What They Did to Us (Panicbroadcast13)

[KariAteRachel]

Name: Mai Victoria Larson
Experiment Number: 124α
Age: 23
Date of Birth: April 26th
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Undetermined
Ability: Nuclear

Appearance: Mai is a strange looking person. Due to the radioactivity given off her body, her DNA is destroyed, and she has striking traits. Her body can’t hold melamine, and so her skin is pale, and transparent. Some of her veins can be seen underneath her skin, and when she overuses her abilities, they turn black. She has light silver eyes that change color when she feels strong emotions, and white hair that she keeps long because it grows faster than normal. Mai stands at about 5’2” and weighs around 125 pounds. She has scars on her arms and chest from experiments when she was younger, and she wears a metal collar around her neck that monitors her radiation levels. When she goes out in public, she wears a brunette wig, brown contacts, and modest clothing to cover anything that might give away the fact that she was an experiment.

Personality: For the most, Mai is quiet and reserved. Any emotion can trigger her nuclear ability and make her radioactive and dangerous. Some people say she’s emotionless, but she only seems so to hide who she really is. Mai is hot-headed, and angry all the time. When she wants to be, Mai is snarky and rude. She has a problem with authority after being held hostage by the military her whole life. That trauma has also made her paranoid. She can’t go out in public because she’s afraid of someone finding out what she is. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and she doesn’t trust anyone but her best friend.

Life History: Mai was born normal. She didn’t start out as the freak she is today. Shortly after she was born, Mai was kidnapped and forced into the Asger program. There were three generations when she was entered. A generation consisted of 50 children each. Mai was number 124, and she was in the nuclear portion of the project. Each program focused on a different ability. Most children died, and none of the experiments were easy. Mai was tortured with chemical poisonings, psychological exams, combat training, and many more tests to see if she would survive experimentation. Unfortunately, after many trials and many many errors, Mai was the only survivor, and was given the alpha symbol to her experiment number. The element used on her became known as Asnmamium, a manmade radioactive element that was almost impossible to create due to its unstable condition. The effect it had on Mai was horrible, and until she was older, and learned how to control her powers, she was sick constantly. Her growth was stunted, and she couldn’t keep food down. She was kept under military care even after Project Asger was shut down. It wasn’t until she was 18 that she was freed and returned to her family. Even still, the military kept an extremely close eye on her.

After she was released, Mai kept herself closeted. She rarely left the house and didn’t talk to anyone. Her parents who were grateful to have their daughter returned to them still felt that their child was a stranger to them. To get her to open up, she introduced her to Demetria, a girl Mai’s age whose ability was telekinesis. Demetria was Mai’s best and only friend, and she was the only one who could get Mai to be human. However, when she turned 21, Demetria found the resistance, and left, never to be heard from again.

Two years later, and Mai is trying to find an out. She’s tried, and angry, and miserable. She can’t go out in public without feeling like someone is out to get her, or that she’ll lose control and hurt someone. She hates her mother’s sad eyes when they look at each other or talk to her dad without him praising the government for returning his “little girl.” Mai wishes she could have joined Demetria, and run away, but her collar keeps her subdued, and tracks her location. On top of all that, the military visits once month to run more tests and checkups, like a robot. They’ll never let her go. She’ll never stop being their science experiment.



First Post

It was early in the morning when Mai woke up. The sky was still deep blue, and from above the tops of nearby houses, she could see the dusty orange fog from the city. From her digital clock on the nightstand, the time read 4:48 am. Mai sighed. Sleep was hard to come by for her, and she had only gotten a few hours of sleep. Even if she attempted to fall back asleep, she was sure the nightmares would wake her up again. The dreams had been bad lately. They were visions of vaporized shadows and pulsing powers in her hands, and people screaming. It was always screaming that was the worst. She had tried to talk to her parents about it, but they weren't any help. Every time she talked to them, they would say the same thing. "Talk to your agent about them." Like he was any help. Her agent was her government assigned babysitter, some man sent to check on her every month to make sure she didn't blow herself or anyone else up. To make things worse, he was due today. Looking at the calendar on her desk, she saw his name scribbled there from last month. When he came then, she had recently destroyed a restaurant restroom and he had to fill out a mountain of paperwork. After that, she was on house arrest, and the monitor on her collar was set to higher levels. It had been miserable.

Mai wasn't sure what to do until he came. Her parents would be asleep for a couple more hours, and the neighbors wouldn't be heading to work until six, so there wasn't even people to watch outside. The streets were still dark too. Electricity in the suburbs got shut off at eleven, and didn't turn before the sun came up. It was a government policy to try to save energy. Since the environment had gotten worse in the last few decades, there were several attempts to save it, and cutting power to the poor was one of them. The dark didn't bother Mai too bad. She never really had a hard time seeing, and after spending most of her life in a constantly lit cell, the dark was a comfort to her. It was looking out at the dark street below her window that she knew what she wanted to do. Quickly, she changed her clothes, braided her long silver hair, and stepped outside. She wasn't allowed outside, but with people sleeping, and no streetlights, now was the perfect time to go for a run. It would be easy to take a few laps around the neighborhood to burn some energy before anyone noticed her. Running was the one way she stayed somewhat in shape, and it was the only way she could exercise without becoming a human bomb.

