Title: The White Room Nightmare
By Corbin
Disclaimer: Although I really like the characters of Roswell, I never came up with the idea for the series and therefore I don't claim them as my own. Don't sue, there is nothing I have that you will want.
Rating: This one's a PG
Category: M/L
Summary: Agent Pierce is alive and well. The white room is still open for business.
Author's notes: In spite of the fact that he's pure evil I love Agent Pierce. I was sad to see him go, so I brought him back. I wanted to enjoy his company a while longer, and I hope that some of you feel the same way. (Come on admit it he's cool.)
Max dozed lazily in biology class. He was trying to pay attention, but he was so sleepy. There was a test next week and he wanted to be able to get a decent grade, but he was so tired. Max rested his chin in the palm of his hand and fought with himself to stay awake. A few seconds later his eyes were closed and he was napping peacefully through a crucial lecture.
Liz had been attentively taking notes and glanced over at Max to see if he thought photosynthesis was as interesting as she found it to be. She saw Max sleeping contentedly and smiled to herself, she knew that everything that they had been through together had taken its toll on all of them. Liz gave Max a gentle nudge and he woke with a start. The teacher stopped lecturing abruptly. Max assumed that she stopped because she had seen him sleeping and now she was going to make him regret it. Someone had just entered the classroom interrupting the lecture. The teacher hadn't even noticed Max's catnap.
An unfamiliar man dressed in a professionally tailored business suit had entered the room. All of the students focused their attention on the stranger. The teacher quietly greeted the stranger and excused herself from the room to go speak with him in the hallway. Most of the students in the class remained quiet because the majority of them were on the verge of passing out due to severe boredom.
The teacher returned a few moments later, alone. She continued with her lecture until the bell rang releasing the students. Max and Liz stood together to leave, when their teacher approached them.
"Mr. Evans, Miss Parker, the authorities wish to speak to you both. They are waiting for you outside of the classroom," The teacher smiled at them both as she walked over to her desk in the front of the classroom.
Max glanced down at Liz with a worried look. Max gripped Liz's hand firmly and together they walked out of the classroom closing the door behind them. Three men, all dressed in tailored suits were waiting for them outside of the classroom door.
"Come with us please," One of the men stated softly.
Max instinctively moved to back away from the men, he felt the muzzle of a pistol in his back and he froze.
"I won't ask nicely twice," The apparent leader of the group stated glaring at Max.
Max and Liz went with the men without causing a scene. The men led the pair to the parking lot, handcuffed them both and forced them into the back of a black four door Trailblazer.
Max tried several times to melt through his handcuffs, but the metal never seemed to phase at all. Max's heart fell to his feet, if he couldn't phase through the handcuffs then these people knew that he was different. They must have known that he was only half human.
The driver pulled the Trailblazer over onto the shoulder of the road. Max and Liz were blindfolded by one of the men, who placed dark cloth hoods over their faces. A few moments later Max and Liz sensed the vehicle pull back onto the road. They traveled for what seemed like hours. Max felt the vehicle slow and stop momentarily and then pull forward again at a gentle pace.
The vehicle came to its final stop and they heard the men getting out of the Trailblazer. Max felt a pair of hands grip him by his leather jacket and pull him toward the open door. Max stumbled blindly out of the vehicle and he heard Liz who was in the same situation as him protesting the way they were being treated.
"MAX!" Liz called out in a frightened tone as she was quickly lifted off her feet, placed on a gurney and wheeled away.
Max felt someone pulling his feet out from under him and another person grip him firmly under the shoulders. He might have struggled with them had he not been blindfolded, but for the most part he struggled very little. The agents placed Max firmly on his own gurney and strapped him securely down to it as they wheeled him inside of the facility.
Max felt the straps of the gurney loosen and the handcuffs on his wrists unlock. He was pulled from the gurney and shoved down onto the floor below him. A few seconds later and Max was alone in the empty room. Tentatively he reached up to his face and pulled the hood from his face. He tossed the hood away from him to a corner of the room, and he stood to take in his surroundings.
Inside Max wanted to scream. This place was the place he had relived in his worst nightmares. The white room. Where had they taken Liz? Max prayed that they hadn't harmed her. Max was allowed to sit alone in the white room for several hours. During that time Max paced the area of the room brooding over what he would do to these agents; what he would do to Pierce if they harmed Liz.
Under normal circumstances Max was totally nonviolent, he even tried to avoid violence when his own life was in danger. However, if Liz or anyone else Max cared about was threatened Max would release the tiger within and think to regret his actions later.
