Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:37, Q9 time
Observation room
Tony stood aside as the girl passed him and entered the small room. His muscles relaxed as he softly blew out his breath and smiled at her back. She was going to cooperate. At least so far as to not get violent.
After politely refusing his offer of a drink, she sat carefully on the armchair, poised as though prepared to take flight should a threat occur. But she took the time to smile up at him, as though in reassurance.
He knew she was cute. But dang, she really
was cute.
This was all so much for her to take in. For her, the world had yanked her security right out from under her feet, pressed her under the thumb of the government and slammed her with the unspoken but oh so real threat of never being a free woman again.
But here she was, keeping a level head, trying to comprehend the enormous changes in her world and of all things, still trying to remain
pleasant.
As he perched himself on the arm of a couch near the steel room doors, Tony finally noted that his heart had sped up again. Hali was so strong, so brave. Whatever happened, he didn't want to lose this girl's trust.
It was therefore to his great relief that he saw a panel in the cream colored wall slide open and admit Dr. Steele.
"Ah, excellent. Welcome, Miss Royce. I apologize for the rather nasty test earlier. We are making every effort to find another, less painful way to gather that data, but as of yet have come up with no other way.
"My name is Dr. Lance Steele. I am a psychologist and am here to help you determine and control your new powers. My end goal is to help you find a way to fit into our new and convoluted world as a free person. Quadrant 9 is a stepping stone, not an end. We will make things right."
During this speech, he had slowly approached the armchairs and settled himself in the one opposite her. Leaning back against the cushions, propping his elbows on the arms and steepling his fingers together, he smiled at her warmly. "Is it alright if I close the doors?" He nodded to the doors of the steel room. "It's letting a draft in, but if you would prefer to leave them open that is perfectly acceptable."
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Previous PostDay Unknown, Quadrant 9
Q9 time, Unknown
Observation room "Oh, Doc, she's here."
Steele was at the boy's side in an instant. "Allee Miller, age 18." He shot a sideways glance at Tony. "Also small and cute."
Tony turned bright red. "Would you stop that!? I'm
not looking for a girlfriend!"
The doctor threw back his head and laughed.
As he turned away from the window, the boy grumbled under his breath, "I'm really starting to think you only became a psychiatrist to learn how to get under people's skin..."
As his laughter died away into a sly smile, Dr. Steele kept his eyes on the room below him. The steel panel was sliding open and the test had truly begun.
"Mmm, your girl isn't fighting back at all... Just trying to get away as of yet..."
"Doc,
please! She's not 'my girl'!"
Steele's lip twisted as he watched as the girl continued backing until she was cornered, face stricken in terror. When the pole stopped, she stopped, relaxing a fraction. Until it began to unfold into the gun shape.
Tony peered through the window, eyes narrowed. "She hasn't done anything yet?"
"Just backed away. Quickly, but with merely average human speed."
"Huh..."
They watched in silence as the gun "fired" and she fled, racing around the room, glancing over her shoulder every once in a while.
"Tracking the movement of the gun..." noted the Doctor.
Tony jumped a mile high when she ran to their side of the room and banged on the wall below them.
"Stop! Whatever is going on, I swear, I'm innocent!"
He turned slowly and looked at Steele, raising an eyebrow. "She's not attacking. At all. Why isn't she defending herself?"
Steele stood quietly for a moment, eyes fixed on the room below.
As the gun came to rest, training it's muzzle towards the girl, she merely shrank into the corner and covered her head with her arms.
"It appears as though she is going to remain on the defensive, nor has she discovered that it's a ruse..."
"That's... Like, a first for us, right? I mean, either they beat it up or they figure it out..."
Steele's long finger tapped beside the control screen thoughtfully as he watched the girl in the room.
"What do we do?"
"What we have planned to do in this situation."
Tony's face blanked for a moment.
Steele shot him a look.
"Oh! Oh. I'm sorry, I just... We've never done it before."
"Well do it."
"Sure... Sure." Tony spun on his heel and fairly dashed to the elevator lift, clapping his hand on the button so the doors slid open. "OK, this should be fun." He hopped in and waved to Steele with a smile as the door slid shut in front of him.
The lift hissed down and Tony's fingers drummed against his thigh uneasily. By the time the doors opened again, he had ran over the details of the procedure in his mind three times to refresh himself. While he'd practiced it a few times before, this was the first time he'd ever actually used it in a test.
As soon as the doors opened, he sprinted towards the gun with remarkable speed for his bulk.
"Stop, stop!" His voice held a note of alarm that was flawless. He skidded to a halt and jammed his fingers into a slot on the side of the gun base.
"Get behind me!" he barked to the girl, yanking a panel off the gun and grabbing a handful of wires. Jerking his hand back, the wires ripped out in a shower of sparks. A loose wire brushed against his hand as he pulled back and the small jolt of electricity made him grunt.
The gun's whirring slowed to a halt as smoke puffed lazily from the spitting wires and burned casing spilling out of the silver post. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the heavy breathing of both the boy and the girl.
Finally, Tony took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then let it out and opened them again. His hand crept up to rub the back of his neck as he turned slowly to face the girl.
The first thing he noticed is that Dr. Steele had not been exaggerating when he said she was cute. Face to face, looking into her wide eyes, Tony was struck by the truth of that statement. The faint flush that slowly suffused his cheeks was therefore quite real.
A corner of his lip twitched upwards awkwardly, exposing the dimple. "Um, hi. I'm... Gosh, I'm sorry about that. I don't... That wasn't... Um... That wasn't supposed to happen. I don't know how... Gosh I'm sorry. Um... Are you alright?"