So this chapter reviews the back story of the new character (Dulcie/Poena) and how she came to work for Pineherst. This part of the story takes place in Halifax, NS (Canada) where Dulcie is from.
Ch.2- In time gone by.
-Four Months Ago-
Why did I come to this party? Dulcie wondered.
She wandered around with a vodka cooler in her hand, but was only taking sips. She didn't know anyone here. She didn't want to know them. These collage parties were all the same, a bunch of frat guys trying to get girls drunk so they'd be up for anything.
Oh great, drunk girls table dancing. What a classy party.
She'd had enough. Parties weren't her thing anyways. She was to happy being alone, reading, watching her favorite shows and movies, or just thinking. Dulcie would just sit and think for hours at a time. The only reason she'd come to this party was because her mother had brought up the fact that she wasn't getting the full collage experience being alone all the time. So she decided to prove her wrong. Show her family she wasn't some loner freak.
This was the worst idea I've ever had.
She put the cooler down on a table and started to make her way to the nearest exit. She had to step over more then a few passed out partiers. Finally she found the door and stepped outside. She sighed in relief as the cool air washed over her.
"Well, if it isn't Dulcie!" a drunken female voice slurred.
Oh shit. Dulcie thought. It's Jenna.
Sure enough the short, blonde haired girl and some of her friends were standing only a few feet away.
"Why you leaving so soon Dulcie?" Jenna taunted, "Off to go read emo poetry or something? God you are so anti-social!"
Dulcie didn't say anything. What could she say? By anyone's definition she was pretty anti-social.
The started walking towards her and she felt her heart beat faster. She knew if it came to a fight she could hold her ground. She wasn't very athletic, in fact she avoided taking gym all through high school, but she was strong. The girls were surrounding her now.
"What do you want Jenna?" Dulcie sounded much more confident then she felt.
Jenna had made it clear when they first met over two years ago, that she didn't like Dulcie. She never gave a reason, but people have never really needed a reason to be horrible to each other.
"What do I want?" Jenna laughed. "I want to beat the crap outta you. You think you're better then me. You think you're better then everyone!"
Dulcie sighed. This wasn't the first time people had thought this about her. She was to shy to talk to people, but she didn't look the part of the 'shy girl', so people assumed she was just stuck up.
"I-I don't think I'm better then you Jenna…" Dulcie tried to back up, but one of Jenna's friends was right behind her. She shoved Dulcie forward again.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jenna sneered. "I'm not done with you yet."
Jenna reached forward and ripped Dulcie's shirt, at the neck all the way to the waistband of her jeans. Dulcie tried desperately to cover herself while Jenna laughed.
"God you're such a fat-ass!" Jenna mocked while her friends roared with laughter.
Jenna punched Dulcie in the face suddenly. Dulcie felt pain explode from her jaw and travel down her neck. She reached out blindly and grabbed Jenna's arm to stop the next punch.
Then it happened.
Dulcie felt a strange feeling run through her arm. It was like a surge of power coming from her very core. Suddenly Jenna let out a horrible scream of agony. Then just as soon as the screaming began, it stopped. Jenna was on the ground and her friends were screaming to call 911.
…
By the time Dulcie was able to leave the police station it was almost 6 am. She had spent 2 hours being questioned before the medical diagnosis came in. Jenna was in a coma and they couldn't find any physical reason why. The doctor's said she went into extreme shock, as if she had a very painful injury, but she didn't have a scratch on her.
The police where forced to let her go. Even with two eyewitness accounts of her touch causing Jenna to be in obvious pain, there was no physical proof. Plus it didn't help that the two eyewitnesses where completely wasted.
Dulcie waited at the bus stop and tried to clear her head.
What the hell happened? Did I really do that to Jenna? How? I mean it's not possible.
"Miss are you getting on this bus or not?"
Dulcie looked up in shock and saw that the bus was at the stop and the driver was waiting for her to get on.
"Wha…oh. Yes, I am." Dulcie hurried up the bus steps and made her way to the back of the bus.
