Skullgirls

Chapter 2

"What was it like?"

The glowing red eyes looked upwards at the nurse. The room was too hot. It was underground with barely any air for the both of them. Every once in a while, a pifff sound could be heard as fresh air from the surface was sprayed into the room through a rusty pipe, making everything smell unpleasant.

"What was it like on the surface," she reiterated.

The heavy head rolled back, flat on the metal table that it was strapped onto. "There was a woman," the hoarse voice started, "and you made me kill her. Only I didn't feel bad."

"Oh?" The nurse looked up from her little yellow notepad. "Explain. And don't spare any details."

"You guys made me kill her when you guys had control of my body. You made me slit her throat."

The nurse realized what she was talking about. They performed this test every Wednesday of every week. They would control her from the lab and make her wipe out people, then record her reaction. This time, Painwheel didn't try to run away like the many other unsuccessful attempts.

"I sat there, watching her. Seeing the life drain from her slowly. She breathed in and out, so slowly. Her eyes were so wide and small beads of sweat were dropping down her forehead. I didn't feel anything."

The nurse finished writing the final sentence. "Emotionlessness is imperative in order to complete missions successfully. No emotion, no mercy, and no regret."

The heavy head turned towards her. "Is that why you handle me the way you do?"

The nurse was caught off guard, but she granted a small chuckle to escape her throat. "Don't attempt to make this about you." She reached over and moved a sweaty lock of silky, brown hair out of her subject's face. An alarm blared off in the distance. Valentine sighed. "Brain Drain. Fuck," she grumbled as she got up. "I'll be back in an hour or so." She walked out of the room, leaving painwheel alone in the dreary room.

The heavy head flopped over and took in a deep breath of rancid air. She was a skillful liar. She had been practicing those lines over and over again in her mind until finally they sounded decent. She didn't feel anything at all? That was because she felt everything. She sat with the woman and sobbed internal tears. She gave the woman a smile so fake it was genuine. She couldn't even think about the prayers she would say to her because her mind wasn't safe when they were performing tests. The voices would tell on her. They weren't her real friends. They said they were her friends, but weren't really her friends.

Bless The Trinity. Bless The Trinity.

Oh, she would make them pay. All of her oppressors, even the invisible ones. She'd make them all pay. Those Trinity-forsaken Medicis and their wicked granddaughter Felicity Amber Medici. Oh, she would really suffer. She won't stop until her body was thrown into a ditch like her friends whose names were forgotten. Oh yes, yes indeed. That was the day that she'd love to see, but now, she'd be unaccompanied in this hot, dark room except for the drops of water dripping from the tube on the ceiling and the occasional pifffff of the pipes.