Chapter 7: Pain & Power

Steven loved camping. He loved waking up early in the morning, finding a bush to piss on, stoking his campfire to life, and putting the kettle on for coffee. He has camped just about everywhere: national parks, foreign countries, the beach, the desert, the forest, and of course the run of the mill generic campsite. He considered himself a purist when it came to camping: a sleeping bag on the bare ground in summer and a tent in the winter.

Steven met Shelly at a REI store in Pittsburg. They bonded over the need to purchase water purification tablets. They exchanged phones numbers, went camping, met for dinner, went camping, fell in love, married, and went camping. She loved being outdoors as much as he did.

Shelly's favorite activity while camping was to spend time outside in the freezing air until she could hardly stand it anymore. They then would practice their survival 101 skills. One of the most basic survival techniques when exposed to the elements is preventing hypothermia. The best way is to warm another person up is by removing all clothing, and using your own body heat to raise their temperature. Having a naked Shelly in his sleeping bag always raised more than his temperature. The freezing cold equaled hot sex in his book.

Along the shores of Alkali Lake, was where they set up their campsite. It was an idyllic setting, untarnished by consumerism. Peaceful and quiet and it was a relatively unknown area to most campers. Steven thought he'd heard helicopters the night before, but decided he was just having a bad dream. His subconscious mind was sending him messages that he was dreading returning to civilization and the daily grind.

Overnight, about a foot and half of fresh powdery snow had fallen to the ground. Steven could smell the scent of snow in the air, and it made him horny as all hell.

Shelly was already up, stoking the fire to life and putting the kettle on for coffee. When she unzipped the tent, Steven opened his eyes. She was wearing her camp slippers and nothing else. He smiled slowly and beckoned her over, when she got close enough; he grabbed her icy hand and pulled her back into their sleeping bag.

They kissed for several minutes, until he knew that Shelly was ready and then he thrust into her. It didn't take them long to find a rhythm that was mutually satisfying. They both were on the edge of orgasm, when the pain struck.

Pain.

It was if somebody had shot electricity through their nerves, injected hydrochloric acid into their veins, and set their bodies ablaze.

It seared. It burned. They screamed.

The first thing that Lyman noticed when he regained consciousness was the blood on the concrete. It was pooling directly under the empath's face. He hoped she'd either bit her lip or got a nose bleed and not had some type of a brain hemorrhage.

He rose shakily to his feet, his hand gripping a chair back tightly as a wave of dizziness swept over him. Stryker was sitting up but he had his head in between knees and was breathing slowly. Both Cyclops and Yuriko were on the floor as well, conscious, albeit visibly shaken. Lyman wondered how the rest of base had fared.

Lyman knelt down and slipped a hand under Morgan's forehead and tipped her head up to feel for a pulse. Her heart was beating at a regular rhythm and her breathing was normal. The hand that touched her forehead was now covered in blood. He turned her face towards his, and sighed in relief. It looked to be a nosebleed, which sometimes can happen when a subject reacts violently. Morgan's eyes locked on his, they were narrowed and her irises were silver.

Successful administration.

"Colonel?"

"Yes?"

"Her eyes turned, can I release the bonds?"

"Go ahead." Stryker replied quietly, climbing to his feet. He smiled as he slowly walked over to Morgan, noticed the blood and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. As Lyman lowered the restraints, her arms fell to her lower back and she pitched forward. Stryker caught her and gently placed her on the floor. He began wiping the blood from her face; her eyes had focused on his.

He couldn't be more pleased. She overloaded the inhibitor, projected intensely, and knocked them all on their asses in the process. Who knows how formidable she could be, given that she now lacked the ability to police her own actions? This woman has the potential to become more powerful than she ever could have dreamed to be. Stryker knew that many of his subjects' own morality, rules of conduct, and self doubt often dampened their full capabilities. That was not an issue now.

"Ms. McGowan, I am Colonel William Stryker…" he began, as he unstrapped the now useless neural inhibitor from her head.

Timothy Lyman turned away from them and tuned Stryker's little spiel out. He had heard it so many times that he could recite it in his sleep. Under the influence of the serum the subject becomes completely susceptible to the power of suggestion, and will obey any command if given by the one who originally initiated control. They also will be mostly compliant to commands given from others, although some balked if Stryker wasn't around.

It didn't take much to lay groundwork for full control. However, it was an ongoing process, requiring frequent reinforcement. Yuriko Oyama has been under for over five years, and Stryker still needed to repeat his initial speech every time he administered more serum. Tedious but effective.

