the newest prisoners

2

i don't know when, but eventually i stopped thrashing around, and i fell asleep. i woke up to the sound of a door being opened. i opened my eyes and saw Norris walking in, he unhooked my gag, and began taking my vital signs.

"Norris?"

"hmm?" he looked up at me, curious

"what did you do to me?" i didn't really expect an answer, but it was worth a shot.

"well, 2-9 beta,we simply enhanced you. by changing your genetic structure, we were able to give you several abilities, including accelerated healing, invisibility, sharpened senses, the ability to gain nutrition out of more sources, and we engineered your body for flight.including the possibility of wings, although they might not be feathered. you also have the potential for mimicry, metamorphosis, telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, and various forms of elemental manipulation. we are not sure which abilities you will show a manifestation of, but they will begin to appear within the next year." he continued writing stuff down and reviewing the stuff on his clipboard.

flight? I'll grow wings? i can become invisible?plus who knows what... why did they do this?

"thank you Norris, you have no idea how nice it is to finally know"

"i can imagine, i figured the general wouldn't tell you all of the details of your surgeries and manipulations. I'm not fully positive he knows which manipulations were done on which experiment. although i know he's aware of them all. 2-9 beta, would you like to sit up? try to stretch out your muscles?"

i looked up at him, excited. "yes please"

"you'll have to promise that you'll move slowly, we don't want you to get sick or to hurt yourself with your new abilities. and just in case you try pulling something, at the slightest sign of you acting against orders, the machine you are laying on, can restrain you within a millisecond of deviance. so follow my orders to the letter. can you do that?" he asked, looking at me.

"yes i can" i just couldn't wait to get off this cold slab.

he began typing something on to the screen nearby. " alright, when the bonds release, i want you to lie there for as long as you feel comfortable, and then slowly sit up and swing your legs over the side. then stay sitting like that alright? if you make any move to get off of the table, the machine will bind you." he hit a button. "begin."

slowly my bonds began to unhinge themselves, i raised one arm slowly, then the other one, i lowered them and tried my legs. they all seemed exactly the same as before. i raised one hand and patted my stomach, my arms, and my face. it all felt the same. carefully i sat up, immediately i felt woozy, but i kept going, desperate to sit up, i was sitting for all of two seconds when i began to black out.

click the mechanical arms caught me and held me back down, restraining me again.

"oh my, " said Norris. he reached for a button and hit it, releasing me once more. "are you alright, i did say to keep your movements slow, didn't i?" he looked as though he was seriously pondering it. worried that he didn't.

"no, you did, but i got excited. I'm sorry. may i please try again?"

"yes you can."

this time i was slow and careful. one i was sitting, i leaned back resting myself against the machine. i smiled at him. and he smiled back.

"weren't you ShadowDove? the biggest criminal in the empire? you seem docile."

"yes i am ShadowDove, I'm very civil as long as you are to me. you've been really nice to me, and respectful. so I'm trying to show you the same courtesy. i only stole from those who deserved it, who stole from orphanages, hurt women and children, abused those most in need. I'm not a monster."

"i suppose you aren't. i was wrong about you." he wrote something down on his clipboard, "now, we just have one more thing to do and then i can show you to your new quarters."

"what is it we need to do?" i asked, wanting to get out of this room, and explore.

"lay down, and relax." he didn't make eye contact.

"whats going to happen?" i asked, not moving a muscle.

"its just protocol." he hit the cursed button, and the wretched mechanical arms flew back up and grabbed me, pulling me down again. the gag came up and wedged itself into my open mouth. i felt a pinch in my neck, and then all went black once more.