There we're only 2 other people on the bus: a sleeping man in a business suit and large, bald man sitting at the front of the bus. Dulcie noticed that he looked at her strangely when she walked by.
He looked pretty creepy. Dulcie shivered and sat as far away from him as possible.
Dulcie found a seat and collapsed into it. She hadn't realized just how tired she was. She closed her eyes and tried to make sense of everything.
I felt that…power come from me. Did I…I think I did. But how? Can I do it again…whatever 'it' was. I didn't mean to hurt her. I couldn't control it…
"Hello Dulcie." a kind, accented voice broke through her thoughts.
Dulcie's eyes flew open and she saw an older man sitting across from her. He was balding, but what hair he had left was white, as was his beard. His eye's had a sort of twinkle. He seemed, to Dulcie, like a grandpa.
"H-How did you know my name?" Dulcie stuttered.
The old man smiled at her shock.
"I know a lot about you Dulcie. For instance, I know that tonight you sent a girl, Jenna Smith, to the hospital."
Dulcie stared at him, she was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open and she looked like an idiot, but she didn't care.
"Are you a cop?" She asked.
The old man laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. My name is Mr. Linderman and I work for a company. They know about people like you and we're here to help you. We want to show you what you're capable of, help you understand what's happening to you, and maybe even offer you a suitable employment. You have a lot of potential Dulcie."
"People… like me?" Dulcie's head was spinning. This night was getting weirder and weirder.
"I understand you'll want some time to think it over." Mr. Linderman stood up and straightened his jacket. He pulled the stop bell and the bus began to slow down. The doors opened and he stepped out and turned back to smile at her.
"WAIT!" Dulcie jumped up, "How will I contacted you."
Mr. Linderman chuckled and pointed to where he had been sitting. The doors closed and the bus rumbled to a start. Dulcie looked over at the now empty seat and saw there was a card on the seat. She picked it up and examined it.
"Pineherst?"
…
Maury Parkman stepped off the bus and flipped open his cell phone.
"Hello? Yea, it's me. I talked to the girl. Yea, trust me, she's in."
-Three Months Ago-
It had been a month since Dulcie had met on the bus. She had kept the Pineherst card in her pocket for two weeks before calling the number. She still wasn't convinced she had done the right thing. What did she know about these people? For all she knew she had walked into a trap. But anything was better then going back to school.
…
It started on the Monday after the party. Dulcie debated whether or not to go back, but in the end decided that she just couldn't miss the class time. In Philosophy class she had the strange feeling people were watching her, but every time she looked up she didn't catch any eyes on her. In fact no one had looked at her all day. Normally Dulcie would love the fact that no one was looking at her, she liked to fly under the radar, but this was different. They weren't looking at her, but they weren't ignoring her either.
They were afraid of her; afraid of the freak girl that put Jenna Smith into a comma. Conversations stopped when she entered a room, people purposefully avoided making eye contact, but they were watching her. Every moment she felt like she was under a microscope. This went on for five days before she couldn't take it anymore. Dulcie hated being in the spotlight, while everyone else was clamoring for fame and recognition, Dulcie preferred to stay anonymous.
So she dropped out of Collage, didn't even try to transfer to another one. The Dean didn't seem to broken up about it. He made sure not to sit to close, he avoided eye contact, and didn't make small talk. He was afraid of her too.
She didn't know where to go. She had a lot of options, her dad's house, her mother's house, her sister's, but what could she tell them? She just threw her life away.
Education was very important to her family. Her mother had gotten pregnant with her sister, well half-sister technically, when she was 15. She never got to go to collage and wanted her children to get the experiences she never did.
Dulcie's father, on the other hand, had gone to 9 years of schooling. He was a linguistics expert. He believed a good education was the most important thing you could get. If she told either of them that she had dropped out, they would be disappointed and ashamed, and her sister lived in the US and Dulcie didn't have a passport.
