Pain, that's all I feel now.
Happiness, I once knew what that is but not anymore.
Sadness, I'm numb to that.
Hatred, it's what consumes my heart.
When I was born, I was human and I had two loving parents. Then they were gone, murder right in front of me. I was three at the time but that's not something a person easily forgets. When I was five, I was out in the streets picking through the garbage for something to eat; I had been doing this for two years by then. That's where the Grayson found me.
The Grayson were a family of acrobats in a travelling circus, they took me in. they taught me the ropes, figuratively and literally, so I became a circus performer, and I was happy. All too soon though that happiness ended. The Grayson family was murder a couple years later, all except for their nine year old son Dick. Dick Grayson was destroyed by his family's murder and soon left the circus with some man that promised him his revenge. As it turned out Dick left just in time.
At the next stop some men came to the circus and started asking questions. Now normally circus people wont talk to outsiders, that is unless it's to brag about the circus. Unfortunately all the questions that the men asked were opportunities for bragging. After all their questions they knew which ones of us were the best and youngest. Those kids were the ones that went missing that night and I was one of them.
I don't remember much about the actual kidnapping. It was after out farewell performance, I had just accomplished an acrobatic act that was meant for two without a net. Let me tell you it's an adrenalin rush when you throw yourself through open air just hoping that the last time you launched off the other rope gave it enough swing so that you'll be able to reach it. But anyways, I had just come down from that rush and was walking towards the train when I was grabbed from behind, a cloth was shoved over my mouth and nose, then everything went black.
I woke up to screaming, the screaming of the other circus kids and the screaming of hundreds of others. That day was burned into my memory:
I weight on me slowly lifted with the darkness that darkness that blocked of my senses, slowly the screams of others filled my ears. I recognized one of the screams it was Allaylee, the best dagger juggler in the world and the daughter of the flame breather. With that my eyes snapped open.
I was strapped to a medal bed, like an operating table. My wrists, ankles, forehead and waist were all strapped to the table allowing for no movement. A heart monitor was also attached to me, the more I noticed, the louder the screams came, the faster my heart went.
"aww, you're awake," a man said looming over me. He was wearing a lab coat, his spectacles were slipping down his nose, he looked fairly young but very old at the same time. His hair was unkempt like he didn't have time to bother with it, and his eyes were filled with child-like excitement. "You've given us quiet a number of false starts. Do you know that your heart beat is quiet fast when you're a sleep and that you keep struggling? Usually we don't have to put the binding on till you're awake." He said with a chuckle. At the time all I could think was 'he's mad' as it turns out he was a mad genius but still mad. "Aren't you going to scream? Threaten me? Or at least ask a question?" he said seeming to get annoyed with each second that pasted in silence. "Aww, oh well, you'll be screaming soon enough." He nodded to someone out of my sights. Then I felt a burning that travelled through my body, a heat that boiled my blood. All the while that bastard looked on with a gleeful expression that soon turned to a rage when still not a peep escaped my lips.
"why wont you scream!" now he was the one screaming how ironic I had thought. He raised his hand like he was about to hit me when a voice stopped him.
"Doctor Addersion, I think you've finally done it." He or rather doctor Addersion paused and turned around.
"Sir?" Doctor Addersion said confused, seemingly hacing forgotten his rage. The fire in me spread from my blood into every part of me.
"You have finally found someone strong enough to survive the procedure." The mystery man stated.
"You're right sir, it would appear I have." Doctor Addersion said turning back to me with an expression that made me feel like an animal at the zoo, although I was use to that after all my years in the circus.
"I wonder what's different about this one." Doctor Addersion mused. The fire was still boiling my veins but the pain had been pushed to the back of my mind as I slowly started testing my restraints by flexing my muscles hoping that if the doc noticed he would just think I'm tense because of the pain.
Suddenly my back flared up and the heat in my veins forgotten as this new pain tore at my body, it was as if someone had put a cattle prod to my entire back. Before I could stop it a blood curdling scream ripped its way through my lips. Pain, so much pain, every part of me touching this table felt like lava was be pressed into my skin. I started struggling against my bond, trying to get away from the thing that was causing the pain. I hadn't noticed that my screams had turned into a growl slash how. I didn't stop struggling till I caught a glimpse of that smug bastards face. Doctor Addersion was stand there with this look of, I don't know, a mixture of pride and smugness. After I saw that I knew I could let him win, ever! Slowly I stilled my body allowing it to relax into the pain, my howling became a quiet growl and then disappeared altogether. My lips tipped into a smirk as I let all signs that I was in any sort of pain vanish. Doctor Addersion started scowling again, a look I like far too much on him.
"Now, now doctor," the mystery voice came again, "aren't you going to tell her what she is?"
If you had been looking closely you would have seen my eyebrows move towards each other for a millisecond as confusion over took my mind, 'what I am?' But I didn't want them to know that what the mystery man said got to me so I kept my eyes on D.A and held my smirk in place. And for those who are wondering yes D.A has two meanings.
