Anomaly Rehabilitation Program Pt 2
I really love @bonkalore X-Men art and AU. It really inspired me, but I know squat about the X-Men. So, I decided to come up with these characters and story. Hope you enjoy! I'm really excited to continue making this. Huge shout-out to @bonkalore for their artwork that inspired this.
His head was buzzing, buzzing like it was filled to the brim with bees. He moaned, rolling his head to one side and wincing when his neck cracked. Oh God, am I hungover or somethin'?
He racked his brain, trying to remember. It had been the first game of the season. He remembered going out onto the field. Had they won? Had there been some sort of after-party he blacked out at? wouldn't be the first time.
Beneath him, whatever he was lying on was hard and cold. Where was he? Had he managed to get back to his dorm? Had he just collapsed before he could make it to his bed? Did they just leave him on the bathroom floor of whatever home they all gathered at?
His eyelids fluttered open. The fog of unconsciousness left his vision, leaving him to ponder what exactly he was looking at.
A wall. A metal wall, a good distance away, enclosing a concrete floor.
His brow furrowed. What was this, some kind of warehouse? Hanger? He looked up at the ceiling. It too was made of rippling metal panels.
Jeremy groaned, smacking his lips. His throat was as dry as a desert.
He flexed his hand and went to bring it to his forehead. It wouldn't budge. Cold metal pressed into his wrist when he tried again.
His eyes widened. He raised his head and looked down at his body.
He still had his undershirt and compression leggings on, as well as his shoes. Why hadn't he changed?
Jeremy's attention snapped to his wrist when he tried to move it again. A thick metal band encircled it, wielded to the floor. A cuff.
He inhaled sharply, trying to raise his other hand and encountering the same problem. Another cuff.
Peeking down at his legs, his stomach plummeted. Two metal bands wrapped around his ankles. He attempted to move them, a chill running down his spine as the cold metal pressed into his skin.
Beads of sweat began to form along his hairline, "Wha⦠wh⦠whereā¦" He strained against the cuffs, gritting his teeth and grunting in frustration.
His chest rose and fell, faster and faster as his panic filled him. He whipped his head around every which way, still straining against the binds.
"Hello?" he called, his voice echoing around him, "Hello, can anyone hear me?!"
There was a twinge of pain in his right arm. He looked down, finding an IV, of what at least looked like one, stuck into his arm.
Jeremy gasped, attempting and failing to raise his hand to pull it out, "Hello?!" He struggled, jerking his limbs to potentially free himself, "Can someone please help me?!"
A loud, static crackling made him jump out of his skin, "Subject is conscious. Requesting orders, sir."
"Hello?!" he bellowed, looking around for where the voice had come from, "Can anyone hear me?!"
"Subject appears agitated," noted the monotone female voice.
Jeremy scoffed, "Yeah! Yeah, a little fucking agitated! Where am I?!"
"Requesting the use of sedatives, sir. Repeat, requesting the use of sedatives on the subject."
His eyes widened, "Wait- wait, what?! No! No! No sedatives!"
"Affirmative, sir. Switching channels."
Whatever speaker the voice had been coming from crackled and fell silent.
"State your name." Barked a gruff, masculine voice.
Jeremy shook his head in confusion, "What?"
The voice returned with an added growl, "Name. What is your name?"
"Uh⦠uh⦠Jeremy. Jeremy Tully" His eyes darted around the ceiling, "What's going on?"
"Hello?!" He wiggled his wrists against his restraints, "Can someone please tell me where I am?"
His heart skipped a beat when the voice returned, "Please remain calm, or we will have no choice but to employ a sedative."
Jeremy gaped, shaking his head, "Wha⦠what am I going to do? I can't move. Why can't I move?" He flexed his hands, "What's the deal here? Am I in trouble or somethin'?"
"The restraints are for your own safety and the safety of others." The faint sound of papers shuffling managed to be picked up by the speaker, "Now, are you aware of the events that took place on the fourth of October? "
He blinked in bewilderment, "What⦠why the hell does that-"
"Just answer the question," snapped the voice.
"I don't know!" he looked around desperately, "It-it was the day of the first game of the season, but what's that got to do with-"
"Do you remember anything else about that day?"
He shook his head, "I don't know! Did some pregame stuff and then went and played." He strained his neck, looking around for the speaker so he could glare at it, "Am I missing somethin' here? The fuck is all this?"