So she stayed at a motel. As long as she wasn't going to Collage, she might as well use the money to put a roof over her head, right? She liked for the first couple of days. It was nice to be by herself, to not be watched all the time, but as the days went on she couldn't ignore the part of her that wanted answers. What had happened that night? What was this company? Could they really help?
So she picked up the phone, and dialed the number on the business card. When a chipper sounding secretary answered the phone she realized she had no idea what to say, so she hung up. She stared at the phone for a few minutes before picking it up and dialing again.
"Hello, Pineherst corporation, how may I help you?"
"Um, hi. May I speak to please?"
…
Things moved pretty quickly after the phone call. She was flown to the States in a private, Pineherst jet and was given a room inside the company. When she arrived at the Company was there to show her to her to her room. She was given a company credit card and told to buy whatever she needed. Dulcie was very overwhelmed, so they left her alone for the first couple of days. On the third day though there was a knock on her door.
"Come in?" Dulcie wasn't used to visitors. They had pretty much left her alone so far. She went out everyday and bought food for the day, and everyday she returned to fresh bedclothes and towels. It was like living in a hotel. A very big, secretive, bioresearching hotel.
"Dulcie dear, how have you been settling in?" walked into the room and gave Dulcie a warm smile.
"I'm fine , thank you so much for all of this."
"It's our pleasure dear, is the room to your liking?"
"Oh, yes. It's lovely." That was a bit of a lie. Not that she didn't appreciate having her own room and bathroom, but it reminded her of a hospital room. White walls, standard bed, tacky waiting room loveseat.
"Well, thank you for lying. I'll see what I can do about getting you some proper furniture and some good DVDs."
"You really don't have to…" Dulcie gazed cautiously at the older man, every time they met it was like he knew what she was thinking.
"Nonsense, it's no problem!" Dulcie smiled gratefully at him. "Now, I'm afraid I didn't come for just a social visit. Dulcie, you've been here three days now. We gave you some time to adjust, wanted you to feel at home before we began, but now I think is a good time for you to get caught up about what we do here."
Dulcie nodded, she had been wondering when someone would explain what this place was.
"Dulcie, the company Pineherst is a widely respected biotech research corporation, but that isn't all we do. We help people like you. People who have abilities, who are special. We're working on a project now that will change the world, save it. You might even say we are going to cure the world of it's sicknesses. Greed, war, genocide, all of these things will be a thing of the past, and we want you, Dulcie, to help us. What do you say? Will you join us? We'll give you a place to live, support, money, anything you need. All we ask in return is that you do what's asked of you."
Dulcie sat there taking in all this information. She couldn't believe this was happening. It was all so surreal. She smiled.
"You know," she said "when I was little, I wanted to be a spy when I grew up. Work for a secret agency, go on missions."
"Well" said with a smile. "It looks like your dreams come true!"
The testing started that day. She had to get more shots then she was comfortable with, but she knew it would be worth it. After a lot of boring science tests, and fitness exams, took her to a lab where there where four men were waiting. Volunteers, for her to practice on she was told.
"What do you mean practice on? I don't even know what my power is!"
"You give the illusion of pain, my dear." explained. "You don't do any actual damage to the body, but every nerve in the person's body is telling their brain that something is wrong, so they feel pain."
"Is…is that how I put Jenna in the coma?" Dulcie whispered.
"Yes dear, but that was an accident." laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This time I want you to try and control how much pain you're making the other person feel."
Dulcie tried for hours to make her power work, but nothing happened She couldn't get that same rush of power to happen. After the third hour of failure she gave up.
"My dear, don't get frustrated! We're so close, I can tell!"
"Look, ," Dulcie sighed, "you've been so nice to me, but what if this is all a mistake? I mean it's not working! Maybe I don't have a power after all."
Mr. Linderman stood thinking for a moment before a smile lit up his face.
"Maybe you just need the right motivation! Take a break dear. I'll be right back."
He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later right behind another test subject.. The walked right up to where Dulcie was sitting. She looked up at him curiously.
He slapped her across the face. Hard.
