I don't need help." Except for when he might ask soon if there's anywhere to sit. Chairs or beds are tricky when you don't know exactly where they are. Huh. Is there a bed in here? A cot? Iggy's never actually had a bed before... Might be nice to sleep in a place he can stretch out, even if that place is the floor. The floor would be a suitable substitute too. "Are you always cold? Or does it come with an off switch?"
"I was just trying to be nice.." Jack muttered, retreating back to the ledge, and as always there came a few clanks that accompanied every step. He pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest. "If I wasn't cold, I think I would be dead.. Never really tried before, though." It seemed simple enough to him. Once, when he had backed down from a testing simulation, the scientists had steamed the room until he fell ill. From then on, Jack felt slightly sick every time he encountered heat.
"Yeah, I got that... but I can handle myself. Just gotta familiarise myself." By the sound the chain made, Iggy could make a good guess that Jack has sat down somewhere. So don't walk any closer. The teen remained where he was, lest he bump into something accidentally. His brow knit at the further revelation of information. Jack never tried turning the whole ice thing off? "You mean they never made you?" Hey, maybe there aren't tests here. There was a little bubble of hope that managed to make it's way to his heart before he shut it down. Way too dangerous having that sort of thing here.
"..no? They don't care about turning it off. Only that it gets stronger so that I can be used.. as a weapon." While Iggy may have been more of a scientific venture, Jack had been raised from birth to be turned into a powerful solider. But, SHIELD could take no chances with enhancing his abilities so quickly. If he wasn't obedient, he could take down the entire division with the power that was planned for him. However, even Fury failed to see that the boy in their care had a tender heart. He would never harm anyone. Not if he could help it. But, with each test. Each time he was pushed to the breaking point, the spirit found himself losing a bit of that kindness.
"A weapon... You?" That's certainly something Iggy never heard. Back at the School, they kept the avian hybrids in tight quarters, so the children never had a chance to learn just how to properly use their wings. They were drugged, tested on, experimented on - in Iggy's case. The whitecoats didn't care about how powerful they could be, their potential use, the fact that they were children with minds capable of understanding how awful the things going on were. If you didn't impress the men and women testing you, you could easily find yourself on a one way trip to dissection. "You mean they're training you?" Iggy had difficulty wrapping his mind around that. "Why aren't you fighting your way out of here!"
"To go where? I don't want to stay here.. But I know nothing of the outside world. I'm as blind as you are, and I'm not.. human. I wouldn't belong out there." It was clear that he had considered it, though. Even an attempt here and there. "B-Besides, they would kill me before I even made it out of the building. I've tried.. and.." He couldn't even finish, shuddering as the undesired memories replayed in his mind. The hours, days, weeks, he had spent in a room so warm even mortals would have been uncomfortable. Those white coats had kindled a fear within him. A permanent reminder of the pain he would be forced to endure should he not give up the one thing he really ever had: the power of choice.
"Yeah, no offense. But I think I got you beat on who's blind here." Iggy snorted. "Besides, isn't any place better than here? I'm thinkin', being a freak is probably better when someone isn't coming at you with needles."But Iggy is smart enough to stop pushing for now. He can hear that hesitation in Jack's voice, the indication of things better left unsaid. Who wouldn't have things they don't want to talk about, when put through a situation like this? "Right... Got the picture."
"Maybe one day I'll be strong enough... just not today." Frost sighed, leaning his head back against the wall to stare up mindlessly towards the ceiling. But, of course the two boys couldn't be allowed to much time to introduce themselves. Soon enough, the door hinged open as two white coats entered. One held a pod with an end that burned red hot, while the other carried two sets of cufflinks along with some other bit of metal that Jack didn't identify with. "Time to see which of you is the stronger one." The stouter gentleman rasped out.
Iggy had been just about to settle on sitting down on the ground when he heard the door open again. He turned towards the noise, his hands curling into fists, eyes searching for the unseen men, or women. He could hear the sound of the cufflinks, but besides that, there was nothing until one of the intruders spoke. Which is stronger? That didn't sound good... Iggy's never been in a fight in his life! Though, if his well being depends on it, maybe he'll learn to manage. There's not a single word from Iggy, even when he's taken by the arm by someone unseen, though he certainly has a few things he'd LIKE to say.
Jack reluctantly rose to his feet as one of the gentleman approached him, twisting his thin arms behind him, and locking his wrists into the cuffs assigned to him. He didn't put up any sort of fight. Instead, just watched the ground. Though, he did glance up once to see them doing the same Iggy as they had done to him. Figures they wouldn't trust them to have use of their hands. But, then his blue eyes narrowed as he watched the other white coat try and clamp the poor boy's wings together. Frost found his mouth opening to say something—anything. But, no words escaped.
