A bird in a cage

[Xelious]

Xelious lay motionless in his cage, staring straight up at the ceiling. It was, on reflection, the most uncomfortable place he could possibly be put. The five-foot cubic cell was obviously too small for him to stretch out in, regardless of how he oriented himself, let alone unfurl his wings. Plus, as it really was an actual cage, he could feel the bars digging into him whenever he laid down, which made up a majority of his time in it. Still, it was preferable to being removed from the cage, and the 'treatments' that entailed.

He wouldn't show his discomfort, though. The only way he could keep sane was to hide his discomfort and savor the perverse pleasure it gave him to deny the scientists the pleasure of knowing they had power over him.

How long had he been there? He'd lost count of the days after a couple weeks, and had decided that it was best not to dwell on it. The only thing he knew was that it had been quite a long time.

[Dr. Fusion]

Well Well well Dr Fusion's day was shaping up after all.

The Scientist had been having a hard day, due to the fact his assistant was not available to be his monkey boy. So Now he had to make himself useful in another way and that way was tormenting an old Experiment of his. Now that he was the head of the department he really didn't have to do much, however he still enjoyed visiting and torturing things so he took a dual job as a doctor as well.

The man knelled down in front of Xelious's cave, a small smile itching at the corner of his twisted lips. He looked absolutely sadistic at that moment which was the exact look he was going for. He wanted to make the boy bleed but right now he would just screw with his mind a bit.

"Well Hello my dear friend, How are you?" Fusionist asked, looking at the bird boy in the cage. "Are you sad because your wolf girlfriend isn't here? You should have let the doors close so you both would be stuck here together, just like old times."

Fusionist paused for a moment before his grin grew wider, showing Xelious the syringe. "Did you forget about your shots today my fine feathered friend? Aren't I Nice that I am giving them to you? Or I could just find your girlfriend and give it to her, Im sure she would like it. She always squirmed so nicely with my injections."

[Xelious]

"Oooh, make comments about my girlfriend. Now there's a tactic I never would have expeted you to use," Xelious said, rolling his eyes at the ceiling, not even bothering to look at Fusionist. Really, can this guy get any more cliché? Remarks about my girlfriend to get a rise out of me? For a scientific genius, he's kind of dumb when ti comes to people.

"So are we going to get this over with? Or is it time for the shocks today? I can't remember, what day of the week is it? I think Tuesday was always electro-shock day."

[Dr. Fusion]

Fusionist did not even blink when Xelious made his comment. He merely stuck the needle in the boys arm and pushed the plunger in, forcing the fluid to go inside. This should have been expected by Xelious, however what should not be expected was the pain that followed, Fusionist had used a new formula today. The Formula would almost Feel like acid inside of the body to some people, It Burned as it streamed through the body only getting intenser when it continued its track.

"No my boy, today isn't Electro Shock day as you so fondly put it. Today is suffering day or in my case, happy day." Fusionist grinned happily as he watched the event unfold before him

Fusionist was a very twisted man and he had enjoyed others suffering long before most people could remember. When He started his Experiments he had enjoyed watching them in pain, especially those who defied him. The Bird boy was one of those Experiments, one that had directly defied his rule by escaping with that mutt of an experiment. In other words, Fusionist would make him pay for what he had done, mentally, physically and Emotionally.

"Do you know what I was planning on using your little wolfy for when she was brought here? When She was older I was planning on putting her through a breeding program and make you watch," Fusionist told the young man in all honesty.

He took out the papers he had fr it and pressed them up against the bars of the cage showing Emerald's file, the signature for the confirmation of the program and all.

"Maybe when she comes here to save you we can start it up again, Im sure she is at an appropriate age. Or I could do something else to her."

((Yea...Fusionist is a sicko.))

[Xelious]

Xelious looked at the files, biting the inside of his cheek against the pain. Oh... my god... yes, the old man is creative... sick bastard. He did his best to not show how badly it hurt... although he got the idea that it might become difficult to do so soon.

"Wow. Lot of planning you put into that," he said, his voice labored, the only indication of the pain he couldn't hide. "That must have been pretty damn embarassing when I broke her out of here and you had to cancel it."

He'd only seen Fusionist angry once - once! - at his lack of reaction, but he savored that memory, and so hoped that he could see it again. He knew that he wasn't as smart as the Fusionist; the man could splice the human genome, for crying out loud. But Fusionist relied on his power over other people, and the suffering he inflicted on them. In that respect, then, Xel considered him weak. He had power over Fusionist as long as he could control his own reactions... and at the same time, he knew that all of the torture was because Fusionist felt helpless at losing Emerald.