The air was freezing as she ran. Soon, her cheeks turned numb, and her breath puffed out in clouds. It felt freeing to her; The empty street, the sting of cold air, the feeling of a bit of independence. Mai even smiled a bit. But it was short lived. As she rounded the corner of the next street up, she bumped into another person. It was a man, dressed in a patrol uniform, and he almost looked as surprised as she was. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he registered what happened. Then, he spoke into his ear piece, called for another officer. In an instant, Mai was to her feet, booking it back down the road she had came from. Now she thought to herself about how stupid she was. Of course there were patrol officers. They were everywhere. The man began to chance her, and she had nowhere to go. She couldn't run home because he would arrest her anyway. Mai was in the middle of trying to form an escape plan when she was tackled to the ground. A second officer grabbed her from her left side, surprising her and making her trip. He was on top of her in a second, shoving her into handcuffs. Panic had set in, and the next thing she knew, she was screaming and struggling to break free. The monitor on her collar began to beep frantically. As she tried to fight the men off, a needle went into her neck and immediately, Mai was out cold.

An hour later, Mai woke up again at home. Her head hurt, as well as her whole body. From what she could see, there were scrapes on her arms and legs, and she felt a scab on her chin. It looked like she had gotten in a fight. "Fuck," she gasped as she got up. A string of curses left her mouth as she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. There was a note on the door of her parents's room. Their room was across the hall from hers, and the words felt like they were screaming at her. They read, "The police brought you home this morning. Your arrest has been lengthened. Your agent is coming today. He'll be there at 8. Be ready, and be respectful. Please don't cause trouble for him." Mai sighed again. Fuck. Don't cause him trouble, they say. Mai wouldn't cause him trouble if he didn't give her a reason to.

[Panicbroadcast13]

Name: Pavel Vissarionovich Kasarov
Post: Under Secretary of the United Nations Security Forces.
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual.
Background: 10 years in Spetsnaz, Special Operations training in Interrogation.

Appearance: Pavel is always well dressed and rarely goes anywhere without wearing a suit and his favorite BMW M series. He is 6’0 with a military haircut that he preferred when he left the service. He is relatively fit but hides many scars on his chest from the lengthy SERE training he went through where he was taught to survive and fight against enemy interrogation.
Personality. Direct, but caring to those he holds dear. He can be very charming and prefers to use wit and cunning to get what he wants as opposed to weapons and violence.

Life History: Pavel grew up in St Petersburg, Russia. He was instilled at a young age, the values of patriotism and duty, meaning he would do anything to protect and further the interests of his country. He joined the Nationalist Youth League at 13 wanting to be a soldier. When he turned 18, he joined the Army and scored so high that he was able to get to Special Forces training after a year in the regular army.
He excelled at hand to hand combat and was an expert marksman. He grew interested in extracting information from people and specialized in Interrogation and Torture. However, he prefers to use words and manipulation to get what he wants.



First post:

It was raining when Pavel got out of his car and walked towards the looming office building. The air smelled faintly of dandelions and Pavel was irritated. He had just had his car detailed and now it was raining. The BMW was a status symbol; something he took pride in. He had rewarded himself with it when he was given his current post. As he walked towards the building, he remarked to himself how gloomy it had gotten in the past 24 hours. He opened the door, when two of his aides rushed to greet him. “Sir, we’ve had an incident in sector 214 Experiment 124a has shown levels of active radioactive isotopes. She evaded house arrest and assaulted two police officers from our reports!” Pavel sighed as he headed for the stairs. It was a habit; he never took the elevator to go up the 10 floors to his office. “Hand me the dossier Ivan, I will review it with my morning coffee”

He reached his office and carefully hung his suit jacket on the hook by the door. On this floor, portraits of the leader were everywhere. Pavel was beholden to only him. He was the dictators voice and right-hand man. No one had seen the dictator except for Pavel. He sat down and Ivan handed him a red folder marked “124A” Pavel was always interested in how they categorized people as objects. He had heard and read the classified documents about the experiments, but he had not had the opportunity to take part. He skimmed the reports and the dossier and looked up sipping his coffee slowly. “Prepare a cage” he said firmly. “it seems that we have been much too lenient on this girl by letting her reside at home. I will keep her here until we can come to some sort of an arrangement or she calms down.” Ivan nodded and left the room to have a cage prepared. Pavel liked cages. It was his way of monitoring subjects close by so that he could get to know them. To study them.

