I will start by saying that I am very, very, very, very, very sorry for making you guys wait this long. Things have been incredibly hectic with school and just life in general. Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, favorited, etc.; they made my day. :) Here is the next - long awaited - chapter of Spirit's Life.
Disclaimer: I only own Spirit and other OC characters
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I don't remember all that much of what happened. Last thing I remembered was being dragged into the labs and then being held down as something was put on the back of my neck, right at the base of my skull. I remember screaming as a burning sensation spread throughout my entire body. Other than that, I wasn't exactly such what happened. The next thing I know, I'm being released by the scientists. I try to run, but I can't. My paws stay rooted to the floor.
"The serum worked on Experiment 54B?" a man asked, coming to stand in front of me. He was the same man from earlier, short black hair and goatee and a bit portly, if you asked me.
"It did, Mr. Stryker," another man answered. "It'll listen to any command given; it should at least."
I snarled. At least, I tried to snarl. My lips stayed in place as I watched the man that the others were calling Stryker. I started to panic, wondering what was going on. I tried to move, twitch my tail, move my eyes, anything! I tried to snarl, to growl, to howl until I lost my voice. But nothing happened. I was a prisoner within my own body.
"Good," Stryker replied, coming to crouch in front of me. I hoped my hatred showed in my eyes, though by now, I doubted it. "54B, I command that you shift into your human form."
My mind resisted his order, but my body didn't. I flinched slightly when I did shift, my body already sore and stiff as it was. I felt like I was an observer in the body I was now in, no longer able to control even how I blinked. Stryker didn't seem to care about my inner turmoil, licking his lips slightly when he saw me in my human form. I was thankful for the black suit I had on, not liking the lustful look in his eyes.
"Beautiful," Stryker breathed. "It is absolutely marvelous. 54B, can you shift into anything else?"
I wanted to say "no", but my mouth opened and answered "yes". Stryker clasped his hands in front of him in joy. "Oh, this is marvelous indeed. What else can you shift into, my dear?"
"Everything," I heard myself answer. "Every DNA that you put into me."
"Show me," Stryker commanded. I had no choice but to obey. For hours, I shifted for him, showing him all that I could do. I couldn't even scream when he had me change into things that I had never changed into before, like birds and sea mammals. He seemed to take great pleasure in listening to my bones snapping and my muscles tearing, sounds that even the other scientists winced at.
"Can you feel it?" Stryker asked after I'd shifted into a sea lion.
'I feel everything,' I replied with my thoughts, my voice monotone.
"Good," he replied. "Good."
It went on for more hours, until I couldn't shift anymore. I wasn't even frightened when I couldn't shift anymore; I was just glad that it was over. I collapsed on my stomach, back in my wolf form. Stryker just smiled down at me gleefully before turning to look at a man that had been standing in the corner, one I hadn't even noticed until then.
"Reed," he said. "I charge you as 54B's handler. Make sure that you don't damage it."
The man, Reed, saluted towards Stryker. "Yessir," he answered before coming over to me. He kicked me in the ribs. "Get up." I was forced to my paws by my own body, swaying slightly. "Now heel and come."
I am not a dog! I wanted to scream, but my thoughts remained silent. I limped after my new "master", unable to do anything else. Right then and there, I swore to myself that I was going to kill every last man in this hellhole if it killed me.
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Five days.
It took five days for the serum to begin to fade. Five days that I had to be a guinea pig for the scientists. My "handler" brought me to them every day so that they could run tests. They wanted to create more like me. They wanted an army of mutants that would kill mutants.
Every night, after all the testing was done, I attempted to fight the serum that held my body hostage. It burned and fought back against me, bending me to its will. I wasn't going to give up, but I couldn't find anyway to physically or mentally fight the serum. When I finally made some progress - I'd managed to snarl at a blank wall after fighting against the serum for three hours - five days had passed. I couldn't have been happier. I didn't know if that they would try to dose me with the serum again; I really, really hoped not.
I hadn't been able to see the children since I'd been taken out of the pit that we had shared. I worried constantly about them, especially Heather. I didn't trust that the men weren't going to harm them. At least I had one thing going for me; Stryker hadn't been around for the past couple of days. He said that he was leaving to see an old friend. I didn't think I wanted to know who that old friend was.
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I was laying down next to Reed's bunk, my seventh day of being held captive, still struggling against the serum. I'd just gone through yet another round of tests, and my body ached. My once thick fur had thinned out and had become ragged and dull. I'd lost weight rapidly, my ribs beginning to press against my sides already. My other forms weren't any better, all tired and ragged looking. Reed didn't take any pity on me, kicking me in the ribs when he felt like it and abusing me in other ways, too. I flicked my ears back when I thought of what he did to me when I was in my human form, unable to do anything. The serum was beginning to wear off more rapidly, and I was able to do simple things, like blinking and flicking my ears and moving my tail. Other than that, I was still an obedient little lapdog.
My thoughts were interrupted when Reed kicked me in the ribs, his way of telling me to follow him. I got to my feet and followed after him towards the hanger. When he stopped walking, so did I, sitting down next to him as he'd forced me to do. I still wanted to bite him, to run, to kill them all, but the serum burned under my skin anytime I even seemed to think of doing it.
I kept myself completely still as Reed saluted towards Stryker, who was coming off of the helicopter that had just finished landing, the blades rotating lazily through the air.
"How is 54B?" he asked as he approached.
"Well," Reed answered as Stryker looked at my ragged appearance.
"Could look a bit better, but it's its power I want, not its looks."
"Did you get what you went for?" Reed asked.
"I did," Stryker answered, motioning for the soldiers to bring someone forward.
My heart leapt into my throat when I saw Scott hanging limply between two soldiers and an unconscious Professor being wheeled down the ramp. Things had just gotten a whole lot worse.
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Thanks for reading! Sorry it's a bit short, but I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. Please review, as they make my day! Hopefully, I will be faster in getting these chapters up! Thanks again for reading!
ML out