After establishing his control over Morgan, Stryker questioned her extensively about her background. He discovered that she is an only child with a very large extended family. There were several other members of her family that possess gifts such as hers. Stryker was not pleased to hear that she would be indeed missed, and that not only would her family search for her; some of them were psychic and skilled at 'remote viewing'. He assumed that that meant they would be able to 'see' her, wherever she was. Obviously, that is something Stryker will need to deal with fairly soon.

Lyman continued to observe Morgan's demeanor, body language, and any out of the ordinary facial expressions during Stryker's questioning. They discovered that if a subject is not fully under they could easily become a dangerous liability.

There was something about the way her eyes narrowed at Stryker when she divulged very private information about herself that Lyman didn't care for. However, he decided that he would just continue to observe. He didn't want to go through another serum administration, and his reason was a purely selfish one. That experience was unbelievably painful.

"I don't have much time, Ms. McGowan, but I would like a demonstration of your abilities," Stryker said, before taking a sip of his coffee, he paused to think of what would be the best way, "Tell me a little about everyone on the base."

Morgan eyes narrowed at him; inwardly she was seething in anger. It consumed her. She wanted to lash out. To strike. To kill. If she could, she would happily wrap her fingers around this bastard's neck and squeeze until his eyes bulged out and begged hers for mercy. She wanted to bash his face in, tear his tongue out and then rip his head off. Watch him die a slow torturous death.

She could do none of these things. It was if this part of her was paralyzed and lame, unable to anything. The other part of her was like an enthusiastic puppy, eager to please, wagging her tail for approval, willing to do anything that would reward her with a pat on the head.

Unfortunately, this sycophant puppy part had complete control of her body. She could do nothing but observe and seethe.

Morgan's pupils dilated as she empathically reached out. She completed her task in a few scant moments. Her eyes locked back onto Stryker's.

"I'm ready," she replied her with a flat affect. Lyman looked up from the report he was reading.

"She's quick," Lyman murmured.

"Go ahead," Stryker replied as his mouth turned up in a satisfied grin. William Stryker was so pleased that this one wasn't killed at Xavier's. Even though he thought that she was nothing but a tool to be used at his own discretion, he didn't harbor any hatred for her, like his other mutant's that he controlled. She was gifted, pure and simple, and this came naturally for her and not from the filthy mutation that has thoroughly corrupted the human gene pool.

"There are thirty four people in the immediate area. You are holding six of the children from the school. Jubilee, Artie, Nolan, Devin, Jermaine, and Sideah. Five of the six children are anxious…confused… frightened. Jubilee is angry as well."

"This is Scott Summers," she pointed at Scott, "I know him very well. At the moment, he is angry…" she spoke through clenched teeth, experiencing his anger, "murderously angry but…" Morgan eyes narrowed as she delved deeper into Scott. She then raised her hand and lowered it in front of her face downwardly, and whispered, "He is subdued, compliant, and eager to please."

Scott mouth twitched slightly and then smoothed out again. Morgan turned towards Yuriko who was watching her with calculating silver eyes.

"I do not know this woman here. I have never scanned her before," gesturing to Yuriko; she flinched back from Yuriko's glare, but did not break eye contact with her, "she is resigned, subdued like Scott, but the anger bubbles below."

"There are two people, a man and a woman that are not very close by. They are scared and the man is frustrated," she paused again, her mouth turned up in a wry grin, "…well actually… he is quite sexually frustrated…but that…ohhh…they have resumed…this won't take long…" Her breathing quickened as she bit down on her lower lip.

"Okay, I understand, disengage from them…" Stryker interrupted, his face glowing crimson which Lyman could not help chuckling at. "How far away are they? What is your range?"

"I don't know." Morgan answered, her eyes darting to the left of Stryker, focusing on the empty space. She took a startled breath in.

"Maybe campers?" Lyman suggested, "That would be about five miles away." Stryker smiled, very pleased with her range. He then reached forward and forcefully grabbed Morgan's chin.

"Keep your eyes on me, and focus," he barked. She'll need to work on her concentration, he thought to himself.

"Charles Xavier is here, he is…he is…" Morgan shook her head, as if she was trying to clear a thought, "confused but happy. Something is wrong…I can't get a definite reading…it is as if…" her breath quickened, "as if he is not here…he knows that he should be frightened…"

"Never mind about Charles Xavier. Do not attempt to connect with him at all!" Stryker ordered, hoping that her empathic touch did not interrupt Jason's projection onto Xavier.

"Okay…um…there is man here connected to Charles Xavier, his emotions are…" she closed her eyes as if she was in pain, "it is all wrong and not his own…wrong. He is cut." She slashed her hand across her face.

