And, yay for me, I hast broken twenty reviews! In fact, I now have twenty seven! Thanks so much to you faithful readers. I will say this, in case you are wondering anything (though I doubt you are), I have modeled Meagan after me. In fact, Meagan is entirely me except I changed the name. Her personality, the way she LOVES Iggy, and her preferences and everything! In fact, the outfit she is wearing is basically my dream ensemble. So anything you notice about her is basically me, minus the fact that she likes chocolate ice cream (my fav is strawberry, like Iggy's.)
Disclaimer: I do not own frickin' Maximum Ride! How many times do I have to tell you?
By the way, to ease confusion, the following chapter is a flashback to the time Iggy lost his sight. It may not seem so at first, but this chapter really gives away tons of information, so it's really important to the fic. Please enjoy!
The bird kids sit silently in their cages, awaiting selection. Who is going to be subject to torture and experiments this time? Of course, none of them wanted to be 'it,' but they did not want it forced on one of their friends, either.
The oldest girl, the one with dirty-blond hair, stares at the scientist with an expression of deep loathing. This girl's wings stick out in an awkward position, because the experiment she had been subject to the day before had twisted them accidentally. It was a pity that the girl would not fly again for several days. Though, then again, they might just force her to, to see how much strain she could bare. Her wings are a soft, pale peachy color, with brown beginning to fleck the tips. Her down had fallen out weeks ago, and though her wings were now painfully sprained they still provided a stronger sense of amazement then the down-covered chicken-wings of the other five experiments.
The boy in the cage next to her has black hair and dark eyes, which seem to say "pick me. I dare you." This boy's wings are not nearly as amazing as the girl's, though the grey coloring suggests an impressive black will be revealed once the down has grown away. The boy's skin is a tanned brown, tying him to his native descendants. The scientist smirks at the look the boy is throwing him; a clear mixture of hate, pain, and fear. Of course, the scientists would wipe the boy of emotion in his next experiment; it would be a good test subject, this boy with so much emotion and feeling. They would test it on the boy, to see if it worked; if so, they would perform the surgery on the Erasers. An army of emotionless, feeling-less drones would be useful. The man grins at the boy, whose eyes show clearly the range of ideas running through his head.
The scientist passes these two avian hybrids to stand in front of the next two; a boy and a girl, both blood relations. The little girl is nothing more than a baby, blond ringlets beginning to sprout from her vulnerable scalp, her wide blue eyes staring with frightened innocence up at her capture. The girl's wings are tiny things, covered with a thick layer of downy fluff, but revealing the color they would grow to be; pure, stunning white. She smiles up at the man with joy, letting out a ringing laugh which echoes off the walls of the room. The scientist laughs himself, inwardly, at the child's folly. She should laugh now, while she can. Because eventually, he'd crush all the joy out of this little human being.
The girl's brother is in the cage with her, for now; they're both so small, but the baby needs the boy to help her. Otherwise, she'd probably have died by now. The scientist chuckles. The boy is small, with the same eyes as his sister; a deep, sky blue. His cheeks are round and full, flushed like that of his sister's; though his are flushed with fear and anger, while his sister's are with joy. This boy's wings are wrapped in gauze from a bad loss to the Erasers. The boy should have been faster, stronger; now he would definitely not fly for a while.
The scientist moves on; he does not need these pitiful children.
He comes upon the last two hybrids, a boy and a girl, as with the last two sets. The girl has chocolaty skin and tangled black hair, complete with "gorgeous" brown eyes. Her wings are brown, a shade lighter than her skin, with touches of white. This girl's wings are more downy than the oldest, darkest boy, though much less than that of the two blond siblings. She gazes up at the man with her wide eyes, her full lips parted pleadingly. She wants him to pick her, not the boy next to her. Because the boy next to her is her best friend, her confidante, her love. She does not want him to be subject to horror again, though she knows it is simply a matter of time. She cannot protect him forever.
The scientist shakes his head at her, smirking slightly, and turning to the final boy.
The boy is different than the rest of the children, in more ways than he will ever know. It is top secret information, his differences. None except his makers know.
The boy, though, has quite obvious differences besides the secret ones. His hair, unlike the basic colors of the rest, is a light reddish color, almost strawberry, nearly pinkish. His eyes are not the average "sky blue" or simply "ocean" color, but rather a sharp blue the color of ice. But, though this is the coloring, the boy's eyes are in no way cold. Except when turned upon the faces of the scientists.
The boy is also different in another way, which has somewhat to do with his top-secret advancements; his wings have already completely lost all their down, even though the oldest kid still has yet to lose her rest. The boy's wings are a striking mix of creamy white, a reddish color the likeness of his hair, and pure, shimmering gold. His skin is much paler than that of the other avian hybrids, but no freckles dot his face.
The scientist grins at this boy. "You," he says harshly, and lifts the boy's cage. The other bird kids watch as their friend is bourn from the room.
The scientist carries the cage along the white hallways. The kid inside makes no movement, no noise, simply waits for his time.
The scientist and the cage finally enter the operation chamber. The man empties the cage to no complaint onto a metal table, and the young boy patiently lets the scientist strap his chest, arms, and legs onto the table. Five other scientists enter; the rest of the creators. They gather around the helpless boy, gazing intensely at his worried expression.
