i agree with the idea that jabber was experimented on 100%, but i need need 1. for zanka to find out and 2. for him to confront him with this information
like i’m just imagining the cleaners dealing with some sort of trafficking ring maybe, then finding out that they also sold children to some research team/maybe ran the experiments themselves. zanka just looking through the files at all the different children subjected to this torture, when he sees a name he recognizes.
the details are horrific, he finds out jabber was either stolen or sold (the file only says “acquired”) into this group at 6 years old, a picture attached that zanka can’t bare to look at for long, jabber as a young boy with tears in his eyes, a face that zanka had never imagined he would ever see from him.
he looks at the data without reading, not caring about the numbers of whatever the hell they were trying to measure by torturing this child, he only ends up reading the notes left behind by the researchers, things like subject lost consciousness after 5.32 minutes, subject refuses to remove personal item (rings) becomes violent if it is attempted to remove them, sedation necessary, subject has begun to laugh after drug is administered.
the most recent report he is able to find is when jabber is nine, and since there are no notes on further experiments, he can only assume he escaped. the only clue is a big stamp at the bottom that reads “EXPERIMENT TERMINATED, SUBJECT LOST” he wonders if this was when mankira awakened for him.
after finding out all of this information, he isn’t sure how to move forward with jabber. whenever he thinks of him now he doesn’t feel that rage at losing, he just thinks of the crying boy, of all of the people who failed him.
jabber can feel the difference the next time he runs into zanka. the way he looks at him makes him want to hurl, that disgusting useless pity.
he goes in on zanka harder than he ever has, but with that ferocity comes sloppiness, and jabber finds himself pinned down by lovely, waiting for the finishing blow. it doesn’t come.
he looks up at zanka and almost laughs, he looked so defeated, like he didn’t know what to do with jabber anymore.
“what’s wrong zan-zan? too scared to do me in?” jabber was running his hands over lovely, feeling the smooth metal and sharp points that he loved slashing against with mankira.
“i don’t know, just doesn’t feel right.” jabber was definitely not expecting such an honest answer, his smile finally dropping at the conflicted look on his face. “i know what they did to you, y’know.”
jabbers blood turned to ice, he had never told a single soul, not even zodyl, what he had been through. he recovered quickly enough, shooting back with, “so what? you feel all bad for me now? gonna spare me so you can fix me? good luck with that.”
zanka sagged at that, removing lovely from jabber’s throat, with him still being too shocked to re-activate mankira. “nah, just don’t want to take you out without letting you get back at them.” with that, zanka pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, a list of names, and dropped it on the ground. “let me know if you want some back up.”
