The Pendulum Swings

Small Steps

Chapter One: Small Steps

Location: MA-51 Installation, Earth
Time: 1700 Hours, American Central Time

       "Alright, raise your left arm."

      A male voice rang out from a void of total blackness, slightly scruffy and aged, magnified by the solidity of the walls, and echoing until the unseen fixtures in the room rattled. A slight whir could be heard after a moment, signalling the voice once more.

      "Okay, that's good. Form a blade from you Nanite stores, then stow it, and lower your arm."

       After a moment, and a few seconds of what sounded like pudding dropping from a great height onto a cement slab, a thunk rang out, as the unseen arm was replaced where it was originally.

       "Check. Raise you right hand, and open your Dextron five. Do NOT power it up. Not just yet."

       The same whir sounded, followed by several smaller noises and clicks, finally receding into silence again, signalling the action was finished.

       "Seems fine to me. Light the pilot for a count of three, then put it out, and then put the arm down. Leave the alternators off, as well. We only need to know the pilot works."

      Suddenly, a bright purple glow flashed and became solid, reflecting off of the matte concrete walls of the small room, and the light's owner, every part of the humanoid shape brought alight by the violet beacon, reflecting off of completely smooth, solid surfaces, tinted purple, several straps stark black, except for the metal buckles that held them in place, keeping the one seated in its grasp, almost possessively. The light promptly was extinguished, and the arm lowered, followed by another thunk, ringing in the darkness.

      "Alright, I'm bringing the resistance apparatus online. Time to test you Nullification threshold. Should have gotten a good bit better after those modifications, but its better to know for sure, alright?" The voice waited for a response, but to no avail. "Wow... a talkative one, forever, and always."

      A small flash of red light let itself be known for merely a second, before dying down, seemingly as if not to give away it's presence. Nonetheless, it had been noticed.

      "What, are you turning on your electro-sense or something?"

Silence

      "Subject Eight? Hello?"

       Again, nothing. Merely a heavy feeling in the air, one of deadly foreboding.

       "Alright, this is an order: Answer me. Now."

       "Oh my oh my, doc, seems we have no patienccccce, hmmmmmmm?" A heavily distorted voice rang out in the darkness, crackling and wavering as it it was not meant to exist, overlayed on a deep, resonating bass voice. "Perhaps I will have to tear that out of you as I reach for your heart... Heheheheheheheheheheheheheh......."

       Suddenly the room was bathed in pure white light, showing the single resident below, restrained still by the black straps on his harnessed examination chair, pure violet body quickly being covered by a silver film that crept like death itself, slithering over him as his face distorted into one of amusement and pleasure, his eyes blazing a bloody, scarlet red. His right hand opened from the deep purple, crystalline fist it was and it's palm split into five sections, one for each finger, all of them folding back onto his forearm and allowing it to open as the purple light from before surged to life from within it, the front opening like a sinister eye, gazing unto the world with its deadly intent, ready to spew forth the searing hot light within at any moment. The silver sheen stopped just short of the light, allowing it shine on it's own.