Soulfrenzy
Chapter 14 – Change of Scene
"I fixed it up for ya with some furniture and stuff... it should do the trick, for now anyway."
The young man stared at the "cell" with his mouth agape. Raven's old containment chamber – a relic from the days when Trigon still menaced the world – had been completely remodeled. The dark walls were recolored, and red carpeting had been laid on the ground. A pair of armchairs, beanie seats, and even a dining set had been placed throughout. There was a drawn curtain in the room's corner; the pillow of a small bed could be seen peeking around its edge. The surveillance window above, however, had remained.
"This is..." he murmured, taking a tentative step into the room.
"We'll only keep you here as long as we have to," Cyborg assured him. "But the DNA analysis and other tests will take time to process. And Raven wants to run some magical tests too."
He walked up to the boy and produced a small electronic key from his pointer finger. Without making eye contact, he began to unlock the large hydraulic shackles around the prisoner's wrists.
"I will cooperate however I can," the boy said. "You have all been... kind to me, given the circumstances."
Cyborg glanced up at him for a second. The locks on the shackles clicked, however, so he removed them and made for the door.
"Don't think too much of it, dude," he said neutrally. He wasn't sure how to address him; the line between friend and foe was as clouded right now as it had ever been. "One of us'll be in to bring you some food. Just try to get some rest."
He turned when he reached the doorway. He reached out to close it, but the young man caught him first.
"Wait," he blurted, turning suddenly to face Cyborg. He clutched at his wrists where they had been shackled. "That girl in the sick bay... the one that I saw when you were transferring me... is she going to be alright?"
Cyborg's expression turned stony. He didn't mean to direct it at the boy, but he felt that he had.
"We don't know," he said simply.
The prisoner winced as if stung.
"I'm... I know I've said it already, but I'm sorry." He averted his eyes in shame. "I don't deserve this."
"Well, that depends." Cyborg stepped back into the room. "If everythin' you say is true, then you deserve it as much as anyone else. But if you're not... well, you know."
He was probing, looking for any sign of a liar. The young man took a deep breath, then looked him straight in the eye.
"I can never be sure what is true, only what I believe. And I believe that I will atone for what has happened, some day."
He sidled to one of the arm chairs and sat, hands clasped together, eyes directed at the floor. Cyborg's jaw set.
Power to you, then.
"Please, go tend to your friends. You've spent more than enough time on me."
The comment was in no way malicious, merely defeated. Cyborg stepped back beyond the bounds of the door, his finger hovering over its control panel. The young man did not look up at him over the next few seconds of silence.
He seemed always bound, no matter where he sat or stood. Cyborg could only wonder what that kind of existence must be like – memories only of being passed from room to room, questioner to questioner. More and more, he just felt pity for this young man.
But he couldn't let that happen just yet. Starfire was still in a coma. The beast within had still not been tamed. There was work to do.
The doors shut with a heavy clang.