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luminouswhump · 4 years ago

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A deal with the devil: part two

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@just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @just-another-whumper @justabitofwhump

CW FOR PANIC ATTACK, BRIEF MENTION OF NON SEXUAL NON CON TOUCHING AND PTSD FLASHBACK

The great Phoenix, winged protector of the city, leader of Starpatrol, son of the legendary heroic duo who founded The Guard, was shaking in fear and anger at the feet of one of the richest men on the planet, about to sign a contract with the devil. How the mighty fall, indeed.

“Wonderful! I was hoping you’d agree to be a part of my growing body of invaluable work on superpowers.”

Dr. Es’ voice was cheerful, as if he convinced Phoenix to take a quick five minute survey and hadn’t just threatened to burn his team alive. Why was it always those with evil intentions who turned out to be ridiculously rich? Phoenix knew that no building or place was off limits with the funds this man possesed. Then again, it did take a certain type of person to amass billions, and those types of people tended to not care if a few, or many, other people got hurt or treated unethically in the process of their road to riches.

“Now, let’s get you out of that net and into some handcuffs shall we?”

The man stood up and took a cellphone out of his pocket, dialed a number and ordered whoever was on the other side to “drive the truck to the current location”. Phoenix focused on grounding himself, trying to steady his breathing. He knew the man needed him alive, he would make it out of whatever insane experiment was waiting for him alive, that much was sure. He just needed to get through this, he was strong, he could do this. Deep breaths, in, hold, out, in, hold, out. A plain black van, how cliche, turned the corner and began backing into the alley. The back doors swung open and three men stepped out, one was holding a pair of sturdy looking cuffs. So this was really happening. Dr. Es pressed the screen of his phone and a section of the net emitted a soft light.

“There’s the opening boys, our guest shouldn’t be too much trouble but you’d be wise to remember who we’re dealing with nonetheless.”

He stepped aside and the three men got to work. One of them untangled the net, the second one ensured that Phoenix’ hands left the net first and closed the cuffs around his wrists. They expanded upon pressing a button, covering half of his forearm as well as his wrists. “Just a precaution, I’m sure you understand.” Phoenix nodded, unsure what else to do. The net was pulled away from him and he was lifted to his feet. He tried his wings and found he was still unable to use them properly. The men signaled for him to get into the van and he obeyed, stepping into the back and sitting down in the appointed seat. Dr. Es got in after him and as the men busied themselves with cleaning up the alley and attaching the handcuffs to a chain which was bolted to the seat, Phoenix scanned the van. “Comlink please” Said the man after he’d finished securing Phoenix. The hero replied by lifting his hands the few centimeters of wiggle room he was allowed and looked at the man in annoyance. “Ah, yes of course, how silly of me.” The man picked up a flashlight and roughly grabbed the hero’s chin, turning his head to one side to search his ear for an earpiece. Phoenix was sure the man purposely shone the bright lamp directly into his eyes when he turned his head to look at the other ear. Phoenix grunted in annoyance, a blind spot now dancing across his vision.

He janked his head free from the grip in agitation. “I don’t have comlinks in, you can stop looking for them, besides it’s not like I can use them while I’m like this.” He might be afraid of Dr.Es but he sure wasn’t afraid of a bunch of evil interns. He wasn’t lying, Phoenix rarely bothered with wearing an earpiece on solo missions, much to the annoyance to his teammates. If only he’d listened to them this night… The intern checked both ears again, though Phoenix suspected it was mainly done to spite him and when the man stepped back he glared at him. Phoenix wanted nothing more than to wipe the hint of a grin off of the man’s face. He snarled and lunged forward as far as the chain and tight seatbelt would let him and a wave of satisfaction washed over him when the man took a quick step backwards. Phoenix chuckled and leaned back again.

“Now now Phoenix, no need to bully my assistants, let’s all be civil here.”

Phoenix huffed in reply, as if anything this man did could be described as civil. Dr.Es sounded uninterested, he was looking at the other two men spraying the alley down with what Phoenix guessed was something to ensure no traces of him would be detected. "If he’s hiding communication devices somewhere on his body, those will all be detected and fried by our scanners anyways.“ Thehecomment was a matter of fact, of course it was. Dr.Es stood up to let the men take their seats after the door of the van was closed. He took a seat next to Phoenix, who instantly felt less comfortable, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.” So, what’s your plan this time huh, trying to figure out how to disable my wings remotely?“ Part of Phoenix didn��t actually want to know, he knew that the perverted version of a consent form he’d have to sign would explain to him in great detail what torture lay ahead of him anyways.

“Don’t be silly, the data from our last trail already lead to that discovery, hence your inability to use your wings at the current moment, my boy.”

Shock was visible on Phoenix’ face, if this man had figured out how to suppress his abilities, if that information got out, he’d be dead in a week. “Don’t worry, I’ve decided to keep that data to myself, I do not deem it ethical to publish such sensitive information. I am aware of the more unsavory types who would mean you harm should they stumble upon my publications.” Phoenix turned away from the man, looking at the intricate cuffs instead. He added this issue to the list of secrets he hadn’t been able to share with his team yet, but was going to have to talk about at one point. Goddamnit. The van had started moving, there were no windows he could look out of, no way to orient himself.