He looked at his watch and smiled. “I have an appointment with this Mai. Come along and bring a gown and restraints. She will be returning here for interrogation and then imprisonment until we can figure out a solution to her problem. I will not have innocent civilians killed” With that, he returned to his car. He drove towards Sector 214, which was one of the lower middle-class neighborhoods. You could see the difference and transition as he drove from the unique upper-class suburbs, which were carefully manicured and the middle class and finally to the “sectors” as the government called them. They were basically dwellings for the people who survived experimentation. As he arrived at Mai’s home, he gestured for the rest of his team to stay put until he needed them. He parked his car and approached the house carefully. Ringing the doorbell, his watch beeped, indicating he was right on time.

[KariAteRachel]

The morning had dragged on since she had woken up the second time. After she had read the note, she had taken a shower, trying to untangle her silver hair and scrubbing the rubble out of the scrapes on her knees. The water that morning was freezing. Her parents must have used the only hot water they had that morning, and there wouldn't be more until that evening. On top of power cuts, there were water cuts, and heat was scarce. Mai could practically see her breath. She could have waited until the water came back, but she had to be washed up for her visit in case her agent had to do some physical exams. There were bruises every all over her arms from this morning, and even though she could clean her cuts up, the bruises stayed. When she had finished getting cleaned, Mai got dressed in a pair of black leggings and a loose grey tunic. She practically drowned in the long shirt, but there wasn't much else for her to wear since most of her clothes looked the same. They had all been the same since she was in captivity, and it would probably be the same until she died.

Mai was setting up the living room when the doorbell rang. She had pushed the furniture back against the walls, and pulled out a pedestal the sat in the center of the room. That was were she would stand during her examination, like some animal on display. When she was first brought home, it was her father who would set up the room, but once it became routine, Mai took over. She could see how uncomfortable it made him and her mother. It wasn't took difficult to do, it was just tedious. Once the room was set up, she went into the kitchen and pulled out the only nice serving platter from the fridge. Her mother insisted on having refreshments out for when government people came over. The officers rarely touched the food and drinks. It never met the standard to the food from the inner city, but her mother said it was a courtesy thing. If Mai had a choice, she wouldn't waste rations on people who were ungrateful.

Before she opened the door, Mai double checked everything she needed; Food, pedestal, herself, and on a lanyard around her neck was her ID card. It wad all there the way it was supposed to be. With a deep breath to calm herself, Mai opened the front door. Cold air seeped into the house, and she had to steel herself from shivering. Her face was neutral. "Officer Kasarov," she said with a curt nod. She didn't even wait for a response before she stepped out of the way for him to enter. Right before she closed the door behind him, she snuck a peak outside. There were more black vehicles outside than normal. It wasn't just his car this time. That wasn't a good sign. Her heart started to race a little fast, but she steeled her face so that the panic rising in her chest wouldn't show.

With the door shut behind her, Mai made her way to the pedestal. She stepped onto it quickly, and turned to face Kasarov. "I'm hoping this is business as usual," she started. "Everything is the same as last month. Normal blood pressure. I haven't lost or gained weight, and I am still short." She repeated her information in a monotone voice. It was like reciting a script that was pre-programmed into her. Each month for the last five years, since she was released from the military site, they have done the same dance. He showed up, ran a test, checked her health, nodded without much of a word, and left, and even though she had seen the other cars out front, she had hoped that it was just her imagination that something was wrong, and he would be out of her house in 15 minutes.

[Panicbroadcast13]

Pavel stepped in the cold house warily. He had forgotten that his direct superior had instituted a rather harsh rationing system on the lower classes. This had all been in the name of progress, but in reality, the state was suffering. Funds had been directed away from the economy and into the military and its related research. While Pavel himself never had to worry about rationing, it was still a shock to the system. To go from what he considered normal to a community no less than an hour from his office, where heat was rationed and water was rationed was still unthinkable for him. He radioed outside without so much as paying attention to Mai and a few minutes later the house had heat and hot water.

He sauntered inside and sat in the recliner set out for him. “Business as usual?” His first words to Mai were cold and uncaring. “We received a report that you have broken the rules of your house arrest yet again young Mai” he said to her as he motioned towards the platform in the center of the room. “This just won’t do, We cannot allow you to live free and break the rules” He got up and walked towards her and shifted behind her as he began his physical examination. He wasn’t an overly sexual man, though he did enjoy his sexual encounters when he had them. He groped Mai all over. This was not a sexual thing, but he did note that other subjects in similar programs had developed breast and cervical cancer. Due to the look of the house, it was very clear that Mai’s family could not afford adequate medical care.

He unhooked her collar that kept the radiation in check and removed it. Inserting two acupuncture pins, one green and one red into the back of her neck. One increased the blood flow to Mai’s body to speed up the healing of her translucent skin and the other went directly into the muscles controlling her thyroid so that radiation wouldn’t spread.

