ezra said, flicking his wrist, checking the time.
He glanced at his men.
”...Now.”"Ezra, don't–"Adel’s head was plunged into the water.
He snapped his mouth closed and squeezed his eyes shut as the shock of cold hit him first, the panic quickly following. He bucked, turned his head, attempted to get clear of the basin but the grip on him was too strong. His pulse was too quick for his brain to try calming, and his lungs started to protest sooner than he'd liked. Idly, like there was some stupid angel whispering on his shoulder that wanted the last laugh, a thought occurred to him that he should have quit smoking a long time ago.
He focused on holding his breath, mind latching onto the best estimate of his own time limit. He counted down. His grip on the chair's arms turned white knuckled. His body began to struggle again, involuntarily, desperate. His lungs were screaming - fuck,
he wanted to scream, but he forced himself to hold everything in lest water rush into him.
After forty-five seconds, the hand in his hair pulled him back up. Adel sputtered and coughed, chest burning more from the sudden intake of air than it had without it. Ezra was glancing up from his watch, watching him like he would watch a specimen.
”You know… There's a way to make this all… disappear.”Of course there was. Hand the man even more power and then hope he didn't end up dead after what made him useful was over with.
Adel's breathing was heavy. It was already getting harder to stop himself from trembling. He squinted at Ezra, blinking the water out of his eyes.
"So... what was that... before...? That wasn't... you being... forceful...?" he said between pulls of air, animosity coming through clear despite the gasps. An ultimatum that had led to this exact situation wasn't him being forced to pick?
Ezra’s eye crinkled a little, amused.
”You got some spirit. Good. Those with spirit are always more fun to break anyways.”He moved over to the table nearby, half-sitting on it, arms folded casually.
”I don’t manipulate minds like Vincent, not directly, at least. But mark me, by the time I am done with you, you will be loyal to me and only to me.”He glanced at his watch again,
”Let’s make it a little longer this time, yes?”He nodded to his men, and they dunked Adel’s face down into the water again. This time? It would be for ninety seconds.
It began anew. Adel closed his eyes, held his breath, and counted. And kept counting. His lungs had already hurt going into the water the second time, and by the time they felt like fire and the hand at his head was still pressing him down with no relief in sight, his brain was no longer getting enough oxygen to reason with the rest of his body. He shook violently, clenching and unclenching his hands against the metal, as his diaphragm angrily rebelled and caused a hard ache alongside the burning. Tried to force him to breathe even when surrounded by water.
Adel opened his eyes, but all he saw was the bleary gray bottom of the basin. Fear took him and he bucked again, gave in to the impulse to breathe and sucked in water, began to choke. Every cough made things worse, pure panic flooding in along with the liquid. For a few moments he fought as his thoughts began to quiet, like his mind was starting to drift off somewhere. He lost count. Then his movements slowed, his struggling growing weak.
When Adel was raised for the second time, Ezra was hovering over him, likely watching the pulse in his neck. Ensuring he didn’t die.
It was weak, but it was there. For a moment Adel hung limply in the lackey's grasp, eyes half closed and distant. Light headed. But as his body registered it could breathe again Adel choked once more before retching, disgorging water painfully. He breathed shallowly, attempting to glare as his gaze slid to Ezra's single white eye. He said nothing.
”Silent treatment, huh? Where's your bravado, Mr. Dawson?” Ezra said, amusement in his tone.
He gestured to the water basin, and his men moved the trolley to one side. Ezra gave a sigh.
”Alright, set up the battery.”And his men did exactly that. As Adel swayed unsupported in the seat, a voltmeter was attached to the current, dialed to zero. Then, the two clamps, one red, one blue, were attached on the back legs of the metal chair. Then, both men stepped clear, one stooping to hold the dial, glancing at Ezra.
Ezra stared at Adel, still leaned against the table. His head leaned forward slightly.
”Different men handle different pains differently. Did you know? Some can handle drowning, but electrocution? Burns? Makes them break like a toothpick.”"Oh please... get to the burns..." Adel rasped. He actually felt some relief that the risk of asphyxiating was over, until his still-sluggish brain reminded him a current going through him wouldn't be much less dangerous in that respect.
Ezra’s eyes creased.
”Remember, you have the power to stop all of this.”Then he glanced to his man, and gave a nod.
”Set it to one.”The man did so, and a current flooded through Adel. It was the equivalent to sticking a fork in a toaster, or a piece of metal in an electrical socket. The current was sustained for ten seconds. Adel clenched his teeth and his fists, felt the hot tingle where water still clung to him. Immediately he could tell something was wrong. He'd expected it to hurt, but it was more painful than it should have been. His whole body buzzed with that pain, but especially his chest. At first he didn't understand why, and then his brain finally caught back up with him.
