Chapter Text
He seethed and snarled when the stimulants brought him around. He was strapped to the table for the safety of the lab technicians, yet still the restraints groaned against the cold metal of the table as he struggled. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know how he was still alive, but he knew what he wanted to do and he couldn’t do that strapped to a table. He was yelling and cursing in the dark room when he noticed something shift in the corner–a shape in the darkness.
“Who’s there!?” he called out, “I demand you undo these straps at once.” his eyes flick to the scalpel on a tray next to the table he was strapped to, “I’ll break them if you don’t,” he said, testing the straps, “When I do that I’ll slit your throat ear to—” She emerged from the shadows and the words shrank in his throat. “…ear.” She was breathtaking, in her own corpselike way. Hollow cheeks and dark circles under her eyes, limp platinum-blonde hair tied back in a low braided bun with fine ghostlike wisps of hair wafting at her crown and temples. His eyes widened, but then he shook his head, she was beautiful, but that wasn’t enough to quell his rage. “You’re going to let me out of here,” he said, “You’re going to–”
She stepped forward and put a finger to her gray lips in a shushing gesture and instantly he fell silent. “Calm yourself,” she said, “Or they will sedate you again.”
“I’m not staying here,” he said. His voice was hushed but not lacking any fury, “I need to–”
“I know,” she said, touching the side of his face. Her fingers were ice cold. “I know…” There was so much patience and tenderness in her voice, “But you must be patient, mein Lieber. You can break free. You can slit my throat,” she ran a finger across her white neck with unsettling slowness, “You can run. But they will catch you. They will catch you, and they will change you,” she pressed two fingers to her temple, “They will change you as much as they need to until you are what they want… but who you are now…” she cupped her hands to the sides of his face, “They can help you. We can help you strike down those that did this to you.”
“At what cost?” he said, his eyes narrowing.
“The price is already paid,” she said, “The only question now is how much control you want. You run out that door and you forfeit all of it.”
His brow furrowed for a moment and he looked at her, “You–” he said, “Did they help you? Or change you?”
“Do you really care about that?” she replied, “Or do you want your brother dead?”
The simplicity of the question gave him pause, but only for a moment. “When do we start?” he asked.