He might have the upper hand as far as being able to control what happened to Xelious. That didn't mean he was necessarily the dominant person in this exchange, though.

"Besides, your track record for keeping your hands on her isn't exactly great. I almost regret that she's not going to come back for me, just because I'd love to see your face after she gets away again."

Just a few more minutes... then I'll project. I won't be able to feel this, and he'll think I'm just ignoring him... His one greatest secret that he'd hidden from Fusionist was his owl that he used to explore, to visit Emmy. And he'd never give that one up.

[Dr. Fusion]

Stay in pain my dear boy there is plenty more where that came from.

Fusionist couldn't help but smirk at the pain that he heard in Xelious's voice. It was truly a euphoric thing for him, feeling others pain and feeling his dominance over them. His superiority proved that he was indeed the better man, better than any of the other slow minded fools in this place. These fools seem to forget that they have to take every chance they get to prove they are better than these freaks of nature.

Upon listening to Xelious and his mention of that wretched rebellious wolf girl Fusionist clenched his clipboard. He hated how the wolf girl always rebelled against him, how she would never give up even if she was bleeding to death. Fusionist loathed her fighting spirit and it made him hate the fact that he didn't just steal her from her parents when she was a baby instead of when she was 6.

"It has always been hard to keep tags on the wolf girl, " Fusionist told Xelious, writing down various things on it. "But you realize she will save you, no matter how hard you try to deny it I will have both of you in my grasp again."

Fusionist thought about when he saw them together when they were young, when they had been the best of friends. He had sold the bird boy because they had managed to get to close. Now that he thought about it now, it may have been a grave error to separate those to because if he did not it would be most likely he would have both of them in his grasp right now.

[Xelious]

"You can go ahead and think that," Xelious said, smiling. "On the off chance that you catch her, we'll just escape again. You knew we would when I was younger, and even sold me to keep me from doing it. Look how well that turned out for you."

The pain was getting to be too much... so he decided to make his exit. He gave a pronounced yawn, then said. "But you know what? Having company wears me out. I'm going to take a nap now." And with that, he closed his eyes and projected.

He looked down on the scene from behind a light fixture, his owl safely hidden. Fusionist was always so amusing when he was angry.

[Dr. Fusion]

Fusionist was about to retort when the boy seemingly went to sleep. Fusionist was now a little bit angry that Xelious went to sleep while he was standing right htere. It was so rude and annoying to have someone do it to you, wether it be his Ex wife or this little peaon, it was still irritating as hell. Though, Fusionist did not want to show his anger to this boy, he would no doubt take great pleasure into seeing this great man suffer so the scientest merely smirked at the boy. It would seem that his evil smiles were the only thing that was keeping him sane at that moment.

"You little Insolent Curr, wake up if you please." Fusionist told Xelious, shaking the cage. "You don't seem to understand something I control you and Emerald. I have ways to know what you to were doing outside of the labs I know she calls you Xelly and when she has a nightmare she always clings tighter to you. I also know that she is going to try to save you and she will foolheartedly come here with guns ablazing and will be recaptured by me. I will then make her watch as I break the bones in your wings one by one."

[Xelious]

If you catch her. And you won't, you bastard.

Still, that's interesting. He can spy on us? That could be a bluff. She did all of those things when we were in the labs. That's probably the information he's working with. God, I hate that sadistic bastard. I hope he goes away soon so I can get back in my body.

As much as I want to get out of here... now I almost hope Emerald doesn't come for me. Better for me to die in here than for both of us to be captured. And at least she can find some way of being happy on the outside. But even as he thought it, Xelious knew that it was foolish to even consider that Emmy wouldn't come for him. He knew that she would... so he could only hope that when she did, she came with help.

God, I wish this owl was real. I could take a dump right on his head, then fly down the hall...

[Mariel Moon]

There was a metallic click as Mariel meandered into the room. Why it was so interesting to see the experiments was some-what of a mystery. She was in a relatively good mood, but still well prepared to give them trouble. She concentrated slowly on her tiger's claws, and they curved from her nails, making her hands sprout a small amount of fur and tingle wildly. It wasn't good to keep herself in a part-morph, but it wouldn't be for very long. Torment was widely known here, and wasn't bothered by the fact Fusion was doing it to the avian experiment. Not at the least. A small sign on it's cage said (in blue letters) Xelious-Avian Hybrid. "Xelious." She purred with a light, French accent. His black&white wings surprised her, for she was used to seeing brown and white. Not that they were rare...