The gyft negator embedded in his skin.
”To three.”The current jumped, screaming through Adel's veins with the same intensity as a taser. This level would be incredibly painful, and begin to cause convulsions. It was sustained for another ten seconds.
Adel's muscles seized, his body locked up, and with his mouth already closed he couldn't so much as cry out. The electricity raced to the metallic hook in his center, making his nearby heart run wild. It stuttered and then resumed beating twice as hard before repeating the process - it felt like it might explode from his chest. Like he might actually die here.
Then Ezra waved a hand, and the current stopped. His gaze watched Adel, like a wolf.
His captive gasped hard. With the strap on his chest still loosened Adel curled in on himself as much as he could, shaking, heaving, stare wide but unfocused. He thought this would be better than the drowning, but he hadn't accounted for having a goddamn lightning rod sticking out of him. With the current cut his body sagged, but it still didn't feel like his heartbeat was back to normal. Beating just as hard, but at different intervals. Arrhythmia, his brain told him, like he needed any trivia right now.
"E-Ezra," he warned, forcing his throat to work,
"The tag– The fucking– t-tag–"Ezra's head tilted. His hand reached out, taking hold of the tag, checking it over. There was an insulator within the steel, ensuring it didn't succumb to electrical shock. Its light still was lit, indicating it was just fine. But, Ezra imagined spasming muscles cutting into the hook would be quite painful.
He removed his hand.
”Unintended pain is something I'd rather avoid, if we're being honest.”A breath.
”Let's move to the next, then.”The belt was tightened around Adel's midsection. Then men around him cut at the seams of his sweater and dress shirt at the shoulder, peeling and cutting away cloth to expose his arms. Ezra, meanwhile, pulled out an iron rod and a small blow torch, and began heating the end of the rod until it turned a deep, glowing red.
Adel had squeezed his eyes shut at this point, attempted to get his breathing under control, couldn't help but notice the cables were still connected to the chair.
Unintended pain. Ezra was a psychopath. Adel felt like an idiot, being stubborn as he was, but he wanted
nothing to do with the man. He didn't want to give Ezra what he wanted, didn't want him to think he could
do whatever he wanted and still get his way. Maybe prove that Ezra wasn't going to keep leading him around, couldn't control him like he'd been trying to do. Absolutely did not want to end up being stuck with the Dark Aces, disposed of when they stopped needing him.
And right now they did need him. He still held out some hope he could make it out of this somehow. Really wished he could use his gyft.
”How's your tolerance for burning pain, Mr. Dawson?” Ezra asked nonchalantly, hovering over him, glowing hot end of the iron a mere inch from the tender flesh of his right arm.
Adel opened his eyes, glowering at Ezra. Fear was still there, resentment was growing.
"Just fine," he hissed. Ezra could even see it for himself. On Adel's opposite arm, the outside of his left shoulder, there was a smattering of circular scars. Seventeen of them, seemingly random but on closer inspection nearly equidistant from each other, deep and deliberate.
Ezra stared, and clicked his tongue.
”You've suffered so much. It's a shame, really.”He leaned over, the sizzling of water and
plop the only indication he had slipped the rod into the water basin.
Stared a long moment longer, before he took a small tin cup off one of the trolleys, dipped it in the water basin, and held it just beyond Adel's lips.
”There's a lot more ways to torture a person. When's the last time you had some water? When do you think you'll drink again?”His gaze held Adel steadily.
”Submit to me, and you won't have to see the horrors I have waiting for you next.”Adel's heart skipped a beat again, though he didn't know if it was residual from the shock or just the latest fucked up thing in front of him. His head was already pressed back against the metal but he turned it away, keeping his anxious eyes on Ezra.
"You can't," he said, quick and quiet, with as little time with his mouth open as possible.
"You can't– I won't be able to speak."And that's what Ezra needed him for, wasn't it? His Magic Word. He could try and make the man see reason before he got too absorbed into his sadistic tendencies. As long as he still had his voice.
Ezra merely smiled, looming over him.
”Why not? Convince me. More than just your voice.”Adel's nostrils flared and he kept his mouth shut for a moment. He hated Ezra. Right now might hate him more than anyone else did, more than anyone he'd ever hated. He shook with that hatred. With terror.
"You burn my throat and you can't use me," he breathed. His voice grew a little rougher, growling,
"You– you mess up your own fucking plan."That was when Ezra reached out with his free hand, gripping Adel's chin, tilting his face up so Ezra could fully take in the stark hate in the man's eyes.
Ezra's eye creased a little.
