WARNING: Co-written for a science project, thus knowledge/appreciation of science (spec. Chemistry) advised.
Element Break – Breaking Out
(SEASON 1)
Brothermine Non-Metal lay on the base of his test tube, pondering recent events. He was in solitary confinement, sentenced on death row for allegedly splitting a Hydrogen molecule, but not just any hydrogen molecule, but Vice-Experiment Hydro-Jen's brother, Hydrogen Atom. Of course, Br had had no part in the splitting of the molecule; in fact, Br was certain that Hydrogen was still around, waiting to re-unite with his sister as soon as Br had been taken care of. According to Lithium Lithos, Br's outside contact who was investigating the case, Hydrogen had been put in hiding by Vice-Experiment Hydro-Jen and the Noble Gas Service, or the NGS, in an attempt to frame Brothermine.
Meanwhile, Mercury "Hg" Quicksilver was carefully going over months of preparation, to ensure that everything would go according to his hypothesis.
Shaking with nerves, Mercury executed the first stages of his plan. Dr. U. Rieka, the maintenance worker in the lab, walked over to a test tube containing dimethylmercury, which Mercury had formed with 2 Carbon friends and 6 Hydrogen atoms. As Dr. Rieka opened the container to look at the colourless liquid, the dimethylmercury vaporised. Bob, unable to detect the gas, breathed in the toxic vapour.
Immediately, Officer Helium "He" Noble turned up at the scene and arrested Mercury, charging him with murder.
Mercury requested at the trial that he be put into the Elements International Holding Lab, and a few days later, he was sitting in his new test tube, with his test tube mate, Argentum Silver. Ag, as he was commonly known, was in Elements International for possession of a stolen electron, which Ag claims that he only did in order to give to his fiancé as a wedding gift.
x
Brothermine stared; amazed and horrified that his brother Mercury was on his side of the glass separator. "What are you doing here?" Brothermine asked.
"Breaking you out!" replied Mercury.
Brothermine looked confused. "No one's ever broken out of here… It's impossible!"
Mercury glanced at Brothermine, and then carried on watching the Lab guards. "Not if you built the place it isn't."
"I don't understand," Brothermine paused, contemplating exactly how Mercury could have planned to escape. "What's your plan?"
"I'll tell you later," Mercury answered. "Atoms might be listening. Even test tube racks have ears …" Mercury walked away from a bemused Brothermine, and glanced suspiciously at other atoms.
x
Mercury and Brothermine had been separated at a young age. Brothermine ran away from the home he had been put in, and lived on the street with the unpredictable gang, The Halogens.
Mercury had been forced to stay in the group home he had been placed in. The transition group home wasn't the best group to be in, but it was better than the Noble Gas group home. The atoms there had the idea that they were better than everyone else – just because they had full outer electron shells.
The atoms in Elements International Holding Lab were not atoms one trusted near an open Bunsen burner.
From what Mercury "Hg" Quicksilver had gathered so far, through both his pre-lab research and his life in the lab, Thallium Abruzzi seemed to be the leader.
Abruzzi had been the head of an Element Mob, convicted for life on conspiracy to commit murder. He was turned in to the police by F. Fluorinacci. Thallium and Fluorinacci were once great friends, but had had a falling out when Abruzzi offered Fluorinacci to join him and make Thallium Fluoride (an experimental solution to mobsters' problems lab-wide). Abruzzi was prepared to share the leadership of the mafia, in order to gain use of Fluorinacci's contacts. Fluorinacci rejected Abruzzi's generous offer, and demanded that he be head of the solution. When Abruzzi said no, Fluorinacci turned him in. Now, Abruzzi was desperate to find Fluorinacci and exact revenge.
Mercury observed that Theodore "Francium" Bagwell was an odd atom; other atoms seemed to be afraid of him, possibly because he was such a reactive metal. They kept him in the bottom right-hand corner of the Periodic Table, to minimise contact with other elements. Bagwell was in the holding lab for life on three counts of attempting to steal electrons. Bagwell was without a doubt the most messed-up of all the atoms at Elements International.
An element who arrived two weeks after Mercury's transfer was Iron "Transition" Apolskis. He was the snitch of the lab, exchanging information about other atoms in holding with the radioactive guards; in return he would receive larger test tubes and first shower rights. Transition was only in the Holding Lab for a minor crime, and only had 7 years sentenced.
