7
All mothers worried about the dangers that the world posed to their children. Magda worried a little more than most. Wanda was fine of course – she was still in school, had the social skills needed to keep herself safe, had far more sense than most 17 year old girls. Peter on the other hand was a different story. Riding high on the success of his little foray out into the world – the first time he'd so much as left his house in daylight in three years – he was keen to start exploring, unable to understand why his mother wasn't more pleased for him. Thankfully for her, the topic of her old metal-bending acquaintance had been dropped under the more pressing matter of trying like hell to keep Peter's feet on the ground.
"It's not that I don't trust you, hon" she sighed, set down the dish she had been drying, regarded her son lurking in the doorway, "and you know I'd love you to get out more. But is now the time? I mean – what if people are looking for you?"
"Like the police? The police are always looking for me," a flash over to the refrigerator, reappearing in the doorway with a sandwich in his hand, "what's the big deal there?"
"The 'big deal', Peter, is that breaking someone out of the Pentagon may be slightly more than a police matter. Don't you understand that?"
"Of course I do! But they won't catch me – nobody ever caught me, Mom, and nobody ever proved anything! I'm totally safe out there, if anything bad happens, I'll just run home, it's cool"
Magda regarded him solemnly. Looked at the way his teenage face was beginning to harden into adult lines, body filling out slightly with muscle and now taller than her by an inch or so. Wanted more than anything to not let him have to face the dangers of the world, and yet knew that this young man he was becoming needed to emerge some time. No matter how much she wanted to keep him tied to her apron strings, she had to give him his freedom. She sighed heavily yet again
"You promise you'll stay safe," she said, "you get straight back here as fast as you can if you have to. No fighting, no stealing, no vandalism, and please don't try driving again - I promise we'll get you a license soon"
In an instant he was throwing his arms around her in gratitude. Magda was surprised to find tears welling up behind her eyes at the squeeze of his strong arms around her
"You're the best, Mom" he whispered, "I'll be home for dinner, I promise"
She heard the door bang behind him, hoped he'd have a good day and manage to stay out of trouble. Wondered what mischief he would find himself in this time, and firmly supressed the nagging thought that tickled at her mind : But what if you can't run home, Peter?
The majority of the afternoon had been passed without any sort of incident. Exploring the new stores that had sprung up in the local Mall, the new skate park nearby, stopping frequently to fill up at one of the many burger joints in town, generally reacquainting himself with a world that he'd felt locked out of for years. Ever since he'd been expelled, even more so since his Mutation had really taken hold, Peter found it hard to move in the world with the ease that others did, but his little adventure had given him new confidence. Made him feel like maybe the world wasn't ready for him, but he was sure as anything ready to take on this world. As such, he hadn't been paying too much attention, watching other kids scream and whoop their way into half-pipes and gnarlies, laying propped on his elbows stuffed pleasantly full of fried chicken and enjoying the late sunshine. He hadn't been thinking about whether anyone was behind him, or what their intentions might be, only about how good it felt to lay warm in the sunshine, close enough to humans that he could feel part of their world for once but not close enough to give himself away. Which was exactly how, despite his lighting reflexes and almost preternatural awareness of his surroundings, the woman had managed to get to within two feet of Peter without him noticing. She'd been watching all day, waiting for him to stay still long enough for her purposes, and finally he had. Peter was momentarily aware of a sharp pain in his neck, mind briefly interpreting it as a bee-sting before no more coherent thoughts could get through the electrical storm going on in his brain. The other kids paid no attention, assumed a parent was dragging the limp, twitching boy whose higher brain functions had just been immobilised with a taser to the spine back home. Did not for a moment think that the waiting car would be carrying him somewhere they could not have imagined in their worst nightmares.
Still feeling the uncoordinated spasms of his shocked muscles, Peter had little choice but to obey the urging hands that got him to his feet, the harsh whisper in his ear
"Come quietly, and I won't use it again"
He nodded stupidly. Couldn't quite fathom why it felt like his body wasn't under his control and his brain was tuned to a scrambled station. Unaware that he'd just taken an electric shock big enough to fell a deer straight to his brain and spinal cord. Obeying the woman who began marching him to the car in a dazed, trancelike state, some detached part of himself dispassionately curious about this newly-discovered vulnerability. When she had got him in the car, climbed into the backseat with him and tapped on the screen in front of them to signal the driver, she had once again pulled the taser out.
"Hey…" Peter slurred at her, "you said you wouldn't…"
"I lied" she smiled pleasantly, and jammed the taser against the back of his neck again. This time, she did not stop until he had slumped unconscious in the seat. Kept the weapon in her lap and watched the teenager closely in case the shock didn't last him the whole way to the containment facility he was bound for. That would simply be… inconvenient.
He woke to cold and darkness. Laying on something that resembled a prison cot and wasn't too comfortable, peered into the murk. He tasted iron in his mouth, thought he must have bitten his tongue during one of those shocks, felt groggy and disoriented as he sat up and perched on the edge of his cot. They'd taken his jacket, his shoes, his socks, his goggles, even his precious stereo-belt, and he was shivering in his light t-shirt. Suddenly, there was a click that snapped him back to full attention, and a voice came over an intercom from somewhere. A woman's voice – perhaps the one who'd taken him, perhaps not. His brain was too soupy to figure that one out still.
"Glad to see you're awake," she said calmly, "Now we can go over a few ground rules"
"Ground rules?! What? Who the hell are you man, what's going on!?"
"You have been selected for an experimental protocol designed to help the US Defense Department protect against novel threats" the woman's voice said smoothly, as if she was reading from a script, "On behalf of Dr Trask, thank you in advance for your co-operation"
"Whoah there – I've what?" Peter rose, turning in circles and trying to force his eyes to adjust to the darkness to little avail
"Rule One" she said, ignoring him, "You will not attempt to resist any of the staff of this facility, cause harm to them or damage to this or any other room, or attempt to leave your containment suite. Should you breach this rule, you will be punished"
"Oh right, punished. Whatcha gonna do, send me to my room?"
There was a brief pause before, instead of an answer, Peter suddenly found his feet unable to hold him up, falling and twitching briefly until the current in the floor was switched off. Panting for breath when it was over
"We would also greatly appreciate you to refrain from sarcasm, sass, and speaking when not spoken to" the woman told him. Peter exploded, ranting and throwing every expletive in his considerable vocabulary at the unseen voice, somehow finding a door and beginning to rattle it with both hands until a shower of sparks had thrown him backward, whimpering and with burned palms.
"You will have noticed that some amenities are missing from your suite" the woman continued. Peter didn't bother protesting, sat on the floor and shivered, "If you manage to behave yourself and do not breach the rules as set so far, you will be provided with heating and light. Cooperate fully with your intake assessment later today and we will provide you with food. Fail to do any of these things and you will spend the night cold, hungry, and in the dark. Do you understand?"
Peter nodded, half to test if they could see him, half out of misery stopping his voice
"Do you understand, Guest?"
"Yes! I get it OK? Behave or I get nothing. Understood. Over and Out"
"Excellent" the woman said, "If you manage to abide by our rules for one hour, we will switch the lighting on in your suite. Two hours, we will heat it. Good luck, Guest"
There was another click as the intercom switched off. For a few minutes, Peter only sat cross-legged on the floor, tried to shake off the muzziness from another shock, stared at his bare feet. He wrapped his arms around himself, curled up as much as he could, and started the battle to keep his core temperature up enough to stay alive for the next two hours.