Liz stood staring at the empty syringe box dissapointedly. She closed her eyes and felt the pain begin to creep throughout her body. Her heart pounded in her chest and her head throbbed. Damn! She didn't want it to end this way right now, but it was too late. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. Then she felt herself begin to fall, only she never hit the floor. Suddenly Riddick was there, supporting her entire body. She could tell it was Riddick by the way he felt. He was asking her something, but Liz couldn't make herself answer him. Slowly all her senses dulled as unconsciousness crept over her mind. Then she was at peace.
TWO DAYS LATER
The bright, white lights in the examining room made Liz's skin turn ghostly pale. A doctor in civilian clothes hunched over her as he placed another drug IV in her arm. It was the fourth IV he had her hooked up to and there were still two more to go, to make sure she was getting all the medicines he thought she needed. With all the wires and tubes attached to Liz, she looked like another piece of life-sustaining machinery. The civilian doctor didn't notice her eyelids begin to flutter as he concentrated on his work. Liz was coming to, but the machines monitoring her vitals didn't show it. Then it happened.
Consciousness swept over her like a wave and there was an instant awareness of the current situation she was in. The second her eyes snapped open she was up and had the doctor's throat in a vise-like grip. Liz glared at him searching her memory for his face but found nothing. That made her dislike the situation even more.
"Where...am I?" she forced out, not expecting her speech to be so slurred. She couldn't think clearly and she was suddenly aware of the searing pain in her head. The doctor was trying to answer her, but her grip was too tight and she wasn't about to loosen it.
Liz looked up into the white lights as she scanned the room and wished she hadn't. The pain in her head became excruciating and temporarily blinded. She covered her eyes with her free hand and tried to figure out why that hurt so much. After she had gathered her thoughts, she turned her attention back to the doctor still wheezing in her grip.
Concentrating on what she wanted to say, Liz loosened her grip just enough to let the doctor speak.
"Where the HELL am I?"
"In...my...lab," he coughed out.
Controlling her sudden impulse to snap his neck, she roughly readjusted her grip and glared at him.
"WHAT PLANET?" she explained, her tone conveying all the anger and confusion she felt right now. The doctor squirmed under her grip and glare.
"Dune...IV."
That didn't explain much to Liz, who was feeling pissed off, confused and in a lot of pain.
"Why am I here?" she asked hoping the doctor would say something that would trigger her memory.
"Your friend...Riddick..." the doctor was cut short as Liz tightened her grip at hearing the name Riddick. She searched her memory again, but there was nothing other than the nagging feeling that she should know that name.
"Pl...ease...I can...help...you," the doctor managed to cough out. "I'm...not...going...to...hurt you."
Liz had heard those words enough times from the 'scientists' at DSpEC who had fucked her up, to know that she'd never trust anyone who said the same thing. There was no way she was going to let this bastard do anything to her now. Who knew what kind of human-guinea pig shit he had already done.
It was then, that Liz noticed all the IVs, plugs, and wires attached to or embedded in her skin. She lost all control then and started tearing the instruments from her flesh. This reminded her too much of the countless times she had awoken during an operation or experiment in the DSpEC labs. The doctor lay on the floor coughing and wheezing and watching his patient frantically tear all the instruments from her body. The she was off the table, standing over him with blood oozing from various new holes in her skin.
"How do I get out?" she demanded, her hands trembling slightly from the adrenaline. Before he even had a chance to answer, Liz had him up against the wall, a scalpel in one hand, pressed against his throat. How many times had she been in this same situation before? Reacted the same way? Too many times she didn't want to remember, too many reminders spread all over her body, and this was just one more.
The doctor wanted to tell Liz the way out, but he couldn't force himself to speak. Something about the look in her eyes made him want to shit his pants, but at the same time help her. He had a pretty good idea of what she was capable of and while no one but the Taurus subjects themselves would ever really know the hell they went through, the doctor couldn't help but see the anger and torment that remained in her eyes.
Liz was waiting for him to talk, but it was obvious he was too scared to tell her anything helpful. She was staring into his blank eyes and saw everything she had tried to forget about Taurus and DSpEC. If it was even possible, more adrenaline kicked in and intinct started to control her thoughts and actions. Liz slammed him against the wall like a limp doll and pressed the scalpel even harder into his neck. Just one quick flick of her wrist and he'd be spilling blood all over his nice white lab coat.