"Break off from him!" Stryker yelled. Morgan recoiled back, reacting to his anger. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. So many emotions were bombarding her all at once. She hadn't experienced anything like this since she was a teenager and her empathy careened out of control. At this point in her life, she would never allow herself be this open, empathically or clairvoyantly.

Morgan's eyes opened and momentarily focused again on something beyond Stryker, she spoke in short, clipped tones without making any eye contact with anything.

"This man here," she gestured at Lyman, "he Sergeant Lyman and he is very… very focused but quite anxious, and is carrying a great deal of guilt and sadness…." Morgan visibly shuddered and took a step back. Her hands flew up to her face, fingers splayed out, in a protective gesture.

"This one…" her eyes darting to the empty space next to Stryker, "he is so fucking angry, so much rage, I can almost taste it! He wants to come through, and he will. It won't take long. He knows what I can do. He knows what I am capable of!" She shouted, as she took several steps back until her back hit the wall.

"What the fuck? What have you done here?" She screamed; her eyes hardening with accusation and admonishment at Stryker before they swept around the room wildly.

"There are so many of them! You murdered them all. Tortured them! They died in pain, they suffered! What kind of fucking monster are you?" She whispered as she slid to the floor, she drew her knees up to her chest and covered her face.

Lyman squatted down next to her asked, "What does he look like?" She has more than one gift; he thought to himself, she is obviously sensing more than just emotions here.

Morgan slowly looked up, her eyes were red rimmed, and tears had streaked down leaving tracks on her cheeks. She focused intently on his face, not wanting to see what now filled the room. She swallowed a few times more before answering.

"He has bluish-greenish skin, fish like, you know? He has large black eyes…and gills. His fingers are webbed together. He is powerful…his mind…telepathic…or he was. He can come through now that I am here," she whispered, her hands shook with fear.

"What is this power of yours called?" Stryker asked quietly, glancing around the room. Seeing nothing, but not doubting for a moment of what was in this room. The woman just accurately described a mutant that had been a subject of his for many years, until his 'unfortunate' death a few months back.

"Clairvoyance."

"You can communicate with the dead," he stated in a matter of fact voice.

"Yes."

"Do you have complete control of this power of yours?"

"Yes."

"Can you drive them away?"

"Yes."

"Do so."

Morgan quickly stood up, swiping at the tears streaks with the back of her hand. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. The room's temperature dropped several degrees. Stryker shuddered as chills ran up and down his spine and the hair on the back of his neck was stood up on end. Morgan expelled a deep breath of air when she glanced up and locked eyes with Stryker. She looked visibly relieved.

"They are all gone?" he asked.

"All but one, but I can't send him away." Morgan replied softly, her eyes focused intently on the wall behind them. She recognized him but was unable to place where. There was something that about his face, something so familiar and comforting that compelled her not to use the full extent of her power to drive him away. It physically hurt her, to not obey Stryker's direct command, but there was something stronger at work here, something she couldn't understand yet.

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I think that he is too strong for me." The lie came easily to her. There was a fleeting sense of accomplishment as it left her mouth, the apparition smiled and nodded at her. Her heart pounded in her chest, when he smiled.

"Can he come through? Will he harm you?" Lyman asked, staring at the wall, wishing to catch something in the empty space that she was staring so intensely at. The man smiled again, shook his head, and brought an index finger to his lips and mouthed a 'sh'.

"He is shaking his head 'no'; I think he is just curious."

"Was he mutant?" Lyman asked.

The man shook his head.

"No."

"Don't worry about him, then. Can you keep the rest of them all away?" Stryker asked.

"Yes."

"Good, do so and continue with your demonstration," he ordered. Her eyes moved back to Stryker's and she smiled at him. He wasn't sure that he liked the look of her smile.

"You are very assured and confident, righteous and arrogant. But you're also scared and unsure now…and now you are angry…and…"

"Alright, alright that's enough! I don't need a running commentary of what I am feeling," he sneered at her.

"Did Charles Xavier teach you how to build mental shields?"

She nodded.

"Close your shields and do not lower them again, unless I tell you to," Stryker ordered, thinking that after tomorrow, he will have ample time to thoroughly test this empath. She was too much of a loose cannon right now, and after so many years of planning, Stryker needed to be judicious with any variables at this point in the game.

"Lyman, take her down to the mess hall with Cyclops and get them fed."

Morgan glanced over again at the apparition. He was now standing in a very relaxed pose against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest, the skin around his eyes crinkled in with happiness as he smiled at her once again. As she followed Lyman out, Morgan heard the man say, "Good."