Tex looked down at the figure below her. It didn't even look human. After she had painted him, she shot another paint rocket at him, covering him in even more of the hardened stuff. A team of medics come on the floor, and ran over to them. They continued to remove the paint from his armor.
Tex stood, deep in thought. Something about his change in fighting style worried her. First, he played it safe, just trying to survive. He could barely keep up his defense against her, let alone fight back. But then, everything about him changed.
He became more apt to just attack her. Almost like he was in a blind rage. He lost any sense of strategy he previously had. She thought back to when his head hit the pillar. That was when he changed. The blow to his head might have been the cause, but then again, maybe not.
She remembered what North had said. He could've snapped at any time. He just chose to do it while they were sparring. Maybe it was her fault. She was the one who made him spar. Even though she knew he wasn't exactly "right".
She looked down, for the paint had been removed from his armor. The left side of his visor was gone. She had shattered when she hit him with the rocket launcher.
It wasn't a clean break though. It was jagged, and criss cross cracks ran along the right side.
She could see his face through the hole. He was defiantly unconscious. The medics put him on a stretcher, and attempted to pick him up. They failed though; the weight of his armor was too heavy for them.
North was the first Freelancer on the floor. He ran over, and he and Tex lifted Penn up. They followed the medics to the recovery bay. They set him on a bed, and let the medics do their work.
The others were waiting, outside the door, when Tex and North walked out. They were instantly bombarded with questions.
"What happened?" York got his question out first.
"Were not sure." North responded.
"Is he okay?" South's question stunned everybody. Nobody had actually thought South cared about anything other than being a grouch, and her brother.
"Again, were not sure. The Docs are taking a look at him now." North told his sister. He had heard something in her voice that surprised him. It was a tone that she had only ever used with him.
They waited, because none of them were sure what to do. So, they stood outside the door, and waited. They stood there for what seemed like hours, but was only twenty minutes. The, a Doctor finally cme out the door. He spoke in a grim voice.
"Your friend is physically is fine." He told them.
A wave of relief washed over everybody, but Carolina. She had noticed something about what he had said.
"What do you mean he's physically, fine?" She asked, although she probably knew the answer.
"He is mentally unstable. We're not sure to what degree, though."
"And what does that mean?" South asked him.
"It means that he's crazy." Carolina said to her
"I wasn't talking to you." She growled toward the other female. South looked back to the Doctor.
"He may not be 'crazy'." He told her." It was more like he was in an intense fit of rage." He added.
"What does that mean?" Wash asked. The others forgot he was even there.
"I'm not going to explain it. I'm not a psychologist." As he said this, Penn was wheeled out of the room, on a bed.
"Where are they taking him?" South asked, worry showing through.
"To solitary confinement." Was his answer, before he walked back into the med bay.
"I guess that means they need to evaluate his mental health." North told them all.
They walked to the solitary confinement cells. It was a floor below the main deck. Nobody really went down there, because they had never needed it. Not until now, that is.
The hall was lined with cells. Each had a thick blast door, with a magnetic lock. The cells consisted of a bed, and padded walls. They only had one light a piece, so there was an eerie glow coming from the small rooms.
They kept walking until they saw the Director, and the Counselor. They each snapped to a salute.
"At ease agents." He said, not even looking at them. He was looking into one of the cells. "I have been told that Agent Pennsylvania was using the training floor, when this occurred?" He asked them.
"Yes sir." Carolina informed him.
"Counselor, keep me informed of his status." The Director said to the other man, before walking off. The other man, soon to walked away, leaving the Freelancers alone. They looked into the cell.
Penn was lying on the bed, still not awake. His jaw was clenched shut, and his fists were gripping at the bed beneath him. He looked strange to the freelancers. They weren't used to a teammate being in this state.
Deciding there was nothing they could do, the freelancers decided to leave. None of them slept that night. They were all thinking of their friend. One person was the most disturbed by this though.
South sat on her bed, and she dealt with feelings she had only ever toward her brother.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The freelancers had the next day off also. They each did their normal morning routine, before meeting for breakfast.
'"Morning guys." North said, in his normal upbeat voice. He got nods, and grunts from the others. "How about after breakfast, we check on Penn?" This caused some looks to be shot at North.
"I think we should." Wash said, backing North up. After minutes of bargaining, the others finally agreed. After they all finished, they were on their way.
The cell block gave Wash the creeps. He never like it down here, and he would never be down here himself. He promised himself that.
They came to where his cell was, and weren't surprised. The Counselor was standing there, talking to somebody. But, nobody was with him. He was talking to somebody inside the cell.