Iggy doesn't put up a protest as his hands are entrapped in the cuffs. He's been in a similar situation before, and though there's a constant familiar ball of fear in his stomach, it's the attempt to clamp his wings together that triggers a more panicked reaction. Iggy's wings shot open, the whole thirteen foot or so span, knocking the man who had attempted to even touch his wings back. The whitecoats at the School touched his wings, and he never truly protested then, but they hadn't tried to clamp them together! Iggy draw his wings back, close and tight against his back, in a space between his shoulders and his spine, before he made a run for the door, successfully finding it and heading straight through. "Get him!" One of the men shouted, and a moment later Iggy was being frog marched straight back into the room, much to his obvious frustration though he did not fight being led back.
The other experiment, still firmly bound and held in place, gawked as Iggy took a run for it. Jack rustled in his bonds, trying to wrangle out of the stranger's grip but to no avail. He looked up just in time to see the other leave, and felt a strange sort of abandonment. Iggy was the first one to ever understand his situation, and now he was gone. Or.. was he? After a few minutes, the winged teen was escorted back in. It seemed now the two men just settled with tugging him along by both sides instead of messing with his wings. Jack was actually a little bit impressed, as he had never won any battles with the many people who shuffled him around.
As much as he would have liked to maybe assist Jack in escaping... there's just a certain point, especially with someone still mostly a stranger, where you have to admit it's every man for himself. Iggy hung his head as he had no choice but to be brought back to where he had been. He won't get away from such a brash act without punishment, but for now, the two men holding Iggy steady will have to do until they can work out something more suitable to make sure the same mistake is not repeated. Another check over Jack's restraints, though it seemed the boy in recent weeks has calmed and has lost the spark he once had - it made him easier to deal with, and the two teens were led off to where this test would take place.
The walk to the location of their excise was a long one. With the scientists hauling them along like dangerous criminals, Jack and Iggy fell into place at their command. They traveled through the dull bricked hallways with the only sounding being that of their echoing footsteps. At one point, the white haired teen shifted to look over his shoulder at the newcomer, but otherwise watched the tile as it passed beneath his bared feet. Eventually, though, those white squares changed to black as they passed the threshold into the room that was their destination.
Jack had never been in this space before. It was large, almost the size of a football field, with flood lights overhead to illuminate circles on the floor. The outskirts of the area was a thick rubber black, but venturing a few feet in the floor turned to a layer of grass. This artificial landscape was even complete with a small collection of trees and boulders. He caught his breath just looking over the place. Was this what it was like outside of their captive lives? He had to wonder. Yet, his awe was broken as he lifted his sights towards a mirrored pane of glass that settled along the wall near the ceiling. That bit was nothing new to him, as he knew of the agents and doctors that were hiding within to watch and bark out orders.
Iggy had at first attempted to follow along their path in his head, mapping out the directions... but he was soon lost, mixing up when they've taken a right, or a left, how long they've been walking in one way. He gave up soon enough, and instead focused on the sounds of their footsteps. Of the men and the clicking of their heels and Jack must be barefoot as well because his feet are far quieter against the tile. Iggy assumed that when they stopped their walking, they had reached their location. He wanted to ask where they were, what it looked like. Iggy focused - but not really - on the ground beneath his feet. Whatever the ground was made of changed, from hard tile to something that gave as he leaned back just so to put more pressure on his heels, or leaned forward to put pressure on his toes. Odd.
The teen had to take a moment, make sure Jack was even still with him, make sure he hadn't been taken somewhere. Not that he would have been capable of following, if the men holding his arms decided against it. Why was he even worried about the other? They've only just met. Don't get attached. That was kinda difficult.
A moment of deafening silence passed before the loudspeakers buzzed to life. "Release them." Jack laid his shoulders back and waited for the metal to be unlocked. It was always uncomfortable to be pinned in this fashion, and as soon as his wrists were free, he pulled them in front and rubbed over the sore joints with care. Now that the boys were set loose, though, the three captors retreated back towards the doorway. Great. That meant the challenge would begin soon. He had barely the opportunity to make sure Iggy was well before more words crackled out of the communication system.
"Only one of you will be receiving food tonight. If you wish to eat, then you must prove that you are the stronger one . Attack each other, or face a few other creations that certainly won't be so friendly."