"This will make me better now, right?" the boy asks. "This will make me as good as Max now, right?"
The scientists smirk. "Yes. It will make you better than Max. We'll make you stronger and better than Max."
The boy smiles. He'll finally be as good as Max and Fang, and they won't ignore him anymore. They won't leave him trailing behind in activities, won't exceed him in everything. And Max would be proud of him; she'll be so proud. Because now, he won't be weak.
"So you're enhancing my night vision now?"
"Yes," a scientist lies. "Yes, and you'll be the only one who can see perfectly in dark. Max won't be able to, only you."
The scientists huddle around him, going through all the actions of enhancing vision. Of course, it was all just a show so that the children would all think it was an 'accident' while 'enhancing his vision.' Such stupid people they were.
The men use a mechanical gadget to keep the boy's eyes wide open. Then, they take more mechanical tools, and begin to 'work.'
The boy screams in pain as they bore into his retinas, 'correcting' flaws in the make, 'enhancing' the traits. For twenty minutes the boy screams, his instincts causing him to try to arch and struggle. But the other scientists hold him down, until he finally collapses into an unconscious stupor.
The men pull away when the boy faints, putting back the tools and instead retrieving the item. A thin, miniscule needle; so tiny, it is barely visible. But just the perfect size for their intentions.
The man bearing the needle hovers it above the boy's open, unconscious eyes, and with a swift jab pokes it deep, back into the iris and nerves before drawing it out again. Then he does the same with the other eye, and ta-daa; the boy is blind. Even as he watches, the boy's eyes cloud ever-so-slightly and his pupils fade into a milky white.
"Did it work?" one of the other scientists asks.
"Yes," the one who had done it answers. "He'll never see again."
"Good. Then he is no longer a threat. His DME will prevent him from ever reaching his true potential."
"So we are in no danger."
"Correct."
The scientists stand around the unconscious child, who remains unaware of the scientists' fatal 'mistake.'
"Are you quite sure that nothing will heal his DME?"
"If he remains under Subjects 3 and 6… the ones he calls 'Max' and 'Fang.'"
"It is clear, then. And we will destroy the files?"
"All except those in our Undercover Documents."
"Good."
Most of the men file out of the room, all except two; the one who brought the boy in for the procedure, and the one who caused the boy's new blindness. The one who caused the blindness inspects the boy. He takes out a needle, and injects the hybrid with his daily dose. The liquid seeps into his veins, causing his weakness and feeble strength. After another two years, the effects of the liquid will be permanent. The scientists are sure that the boy will never regain his power.
The other man logs on to the computer. He clicks on an icon on the desktop, which opens into a series of files. They all document the boy; every aspect of his creation, his dominance of 4% avian DNA compared to the other five kids' 2%. The powers that would remain dormant, until the time came to activate. The information about his birth mother, and the info on the father which had provided the rest of his genes. The records of the types of bird DNA the scientists had spliced, the impact on the boy's relatively-human interior and exterior. As well as the documentation of the boy's mental dysfunction, what the scientists had discovered and named DME; Destructive Mental Envy, a problem in which a person is so deeply envious of another that, no matter what, said person will try anything to become as good or better than that other. In this case, Subject 9 was focused on reaching the capabilities of 'Max,' Subject 3. The scientists used Subject 9's serious disability to their advantage; used it to guide Subject down the 'wrong path.'
The subject had developed his case of DME after first meeting the girl. Subject 9 had been born two months prematurely, a problem which had nearly cost him his life. Subject had officially died seven times. Each time his heart had stopped, the scientists had pumped their little experiment until the blood began flowing again. Unfortunately, during the time not enough blood had reached the Subject's brain. As a result, a part of his brain had died. The scientists had repeatedly informed the subject that the dead part of his brain had erased his powers, therefore making him a 'useless mistake.' This, however, was merely to run-down the child. In reality, the part of the brain had shut down the natural blocks and boundaries keeping his powers at a respective strength. Therefore Subject 9 actually had power greater than any they had ever recorded, deeming him 'dangerous.'
So the goal for Subject 9 was causing him to lose hope so that his powers would not awaken until the time was right.
So they had moved in Subject 3, a girl whom Subject 9 had become greatly attached to. However, the scientists constantly reminded 9 that 3 was strong and fast and bold, whereas 9 was 'weak and a total failure.'
To complete the ensemble, Subject 6 was moved in. When Subject 6 became closer to 3 than 9 had, Subject 9 had developed his DME. He was envious of 'Max's' strength, as well as her friendship.
And so they had convinced him to take the 'night vision enhancement operation.'
And now they had no worried, for Subject 9, or 'Iggy,' was blind.
And the files were deleted from history.
And so nothing remained.
Wow! That sort of wrote itself. It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be! I hope that answered interesting questions. It sure gave you TONS of information about Iggy's past, and why the School wants him so much!
Please review! Tell me what you thought of this. Was it surprising?
Anyway, just review.
Also… though I think I've been pretty good about updating almost every day, it's going to stop. I'll probably update every three days now, because besides this I will be writing chapters for two other fics. Please read them! At the moment, I think a really popular one is Boys Turn to Girls and Vice Versa. I don't know why, but I'm always swamped with "Blahblahblah added story to favorites" or "So-and-so added story to story alert" and whatnot.
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