Au-note was one of the most interesting atoms in Elements International. Other atoms said that if you hit him to hard, he would bend – just like a thin sheet of gold, hence his nickname.
Finally, there was Hydrogen Single-Proton, or D. Be. Cooper.
D. Be. did not reveal to any of the other atoms in Elements International that he was actually D. Be. Cooper, and rather referred to himself as Hydrogen, so as to keep his secret identity safe. Hydrogen Single-Proton was only guilty of minor crimes, though circumstantial evidence had caused him to become accused with the criminal offences of D. Be Cooper, a notorious Beryllium atom who was said to have a large stash of stolen electrons buried somewhere. Mercury "Hg" Quicksilver, was not to be fooled, and saw through Single-Proton's flimsy disguise. He alone knew that Single-Proton was truly D. Be Cooper.
x
Thallium Abruzzi, Theodore "Francium" Bagwell and Iron "Transition" Apolskis cornered Mercury in a conical flask. Mercury looked around nervously, trying to find an opening through which he could slip.
The flask was tightly sealed.
Abruzzi came closer, staring menacingly down at Mercury. He raised an electron in suspicion. "Word in the beaker is you got a plan to escape this place."
"So what if I have?" Mercury asked Thallium, bravely avoiding the other atom's eye.
"I want in on it."
"How do I know I can trust you?" retaliated Mercury broodily.
"Oh, you can trust me; in fact you might be the one with the need to prove your trustworthiness."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard you know the location of the atom that put me in here."
"Who told you that?"
"The way I see it, it doesn't concern you where I get my information from."
"Well, your source is wrong." Mercury remained stoic in the face of adversity.
Thallium Abruzzi looked back to Transition and Theodore "Francium" Bagwell. Without a word, they leapt forwards, grabbed Mercury and lifted him onto a table.
"Tell me where Fluorinacci is, or I'll take one of your electrons!" Thallium Abruzzi threatened.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mercury protested, struggling in the other electrons' hold.
"This is your last chance, Quicksilver – tell me now, or you loose that electron." Abruzzi drew the rusty lab scalpel closer to one of his quivering electrons.
"I told you – I don't know what you're talking about!" Mercury tried, but was interrupted by Theodore "Francium" Bagwell.
"We warned you!" Francium said, then, swiping the scalpel from Thallium, he bounded forward and slashed at Mercury's most vulnerable electron.
x
Mercury was taken into the medical wing of the Lab, exhausted from fighting Francium off. He awoke to the atomically pleasing Dr Oxygen Six standing over his bed, looking over Mercury's medical records.
"You feeling okay?" she asked.
"I've been better," Quicksilver replied with a struggle.
"They beat you up pretty bad, never mind the exhaustion," Oxygen commented. "You'll need to come in for checkups every few weeks."
Quicksilver needed time. It was only two weeks before the day that Brothermine was sentenced to dissolve in carbon disulfide. Oxygen said that Mercury would only have to go into the medical wing of Holding Lab for check-ups for a few weeks, but to form a strong bond with Oxygen, Mercury would need more than that. Quicksilver began to panic; his plans were beginning to fall apart.
x
It was the 10th of May and Brothermine was scheduled to liquefy late in the afternoon.
Brothermine was taken to the execution room by Guard Radium and was strapped into a shallow dish. The head of the Lab, coincidentally Dr. Six's father, asked Brothermine if he had any final words. Brothermine was too nervous to think.
Mercury had told Brothermine that he had connections with the carbon atoms used in the carbon disulfide, but knowing Elements International, there was bound to be a second substance prepared that could dissolve him.
Correctional Officer Radium pulled the lever, which was to be the last thing Brothermine would remember.
Nothing happened: the dish Brothermine was strapped into lowered into a deep container, but there was no carbon disulfide!
x
Brothermine later discovered that Quicksilver's contacts with the Carbon atoms had lead to the Carbon only bonding with Oxygen, rather than Sulfur, therefore forming CO2.
Brothermine was safe for now, but plans needed to start taking motion soon – there was only so much time until his dissolving was re-scheduled.
x
Dr. Oxygen Six gasped when she saw Quicksilver the next week, "What happened?"
"I fell," Mercury replied, sheepishly (yet masculinely) looking down at his fresh wounds.
"I need to report if any foul play is happening in the holding lab. You know that, don't you?"