He sat back down in the chair and eyed her curiously. “That must feel better without that damn contraption around your neck” He sipped some of the water on the serving tray. “At least it’s clean” he muttered. “You must be wondering why all the cavalry has come with me today Mai, As punishment for your constant infractions, I have decided to take you back into captivity under my personal care, until we can figure out what to do with you” He accepted a white jumpsuit and threw it at Mai. “Take your clothing off and put this on” He retrieved a set of hand and ankle restraints from his bag and tossed them to Mai. “Put these on and do not resist. If you resist, one of the pins in your neck will stop your breathing and knock you out. If you get angry the other will cause you immense pain, so it would be in your best interest to cooperate. If you choose not to, your parents will lose this dwelling and their jobs, the choice is yours”

Pavel motioned for his aides and a couple of guards to enter the house waiting for Mai’s decision.

[KariAteRachel]

Of course she was wrong. Of course her mistake from this morning would have gotten her in trouble. She had pushed the boundaries too far, and now she screwed herself over. Mai fidgeted with the hem of her tunic as Kasarov spoke. Her gaze was fixed on a stained spot on the carpet so that she wouldn't meet his eyes. That stain had been there since before she returned home. It was weird to think that now she would never get to know why it was there. Mai never questioned what her parents' life was like before she was born, or what it was like after she was taken away. A part of her never connected with them. She was afraid of them in a way, or afraid of them not liking her. The air around the family had always been tense and distant, and now Mai's heart was breaking thinking about being taken away again and never getting a chance to actually know them. Would someone tell them what happened to her? Would she be allowed to keep in contact with her parents? Or would she be locked in solitary again.

As badly as Mai wanted to ask questions, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheeks, and kept silent. She let Kasarov go about his exam; groping and prodding, and moving her in whatever way he wanted. The physical exam was always embarrassing and awkward and a little painful. Especially when she was a teenager, and started being aware of how some officers abused their power, Mai hated the way they touched her. Kasarov wasn't as bad as most. In fact, he was the only one she was tolerant of after she left the military camp. However, that still didn't ease her anxiety. Her heart beat rose slightly, and her collar started to beep steadily. Her radiation level was rising, but she wasn't worried about it. She knew how to handle it. She could feel the power tingle in her finger tips, but it was dull, and she wouldn't let it spread further.

A moment later, however, her collar was off. To her surprise, Kasarov removed it. She watched in a mix of horror and almost intoxicating surprise as the veins in her hands and arms turned black, and she felt a burst of power run through her body. She hadn't felt that much power since her last test at the base, and this time, it wasn't someone else controlling it. It was her power, and no one else was making her use it.

But it was over in a second. As quickly as the power came, it was taken away. Mai felt a sharp sting in her neck, and weight pulling against her skin. The black blood resided, and she was suddenly feeling very drained. She whorled to glare at the man sitting in her chair, and despite her subdued state, fire burned behind her eyes. She caught the clothes and restraints in her arms and hugged them to her chest. "You're taking me back?!" She spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth. Her voice was soft, and quiet, but her tone was sharp. "I don't want to go back. I've spent my whole life under your constant super vision, and all I want is to be free. I didn't ask for any of this bullshit, and I am tired of being under your control!" Mai could feel her blood begin to rise, and she took a breath to calm herself. She knew it was no used to argue. Especially as guards entered the room, she knew it was hopeless. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she gazed down at the stain on the carpet. It was then that she started to notice the warmth that had filled the house. "You leave them alone," she said in almost a whisper. Then, looking back at Kasarov, she spoke a little louder. Her grey eyes glaring into his. "You leave my parents alone. Move them to a better district. Give them a better home, with hot water and heat, and real food. Make up for the hell you put them through and what you're going to put them through again, and I will come quietly. No arguments, because they're the only innocent ones here. They deserve more than this."

[Panicbroadcast13]

Pavel was indeed devious. He had other things in mind for Mai, but he would reveal those in time. He had no intentions of harming the girl. She was beautiful. Instead he would use her for information. He led her out if the of the house and motioned for her to stay near him. After ensuring she was in the backseat of his BMW, he motioned for the others to leave. He watched the other vehicles drive away before he received radio confirmation that they had left the area. He turned and reached into the backseat, his body pressing up against the soft leather of the seats and undid the handcuffs around Mai’s wrists and motioned to her ankle restraints. “Go ahead and remove those” he said gruffly. “These were just for show, I have full confidence that you will be able to behave”

He drove along the dirt roads leading back to the center of town. Dirt roads were common in the lesser districts. The government had not seen fit to outfit the lesser areas with proper roads. After all, there was no need. The residents of these areas tended to be largely agrarian with a few industrial neighborhoods sprinkled in for good measure. He drove slowly allowing Mai to take in the scenery. “I imagine this must be very different and somewhat confusing to you Mai” He uttered firmly. “While you are indeed my prisoner and legally my property, I do not intend for you to be treated as such. At least not by myself” He pressed a button and unlocked the windows so that Mai could roll them down. “I imagine you must be hungry; I know they don’t really feed you well do they” He took a detour to a fast food establishment on the way to his office. Pavel ordered a sandwich and some fries for Mai, knowing she’d never have eaten this before. “Eat up and enjoy it, don’t be afraid, there is no poison” He said as he handed her the bag of food and the sugary drink they called “Cola”

He took a right out of the parking lot as it started to rain. He went to close the window but left it open as he was pretty sure all Mai had known was the acid rain that fell in the districts due to the re-direction of pollution into these areas. Here in the upper city, the rain was clean, and the air was clear. You could actually make out the color of the sky. Pavel made sure that Mai saw all of this as it was his way of providing the illusion of freedom, while maintaining complete control.