"Sir." A new, feminine voice budded in, "Sir, if you'd permit it, I'd very much like to speak with him."
"Go right ahead," grunted the man.
A pregnant pause fell between them, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. Jeremy raised a brow, still looking around for where their voices were coming from. Was he in jail? Was this jail? They all were acting as if he had done something wrong.
Finally, the man sighed, "Fine, but don't expect anyone to come in and save you if things go south." There was a loud buzz and a faint flash of lights. "Go on."
The screeching of metal on metal filled the air, the sound coming from somewhere behind his head. He looked up, as if he could see through his own skull. The screeching stopped, replaced by the echoing click-clack of heels.
"Hello?" called Jeremy, looking from side to side.
"Hello," came that soft voice, now without the static.
He kept looking from side to side, his neck snapping to the left when something moved in his peripheral vision. His eyes widened.
A⦠woman? stood there. At least, he thought it was a woman. Perhaps she was just standing a ways away, but something was⦠off. If she was standing so far away, then why did she look so clear, as if she was close up? He could count the braids making up her hair and see the bright pink peeking out from under her overcoat.
He narrowed his eyes. Was there something wrong with his vision? Because either he was crazy, or the person standing there was actually a highly realistic doll. Was this some kind of joke? There was no way a person could-
She moved. She smiled, something a doll shouldn't have been able to do.
"I'm sorry about all of this. I can assure you that those bindings wouldn't be there if I had any say."
Jeremy shook his head, closing his eyes and opening them again. The woman was still there, and still wasn't the size of a person.
"Am I⦠drunk or something?"
The woman tilted her head, "What makes you ask?"
He nervously chuckled, "I⦠mean⦠are you real?"
She nodded, "Yes, I am real."
Jeremy let out another breathy chuckle, "Well, uh⦠I must be going crazy or drunk, or somethin' cause things are looking a little funny."
Her expression shifted, her features tensing, "Are things blurry? Or are you experiencing tunnel vision?"
"No, none of that, it's just⦠You look⦠I don't know," he sighed, "Look, can you please just tell me what's going on?"
The woman shifted on her feet and glanced around her. She pressed her lips into a thin line, the gears turning, "Now, this might be a little difficult to hear, but you have just undergone⦠quite the change."
Jeremy narrowed his eyes, "What?"
She sighed, stepping closer, yet not getting much bigger. Seriously, what was up with his vision? Something off with his depth perception or whatever?
"This is always the hardest part, " she muttered, cupping her hand over her forehead, "Look, I'm not sure how to explain this other than⦠well," She gestured down at herself, "What do you see? You said something seems wrong with your vision. What exactly is off, would you say?"
He blinked, shaking his head, "I⦠I don't know why or-or what the hell is wrong, butā¦" He let out a short laugh at the absurdity of it all, "You look⦠almost as if you're⦠small."
"But⦠but that'd be ridiculous." He nervously chuckled, "I mean⦠I don't remember, but I must've hit my head during the game because there is no way I'm talking to a miniature woman."
"You're right." She admitted, "I'm not the outlier here, though."
Jeremy scoffed, "What are you talking about?"
She looked him in the eye, her expression deathly serious, "If I'm not the one who's small, then what is the other possible option?"
He shrugged, "Oh, what? That I'mā¦" his face fell.
Jeremy shook his head, "Okay, but that's even more impossible. What? You expect me to believe I didn't just hit my head and instead I'm⦠that I grew?"
He laughed, turning his head away from her and looking around for some sort of camera, "Okay! very funny! You got me, guys! Now, could you please come get me out?"
He waited for his teammates to appear above him, huge grins on their faces, and laughing at their ingenuity. It was dead silent, save for the sound of his ragged breaths.
"Seriously, guys! real impressive!" he chuckled, "You really had me for a moment. Can you come and get me out now?"
"Would you mind not shouting?" Fretted the woman. He turned his head to see her with her hands over her ears, "I-I know this is-"
"Guys!?" he hollered, looking around, his smile slipping, "Come on, you got me! You can come out now!" He wriggled his arms and legs, grunting in frustration when the bindings held firm.
"P-please don't do that." Pleaded the woman.
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," He turned to her, "Do you know where they are? I'm guessing they hired you or some shit."
He forced out a laugh, turning back to the ceiling, "Jeez, how'd you guys even pull this off? I mean, for a second there, I actually bought it. Come on out, and you can tell me all about it!"