”Anger and hate are the last defenses to the fear hidden underneath, Mr. Dawson.” Held Adel there a moment longer, before he let go, tossing the tin of boiling water back in the water basin. Ezra instead scooted one of the metal chairs closer to Adel, drawing the trolly with a cloth over the tools nearer. He pulled out a pair of pruning shears with a shiny red handle from under the cloth, and snipped the air for demonstration. The shears slid together cleanly, indicating they were new and sharp.
Then, Ezra grabbed hold of Adel's pinky on the right hand, placing the sharp edges of the shears to kiss around the bone of his first joint.
”Alright. I want you to start counting backwards by two from twenty-five. Start.”Adel actually started doing it, his brain once more latching onto a time limit.
The truth was that of course he was scared of Ezra Blackheart. He'd been scared of him since before ever meeting him, when all he knew were savage rumors. Since their first encounter when Adel had all but fled and never looked back. Since their second which had led to this. He was scared as fuck right now, but being scared wasn't going to help him out of this. And he could still talk, for twenty one more seconds.
"I'm not going to choose you," he said, which was not what he had wanted to say. He was supposed to be coming up with a way to convince Ezra to stop all this.
"You threatened me, you stalked me, you... you manipulated me– you– you got to Swift, you hurt me...!"He started to hyperventilate again, words tumbling out breathlessly as his mental timer ticked down.
"Why the fuck would I ever choose you?!"”Because I want to save you, Mr. Dawson. And because I understand you more than most others. With me, you would finally be safe. You could stop looking over your shoulder.”Snip.
The tip of Adel's pinky fell to the floor. Ezra moved the now bloodied shears up to the next joint on the same finger.
”Vincent shared some secrets about your past. Shared how vulnerable you were. How vulnerable you still are.”Snip.The midsection of Adel's pinky fell. Ezra then moved to the base of Adel's pinky.
”You were weak then, and you're weak now. What can you do to stop me, mm? Who is going to help you? Hm? You could try crying out for your father, or perhaps your mother. Maybe they can save you.”Snip.The entirety of Adel's pinky was now gone.
Ezra stared at Adel, face parting to reveal a jagged, glowing smile.
”I'm the only one who can save you. And you know what? I might not.”The nightmare held itself like this for a moment, before it evaporated from Adel's eyes. Adel was still strapped in the same chair, trapped in the same room, but looking down, his pinky was whole, not cut. The shears were still there, hovering. Ezra hadn't cut him yet.
”How many times do you want to suffer, is the real question, Mr. Dawson.” Ezra said softly, leaned in, looking at him with a very knowing look.
Adel swallowed thickly, finding it difficult to breathe again all of a sudden. He was pale, his body exhausted and trembling hard. The dismemberment had felt real. His mind was over-strained, struggling to interpret what had just happened. He hadn't even been cut. But he had. He
remembered the agony.
His anger was slipping away from him as he pieced together what the ghost-like pain in his brain meant. The man could do whatever he wanted to Adel, as many times as he wanted, and it wouldn't damage him, not really. Not the parts they needed. And it would all still be real, to him.
And the worst part was that he was starting to think Ezra was right.
No one even knew he was here. He didn't even know where he was. He couldn't use his gyft. He couldn't reason with the devil.
Adel brought his eyes back up to Ezra's face, too close for comfort. They were dark with despair, and they stung, but he managed to keep anything from spilling from them. The Midnight Man's words echoed in his head.
'I'm the only one who can save you. I might not.'"Ezra..." Adel choked, voice weak and beginning to quake.
Ezra gently moved his hand up, giving Adel pats on the head.
”Hush, hush, you're being a good boy now. Keep that despair in your eyes, it suits you.”He pulled the shears away, nodding to his men.
”Put him in the box.”It took a moment for Adel to process the words that weren't directed at him. As soon as he did, his brain shut down. His breathing stopped.
"W-wait," he croaked, even after Ezra stood up.
"Wait, E-Ezra, please–!"But Ezra left, leaving Adel to be manhandled by the two men, who removed the straps and binding, forced Adel to strip naked, and tied a hospital gown around him, cuffing his hands behind his back once more.
Adel was dragged out of the room and down a bleak hallway, and into another nondescript room. This one had bars for a cell, with a toilet and a trunk on the other side. One of the men unlocked the door, then stepped in and unlocked the box, and Adel was brought in.
He struggled and screamed, kicked and bit, bloodied his wrists trying to get his hands free to remove the negator. He switched to begging when he was forced to lie down all curled up inside the box, but unfortunately the end result would stay the same. The lid was slammed shut, leaving him in stuffy and claustrophobic darkness. There was the gut wrenching twist of a lock on the box outside, then a distant lock of the cell door.
And there he would remain for what would feel like an eternity.
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