The program handlers had gotten it all wrong. One did not force compliance, nor did they try to manage their subjects through force or fear. There were much more subtle ways to gain compliance and that was getting into the subject’s mind. This was exactly what Pavel had intended to do. He was going to get inside Mai’s mind and lay the seed of obsession inside her. This way she would do whatever he asked without hesitation.

After they arrived at Pavel’s office, he got out of the car and walked around to the side where Mai was sitting. He threw out the garbage and pulled her out of the car. “I need you to make this look like a struggle and I have to hurt you so that they believe me. I don’t want to do this believe me, but it is the only way for us to get to where we need to go without them questioning either me or you for not leaving your collar intact” He grabbed Mai by the arm and held her closely. He tightened his grip enough for bruises to start to form and forced her up the steps. Before they went inside, he stopped at the door and looked at Mai. “I’m going to have to hurt you, nod slightly if you understand”

[KariAteRachel]

Mai rode in the back of the car silently. Kasarov may have taken her wrist restraints off, but she made no move to remove the ones around her ankles. There was no point in taking them off if they were just going to get put back on. She was silent the whole ride. When the window was rolled down, she let herself relax a bit. She folded her arms over the frame of the window, and stuck her head out a bit, feeling the frigid air sting her face. Her long silver hair fell out of its band and flowed behind her. She closed her eyes until they came to a weird restaurant. She had never been to one before, and when Kasarov offered her food, she took it cautiously. It felt greasy in her hands, and she was hesitant to eat it. But it was better to just eat the food her gave her than to be rude and deny it. Plus, she didn't even know when the next time she ate would be. She finished the food quietly, not really caring for the taste, but the drink was okay. She never had anything like it before, and while it fizzed in her mouth, she actually enjoyed the sensation.

The rest of the ride was quiet. It had started to rain, and Mai stayed in the cabin of the car. She stuck her arm out to catch the rain on her hand, but she didn't want to make her hair wet. It wasn't long until they entered the inner city, and pulled up to the highest building in the capitol. Mai had never been there before, but she knew that this was where Kasarov and all the other government officials worked. It loomed over her like a giant fortress. It was heavily guarded with men carrying heavy firearms walking around the entrance.

Mai felt like she was going to vomit.

After they came to halt, everything happened far too fast for Mai to comprehend. In an instant, she was pulled out of the car and dragged up the stairs to the main entrance. Kasarov whispered in her ear about wanting her to make a scene, but she didn't have to try hard. The man easily towered over her, so as he tightened his grip on her and pulled her up along, she had to stand on her tip toes to hold her balance. Panic and terror showed on her face. People making their way through the huge lobby of the building stared at her. She felt her cheeks blush in embarrassment, and she tried to jerk away from Kasarov. "I can walk on my own," she said sharply, trying to get her arm free. They were standing in the middle of a glass lobby with dozens of government officials staring at them, and Mai knew what they must see. She continued to wiggle herself free despite the iron hold on her arm. She looked wild, and feral, with her translucent skin, silver hair whipped into knots around her head, and giant needles sticking out of the back of her neck. Her eyes burned up at Kasarov's face as she held a death glare towards him. He wanted her to 'pretend', but she genuinely hated him. "You play nice the ride here, but let's admit it, you're just doing this for a fucking job." Mai may not have her powers, but she spat in his face anyway. "At least let me walk with some fucking dignity."

[Panicbroadcast13]

Pavel witnessed the young woman in his possession struggle against his iron grip. He wasn’t holding on too tight, because he had read her file. He essentially did not need to. He knew Mai’s physical weaknesses and he would use them to his advantage. He had tried to be nice to her to gain her trust by buying her a meal that contained a higher caloric intake than she was probably used to. He removed her restraints. He really did not have a reason to keep them on, since he had immobilized her power before they left the residence. He was not however going to tolerate her spitting in his face. He wrapped his hand and arm around her tiny frame and tightened his grip. He tightened just enough to bruise a rib and shoved the barrel of a pistol into the small of her back. “Either cooperate or a bruised rib is going to be the least of your concerns Mai, you won’t be able to walk anymore if one of my bullets severs your spinal cord.

He continued to drag her to the reception desk and produced her neck collar, which was scanned into the system. “Experiment 124A, Mai Larson” The receptionist muttered blankly. Pavel nodded “I am taking her under my own recognizance” Pavel stated matter of factly. She has been immobilized; her radioactivity is in check. He pulled out his phone and with a few keystrokes, the pins in Mai’s neck injected a chemical into her brain stem that were intended to induce compliance. A sort of truth serum. Pavel motioned to two guards standing by eyeing Mai suspiciously. “It’s fine gentlemen” he said handing them a set of chain restraints. “Take her up to my office and place her into the White Room” The white room was for all intents and purposes a padded room continuously lit by super bright lights. Its intent was to keep the person inside awake and the padding was meant to absorb radioactivity.

