Ch.2 Lithium

I can hear things before my eyes open. I'm being poked and prodded, and I appreciate none of it. My fingers twitch once.

"Body temperature is steady at 95.2."

"Hmmm... A bit cool, isn't he? Of course, a lowered body temperature could account for his slower metabolism and lack of interest in food. Are you ready yet?"

"Yes."

The very familiar feeling of a tourniquet being tied about my arm rouses me further, and then the strange pricking of a needle sliding into a vein in my wrist. My heart responds nearly immediately, thumping and leaping about. My eyes fly open as my entire body tenses and spasms. I'm held in place by simple restraints, else I would have come flying from the table.

"Good morning." I whip my head to try and locate who had spoken. A man with a gentle face and wisps of white hair was looking at me, carefully appraising me. I'm panting like a horse, and beginning to sweat. I exhale harshly through my nose, which catches his attention. "Terribly sorry about the rude awakening, but time is of the essence," he says sympathetically, an ironic smile pulling at one side of his mouth.

I narrow my eyes and quickly survey my surroundings. Various implements are sitting about in storage containers, all shining and silver. I glance down again at my restraints. Very simple. I nearly smile.

"I'm quite sure that you're wondering where you are, and why you've been brought here," he continued. He began to pace about. "Things have changed, my dear boy... Changed indeed. You've been selected because...well, you're rather special aren't you? The world needs you."

I snort once, an ugly sound coming from a man with no nose. He turns away, hands clasped at his back. I easily rotate my wrists, flexing them and sliding them easily from the strappings; clearly, they were not intending on holding a skeleton prisoner.

"You see, what we--" He cuts off abruptly as I dart one hand out, expertly collaring him and dragging him closer to me.

"I shall not be a prisoner for your amusement," I hiss. He raises a hand, which I catch and twist around until something snaps. His face blanches. I let my voice slide down an octive, smooth and dangerous. "It is fine... Everything is fine. Stand quietly." His face turns raptured, his eyes wide. I wriggle my legs, inelegantly rolling from the table once they're freed. The Punjab lays coiled on a smaller table with wheels, and I pause to consider the brightness and amount of metal used in this room.

The door flies open, breaking the trance I've created. The girl is standing in the doorway with several men dressed in black and bizarre helmets behind her. Her hair is pulled back severely from her face, her feet are bare. Her eyes are bright, too bright. She turns them on me.

"Erik, what are you doing?" she asks softly. "Bringing you was a lot of work; you should be grateful."

"Release the Doctor," one of the men says tersely, his voice sounding odd through the helmet. I drop my hands. The Doctor, for his part, rubs his wrist a few times, and has the good sense to look chagrined.

"Oh, dear. It would seem that things are not getting off to a good start." He glances between me and the girl.

"He's feeling threatened," she murmurs. She tilts her head. I do not care for the way she studies me.

"Ah, very true. Why don't you take our new friend on a tour?" he suggest. He waves us off jovially.

She lowers her head, submissive then turns and walks through the group of men. I follow.

**********************

I can feel his eyes burning on me as I walk. The hallways are quiet, and our bare feet make little noises that echo. We round a corner, and the air shifts. My eyes grow dark, and there are long fingers curled around my neck. I focus, but it's hard.

Images flash before my eyes, and then I can feel his quick mind. It's hard to seperate his thought streams, there are so many. It's chaos and I'm nearly lost before I find one that makes him pause. It's brief, just a little snippet really--a girl with an open face and blue eyes is standing next to... Something I don't understand. She presses a piece of it and a clear sound issues.

The dark pulls away from my sight... I pull in a deep breath as his fingers release, dropping me back to the floor. He's staring hard at me, his unsettling eyes narrowed. He's twitching, agitated. One of the Keepers lazily ambles over. I flick my eyes to him, stupidly. Erik hits the man once in his neck, which only draws more of them as the first Keeper sinks to the floor.

They pile on him, and I see a bright syringe in the mix. I back away, pressing my back to the wall. All of the black amidst this unending white is hurting my eyes. I close them, waiting for the scuffling to disippate. At last it's quiet again.

Erik is slowly sitting up, his pupils dialated a little. "What did you give me?" he asks slowly. I sit on the floor next to him.

"Lithium mostly, and a few other things thrown in for good measure. That's what they usually give to people that are having a hard time adjusting." I stand then, and offer him my hand. It looks ridiculous when he places his hand in mine, his expression slightly dazed--his fingers wrap nearly twice around my hand. I help to pull him to his feet; he's surpisingly steady. I tilt my head back to look up at him, taking in his height, his black mask.

"No... What did you do to me?"