"I told you, I just fell."
Mercury thought of how he had included Au-note in his break-out: in return Au-note agreed to beat up Mercury so that Quicksilver could continue seeing Dr Six.
"I see you're not afraid of dirt," Oxygen commented as she noticed the tarnish-like marks on Mercury's liquidy surface.
Mercury just groaned in mock-pain as a reply, hoping that Oxygen wouldn't notice anything special about those markings …
x
Quicksilver walked over to D. Be in the Holding Lab yard. "I want you to join my team."
"Team for what?" Cooper asked, petting the electron fragment he had named 'Cat'.
"We're breaking out."
The old atom raised his electrons in surprise. "Why would you want me with you?"
"I can trust you, and you have access to the Guards' Flask."
"What do you need in there?"
"I need to use it as a passageway to the medical wing."
"Guards' Flask doesn't lead to the medical wing."
"It does under the benchtop – through the gas pipes."
"How would you know that?"
"Are you on our team or not? Do you want to live out the rest of your life a free atom?"
Cooper considered Mercury for a moment. He stretched out an electron for Mercury to vibrate. "Sure."
x
Back in the beaker, Mercury and Brothermine were conversing. "So how do you plan to break out of here?" Brothermine asked.
"I got the blue-prints all over me," Mercury revealed, lifting his shirt to show some of the tarnish-like marks on his surface, the dirty markings Dr. Six had noticed earlier. "It won't be too hard."
"Where did you get that done?"
"It took 30 hours; I got it done at a parlour."
Brothermine raised his electrons, puzzled, but soon turned serious. "My dissolving is scheduled for Monday five weeks from now."
"Okay, I'll finalise the plans, we're running out of time."
x
Four Weeks Later
x
Over the weeks, Mercury and Oxygen Six's relationship had grown; they had become more and more attracted to each other, though Quicksilver still worried if they were close enough. Time was running out and Quicksilver saw no other option than to ask Oxygen now.
"I need you to do me a favour."
"What can I do for you?"
"Wednesday night, leave the lid to this flask opened," Mercury motioned towards the door to the medical lab.
"I can't do that," Oxygen said, looking at the atomic inmate in disbelief.
"Yes, you can: I need you to. I didn't ever want to bring you into this, but I see no other way. I wouldn't ask, but I'm desperate. Also, I need you to take two of my electrons."
"Mercury, do you understand what you're asking me to do? Not only are you asking me to become an ion, but you're also asking me to risk my job. I've worked my whole life to get where I am today. If someone finds out what I did…"
"That's just it, no one has to find out, you can make a mistake, just forget to lock up tonight. And as for becoming and ion, these things just happen."
"Once I become an ion, I'll have to give up my job, no one will respect me once I'm Oxide – you're asking me to sacrifice my life!"
"Please," Mercury begged once more, just as Correctional Officer Radium came in to escort Mercury back to his test tube.
x
"Mercury Quicksilver?" Guard Uranium called into Mercury's test tube, "You have a visitor."
Mercury followed Uranium to a room filled with tables with a chair on either side. He noticed Abruzzi having a quiet conversation with two other mafia atoms – Abruzzi did not seem too happy. At another table sat Brothermine and his son, Br. J, or Brothermine Junior. Brothermine was pleading with Br. J to behave well and be a good, law-abiding element.
Mercury looked around, wondering who his visitor could be. At another table, Mercury saw a lonely Lithium Lithos, ex-girlfriend of Brothermine. Mercury sat down at a table with her, and without exchanging greetings she began to update Mercury on life outside Elements International.
"I think I've found a lead on the location of Hydrogen Atom. Vice-Experiment Hydro-Jen Atom's office has been making daily phone calls to a research lab in an institution not too far away from here." Lithium paused and looked at Mercury, noticing his Au-note inflicted injuries then continued, "I'm going to go check it out, I thought I might just update you. Mercury, you just have to keep a low profile, don't cause trouble with other atoms. I'm about to make a breakthrough on Brothermine's case, if H Atom is in this house, Brothermine will be exonerated, everything will go back to how it was before."
"Brothermine is going to be dissolved in a week. You'd better find Hydrogen quickly or it will be too late. Don't worry though; I have a plan to take care of things here." Mercury didn't let much slip, he wanted to keep Lithium safe, to include her in his plan would have no benefit and would just put her in danger. The people who framed Brothermine for splitting Hydrogen Atom obviously had enough power to take care of any atom that got in their way, and the last thing Mercury and Brothermine needed was Lithium being dissolved.
x
"I hope you're right about her. I hope she cares about you as much as you think she does."