Of course, he did not intend for it to go as such a brutal experience. On previous inspections she had been compliant and without problem. But he wanted to break her. She needed to be broken down and forced at the beginning. This was common knowledge in his circles. Only once she was broken could she be built back up whichever way Pavel saw fit. She was assigned to him and for all intents and purposes he owned her. He took his time getting back to his office after the guards had taken Mai away. He went to the top floor to give the president an update. After things there went smoothly, he went to do the paperwork that was necessary, so that his bosses understood why he brought a test subject into his office.

His office itself, was more like a penthouse and on many occasions, he lived here for weeks on end. The office had 3 bedrooms and an official “office” once he returned, he walked in and turned on the coffee maker in the kitchen. The inner-city districts did not have proper coffee and what he was obligated to drink there was more akin to sewage water than actual coffee. He noted Mai in the white room when he arrived. He walked over and turned on the intercom as he noted the sterile nature of the room and its contents, “I’ll let you out once you calm down and decide to comply Mai” What do you say?” He got up and proceeded to have a shower. After a few minutes of cleaning himself up he returned “Well would you rather stay in there like a prisoner or shall we discuss this over a glass of wine?”

[KariAteRachel]

Mai wasn't sure when she passed out. Maybe it was when she felt a needle plunge into the back of her neck, or perhaps it was when an officer decked her on the back of her head after she was dragged out of Kasarov's sight. Either way, when she came back to, she was blinded by bright lights and her wrists were bound behind her back. She was tied to a chair, and she could feel restraints on her ankles as well. Where was she? Jerking her head around, she tried to look of a window, or a door, but everything was padded in a thick, white material, and she recognized what this was. It was just like her cell from the experiment camp. Before she could stop herself, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Her heart began to race faster than it should and she felt all the air leave her lungs. PTSD set in, and anxiety raised within her. Why was she back here? There was no way this was the same place, but without being able to see outside, she wasn't able to trick herself otherwise.

After several minutes, Mai calmed herself down just enough to notice that something about her had changed. The needles on her neck had been removed and there was that distant tingling in her hands. Now that the haze of sleep had passed, and the anxiety changed from panic to hyper-awareness, she noticed that she had her powers. A laugh escaped her lips. It was a strange, erratic laugh. It wasn't out of joy, but out of disbelief, or amazement, or fear. She began to laugh harder and harder until tears ran down her face. Who was stupid enough to remove her sensors and serums? Mai thought they were fucking stupid, but thanked them all the same. Still laughing, Mai channeled her power into her finger tips, and shot off a beam of ionized plasma at the wall behind her. She waited to hear an explosion, but it never came. Her laughing stopped. Turning her head as far it could go to look behind her, she saw that the wall was completely unharmed. It didn't look as if she had hit it at all. So again, she tried, pushing more power this time to make the blast bigger, and again her attack hit the padding and dissipated. "No, no, no," she mumbled.

Mai kept trying to release energy, each attack becoming more and more urgent and frantic. Something had to work. Mai tried different angles and harder attacks, but nothing worked. She was getting ready to hit the wall again when she heard a voice enter the cell. It was Kasarov. There was a speaker somewhere, but she couldn't answer him. She was panting at this point, and was too out of breath to get words out. He left regardless; she could tell when he didn't follow up on his question. He wanted her to comply. Like hell. Mai kept jerking around and now was trying to throw energy around carelessly. She tried pushing it out of her feet, out of her head, anywhere she could release her anger, and frustration, and poisoned energy out of her body. As soon as one burst had left her body, she sent another. Burst after burst of nuclear energy escaped her, and each attempt to do anything faded against the wall. Mai yelled out and she threw her body around trying to escape. In one final attempt, Mai felt herself explode, setting her body off like a nuclear warhead. This time, the walls shook, and the lights on the ceiling managed to flicker a bit... but that was it.

By the time Kasarov came back, Mai was on the floor. She had tipped her chair over, and was laying on her side. Her left arm was trapped under the chair since it was still tied behind her. Blood trickled out of her mouth where she had bitten her cheek at some point, and her teeth were stained red. Sweat made her skin glisten, and her hair draped over her face and stuck to her forehead. Kasarov's voice sounded over the intercom again, and Mai spat blood onto the white floor. It took her a moment to answer him again. Her answer was breathy as she panted her words out, but her voice held no anger, or fear. She had managed to exhaust herself, and any violence that flickered across her face or behind her eyes disappeared quickly. "I'm... ready.. to come out now," she huffed out. "Just, get me off the fucking floor, please."