"Liz," a calm, low voice said from behind her. That was all it took to keep her from burying the scalpel in the doctor's throat. She could tell who it was just by hearing his voice and it immediately affected her mood. She felt the adrenaline in her blood start to thin and her heart stopped racing madly. She was calmed by the thought of who belonged to the voice, but she wasn't sure why. True, Riddick was someone she could trust at this point in time, and they had become more or less friends, but Liz felt like there was more reason behind her instinctual reaction. Something she wasn't even fully aware of.
Even though Liz had relaxed somewhat just since Riddick's well-timed intervention, she was still confused and in pain and she still had the doctor pinned against the wall with the scalpel at his throat. Riddick approached her and reached out, putting his hand on her bare and trembling shoulder. His touch had the same affect as his voice, but it wasn't quite as obvious. Liz lowered the scalpel and dropped it on the ground. The doctor still hadn't moved and wasn't going to. Liz stepped back and turned to face Riddick. He was looking at her with an expression of concern and curiosity.
"You do this often?" he said trying to lighten the situation.
"What happened to me?" Liz interrupted.
"You passed out on me in the locker room two days ago. Brought you here cuz I thought Doc might know what's wrong. He thinks its some drug dependency you got from TSF."
Liz swallowed dryly and took a few deep breaths to clear her still aching head. Up until this point, Riddick had never really bothered her about the past, but it was obvious that now was the time to tell him.
"It was the bastards at GenetiCorps, workin for DSpEC. They did experiments on me when I was twelve, thirteen and then started a series of genetic mutations using drugs as a stimulant and a suppressant for my...new abilities." Liz's voice was quiet and steady, but the look in her eyes said more.
"The second generation of augmented soldiers," the doctor said despite his sore throat. "Were there others like you?" he asked, though he wouldn't look Liz directly in the eye.
She nodded. "Yeah, all of TSF."
"Damn," Riddick thought aloud. "Are they all as fucked up?"
Liz looked away and nodded. Too many bad memories were coming up and she didn't want to lose control again, not in front of Riddick.
"Can we get out of here? I need a drink."
Riddick looked at the doctor for confirmation and turned to follow Liz out the door. She stopped just before it and turned back towards the doctor.
"Sorry..." she said awkwardly. The doctor nodded and managed a faint smile, though it was clear that he was still shaken.
TWO DAYS LATER
The bright, white lights in the examining room made Liz's skin turn ghostly pale. A doctor in civilian clothes hunched over her as he placed another drug IV in her arm. It was the fourth IV he had her hooked up to and there were still two more to go, to make sure she was getting all the medicines he thought she needed. With all the wires and tubes attached to Liz, she looked like another piece of life-sustaining machinery. The civilian doctor didn't notice her eyelids begin to flutter as he concentrated on his work. Liz was coming to, but the machines monitoring her vitals didn't show it. Then it happened.
Consciousness swept over her like a wave and there was an instant awareness of the current situation she was in. The second her eyes snapped open she was up and had the doctor's throat in a vise-like grip. Liz glared at him searching her memory for his face but found nothing. That made her dislike the situation even more.
"Where...am I?" she forced out, not expecting her speech to be so slurred. She couldn't think clearly and she was suddenly aware of the searing pain in her head. The doctor was trying to answer her, but her grip was too tight and she wasn't about to loosen it.
Liz looked up into the white lights as she scanned the room and wished she hadn't. The pain in her head became excruciating and temporarily blinded. She covered her eyes with her free hand and tried to figure out why that hurt so much. After she had gathered her thoughts, she turned her attention back to the doctor still wheezing in her grip.
Concentrating on what she wanted to say, Liz loosened her grip just enough to let the doctor speak.
"Where the HELL am I?"
"In...my...lab," he coughed out.
Controlling her sudden impulse to snap his neck, she roughly readjusted her grip and glared at him.
"WHAT PLANET?" she explained, her tone conveying all the anger and confusion she felt right now. The doctor squirmed under her grip and glare.
"Dune...IV."
That didn't explain much to Liz, who was feeling pissed off, confused and in a lot of pain.
"Why am I here?" she asked hoping the doctor would say something that would trigger her memory.