She cried out in pain and in shock. He slapped her again. Dulcie grabbed his arm in fury and felt that same rush of power surge through her. This time she controlled it as he screamed out in agony. She let him hurt, but didn't give him so much pain that he'd pass out. She let go of his arm after a few seconds and he dropped to the ground, trying to catch his breath.
Dulcie looked up to see the horrified faces of the other volunteers and the pleased smile of .
"Well done Dulcie!" He cheered. "Now, you're training can begin!"
…
Dulcie worked hours at a time for days, learning how to control her power. Could she spread pain to only one part of the body? How much pain could she give? How little? Could she make someone feel pain without actually needing to touch them?
So here she was, a month from the day she first sent Jenna into a comma and met . It was the day that changed her life forever.
and the scientists that observed her were very happy with her progress. They even began to call her Poena; latin for pain. She had learned how to control the amount of pain she made people feel. She could make them feel anything from a small pain in their leg to an agonizing full body pain. She had almost killed one of the test subjects, and refused to try again for the rest of the day. tried to get her to practice on animals, but she refused. The idea of hurting a defenseless animal made her sick. At least the test subjects had a choice. Or, at least told her they did.
Dulcie was preparing for another day of training when walked into her room.
"Oh, hello ." Dulcie smiled at the man who had become like a grandfather to her.
"Dulcie dear, I think today you should meet someone else with an ability. What do you think?"
Dulcie jumped up off the bed and nodded her head.
"Yes! I would love to!" Dulcie had yet to meet anyone with abilities, in fact she didn't even know what kind of abilities others had.
"Well then, come with me, Daphne's due for a check-in"
lead the way to the elevators. They stood in silence as the elevator made it's slow decent. Dulcie had so many questions; she just didn't know what to ask first.
"You probably have a lot of questions." broke the silence "You can feel free to ask me some, and I'll answer as many as I can."
"Is she like me?" Dulcie blurted out. "I mean, I know she's like me, but I mean…does she make people feel pain too?"
chuckled. "No dear, you're the first pain-giver we're found."
"Pain-giver?"
"Yes dear, there is a scientific name, but if you're like me, you probably don't want to bother memorizing it." He gave her a smile and Dulcie nooded in agreement.
"So, if she's not a…a pain-giver, what is she?"
The elevator doors dinged open and she and stepped out.
"A speedster."
"Speedster? What's that?"
"You'll see! Now she's supposed to be here at 3, and she's never late. So you should get a move on. " stepped back into the elevator. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted. She's meeting you in front of the building. Give her the folders."
"Wait! You're not coming?" Dulcie looked around in confusion. "What folders?"
pointed to the reception desk and the smiled. The doors slid closed and Dulcie was left standing alone in the lobby.
She walked over to the reception desk. A small woman looked up at her expectantly.
"May I help you?"
"Um, hi. I'm Dulcie Miller. Do you have some folders for me?"
"Oh Dulcie! Right, these were left here for you! Have a nice day, come back if you need anything else."
The woman handed Dulcie three folders and turned back to her computer. Dulcie stood there for a moment before looking at the digital clock on the woman's desk. 2:58. She didn't want to be late meeting Daphne. She just hoped she'd know how to spot her.
Dulcie made her way her way to the entrance of the building. She kept a lookout for anyone who looked like they could be Dulcie, but there was only a gardener, a handful of people making their way into the building, and a window washer a few levels up.
How am I suppose to tell who this Daphne person is if I d-
Suddenly there was a fury of movement and Dulcie felt a strong wind hit her. Suddenly there was a woman standing right next to her. She had white hair, and was carrying a messenger bag.
Dulcie let out a yelp and fell back.
"Jeeze, calm down wouldja?" the white-haired woman offered Dulcie a hand.
Dulcie stared at the woman for a moment before accepting the help. Once she was on her feet she picked up the folders and straightened her shirt. She looked at the woman curiously.
"Daphne?" she asked.
"Well duh!" Daphne looked her up and down. "and you are?"
"Dulcie!" She replied. "How did you…how did you do that?"