[Panicbroadcast13]

Pavel said nothing as he saw Mai in the cell after entering his office. He needed to have a shower. In fact, even if he felt clean, he had to shower. It was protocol after having been to the slums. Pavel hated the term, but the government had mandated that the official term for the slums were “districts” Each district was different depending on the lot that had been afforded to the people living there. Mai’s district according to official government records was the poorest one. They required the most oversight as most of the experiments came from this district. He walked right past Mai and into the shower room. He pushed a few buttons and hot water and steam poured into the cleansing chamber. After being disinfected, he dressed in a fitted white dress shirt with golden cufflinks and grey pants and a brown leather belt.

He watched the White Room through a small camera in his bedroom. He chuckled to himself as he watched Mai struggle with the chair and try to destroy the room. She had no idea that the chemicals injected into her neck rendered her powers essentially useless. The Research and Development team had developed countermeasures to her powers about a year after Mai had been allowed to go home. The White Room had actual been a test to see if these countermeasures were effective. It had proven to be a resounding success. The chemicals that Pavel had injected into her neck contained a compound that didn’t dissolve into her bloodstream. It remained and was able to be remotely controlled by Kasarov via his cell phone. It allowed him to manipulate emotions. He was hoping his techniques would allow him not to use it. But it was there just in case.

He tucked the cellphone into his pocket and proceeded to the cell where Mai was imprisoned. He activated the voice console and invited her out as she tipped herself over in the chair. With the press of a few more buttons, he entered the airtight chamber and at once, he realized why the experiments hated it in these rooms. It smelled sterile. Medical even. He undid the restraints and helped Mai to her feet.  He pressed a button on his phone and deactivating Mai’s powers. “You can try and fry me and this entire building if you want, but I am sure you have already noticed your powers are useless. In fact, I have just deactivated them” He said softly trying to gain her trust. “I’m not trying to hurt you Mai. I told you in the car that I needed to be rough to get them to legitimize leaving you in my care. Had we not done this; you would have been put into the lab dormitories. I’m sure you don’t want to go back, there do you?"

He grabbed her arm softly leading her into an adjacent room that was lavishly furnished. It had a king size bed, a dresser, a dressing table and brand-new clothing and make up. “Go ahead Mai, these are all yours” He showed her the shower and bathroom. “No water rations in here, he pressed a button and grabbed Mai’s hand placing it on a scanner. “Hand-Print acknowledged. Welcome Ms. Larsen” the Machine blurted out. He turned on the water and showed Mai the heat and steam functions. “Take the longest shower if you want” He said.

He proceeded to walk to the door and looked directly at her. “Take a shower and clean yourself up” He said, “I’ll be in the dining room with a bottle of wine” He said leaving her to her devices. He walked to kitchen and retrieved two glasses and a 20-year-old bottle of wine.  Setting it on the table waiting for Mai to emerge.

[KariAteRachel]

The walk to her room was very short; it was just across the hall and Mai wasn't sure how she felt sleeping so close to the white room. Her worries faded however when Kasarov opened the door to her room. The space was twice as big as her room at home, and everything looked lush and expensive and inviting. Just looking at the bed reminded Mai of how actually exhausted she was. However, there were a lot of things she had to address and she needed to clean herself off. She let Kasarov show her how the shower worked, and once he left, she didn't hesitate to quickly strip of the hospital gown and step into the boiling water. The steam seared her skin, but she let out a massive sigh of relief. How long had it been since she had a warm shower? Hell, how long had it been since she had a hot shower? Maybe she never had. After several minutes of just standing in the heat, Mai started experimenting with the panel on the wall that controlled the water pressure and the temperature. There were buttons for different soaps, and shampoos, and conditioners. Mai selected anything with a citrus scent, and used the collection to clean herself off. Nozzles slide out of the wall, and dispensed the soaps into her hands as she needed then. The scent of oranges and lemons was overwhelming in the bathroom, but Mai loved citrus fruits. She had only had a lemon scented candle once after she was returned home, and it was one of the few things she had to calm her down, and she always wished for another.

It was a while before Mai even thought about leaving the shower. Maybe it was an hour, maybe two? When she went to turn off the still hot water, her fingers were pruned and her skin was red and soft. She pulled a warm, white towel off of the rack next to the shower, and used it to wrap herself in. Once she was dried off, she explored the bathroom. There was a massive mirror that took up most of one wall, with a counter underneath it was a sink and a collection of products for her hair and skin and face. She used a comb to brush out her long silver hair, and ran some mysterious product in it that promised to make it soft. Then, she found a sweet smelling lotion to soothe her skin from the burns she just gave herself from the water. Mai took a second to inspect all the bumps and bruises she had. A decent sized bruise blossomed across her cheek, right under her eye, from where she had hit it against the floor when she fell earlier. When she touched it, it was tender and reminded her that she wasn't here to be pampered. She was a prisoner.