Nothing. No one appeared. There was no laughing. The one time he wanted to hear their laughter, it wasn't there.
"Guys, please, "He gulped, "You're freaking me out here!"
He kept looking around, desperate to see something, anything appear.
"Come on!" He yelled, "Show yourselves! I've figured out your-"
Jeremy froze. A minuscule weight pressed into his cheek, as if an insect had landed on it. He slowly turned his head, just in time to see the woman, closer than ever, withdraw her hand.
A shiver ran down his spine. That feeling. That tiny, barely even noticeable feeling had been her hand.
His eyes widened. The woman backed away, "I know this must seem impossible, but-"
He vigorously fought against the metal cuffs, his eyes beginning to water when they wouldn't give.
He froze, his mouth snapping shut as he turned his buzzing head. The woman was clutching her head, eyes squeezed shut, and a pained expression on her face.
Jeremy's breath caught in his throat. He shook his head, barely able to breathe. She peeked open her eyes and slowly lowered her hands. He grimaced at her hesitance, hesitance towards him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered, continuing to shake his head, "I-I-I⦠I-I justā¦"
It stung just to look at her, to look at the evidence, the reality, being shoved down his throat.
The woman stepped closer, holding up her hands, "It's okay, you're okay." She reached out. He recoiled, terrified to feel her touch, her insignificant yet damning touch. She frowned, stepping away, "Do you need a moment?"
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!
Chris pressed himself against the observation room wall as the door slid open to let Gwen inside. He was trembling like a leaf, ears still ringing from the shout that had shaken the walls around him.
"Well, I think that went quite well," Said Gwen, not a trace of sarcasm in her voice. She looked around the room, brow furrowing, "Are you still in here?"
He gulped; he hadn't even noticed he'd gone invisible. Well, now seemed like a better time than ever to be invisible!
Gwen surveyed the room, eyes narrowing, "Chris, do I need to get the goggles?"
He shook his head, opening his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His attention kept shifting to the observation window, his stomach dropping every time he laid eyes on⦠him.
"Well, could you please make yourself visible?"
Chris squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in and out. When he opened his eyes, Gwen was looking at him, so he must have been at least partially visible.
He hung his head, hugging himself, "I⦠I want to go home."
She frowned, approaching him tentatively, "You want to leave him? Leave his fate up to the jugheads around here?"
"No! No, of course not," he sputtered, "B-but⦠but do I have to be here?"
Gwen sighed, "Okay, look, I know this is⦠more than we expected, but that doesn't change anything."
He glanced towards the window, grimacing at the living, breathing colossus. The brief image of Gwen approaching him, seemingly getting smaller and smaller, "He's massive."
She nodded, "Yes. A little over forty-five meters to be exact."
Chris felt his legs buckling. He braced himself against the wall, his head spinning, "H-how⦠Are you sure the program can even help him?"
"Yes, and we will." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "And so will you."
He shook off her hand, shaking his head, "No, no. I-I-I don't think I can."
She looked him dead in the eye with the intensity of a hawk, "As we speak, the reality of his situation is becoming clear to him. He'll be scared."
He cringed at his own cowardice, especially as Gwen gave him a knowing look, "Isn't that how people reacted to Mandy? To Holly? Bill?"
"And this isn't any different." She sighed, placing her hands on her hips and pacing. "I know I'm asking a lot of you, but when it comes to cases like this, it's imperative we make him feel like the program can actually help him." She stopped to look him in the eye, "We both know what happens ifā¦" She winced, "What happens if we fail."
Chris looked down at his feet, shrinking away. He closed his eyes. Memories resurfaced, stories from the others: Bill under constant surveillance, Holly in a box surrounded by liquid nitrogen, Mandy chained up with a gun trained upon her for all hours of the day.
Him⦠curled up in the corner of an empty room, glass walls on all sides, scientists with thermal goggles watching his every movement, every once in a while, startling him with a loud noise to see how he'd react.
All those who had kept them chained, trapped, guarded. He used to hate them, but he had slowly come to terms with reality. They were scared, that's why they did the things they did.
Well, perhaps he could be better than them. Perhaps he could be someone who wouldn't let their fear control him. Isn't that what he'd spent his whole life working towards?
He sighed, bobbing his head, "Okay⦠alright."
Gwen smiled, walking over and pulling him into a hug, "How about we get some lunch? Give him some time alone to think."