D.A face now light up with a sick glee. "Awe, yes, yes." He was almost jumping up and down with excitement now. "You'll never believe this but you are a shapeshifter now!" I simply raised an eyebrow as if to say 'so what?' if I would have I would have shrugged. "Don't you understand? You were human not ten minutes ago and now you're a shapeshifter all because of my genius!" he said this like should be impressed or thanking him, in truth I was freaking out on the inside but it annoying him when he doesn't get a response so I kept my face neutral. "Well actually you're a Jaguar shifter but don't worry soon you'll be so much more."
"Sir," a new voice came, "it's losing a lot of blood, a little more and it will die." Wait! Who you calling an it?
"Then you better get it to a cell and dress its back. Doctor Addersion do you think a week is long enough before you can add more to it?" aww the mystery man is back and great I'm an it now!
"It's hard to tell really, it depend on how quickly she recovers." Oh I'm a 'she' to D.A now am I, why do I feel like a car?
Part 2
The bindings slowly came off one by one, as I was currently in too much pain to move and had lost enough blood that if I tried to I would faint. I'd say they were probably right in seeing no use for those. I was lifted up off the table and placed in a wheel chair, as soon as my skin was no longer in contact with the table it instantly cooled and I could actually feel the skin knitting itself back together.
"I've heard silver hurts like hell for shifters, is that true?" the man who was pushing the wheel chair asked. Silver, that was what the table must be made out of, I thought bitterly. "You know that's how we acquired that DNA that's now mixed with yours. Caught her in a silver net, shot some silver bullets into her, then brought her to doc. Strapped her on the same silver table as you were on actually. Not really sure what doc did to her but there was a whole lot of screaming I can tell you that." My eyes flicked back to him to see a smile on his face. They're all sick bastards I thought as we reached my cell where I was to stay when D.A wasn't playing mad scientist and I wasn't being a lab rat for the next couple years.
The man, whose name I later found was Captain Aaron H. pushed me into the cell and laid me on my stomach on the steel bed.
"Oh look at that back! Already starting to heal, you're a strong one you are! You'll end u being Doc's best creation I don't doubt." Aaron said as he cleaned out my back. Something then was placed around my neck, it felt like a metal collar. "That there is an inhibitor collar, it blocks off your shifter abilities all except healing." And with that Aaron left me alone in my cell.
I could still hear the screams in the distance other than that there was silence, a first this is. The screams slowly got louder until it was like I was standing right beside the other victims. But it wasn't just the screams I heard, I could hear the guard's voices, I could hear D.A talking to another victim, I could hear the footsteps of those patrolling outside. I could even hear the heart beats and breathing rhythm of those guards who were asleep in the guard barracks. It too much noise, I couldn't concentrate on anything. Next came then smells now I won't go into that one in too much detail, but there was a lot of urine, crap and sweat. I could smell everything, every person, every animal, every plant and every object had an unique smell to it. The eyes were next, there was one light bulb in the prison which was on the opposite side the room from my cell but I could see as well as I could on a nice sunny day maybe better; I could finally see what my surroundings were. Slowly I sat up testing the pain in my back I was in a cement room, or three walls had a foot of cement with a lot of silver underneath. I could smell the silver underneath, there was also a buzz of electricity in the walls. I was sure that if you pushed too hard against the walls you'd become toast rather quickly. The fourth all was silver prison bar and a few million volts. This is going to take some time to get out off, I thought.
That it is a voice almost purred in my head.
What the hell? What was that? I thought glancing around the cell looking for the source of the voice.
Right introductions, I'm Midnight your jaguar, I'm part of you now. Midnight said her voice sounded like a constant purr.
But what? I don't understand. I thought to her.
Will every shifter has an animal spirit that resides inside than which gives them the ability to shift into that animal and it allows their natural abilities to be enhanced too. It depends on how strong the shifter is physically and emotionally as well as how strong their animal spirit is to determine how strong their bond will be. If they're equally strong then the personality of the shifter doesn't change, if the spirit is stronger then the shifter personality melds with the spirit's, or if the shifter is stronger then they become more protective of what is theirs, they also become anti-social in order to protect their animal spirit, Midnight explained.
And what are we? I asked tentively.
We are of equal strengths, you will not change personality wise. Midnight reassured me. I hung my head in relief that I was still be myself. As my head hung it struck me that I still wore the inhibitor collar, I should be getting any shifter abilities except for healing.
Bah those men don't know a thing what new shifter do they? Midnight commented on my thoughts.
What do you mean? I asked tentively.
Well you see, shifters healing ability not only heal the skin but also makes sure that you are at one hundred percent fitness, that means your shifters abilities as well, as long as you have your healing abilities. And young shifters are the fastest at healing.
Is there any way to slow down the healing ability?
Now why would you do that?
As soon as I healed they're going to experiment on me again which will weaken me again, and if I want to escape then I'm going to need all the strength I have.
Of course, quiet logical but I'm afraid we have no control over the healing ability it's like trying to tell your heart to stop beating, impossible.
Of course it is, well as long as I have this collar on no one can know that you're here or that I can use any of my shifter abilities except healing. Unless we're 100% sure we can escape no one can know, I'm going to need your help holding back growls or not showing my new strength or anything like that.
As you wish.
And so we stared planning our escape. I sat there in total silence, my eye were staring off in the distance. To anyone watching me they would just think I was daydreaming and have no intention of causing trouble, the truth however was anything but. Midnight and I were hatching a long term plan of escape and destruction.