Exiting the bathroom, she returned to bedroom. The far wall was lined with floor to ceiling windows and overlooked the city. The sun had set, so only the city lights lit the dark room until Mai turned some other lights on. She stepped over to the windows and looked out. They were up high, higher than most buildings, and she could see the slums in the far distances. Any lights that were on looked like pinpoints, like stars. She wondered for a moment of her parents were home and awake. She wondered if they knew what happened to her if they were mourning the loss of their daughter again, or if they were kept in the dark and only know that she wan't coming home. It made her angry, and sad again. She should ask Kasarov about them, but first she had to get dressed. Inside her closet were more clothes then she had ever owned. There were different fabrics, and colors. Some looked to be pajamas, while others were athletic clothes. There were even some fancy dresses, but she was sure she would never wear them, and she certainly wasn't going to play dress up with the make up that was sitting on the vanity just outside the closet door. Ignoring all the clothes, she chose the plainest gray shirt she could find, and put on a slimming pair of leggings before deciding she was decent enough to go out.

Surprisingly, it was easier to find her way around. After a few minutes, she found Kasarov sitting at a long black table in the dining room. Again, there were floor to ceiling windows, but these faced deeper into downtown. Knocking her knuckles against the wall, she announced her entrance, and walked the short distance to stand on the opposite end of the table. She didn't sit, and instead opted to lean her hip against the edge of the table. Before she said anything, she eyed the wine and glassware by him. She had never drank before, but she knew it would mess with her head if she did. Normally the idea scared her because she might lose control of her powers. At the moment, however, she didn't feel her powers. It was if she was normal, and didn't have some messed up ability. Mai wasn't sure if she liked that idea or not.

Shaking her head, she finally met Kasarov's gaze. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she glared at him. "Cut to the chase, Kasarov," she started, crossing her arms. "At first I thought this was a normal arrest, but first you buy me food, then you give me a room with a shower, and now you're trying to wine and dine me." Mai had time to get her thoughts together while she was getting dressed, and now she was starting to question what was happening. If he wanted to actually arrest her, he would have locked her away and not give her a second glance. But now she calmed down, and nothing made sense to her. "What are you planning? And don't lie to me. Obviously you want something or less you wouldn't go through all this trouble."

[Panicbroadcast13]

Pavel looked up at Mai as she accused him of wanting more info. Of course, she was not wrong, but He needed to extract the information slowly. He needed to make it come out naturally, like it was her idea to volunteer information. He poured himself another glass of wine. It was a port. A dessert wine that was sweet and delicious. He had a few cases of it in the wine room adjacent to the dining room and always requisitioned some when he needed. It was grey and windy outside. It had started to rain, and the rain was coming down rather loudly on the floor to ceiling windows. He walked to the window gazing out quietly his back to Mai. This went on for several minutes before he spoke. “So crude Mai, did your parents not teach you any manners?” “What makes you think I want something; you broke the rules on multiple occasions, that alone is grounds to revoke your freedom you know that”

He turned to her and walked towards the phone on the wall. His dress shows clicking slowly on the black marble floor. This was a moment that he needed to outright demonstrate his authority over Mai. Pressing a button on the intercom he spoke directly into it. “Please freeze the bank accounts and all ration credits for Ms. Larsen’s family. Also please limit their electric and water consumption to 4 hours per day” “Yes sir” The voice on the other end replied. He tossed a tabled that had a live video feed of Mai’s home. He pointed to the screen showing that the water and electricity had been shut off. “It doesn’t have to be like this Mai. I really don’t want to do this to your family, but if you’re going to be rude and crass and reject my hospitality, then I have no choice. If you like I can have you sent back to the dormitories, where you’ll be poked and prodded and all sorts of other vulgar things”

He downed the glass of wine and went to his study leaving Mai there. His study was lavish and modeled after the study of one of the old Russian Tsar’s. It had dark oak paneling on the walls and green carpeting. The oak complimented bookcases along the walls that contained mostly forbidden literature that was not available to the public. Like the other rooms in the gigantic penthouse, the room featured floor to ceiling windows and a view of the city. He had a computer on his desk on one end and a pile of folders containing dossiers on the other. Above his desk, hung a portrait of the great leader. A mythical figure, whom according to state lore helped the country achieve independence and freedom from the tyrannical monarchy. Though this was somewhat hypocritical as the leader had turned into a despot himself.

Pavel began typing a report quietly requesting guards to come and retrieve Mai and bring her to the dormitories. Of course, he was banking on Mai submitting so that he didn’t have to send her off. Oddly he enjoyed her company. Throughout most of the days, his time was filled with people acquiescing to his every whim. No one said no to him and that is what he liked about Mai. She challenged him. Openly to boot. But this was a mission from the leader himself. So, he would not stray.

The resistance had increased their efforts at sabotaging the rulers plans for expansion and it was up to Pavel to thwart him. He was in charge after all and reported to no man outside the leader himself. He did not want to deploy the army, but it was becoming close to impossible to prevent. Since Mai’s family was identified as having connections to the resistance, it was his job to thwart them. A short time later a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. As he allowed access. Two armed guards marched in and stood to attention stiffly. “We are here to escort Experiment 124a to the dormitories sir” they reported. Pavel turned and looked at Mai. “Well Mai, the decision is yours. Will this be necessary?” He asked looking her in the eye.