“We established what you could do with your wings last time, your materialisation speeds, the levels of density you are able to create, etcetera. This time we’re going to look into the location of materialisation, I am, amongst others, interested in finding out if they actually connect to your skin or not and if there are specialised cells present there which aren’t found in regular humans.”

Phoenix felt himself go pale. The skin around his wings was incredibly sensitive, hence why he not only wore a suit of kevlar interwoven fabric, he had an additional plate across his back with reinforced material to protect his wing area. The mere idea of anyone poking around there was enough to send a shiver down his back. He squirmed in his seat, his body instinctively wanted to get away from Dr.Es. He heard the man who had secured him a minute ago, he’d later find out he was called Matthew, chuckle softly at his visible fear. He could practically hear the man taunting him: ‘who’s scared now’. He turned to glare at him but knew that anger would be mixed with fear in his eyes.

He couldn’t turn back, he thought about his team. He would willingly undergo torture, any torture, to protect his team, his family. He could see their faces and hear their voices in his head, as long as he remembered them he could get through this. Even when they weren’t physically with him, knowing they’d be there for him if- no, when, he made it out of here, gave him strength. He was almost excited about the lecture that Jem would be giving him upon his return. Phoenix supposed that lecturing teammates about reckless behavior was simply part of the healer’s job description.

The rest of ride went by without conversation, both verbal and non-verbal, Phoenix busied himself with studying the cuffs and his shoes instead. By the time the van stopped moving his heartrate had returned to normal, picking up again when the doors were opened and he was flanked by Matthew and an as of yet unidentified second evil intern.

He knew escaping now wouldn’t be possible and so allowed himself to be lead into the building that Dr.Es called his research facility. Dr.Es wasn’t his real name of course, but the first time that Phoenix encountered the man he’s been 13 and a sidekick to his parents. They’d allowed him to name the man and the little bird had decided that Doctor Evil Scientist was the most fitting title.

The next hour went by in a blur, Phoenix wasn’t actively trying to zone out, it just kept happening. Not like anything he saw here was going to help him anyways, he knew the man was drowning in money and there was no way he’d be getting out of here without him deeming the experiment finished. He’d live and be set free, but not until the data required had been collected. He vaguely remembered signing a consent form that informed him that they’d be removing some organic tissue from his back, as well as doing a few other relatively harmless tests. Relatively harmless if you didn’t have extremely sensitive skin on your back, that was. Phoenix was escorted to a cell, the evil interns called it a guest room, but most guest rooms didn’t lock on the outside. The cuffs were removed and the interns quickly got out of the run, as if they feared that Phoenix’ powers returning would suddenly make him forget that he was in one of the most inescapable buildings out there. A set of nondescript white clothes were pushed through an opening in the door, along with the order to change, and a promise that his suit would be delivered to the Star Patrol headquarters. The mere idea of his team getting a package with just his suit made Phoenix feel sick.

He did as he was ordered, laying down on the bed, his kind was racing. He was scared. He wasn’t supposed to be scared but God he was. He rolled over to his side, his back facing the wall and curled up into himself. He was terrified of this man, he felt just like the little 13 year old sidekick who’d been captured all those years ago. When he’d finally been released and his parents and the rest of The Guard did everything in their power to hunt down Dr.Es, Phoenix genuinely thought he’d never have to see the man again. How could he have been so stupid? Here he was, locked in a semi-comfortable cell, hours away from being tortured by a man whose face he still saw every other day, moments before waking up in a cold sweat. His breathing sped up. Whose voice plagued his nightmares. He felt trapped, like the walls were closing in on him. “Oh don’t cry little one, just think of all the great scientific breakthroughs were shaping together. Now hold still.” His heartbeat was loud, everything was loud and too much. Hands grabbing him, voices telling him to open his wings, close open, now make them more dense, harder boy! Phoenix couldn’t breathe, they were in the cell, how did they get here?? Faster, faster, come on boy I know you can do it. The touching wouldn’t stop, the hands wouldn’t leave him, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t run. Stop. Stop touching me. Stop it! A knife impaled in his wings, not fast enough, a scream tore through the room, was that him? The voice again, methodological and cruel and too loud. More hands, more restraints, more tests more pain. No, no that was wrong, he was in a cell, the hands were in the past, this wasn’t right. He wasn’t being tested on, he was alone in the bed, in the cell. Just breathe, b r e a t h e goddammit! This isn’t real, you’re not there, you’re not that scared 13 year old. If Phoenix hadn’t been hyperventilating he’d have huffed at that, he wasn’t 13 anymore but he sure as hell was still that same scared boy deep down, he’d just gotten better at hiding it. Come on come on, slow down. Slow down. S l o w. D o w n.

Eventually he managed to return himself to regular breathing and heart rate. He’d been doing so well with just forgetting this whole thing had happened before, gotten so good at lying to himself and telling himself that it didn’t bother him anymore. After all, it had been over 10 years since the first experiment, why should it still be affecting him? He was a superhero for fucks sake, superheroes are supposed to be strong, not plagued by nightmares featuring new interpretations and retellings of events that happened over a decade ago. If his team could see him now…

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