Liz paced the perimeter of her own white room. She recognized the surroundings from a few involuntary flashes Max had of his past when she kissed him. She tried not to think about what they might experience while they were trapped in this place. What if they couldn't escape? Would she and Max have to live out the rest of their lives in the facility? Liz prayed that they would be able to find a way out of this as quickly as possible.
Max's cell room door slid open and two men dressed in clean room gear hurried in, the door slid softly shut behind them concealing itself in the wall once again. The two men cautiously approached Max. They were unsure of how he would react to their presence. One of the men was holding a set of matching light gray scrubs, exactly like the prison garb that Max had worn in his other experience with this place.
"Put these on," The man holding the clothes ordered Max, shoving the scrubs into Max's hands. "In five minutes we're going to come back in here and if you're not changed, you're going to be sorry," The men turned around and left Max alone in the room once more.
Max of course cooperated and changed his clothing, he set his own clothes in a neat pile on the floor. The men in the clean room gear returned as they had promised. The agents rushed Max in a single sweep, pulling him down to the floor. They pinned him face down against the cold white tile, he felt a pinch in his left shoulder. A few moments later raw dizziness attacked his senses. The men were lifting him up from the floor and carrying him out of the cell. Max didn't bother fighting the clean room agents in his disoriented state. His eyes were rolling back as he felt the rigid cushion of the black chair he had encountered in his last visit to the base.
The agents secured Max in a reclining position and left the room. Max felt his body relax completely as the drug one of the agents had given him took full control of his senses. Max closed his eyes with a reluctant sigh of dread.
"Max …" A familiar voice softly called Max's name, "Max, wake up."
Max opened his eyes to unfocused vision. He closed his eyes for a few more seconds trying to rid himself of the blurriness and the dizziness he was experiencing. He opened his eyes to find that his senses had not improved much at all. His sense of touch had semi-recovered and he felt the sensation of someone pinching his forearm really hard. Max winced, finally realizing that the pain in his forearm was caused by an IV needle that was feeding him the serum that made him unable to access his hybrid abilities.
"Good morning Max," The voice stated cheerfully as Max struggled to gain his bearings. "Sleep well?" Max didn't answer, he still didn't feel like talking, "It's nice to have you back where you belong"
Max finally recognized who had been speaking to him. Agent Pierce. Agent Pierce was the only human that Max truly felt he hated. Max hated Pierce only because he threatened everything that Max cared for, including his very existence.
"We don't belong here," Max whispered still unable to shake the woozy feeling attacking his body. Max's eyes rolled as the dizziness flooded through him fiercely once more. He struggled to remain conscious.
"It's the serum that's making you feel weak. I had it reworked since your last visit," Pierce explained with a smile and patted Max gently on the shoulder.
Max groaned, "Liz …" Max tried to sit up, the restraints only allowed him to rise a few inches. He was losing it again and he could feel his consciousness slipping away from him.
"Don't get too excited Max. Liz is here. She's safe with me. At least she's safe for now," Pierce narrowed his eyes at Max taking stock of the boy, eyeing him like a ripe watermelon.
Max inhaled a deep breath, it seemed to help him keep from blacking out. In between the bouts of dizziness the thought that he would never see home again ran through his blurred thoughts.
Liz had curled up in the corner of her white room and fallen asleep for a little while. The new scrubs she had been given were a pale shade of lavender, they might have almost been cute if they had not been prison garb. Liz awoke from her light sleep confused and startled. Liz had lost her bearings completely and for a few moments she thought she would have a panic attack. She took a few deep breaths to help her compose herself and after a few minutes she was able to stand and remember where she was. She had no idea what time it was, and no idea whether it was night or day. As long as Liz remained in this place she might never be able to tell night from day or even day-to-day again.
"Well Max, since you really aren't in a talking mood, I'm going to go and see what Liz is up to. You rest for a little while and I'll come back for you later," Pierce stated in a teasing but gentle tone of voice.
"No," Max protested in a tone muffled by his dizziness, Pierce ignored him and sauntered out of the room.
Liz sat hugging her knees in the corner of her room. When the door opened she rose quickly to her feet to at least attempt to fend off the agents she assumed would storm into the room to overpower her.
Agent Pierce entered the room with the smoothness of a prowling tiger. Liz stayed put in a defensive position in the corner of the room.
"Hello, Liz. I'm assuming that you know who I am even though we've never officially met each other before now."
Liz didn't bother saying anything. Agent Pierce smiled and smoothly stepped to the center of the room.
"Where is Max?" Liz asked stepping forward, but still keeping her distance from Pierce.
"Oh, he's here … in a room very much like this one," Pierce answered with a snicker. Pierce's blue eyes shone with a fierce light, and he glared at the girl giving her a cruel grin.