"I'm a speedster!" Daphne replied.
"But what does that mean?" Dulcie was confused.
Daphne smiled. "I'll show you"
Suddenly Dulcie felt the wind hit her again as Daphne sped away, did a few loops of the courtyard, and came back. It all happened in a fraction of a second. Dulcie stood there with her mouth open.
"Oh my GOD!" Dulcie said "That's amazing!"
"I know." Daphne said with a grin. "What's your super power?"
"I make people feel pain."
There was a pause, as Daphne looked her up and down.
"Really? You don't seem like the type."
Dulcie grinned. "So I don't seem like the type of person who can make people feel agonizing pain with only their mind? Where you expecting some evil looking dude twirling his moustache?"
Daphne smiled. "Yea, I guess you're right. So do you have my new jobs?"
"Huh?" Dulcie looked down at the folders in her hands. "Oh! You mean these. Yea, here you go!"
She handed Daphne the folders and watched as she flipped nonchalantly flipped through the pages. Daphne nodded at Dulcie and tucked the folders into her bag.
"Well, nice to meet you Dulcie."
"Yea, nice to meet you t-" Dulcie was cut off as a gust of wind hit her face and Daphne left just as abruptly as she arrived.
Dulcie stared in shock at where the speedster had stood just a second before.
"Wow."
-Two Months Ago-
"Dulcie, I think it's time you met ."
Dulcie looked up from the book she was reading to see standing in front of her.
"Who's ?" she had never heard the name before.
"He's the head of this company, you would have met him sooner, but he's not well. He hasn't been for quite some time now, but he's heard of your progress and he's very impressed, as we all are." beamed down at Dulcie and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks.
"Thank you, I'm still having trouble with distance. I can only project a few feet. I'm working on it though!"
Dulcie had finally been able to make one of the subjects feel pain without making physical contact. It was a lot harder, because she had to really concentrate on focusing all her energy, but it was getting easier and easier.
"I know dear, you've worked very hard. Now, are you ready to meet ?"
Dulcie nodded and lead her to the elevator and handed her a keypass card.
"Go to level 7 and a doctor will meet you there and lead you to 's room."
Dulcie had gotten used to the fact that never seemed accompany her anywhere. In fact she'd almost never seen him around anyone else at the company. She took the card, gave him a nervous smile and stepped into the elevator. She was a nervous wreck the whole elevator ride up. She was horrible with people, she almost always made a bad first impression. She came off as standoffish and bored. Was it her fault if she couldn't think of anything to say?
The elevator doors opened and there was a doctor waiting there for her, just like said. She gave him a polite smile followed him down the hallway to a hospital room. The doctors unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow Dulcie in. She hesitated for a moment before stepping through the door to the dimly lit room.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change from the bright florescence lights in the hallways. When she could see she saw a large wooden bed with many machines surrounding it, flashing various lights and monitoring different systems, but the most terrifying was the man lying in the bed. she assumed. He was clearly paralyzed. He laid perfectly still, but he looked anything but weak. Dulcie felt afraid as she looked into his eyes. They seemed cold, hard and in command. She felt the need to run, but was cemented in place.
Hello Dulcie, I've been waiting to meet you.
A strange man's voice filled Dulcie's head. She gasped and looked around the room in confusion. Where had that voice come from? It was as if it were in her mind. But that wasn't possible, was it?
Yes Dulcie, I am in your head, and you should know there's no reason to be afraid. Or should I call you Poena? I hear that's your nick name now.
Dulcie looked at in fascination. He was in her head. It was terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time.
"How are you doing this?" Dulcie asked. "Is it your power?"
It's one of my powers. I can take powers away from others and keep them as my own.
"Are you going to take my power?" Dulcie wasn't sure how she should feel. Relieved? She was just getting used to her power. It felt like a part of her identity now.
No, I think you'll be more useful to me if you still have your power. You're proving to be a very valuable asset in this company's plans.
"Thank you sir."
I think soon you'll be ready to take on your first assignment.