Brothermine was nervous, what if Oxygen hadn't left the door open? What if she wasn't there to accept two electrons?
"She'll be here," Mercury assured his brother. Mercury, Brothermine, Thallium Abruzzi, Transition, Francium Bagwell, Mercury's tube-mate Argentum, and Au-note continued to walk down the hallway of the holding lab, until they got to a door leading to the Guards' Flask. Mercury knocked 5 times on the door – it opened and Hydrogen Single-Proton appeared.
"How'd you manage to stay so late cleaning in here?" Mercury asked Hydrogen.
"Just told them I had a sore proton, so I wouldn't be so quick with my cleaning."
The group of atoms filed into the room as Mercury lifted a grate that covered a drain. Mercury proceeded to jump down and crawl along the large pipes, followed by Brothermine, Au-note, Argentum, Thallium, Bagwell and then Transition. As Single-Proton was about to jump into the drain, Correctional Officer Radium walked in.
"What's going on here?" Radium asked, suspiciously looking at the open drain.
"I'm just cleaning out the drain."
"I think it's time you leave." Radium suggested, stepping closer to Hydrogen in an attempt to intimidate him.
Hydrogen panicked, he lifted a small glass of water sitting on a bench and threw it at Radium. Radium started reacting violently as he began to form Radium Hydroxide.
As an extra security measure, Single-Proton squeezed the radioactive atom into a test-tube for containment. However, the contact cost Single-Proton his carefully guarded identity. D. Be Cooper, a beryllium atom had little-to-no tolerance of radiation. Thus, D. Be was badly injured.
Though he was suffering greatly, D. Be made it down the drain pipes and caught up with the others.
Mercury lifted the grate at the other end of the pipe and looked around the hallway. He climbed out and found himself right in front of the door leading to the infirmary. Hesitantly, he put his hand on the door knob and slowly turned it. Thoughts rushed through his nucleus, how did Oxygen really feel about him? Mercury breathed a sigh of relief as the door swung open. In a corner, he saw Oxygen. He smiled at her, and she smiled back as she rushed towards him and hugged him. "Shall we do this thing?" Her voice was filled with anxiety and dread.
Mercury promptly gave Oxygen his spare electrons and encouraged her to leave, so that she would not be an accessary to his crime. As Mercury2 watched the new Oxide ion walk towards the door, he ran to stop her.
"Wait," he called. "I just want you to know, if this doesn't go right, I didn't just use you to take my electrons, I feel a real attraction between us."
Oxygen gave him a wry smile. "Go," she said, and Mercury "Hg2 " Quicksilver darted out the window and into the night, just as Correctional Officer Uranium checked the felons' test-tubes and found them empty.
Immediately he leaned on the alarm button, but it was too late – by the time the Noble Gas Service had arrived … the elements were long gone.
x
x
To Be Continued in Season Two: On the Run ……
Character comparison sheet for reference:
Mercury "Hg(2 )" Quicksilver – Michael "Fish"/ "Snowflake" Scofield
Brothermine Non-Metal – Lincoln Burrows (Michael's brother)
Dr. Oxygen Six – Dr. Sara Tancredi (Michael's … girlfriend? Or is she …?)
Thallium Abruzzi – Mob Boss John Abruzzi
Au-Note – Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Argentum Silver – Fernando Sucré
Theodore "Francium" Bagwell – Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (a nasty piece of work)
Correctional Officer Radium – Correctional Officer Bellick
The Radioactives – The Prison Guards/ Correctional Officers
Noble Gas Service (NGS) – The Secret Service
Hyrogen Atom – Terrence Steadman, brother of …
Vice-Experiment Hydro-Jen Atom – Vice President Caroline Reynolds
Hydrogen "D. Be Cooper" Single-Proton – Charles "D. B. Cooper" Westmoreland
Lithium Lithos – Veronica Donovan ( Lincoln's ex-girlfriend and his lawyer)
Br. J Non-Metal – L.J. Burrows ( Lincoln's son)
F. Fluorinacci – Fibonacci (the man who turned Abruzzi over to the police)
Please review ... or I'll get your electrons, and all the atoms you hold dear ...