Mariel cast a venomous I-don't-like-you-particularly-because-you-annoy-me glance at Fusion, he had never been of any interest to her, and was, in her mind, one of the lesser scientists.

[Xelious]

Having had a bit of a respite from the pain, Xelious looked at this new entrant. What to make of her? She was obviously young... that she was roaming freely could probably mean only bad things. Still, it was someone new. The more people he had around, the more he could know about what was going on. And waking up for her would only bother Fusionist more.

He came back to his body, braced for the pain, and only winced slightly as he opened his eyes, turning a casual glance to the new girl. "Yes?" he asked, favoring her with an obviously fake smile. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of your name," he added.

[Dr. Fusion]

Fusionist was annoyed the fact that the boy woke up for the cat girl making him very cross. He hated it when his Experiments disobeyed him and Xelious knew that, which is why he was doing it. "Good morning Mary Sunshine." Fusionist told Xelious Under his breath

Fusionist had to attempt to keep his temper down, since he was an evil genius this shouldn't be to hard. He just had to pretend the girl didn't just give him a dirty glare or the fact that Xelious delebratly ignored him. The man had to remember that he was a man of Science and that he would do whatever it took to make his experiments work, even if it was observing.

Fusionist walked over to the corner of the room and began shuffling in the cabinet, trying to look for some headache pills for his pounding head. However, despite his headache he was still listening to ever word that was said, raring and willing to use it against Xelious as any time.

[Crone (NC113F)]

Across the way from Xelious, pressed against the wall of his cage, NC113F flicked his tail back and forth in irritation. This was ridiculous. The banter between Psycho and Bird Man was sickening. Both attempting meanace. Both failing.

And Tiger Girl. What a waste. She wasn't a hunter. And still, they let her out and not him. As if on cue, the scar on his arm seemed to tingle. He'd tried to escape, and failed. But atleast he was capable of thought on his own.

Slowly, the one called the Crone moved forward, manuevering his body in his cage so that he was in the front. He blinked at the light. That dreadful light that flashed on and off. He hated it. He could see better in the dark. The dark gave him a brilliant rush. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he thought, for some strange reason, that the feeling was power. Supremacy.

His dark cat ears, blending into his hair, were swivelled foreward. His olive face moved closer to the mesh bars, contrasting with the bright silver of the metal. His dark eyes blinked a few times before something akin to a smile streched across his thin lips-- two rows of razor fangs showing.

"Her name is of no consequence." NC113F said in a smooth, tenor voice.

[Dr. Fusion]

When Fusion managed to find the pill and take them he heard another voice. It was that of NC113f, the panther experiment, the one who attempted to escape. Dr Fusion thought about this for a few quick moments and thought of how he could use this boy to his advantage. He knew that NC113f had confrontations with the wolf girl in the past, making him an ideal subject for a very special mission. These cat experiments were designed for a purpose right? There purpose was to retrieve old experiments hat have escaped, which meant NC113F Would be perfectly capable of retrieving any experiments, including the wolf girl.

Fusionist walked over to the cage of the panther, A small smile plaster on his evil face. He enjoyed using experiments for his own bidding but if he helped this boy he could no doubt help Fusionist in retrieval of his old Experiment. He knelled in front of it, dangling the keys in front of the boy.

"It seems you are in a slight jam NC113F, one that can be easily remedied with these. Now, if I let you go you have to hunt down escaped experiments from the labs and in return you will not see this cage for a long time, if ever again. " Fusionist paused, the grin still on his face. "You already know the escapees include the flock of bird kids but the one I want back is a certain wolf girl I have heard you have lost a few fights with."

[Xelious]

"Or," Xelious called back, "You could just rip his throat out when he opens your cage. Screw this place. We can make a break for it and not worry about these idiots anymore."

It was a long shot, of course. But Fusionist was upping the ante a bit now, sending this guy after Emmy again. The fact that he was caged, and therefore not trusted, gave Xelious a bit of hope, along with the fact that the guy had tried to escape before.

Did he think he could trust him? No. But if the guy wanted to get out and was intelligent at all, he might see that he and Xel together might have a better chance of getting away than either of them alone. So until they both tasted free air, an alliance had a slight chance of holding.

He probably would sneer and make comments now. But the seed had, at least, been planted.