Part Four: What's up Doc?
Xander hated doctors. Doctors were the ones that gave painful shots or gave him awful tasting medicine when he was a kid. As he has grown up that hate had began to recede, but it was fast returning. Then again that hate could have more to do with the guns pointed at him than the doctors.
"Interesting, I can't seem to get a genetic map from your blood," said the doctor that was currently examining Xander. "It would appear that in addition to being able to turn people to dust you have impressive defiance capabilities."
"Or your machine could be broken," said Xander.
"No I assure you that our machines are working just fine. You are simply emitting a previously unknown type of radiation that is blocking our scanners. In fact it is so feint that I could almost believe it was something you were exposed to, if it weren't for the tape."
"What tape?" asked Xander.
In response the doctor pressed a button and a monitor flickered to life. On the tape Xander could clearly make out his face as the vampire he had killed burst into dust.
"I don't suppose you would believe me if I said that the person was a vampire and I don't have any powers," said Xander. Inwardly he made a silent vow to kill whatever power had set him up. There was no way his luck could be this bad away from the Hellmouth.
"I deal in facts, not fantasy. You would do well not to insult my intelligence like that again," said the doctor in an ice cold tone. "Now if you would be so good as to list what powers you possess I can allow you to go back to your cell."
"You really should get your ears checked doc, I told you I don't have any."
"I had so hoped that you would be intelligent about this, if only to break up the routine you animals put me through," said the doctor with a sigh before pressing another button. "Guards, send in subject Secret to exam four."
A few minutes later Xander saw a site that made his blood boil. In his mind there was simply no way a small girl should be in a place like this with a gun held to her head.
"Before we get started let me introduce you two. Secret here is a touch telepath that discovered her powers a year ago on her eleventh birthday, and she has been using her powers for us for the last eight months. When she uses her powers on mutants the experience is quite painful for both parties.
"You don't look like a person that enjoys bringing pain to small children Ash so I'm offering you one last chance to willingly tell us what you know."
"I told you already I don't have any powers," said Xander while he prayed to convince the doctor. After all if they sent someone poking in his head they would know he didn't have powers, but they would also know about his friends that did have powers.
The doctor simply nodded towards the girl, and she started to advance towards Xander. When her cool hand touched Xanders head, he was surprised to find himself with a splitting headache.
Screaming in pain Secret fell to the ground, blood flowing from her nose and eyes.
"What did you see," said the doctor with no hint of emotion in his voice.
"A man and a doggie hurt me in there Uncle Nick," said Secret in little more than a whisper.
"Take her back to her cell until she can try again," said the doctor in the same emotionless voice.
"She's your niece?" asked Xander through the throbbing in his head.
"Of course she is. How else did you think we found out about her so quickly?"
"You're evil," said Xander while doing his best not to attempt to kill the doctor.
The doctor simply sighed and said, "I would have hoped that a physical evolution in mankind would provoke an intellectual evolution beyond such concepts as good and evil."
"Doc, there are monsters out there, and most of them wouldn't bring their own relatives to a place like this. In my opinion that makes you the worst of the worst."
"Oh my, you words have somehow moved me and caused me to revaluate myself," said the doctor sarcastically, showing the first signs of emotion that Xander had seen. "Now I suggest that you get some rest, as you have forced us to resort to drastic means to discover your physical powers."
"This mean that you aren't going to play Frankenstein with my mutant mind?" asked Xander. He may not be able to beat the man into a bloody pulp, but he could still be an annoyance if he wanted to.
"Believe me Ash, nothing would please me more," the doctor said, being sure to emphasize the name he had been given. "Unfortunately for me one of my colleagues is in charge of handling those with mental powers. This however doesn't mean that I can't enjoy forcing you to manifest your physical powers."
Twenty minutes later as Xander once again picked himself off the floor he wondered just how much the doctor was enjoying this. They were forcing him to fight a mutant in some kind of training area.
Of course the term fight was being used quite loosely. In reality it consisted of Xander getting the snot kicked out of him by some kind of blur.
"Enough Quicksilver," said a voice from the speakers. "It is obvious Ash doesn't have projectile powers, or he would have used them in your battle. As a reward, you may spend five minutes with your sister tonight."
Soon after the voice had spoken the blur solidified enough that Xander could now identify it as a man with silver hair. The man looked almost broken as he was led out of the arena, hopefully to have five minutes of joy with his sister.
Finally deciding that it wasn't worth the effort he was putting into it, Xander let the darkness consume him. The last thing he heard before slipping into a world without pain was the doctor calling for a surgeon.
