Endeavour Nikolas Stark is perfectly fine as is.
As a child he had been extraordinary, finding a home among the friendliest of people at Charles Xavier's School For the Gifted, and finding himself Gifted in many ways just beyond the X-Gene in his DN...
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And they will take you down and they will pick you clean.
There is a feeling of horror associated with the knowledge that everything can be taken from you in as simple as a wave of a hand or an addition of a bangle to an already heavy wrist.
Nikolas knew he should have destroyed the bangle the moment he created it.
The smooth silver, a titanium-iron alloy that put pressure on a specific nerve in his hand in such a way that all power that he was capable of shut off.
Like a switch was flipped.
The action was painful, everything in him was torn away from its rightful place. He felt like screaming the moment he put it on, all of his senses felt as though they were on fire. It had been invented out of curiosity and a dream, but the pain that it led to stopped the experimentation. His dad had found Nikolas in the corner of the workspace, his wrist scratched raw, it took everything for him to not be angry. All it took was his dad's fingerprint to open the bangle.
E. Nikolas Stark swore to his dad in that moment he would never wear it again.
But he did not say he would destroy it.
And now, as the doctor laid sobbing on the floor of Sector Sixteen, he wished more than anything he had destroyed it so many years ago.
Obadiah did not care for the pain that he was in, but rather spoke harsh words to him as he wrapped him in heavy chains. Nikolas came in and out of consciousness, wishing more than anything that he could disappear from this moment. The final time that Nikolas was awake was to a sinister grin from Obadiah that told him he was in more danger now than he had been in the cave.
When he finally came too, Nikolas was suspended in chains.
At first, he believed that he was handcuffed, his hands held high above his head but not together. It took him three minutes to realize just how much pain he was in and how exactly he was suspended.
Nikolas screamed, an earth shattering sound that echoed through all of Sector Sixteen. It faded into nothing, the sound made his entire body shift, pain growing in his arms and shoulders as a response.
Metal links imbedded themselves into the crest of each of his wings, holding him into the air with a painful strain on his back at where the dark black feathers met the unmarked skin of the center of his back. His hands were wrapped tightly around and held out to each of his side.
Dried blood that once poured hot down his front sat in a sticky mess, Nikolas felt as though the texture would tear him apart.
"Take a deep breath." Obadiah instructed. He stood just below the doctor on the ground, his form wavering in the doctors eyes form the amount of pain he was in.
It took everything in Nikolas to not move again. He complied, taking a deep breath before exhaling softly, his chest rising and falling just enough to jar the wings above his head.
"You know-" The man's words cracked at the side of Nikolas' head as if he had been struck, the doctor flinched away from the sound before immediately crying out at the shift. "I thought when you went with your dad, I was loosing the hypothetical Golden Goose. You are, after all, the genius behind everything."
Obadiah reached forward, his hand landing heavily on Nikolas' right leg. He pulled, jostling the doctor and grinning at the cry of pain that came from the movement. "Though I have always seen you as more of a canary." Nikolas flinched at his words, trying to reach out with his mind for anything but only finding a barrier in his way. "All beautiful words and bright plumage with a shy undertone, all to hide that mutant side of you."
Nikolas reacted on impulse, "Fuck you." His ability to speak startled him.
"It's so helpful that you made something to stop you nature." Obadiah shoved Nikolas' legs, the doctor attempted to not make a sound despite the blood that poured fresh from his wings. "I've already spoken to my military contacts about a line of them to handle the mutant uprising-"
"We have done nothing to harm the humans." Nikolas did not want to speak. "We are peaceful."
Obadiah paused, the smile on his face changing from a cruel look to a curious one. "How would you know?"
Nikolas shook his head, forcing himself to not answer the question.
"There's a stronghold isn't there?"
Nikolas didn't move. Obadiah grabbed his leg, pulling hard and frowning when the doctor did not make a sound. Nikolas felt violated, his concentration focusing solely on however he could get out of the situation, all of his thoughts felt free flowing and impossible to hold onto.
A faint explosion sounded in the distance, distracting Obadiah just enough to forget what he was asking.
Obadiah glanced over his shoulder. "As much as I would love to keep this conversation going," He took a step back. "I have your father to kill now."
Nikolas took a deep breath, trying to push back all of the pain that seemed to be amplifying with every moment he hung there.
"I hope you burn for all that your mutant life gave you." Obadiah grinned as he said it. "Hang in there."
