'-click-…'
Jack stared up at her ceiling, her eyes tracing every crack. She had long ago stopped trying to get the attention of the other Biotics outside; it never worked. They continued to play and lift boxes in the air like good little sheep. The wolf got to stay locked up until it was time to kill.
When she thought about it, that's what Jack was; a wolf. Cerberus kept her under lock-and-key, and the only time they took her out was either to inject her with drugs and let her beat the hell out of the other kids or torture her with tests. She was a pet, not a person.
The guards and Biotics had given her a name after she killed her first kid – said that she "jacked" him up – and it stuck. But she was still an animal to them, a feral beast that meant someone was going to die. The doctors reminded her that she was nothing by calling her "Zero."
The dressed her and all the other kids in a plain, single-piece uniform. They were stark white, and form fitting so as not to hinder the Biotic children during their exercises. The boys' heads were shaved short, the girls' hair was cut at the chin, giving some distinction between gender but also maintaining a very prisoner-like look.
She was only twelve, but had never known how to really be a kid. She never knew her parents, and had never experienced the joy of having a friend. She didn't remember all of that; nothing before Teltin. Her only friends were at the ends of her arms. They protected her, fought with her, and they would die with her. It was just her and her fists.
Sometimes they pissed her off, or they were her only release from stress. She would rip her sheets to ribbons, tie them to the bed and wrap them around her wrists until her fingers went numb. Then she would pull, trying to rip her hands off. It usually ended with her bed breaking in half; this one was her tenth bed.
A small explosion shook Jack from her thoughts. She got off the bed and moved to the sealed door. She pounded on it, shouting out at the guard. "Hey, what the fuck's going on out there?" She kicked the door in frustration. "Let me out, goddammit!"
A heavy pound answered her. "Language, you little brat. Shut it before I get a doctor to calm you down. You want that? Another needle-nap?"
Jack smirked and kicked the door, "Pussy," she taunted. She jumped and looked out her window as a fireball jetted out from one of the facility's rooms below. Her room shook violently, the door crumpling as the frame broke.
The guard whirled around, bringing his assault rifle up. "Shit, big problem at cell ze-"
He never got to finish. Blue energy flared along Jack's body as she let out a primal roar and lunged the door. She slammed into him, her arm pressed against his throat as she pinned him to the wall. Jack glared up at the guard, letting him choke for a while before she rammed her fist into the man's gut.
He dropped to the floor, doubled over in pain. Jack stared down at the helpless man; his armor was cracked where she hit him, and blood leaked from the openings. Emotions ran rampant through her mind, but most of all was the adrenaline, the anticipation for a fight.
"Little bitch," The guard moaned, struggling to his feet, "You got this coming."
Jack snarled and thrust her hand out, hitting the guard with a biotic burst. The man screamed as he struck the wall behind him, leaving a large bloody stain. Jack stepped up to the body and spat.
"You people shouldn't have fucked with me," she sneered, kicking the corpse. "Now it's time for payback." She left the scene behind her, taking the nearest corridor to find the shuttle-bay. She intended to leave, but not before burning the place to the ground.
Screams sounded further down the hallway, breaking Jack from her trance. Her head snapped up as she looked to the source. Five soldiers were coming fast, more likely than not to try and subdue her. 'Fuck that,' she thought to herself, taking a combat stance.
"Arm suppressors," one of the soldiers shouted at his squad, "they want her alive!"
"Go to hell!" Jack screamed, unleashing a barrage on the men. Several biotic explosions shot from Jack's feet as she thrust her hand up, bursting from the ground in a rapid line towards the soldiers. Before they could react the shockwave hit, tossing them aside like ragdolls.
Before the squad-leader could recover, Jack ran up and stomped on his helmet with a savage roar. The tempra-glass cracked, and the soldier gave an agonized scream as several shards lanced into his face. Jack continued stomping, flares of biotic energy sweeping out from her small form.
One of the soldiers grabbed Jack's hair and pulled her off the dead soldier. She screamed in pain and anger, twisting around to get a shot off at the soldier who held her. She kicked at his kidney, her leg glowing blue as her biotics amped up the attack. The soldier screamed as he was sent flying, a few strands of Jack's hair still held in his hand.
The remaining three opened fire. Their shots did nothing to slow her however, a barrier absorbing the impacts as she ran towards them. Jack had to hand it to them; they didn't stop firing even as she leaped over their heads. Her biotics flared as she roared angrily, slamming down atop them. Chunks of the floor went flying, a large piece of rubble burying itself in one guards face as another was sent flying through a window. The third wasn't as lucky; Jack landed directly on top of him, sending bits of armor, bone and blood flying.
The battle settled around her. Jack gritted her teeth as pain seeped back into her awareness, past the euphoria. She brought a hand up to where her hair had been pulled out. "Screw this…" She hissed, pulling the faceless soldiers' combat knife from his boot. She quickly cut her hair, leaving brown strands in the puddle of blood at her feet.
A chill ran down her neck – whether from the fight or the chill on her scalp Jack couldn't tell – as she ran a hand over the remaining tuffs of hair. Satisfied that no one could grab it again, she continued on past the corpses.
As Jack rounded the corner she saw him; the doctor who ran most of the tests on her. He spoke frantically to a holo-vid recorder, no doubt leaving a message for Cerberus. Everything he did to her, every poke, prod and injection came to mind.
"Wait, Zero no!" the helpless man screamed as she ran towards him, his hands held up in a feeble defense.
The Biotic slammed into him, blue energy flaring across her body. She swung her fists wildly - forgetting the blade in her hand - as incoherent screams drowned out any resistance the doctor shouted at her. With each connected blow Jack felt a little better, but also wanted more. Her spine tingled, and the warm blood on her fists brought a strange focus to her mind. She grunted as she kicked the doctor's body into a wall. She breathed heavily as the fresh blood dripping from her tiny fists, her best friends.
She looked up to see sunlight. It wasn't such an odd sight, but it meant that outside would be hell. She was just wearing her uniform; the soldiers would be dressed in full armor. "Suck for them," she muttered her gaze dropping back to her surroundings. She thought for a moment before she grabbed her uniform, cutting it at the waist with the knife. She tossed the cut top to the side, now dressed in nothing but her undergarments and makeshift pants. It would do, and she'd be better off in the Pragian climate than the soldiers would.