"Is there anything else, you would wish to tell me?" They heard the Counselors calm voice. It was what they heard next, that almost struck fear into the soldier's souls.
"No Counselor. That is all." A voice came from the cell. It put the Counselors calm voice to shame. It sounded as if the person speaking felt no emotion at all. The Counselor turned to the agents. He walked past them, and left.
Carolina was the first to look in the cell. Penn was lying on the bed. He wasn't moving, just staring at the ceiling. He looked different. Almost as if nothing mattered to him. He looked void of all emotion.
"Penn?" Carolina said, unsure if she was going to get an answer. Penn stood up, and smiled at her. She felt goosebumps go up her arms. It was the creepiest smile she had ever seen.
"Why, hello Carolina. Such a pleasure to see you." He said, still with no emotion. He walked up to the glass and stared at her. They stayed like this, until Carolina backed away. Maine took her place.
"Hello Maine, nice to see you."
(Growling noise from Maine) Seth smiled at him, which made the large man shiver. It took a lot, to make Maine shiver. Seth sat back on his bed, and lied back down. York was the next to step up.
"Hey ,man, how ya feelin?" York didn't get a response. They took this as their time to leave. After they were back on the main deck, they finally spoke to eachother.
"Jeez, that was creepy." York said aloud, to no one in particular.
"Yeah, you can say that again." Wash replied to him.
"He's not right. In the head I mean." Wyoming said. They all pretty much agreed to his statement.
"Something is messing with his emotions." Tex said. They just kind of looked at her. "They said he was in a fit of rage, right? Now he is super calm. Something is making them change erratically."
They spoke for a while, trying to determine what was wrong with him. They didn't come up with an answer though. The day passed with nothing else eventful happening.
The next morning, all the freelancers were sitting in the mess hall. They had training again, and it was to start soon. They were chatting and eating their breakfast, when Carolina noticed something. A group of marines had just ran down the hall. Right toward the solitary confinement level.
Carolina told the others this, and they ran after them. They got to the cell block, before they stopped. Four armed guards were lying on the floor while five more were wrestling with someone. The gurds threw someone back into the cell. Carolina stepped up
"Soldier, what happened?" the soldier looked at her, then realization washed over his face, when he realized who he was talking to.
"The guards went in to give him food, and he attacked them. He managed to knock four of us out, before we restrained him." He quickly said.
"Okay, you can go now." She told them. The marines left, most carrying one of their unconscious comrades. Then they heard screaming.
It wasn't painful screaming, it was more like angry screaming. They looked into Penn's cell, which was where the noise was coming from.
He was indeed, screaming. He was also pounding on the walls, and throwing himself at the door.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The next few weeks were hectic. Some days Penn was calm, and almost normal. Then others days, he would become enraged and start screaming. Nobody had an answer as to why he did this. Then, one day it stopped. Just like that, and the old Penn was back.
North had gone down to see him between training sessions, and he discovered this. Penn was sitting on his bed, confused. When North walked up, Penn jumped off the bed.
"North! What happened? Where am I?" north was taken back by his almost normal like tone. It still had a hint of his emotionless side in it. North called reported this to the Director. After questions, and another Psych evaluation, Seth was released.
The others explained to him what had happened. At first he didn't believe them. But they showed him his old helmet. The left side of the visor was still missing. Then, the Director insisted on showing him the video of the events. They mother of Invention had a security system, with cameras.
He watched the video, but it wasn't until when he first became his "Other self" as they had started calling it, when he couldn't take it. He got up without a word, and left. Leaving the Director and the freelancers watching the video.
That night, Penn came to York's door. When he opened the door, York was puzzled.
"hey York, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." He said, nervously.
"It depends on the favor."
"You're a good lock picker, right?"
"Best on the ship." York said, smugly.
"Then, can you get me into the storage bay?" York thought for a second. He did like disobeying rules, and breaking protocol. York agreed, and they headed to the storage bay.
York opened the door without incident. The lock hadn't actually been that advanced. Penn told York that was all he needed, and York walked away curious to what he was doing. Why did he want into the storage bay? York would get his answer the next morning.
Seth was up half the night, hauling crates to his room. He got lucky, and no one saw him. He had the crates in his room, by three in the morning. The others could hear faint, mechanical, noises coming from Penn's room that night.
That morning, all the freelancers were at breakfast, except Penn. They wondered where he was, and started to worry he snapped again. Their fears were put to rest, when he walked into the mess hall, in full armor. York had just got his answer.
Penn's visor drew everyone's attention. The jagged crack had been smoothed, and the missing side had been replaced. But, something was different.
The right side of his visor was now white, and the left side had been replaced with black.