"Your friend...Riddick..." the doctor was cut short as Liz tightened her grip at hearing the name Riddick. She searched her memory again, but there was nothing other than the nagging feeling that she should know that name.
"Pl...ease...I can...help...you," the doctor managed to cough out. "I'm...not...going...to...hurt you."
Liz had heard those words enough times from the 'scientists' at DSpEC who had fucked her up, to know that she'd never trust anyone who said the same thing. There was no way she was going to let this bastard do anything to her now. Who knew what kind of human-guinea pig shit he had already done.
It was then, that Liz noticed all the IVs, plugs, and wires attached to or embedded in her skin. She lost all control then and started tearing the instruments from her flesh. This reminded her too much of the countless times she had awoken during an operation or experiment in the DSpEC labs. The doctor lay on the floor coughing and wheezing and watching his patient frantically tear all the instruments from her body. The she was off the table, standing over him with blood oozing from various new holes in her skin.
"How do I get out?" she demanded, her hands trembling slightly from the adrenaline. Before he even had a chance to answer, Liz had him up against the wall, a scalpel in one hand, pressed against his throat. How many times had she been in this same situation before? Reacted the same way? Too many times she didn't want to remember, too many reminders spread all over her body, and this was just one more.
The doctor wanted to tell Liz the way out, but he couldn't force himself to speak. Something about the look in her eyes made him want to shit his pants, but at the same time help her. He had a pretty good idea of what she was capable of and while no one but the Taurus subjects themselves would ever really know the hell they went through, the doctor couldn't help but see the anger and torment that remained in her eyes.
Liz was waiting for him to talk, but it was obvious he was too scared to tell her anything helpful. She was staring into his blank eyes and saw everything she had tried to forget about Taurus and DSpEC. If it was even possible, more adrenaline kicked in and intinct started to control her thoughts and actions. Liz slammed him against the wall like a limp doll and pressed the scalpel even harder into his neck. Just one quick flick of her wrist and he'd be spilling blood all over his nice white lab coat.
"Liz," a calm, low voice said from behind her. That was all it took to keep her from burying the scalpel in the doctor's throat. She could tell who it was just by hearing his voice and it immediately affected her mood. She felt the adrenaline in her blood start to thin and her heart stopped racing madly. She was calmed by the thought of who belonged to the voice, but she wasn't sure why. True, Riddick was someone she could trust at this point in time, and they had become more or less friends, but Liz felt like there was more reason behind her instinctual reaction. Something she wasn't even fully aware of.
Even though Liz had relaxed somewhat just since Riddick's well-timed intervention, she was still confused and in pain and she still had the doctor pinned against the wall with the scalpel at his throat. Riddick approached her and reached out, putting his hand on her bare and trembling shoulder. His touch had the same affect as his voice, but it wasn't quite as obvious. Liz lowered the scalpel and dropped it on the ground. The doctor still hadn't moved and wasn't going to. Liz stepped back and turned to face Riddick. He was looking at her with an expression of concern and curiosity.
"You do this often?" he said trying to lighten the situation.
"What happened to me?" Liz interrupted.
"You passed out on me in the locker room two days ago. Brought you here cuz I thought Doc might know what's wrong. He thinks its some drug dependency you got from TSF."
Liz swallowed dryly and took a few deep breaths to clear her still aching head. Up until this point, Riddick had never really bothered her about the past, but it was obvious that now was the time to tell him.
"It was the bastards at GenetiCorps, workin for DSpEC. They did experiments on me when I was twelve, thirteen and then started a series of genetic mutations using drugs as a stimulant and a suppressant for my...new abilities." Liz's voice was quiet and steady, but the look in her eyes said more.
"The second generation of augmented soldiers," the doctor said despite his sore throat. "Were there others like you?" he asked, though he wouldn't look Liz directly in the eye.
She nodded. "Yeah, all of TSF."
"Damn," Riddick thought aloud. "Are they all as fucked up?"
Liz looked away and nodded. Too many bad memories were coming up and she didn't want to lose control again, not in front of Riddick.
"Can we get out of here? I need a drink."
Riddick looked at the doctor for confirmation and turned to follow Liz out the door. She stopped just before it and turned back towards the doctor.
"Sorry..." she said awkwardly. The doctor nodded and managed a faint smile, though it was clear that he was still shaken.