"Why are we here?" Liz asked softly, ignoring Pierce's smug attitude.
"I think you know the answer to that question. Just as Max knows why you are both here."
Liz met the man's gaze, challenging him with her own glare, "I think that you're wrong about us both."
Pierce smiled flashing his perfect white teeth, "Now you're lying to me."
"Let us go home," Liz stated matter-of-factly, "We don't belong here with you."
"Maybe not, but maybe you don't really belong where you were either," Pierce stated, taunting her with another smug grin as her turned and left her alone in the room.
A few moments later a single technician, dressed in standard dark blue scrubs entered the room. The man pushed a small tray of medical tools into the center of the room.
"I've been ordered to run some tests. If you cooperate with me, I won't have you restrained or sedated."
"Tests?" Liz swallowed a quick breath of apprehension.
"Just a simple blood work screening for now. It won't take more than a few minutes," The tech stated in a semi-reassuring tone. He picked up a syringe and an alcohol swab. "You might want to sit down on the floor," The tech suggested, gesturing with the gloved hand that held the empty syringe.
Liz backed up to the wall and sat down on the floor. The technician knelt beside her and proceeded to withdraw a sample of blood from her forearm. A few minutes later and he had filled three small vials, he neatly bandaged her arm with bright purple gauze and instructed the girl to take things easy for a little while. The tech left the room taking his equipment with him. Liz felt a little woozy, so she decided to obey the technician's advice. She lay down on the cold tile floor trying to relax. She of course was never able to truly relax in this prison.
Max heard Liz's screams of terror and pain from down the hallway. He tried to tell himself that the experience would not last and her screams would soon cease.
"Please Stop! Please stop hurting her!" Max mumbled softly in his sleep. He cried out once more and woke himself from his half-drugged sleep. Max could hear nothing but his own hoarse breath. No screaming from down the hall, nothing. Max looked above him, his IV fluid bag was nearly empty. Max was drenched in a coating of his own sweat, and he shivered feeling the stark coolness of the room.
The technician who had taken Liz's blood entered Max's room. He brought in a tray of various medical tools, and he pushed it forward next to Max.
"Hello Max," The tech said quietly with a smile.
Max looked up at the man and felt a sense of eminent doom consume his being, he swallowed hard and never attempted to make a reply.
The tech unhooked the nearly empty IV bag from Max's tube and hooked up a fresh one. Max let out a groan, the last thing he wanted was a fresh infusion of Pierce's serum.
The tech looked down at Max and smiled, "Relax, what I just hooked you up to won't make you feel weak. It's stuff to help you gain some strength back. It'll help clear your head."
The tech grabbed a chart dangling from the foot of Max's table and scribbled down some information. As he replaced the chart at the foot of the table, he shoved his pen back into the shirt pocket of his scrubs. The tech quietly slid out of the room leaving his supplies behind, while Max fell asleep once more.
Later Max had regained himself, he was feeling much better, just as the orderly had promised. The orderly entered the room again.
"Feel any better, Max?" The orderly asked picking up Max's chart and writing some more information down.
"Yes."
"Good," The orderly replied with a gentle grin. He strode over to Max's fluid control box and turned it off. He stood next to Max's side and looked down on him. The tech felt sorry for Max, but he hardened his gaze unwilling to let his personal feelings interfere with his work. "Okay, I'm going to remove the needle in your forearm," The medic gently peeled the medical tape away from Max's forearm that had secured the needle in its place inside of his arm. With great care the tech withdrew the needle and then he bandaged the hole that had been left behind in the boy's forearm. The orderly put the used needle on his tray after he had disconnected it from the rest of the IV unit.
"Max, I'm going to let you out of your restraints," The medic stated quietly as he released Max's hands and feet from the squeezing grip of the metal restraints. "Your powers are still suppressed so don't try anything too drastic," The orderly backed off a little allowing Max a little bit of space between them.
It took Max a few moments before he had the will to even try to sit up. He still felt a bit weak, and he was stiff from being stuck in one position for such a long period of time.
"Thanks," Max spoke in a soft tone, his voice reflected the weariness he felt. The medic shrugged mumbling that it wasn't a big deal, and he offered the boy a subdued smile.
"You have been fading in and out for several hours. Agent Pierce was endangering your health by keeping you on a constant drip of that serum and I was getting sick of hearing you scream in your sleep. I don't like seeing people suffer, not even in their sleep. I guess I never could totally disregard my training as a doctor. I disobeyed a direct order from Pierce and tried to ease your suffering a little."
Max swallowed and stared at his bare feet, which he was dangling from the edge of the table, "I appreciate what you did for me."
