Waking up the mutant was going to be harder then Mal thought, as at that point he remembered that it was hanging above him. On his tiptoes, Mal was at arm-length with the boy, but his balance was unsteady. Nothing that his only other option was to attempt to climb the wall, which would be an even worse idea, he decided just to attempt balance on his toes. Getting on to his tiptoes, Mal placed one hand on the mutant's shoulder to make sure he didn't fall over, and used the other hand to tilt it's chin up ever so slightly. He still felt awkward about the kiss he had to do, so Mal planned on finishing it as quickly as possible. However, that wasn't exactly how it played out. He quickly went in for a kiss, but suddenly stopped, and instead kissed the mutant gently. He slowly put his tongue against the boy's teeth, and then quickly spread saliva over them, and then finished the kiss completely when his tongue accidently touched the mutants. Letting go of the mutant's shoulder and getting back on his feet, Mal turned away and nearly gagged. Having their tongues touch was not part of his plan.
Doing his best to ignore that and the fact that he technically just sexually molested an unconscious, underage boy, Mal turned back to the mutant, waiting for the ropes to break like the paper had said. The mutant's body shivered a bit, which Mal assumed was the beginning of the waking up process. This continued for a minute or two, and Mal got into a catching positioning. Suddenly the mutant's body shot straight up, spine no longer in a hunched position and the ropes snapped, sending the boy falling. He crash landed onto Mal, who couldn't properly catch him. However, since his fall was broken, the mutant was still alive and went back to his shivering, it being more rapid this time. Struggling to get up, Mal pushed the mutant off of him, being careful not to do so too hard. The mutant fell into a half-sitting position, his limbs suddenly flying around to steady himself. After he steadied himself, the mutant limbs still flew widely about, switching from one leg to the other, then one arm to the other, and so on. Mal watched him with a mix of curiosity and amusement, with a dose of horror for good measure. The mutant's expression indicated that he should have been screaming, yet he was completely silent. He seemed horrified that his body was suddenly able to move again, and Mal had a guilty feeling like it was his fault the mutant was acting like that, like maybe pushing him snapped him out of the little bit of calmness he had.
Mal tried to figure out what to do next. His initial thought was to carry the mutant back to his own room and get him some clothes, because the cloth had snapped off with the ropes and it was makes Mal quite uncomfortable, but he figured with the amount of failing the mutant was doing, it might make carrying a bit difficult. His next thought was to try to calm the mutant down, but that also seemed like a dangerous idea. Mal threw thoughts around in his head, none of them seeming like a good ideas, until he remembered the directions he had put in his pocket. Pulling the papers out, he noticed the mutant had stopped flinging his limbs around, and instead just shivered still. He slightly wondered if the mutant was cold, being naked and all, but turned his attention to the papers in his hand. The top one was the information he had already read, so it switched the second paper and began reading it.
VERY IMPORTANT INFORAMTION ABOUT THE SUBJECT TO ITS NEW OWNER
Mal frowned at the words 'subject' and 'owner' but kept reading.
THERE ARE TWO SPEIFIC THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS SUBJECT:
1. IT WILL NEVER GIVE YOU A VERBAL RESPONSE. IT HAD THIS PROBLEM WHEN WE FIRST FOUND IT.
He made a mental note to look into that.
2. DO NOT REMOVE THE SUBJECT BLINDFOLD UNTIL THREE DAYS AFTER IT IS WOKEN UP. IF IT IS REMOVED THEN, THE SUBJECT'S POWERS WILL NOT ONLY DAMAGE IT BUT IT'S NEW OWNER.
Mal didn't even think about the blindfold until he read that line. Naturally it made him curious as to what the mutant powers were and why a blindfold affected it, but he was going to follow the rules and wait three days. The rest of the paper basically only said three things: That after an hour of being awake, the subject will be able to do basic things such as walk and eat; That after an hour of being awake the subject needed to be taken to a Tower scientist to get shots; and that subjects need to a strong sense of trust with their new owners to develop properly.
Not having to potty-train the mutant was something that made Mal very happy, which not only saved him from that uncomfortable situation, but also allowed him to treat the mutant like the 16-year-old the paper said he was and not a baby, or at least he hoped so. The idea of shots had always freaked Mal out a bit, but supposed it made sense that the mutant may need shots, whether it be to stop its powers from going crazy or to help its body with physical needs. The bond of trust also made sense, considering this was a total stranger the mutant was now going to be in contact with.
How to develop a mutant's trust was a whole different ballgame. Deciding to start by talking to it, Mal edged closer to the mutant and gently placed a hand on its knee. The boy looked at him in fear and shivered more at the new touch. He never pulled away, so he either must have not been too worried, or he was frozen in fear. Mal wondered what name the mutant would respond to. He tried the subject name first.
"Jericho?" He asked softly. The mutant instantly pulled away, even more frightened. Mal quickly tried his actual name.
"Joseph?" He asked equally as softly. The mutant stopped moving completely. Not sure how to take this, Mal gently placed is had on the boy's knee again. "Joseph? Do you like that better? Joseph?" The boy released some of his tension, showing that yes, he liked his actual name better. Mal smiled, glad the mutant was less afraid of him, and made a note to start referring to him as such. "My name is Malcolm." he continued. "We're going to become really good friends, okay? You think you want to be my friend, Joseph?" Joseph moved a bit closer to him, which Mal took as a yes. He also assumed Joseph couldn't nod just yet, having only been awake for a few minutes. This also meant he most likely couldn't walk yet. Thinking for a second, Mal decided just to carry the mutant back to his room to get it some clothes, since he was sure the mutant wasn't very happy about being naked either, and worry about things from there. Turning his attention back to the boy, and placed his other hand on the Joseph's knee. "Tell you what. I'm going to carry you back to my room and get you some clothes. Would you like that, Joseph?"
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't been updating guys! I'm really horrible about it, I know. But, here's the next chapter! I tried to make it a little longer this time.