"What kind of assignment?" Dulcie was grateful for everything Pinehearst had done for her, but what kind of 'assignment' would they want her to do. With her powers, she had a good idea of what they'd want her to do.
Don't worry about that right now, when the time comes you'll know what you have to do. For now I just need you to keep working and be ready.
Dulcie nodded. "I'll be ready."
Good. These next few weeks are crucial Dulcie. People like us, people who are special, we're going to change everything.
-One Month Ago-
Dulcie'e training had been increased to the point where she would barely be able to stand at the end of each session. It was worth it though. She could control her power completely now; making someone feel anything from a slight stabbing pain to complete agonizing pain. She could also use her power on someone 20 feet away, and each day she felt herself strengthening.
She was ready to fight. The only problem was she didn't know who or what she was suppose to be fighting. Mr. Linderman never seemed to give her a straight answer.
"Dulcie, there are others like us that, even if unintentionally, are hurting our cause. We want to save the world, but they don't agree with our methods. They have stopped us once, but they wont succeed again." Mr. Linderman smile, placing his hand on her sholder. "You'll see in time my dear."
Dulcie smiled and nodded, trying to act convinced, but she wasn't. She felt guilty for feeling suspicious after they had giver her so much, but now that she'd been in this building a while she was starting to realize that she didn't have any idea what this company did. She'd just assumed they we're the good guys, but lately she's d been wondering if that was true.
-A week ago-
Dulcie stared at the plain white ceiling in her room. With a sigh she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She hadn't seen in a few days, and her training had been cancelled for this afternoon. Something big was happening, but no one said what.
What aren't they telling me? Dulcie wondered. I wonder wha-
"You needn't wonder anymore Poena."
Dulcie's eyes flew open and she gasped at what she saw. It was Mr. Petretlli. Standing in her doorway.
" B-but.. how? Wha…?" Dulcie stammered.
With a smirk Mr. Petretlli walked over the chair near her bed and sat down. "I got a little help from a healer and now that I'm better our plan will begin. Dulcie, in a few days everything whenmy son gets here everything will fall into place."
'…Your son?"
-Earlier that day-
Dulcie and Knox where hanging out in her room. They had met a few days before. It was still awkward to talk to him, but he was the only other person besides Daphne she knew that also worked for the company.
"So…" Dulcie looked at Knox trying to think of something, anything, to say. "Have you worked with too? I haven't seen him in a while, Mr. Petretlli said he was working with Daphne."
Knox looked up in surprise. "? Dulcie that dude died MONTHS ago. You must be confused."
"WHAT? No! I trained with Mr. Linderman."
"What…. When you were with Mr. Linderman did he ever talk to anyone else? Did you ever make physical contact with him?"
Dulcie thought back. "Well, I…" Dulcie thought hard, but could never remember actually touching Mr. Linderman. And he never talked to anyone else. Ever. What did it mean?
"No… neither of those things. What…?" Dulcie looked at Knox for answers.
"You were talking to Maury. He's a mind reader. Well he does more then that I guess . He can put stuff in your mind. When they first recruited me they had him appear as my probation officer. I guess people liked Mr. Linderman." Knox shrugged.
Dulcie couldn't believe it. The man she'd grown close to all these months, her savior, was some creepy mind projection. The man he was based on dead.
"What kind of company are we working for?" She sighed.
…
"Crap! Crap crap crap!" Dulcie ran down the halls to Mr. Petretlli's office. How could she be late for her first official meeting?
After learning about Maury, Dulcie had been so confused and stressed. She didn't know what was real anymore. Part of her wished she was back home. She just sat down on the bed for what felt like a second, but the next thing she knew she was waking up and she was late.
She finally made it to Arthur's office. She could hear an unfamiliar voice inside. She opened the door and saw the back of a dark haired man she'd never met before. 's son she presumed. He was leaning in to hug Mr. Petretlli. Dulcie saw a flash in Mr. Petretlli's eyes and she knew he was about to take his son's powers. Before she could stop herself she gasped.