"Don't thank me Max. The amount of protection that I can provide for you and Liz is limited at it's best. I can't stop Pierce from harming either of you if that's what he really wants. I can only offer him advice as a doctor, and whether he listens to me or not is entirely up to him. I don't have any real power over him, but what little influence I do maintain I'll use in Liz's and your own best interests. I'm not out to get you killed, it's not my job to murder people," The medic paused, "That's what Pierce is here for."
The medic moved to take his equipment out of the room, "I'll be back soon."
Max felt a sudden stab of fear and he held back the urge to beg the medic not to leave him alone.
When Pierce returned to Max's room, Max was still seated on the table. Max felt his entire body tense with fear as Pierce closed in on him. Even though Max was no longer restrained Pierce had the advantage over him. Max had no way to defend himself from whatever this agent of the law had in store for him.
"I see that Mason let you out of your restraints in my absence. That medic has a soft spot for people. It's easy for pathetic beings like yourself to win over his emotions," Pierce flashed a grin and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't possess a weak spot for people which is unfortunate for you, but it sure helps me to sleep easier at night," Pierce chuckled quietly to himself, stopping abruptly and staring at Max trying to intimidate him. He turned toward the white wall he had entered the room from and made a signal to a well-hidden security camera.
Only seconds had passed, the clean room agents were already storming into the room, grabbing Max and forcing him back into the restraints on the table. He struggled with them until they had secured him once more. The agents who had pulled Max back into the restraints left the room, while two new agents dragged a kicking and screaming Liz into the room. Mason entered the room a few seconds later quietly pushing in his tray of familiar medical tools.
"Now this is just a friendly little experiment. Nothing to get excited over in my own opinion," Pierce patted Max on the shoulder reassuringly, Max could see out of the corner of his eye that Mason was filling a syringe.
"Pierce, if you hurt her I'll-" Max growled in a low tone, Pierce cut him off.
"Max, did I say anything about harming Liz? I think you should worry about yourself, because that injection isn't for her," Pierce turned to Liz, "Liz, listen closely. My medical officer is at this moment preparing to stop Max's heart. I know that he changed you the day you were shot. All you have to do is heal him."
"But I can't heal him! Please, you can't do this to him. I can't save him from dying!" Liz cried out in a desperate tone of voice.
"Now Liz, you're not making this any easier for Max," Pierce taunted in a gentle tone, tears were beginning to form in Liz's eyes as Pierce ordered the reluctant Mason to proceed.
Mason approached and gently swabbed Max's left forearm. He turned toward Pierce and shook his head, "I can't do this Sir," Mason's voice was very soft and sounded as though it was tinged with a bit of fear.
Pierce rolled his eyes, "Mason, you are so weak. Give me that syringe. I'll do your job."
Mason approached Pierce with the filled syringe, but he made no move to hand it over to Agent Pierce.
"Well, give it to me Mason!" Pierce was growing impatient, he appeared as though he was going to lose his temper.
"All-right Agent Pierce," Slowly Mason offered the syringe to Pierce. Pierce hastily reached out to grab it, and Mason accidentally stuck Pierce, injecting nearly the entire dose of the drug into Pierce's hand.
Pierce angrily cried out, "You idiot! Look what you've done!" Pierce gripped his throbbing hand.
"I'm sorry Agent Pierce it was a mistake, I swear," Mason stated as he calmly turned and placed the nearly empty syringe back in its place on his tray.
"Stop apologizing and fix me!!" Pierce was growing frantic, he was beginning to feel strange.
"Relax Sir. Panicking will only speed the drug along its way throughout your bloodstream," Mason made no move to help Pierce in anyway. Pierce took a deep breath trying to calm himself, his vision blurred. Pierce stumbled back the men restraining Liz let her go as they went to tend to Pierce, who had collapsed in a heap on the cool floor.
Mason went to Max and let him out of his restraints, "Come on you two let's get out of here." Max and Liz immediately followed the medic who led them out of the facility. Mason borrowed one of the base's vehicles, an ambulance. They sped away from the facility, unopposed.
"I'll take you both back to Roswell, but I wouldn't recommend that you stay long. You're still not safe."
"Did you really stop Pierce's heart? Did you kill him?" Liz asked with her eyes wide. Mason smiled, but he kept his eyes on the highway in front of him.
"Ask Max. He knows."
Max shook his head, "Mason didn't kill Pierce. He's still a threat to us, but he'll be out for at least eight hours."
"How do you know Max?" Liz asked.
"Mason told me that his job wasn't to murder people, and I believe him," Max glanced at Mason, and then back at Liz, "We need to figure out what we want to do when we get home. Nothing has changed. We're still in danger."
The End.