Panic gradually gave way to dread, to fear, and finally after countless hours spent on a mattress about as comfy as a minefield, boredom. I hadn't expected to feel bored in the middle of a kidnapping from fucking Coil, but here we were. It was a hell of a lot better than freaking out constantly, though. Plus, like I'd been telling myself lately, bored was good.
In this case, not because it meant safety but because it meant I was calm enough to think again. I spent an hour, or what felt like it, poring over the limited detail I was allowed to see in the dark room. The walls were smooth, grey concrete without so much as a fingerhold for me to exploit. Not that I could actually do anything when I was still fucking tied up.
I was exhausted, but my body refused to sleep, and my brain was in agreement. Going to sleep here was worse than a death sentence, so...fuck it. I'd either fall asleep at some point or die of deprivation, both unpleasant options but it was one way out. So was dehydration, but fuck I was not looking forward to even trying something like that, if I could even bring myself to.
At some point, a nearly seamless panel in the door opened and a plate of shitty looking slop was slid through. I rolled over and ignored it; probably drugged and it wasn't like I could fucking eat like this anyway. No one came in to undo my bonds though, did they expect me to eat like a dog? Probably, Coil was a sick fuck after all. Maybe if he called me 'pet' I'd be grossed out enough to die.
A while later, I heard muffled voices outside my door. I strained to hear them, but there was nothing but an unintelligible murmur. It died away shortly after, leaving me once more in silence. I wasn't sure which was better. Frankly, I was just glad that I was being left alone. I guess with the city in the shit, Coil was too busy to play with his new toy. Just as well.
I tested my bonds a few times, but whatever they were made of just didn't play nice with my projection. Any time I moved it one way, the cords would dig into my flesh that was left exposed. Looking closer, it was obvious they weren't rope. It was some kind of metal, not quite right looking to be steel. Probably something Coil kept laying around for Brutes, and I guess he thought that meant me. Yeah like I was lucky enough to get super strength or something...
Maybe that was useful. I hadn't done a lot of fine-control testing, so there was a good chance he didn't know exactly what I could do. Admittedly I wasn't sure myself, or if it actually would be useful which I was doubting. My projection couldn't do damage, unless it was crushing something, and Coil seemed to know that much. At least, I couldn't think of another reason I'd been put in a near seamless room and had my limbs still bound.
I was blinking the sandy feeling of sleeplessness from my eyes when the door suddenly opened. I rolled over on the shitty mattress and wiggled until my back was against the wall. A helmeted, heavily armed soldier stepped through and glanced at me, then turned and nodded. A young woman with tightly braided blonde hair stepped through. 'Woman', like she didn't look my fucking age. She was dressed too casually to be a solider or a real employee, a cape?
“Hi there,” she said brightly in a tone that was smug and dreadfully familiar. “My name's Lisa, you and I have the same boss.” I curled my lips in disgust. I wasn't playing her fucking game. In fact, fuck it, and fuck the table too.
“Hey Tattletale,” I said as casually as I could manage. “Good to see you're not lowering yourself by working for Coil.” I bit my tongue to suppress the massive grin that wanted to appear as Lisa paled. “Oh, my bad, would you prefer Sarah?” She recovered her smug smile quickly, but the damage was done.
“Well I wanted to start off on the right foot.” She glanced back at the soldier flanking her. “I did say that.” He nodded silently and she turned back to me. “Well fair's fair Amelia, if we're not pulling any punches. If you know anything about me, then you know why you wanna cooperate.”
“No,” I replied evenly “I want to die.”
“You don't mean that.”
“Don't I?” I met her gaze without flinching. “Sooner or later I'll be dead, either because I'm useless or...” I shrugged as best I could. “Whichever it is...looking forward to it.”
“You're an emo little kid, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “So you're obviously well informed, why not tell the heroes?” I glared at her.
“What and fucking out you?” She jerked a thumb at the soldier behind her. “Don't treat me like an idiot, you walked in here unmasked; he either knows or you don't care. But fine, if you want me to, I will next time.” A spark lit in her eyes as I clamped my mouth shut. I was being a too cavalier.
“So that's what you meant by 'sevens'.” Tattletale's grin grew. “You know I did always wonder what kind of idiot goes to Leviathan on their first day. Seventh time was the charm, huh?” I felt a chill go down my spine. I fucking hated her.
“And how did curiosity treat your mangy ass?” I spat back. Oh I wanted to... I took a deep breath. “Whatever. Fuck off already and let me get back to staring at the walls til I die.” I didn't feel like giving away any more freebies, even if I could probably hurt her at least a little.
“You know,” she started again, apparently ignoring my tone. “You could try living with that knowledge. You want to save people with it, don't you? Make it a condition of your employment, because you can't do it high as a kite and locked up. Besides, Coil can make sure you live comfortably, instead of in a lonely little concrete box like usual.”
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“Use your brain,” I replied bitterly, trying to ignore the way her barbs dug in. And how they made sense. “I probably give you a headache, but even a dumbass like you can figure out when she's talking to a brick wall.”
“You've got the smarts to match,” Tattletale snapped.
“The first correct thing you've said since you got here.” I shut my eyes and turned away. The only way to win was to not play. “Now fuck off.”
“You really want a visit from the boss?” I felt myself tense. Definitely not. “He's already pretty busy, and if you make him come down himself he's gonna be pissed. You think you know the deal right? I'll tell you straight: it can always be worse.” I knew it could, I knew how much of a monster Coil was.
I didn't care.
A minute later, Tattletale sighed and I heard her leave. I waited a solid five minutes before opening my eyes and looking around. Alone. I took a deep breath, held it, let it out, and did it all again. I was okay...ish. I wasn't being actively tortured, or talked at by the loudest mouth in the city. Small blessings, because that was all I got. I yawned and blinked, more tired than before. Talking to Thinkers was exhausting.
I shuffled into the corner of the bed and shut my eyes again; sleep didn't seem like such a bad option anymore...
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My eyes shot open as a thunderous growl echoed through my room. I looked around, heart pounding in near panic, before a cramp reminded me that I hadn't eaten in...however long. And I wasn't going to no matter what. I wasn't sure how long I slept, but three more plates had joined the first, all filled with the same unappetizing crap.
Was Coil fucking stupid? If you wanted your prisoner to eat your drugged shit, at least make it tempting. I was more insulted by that than him sending Tattletale down to talk at me. Well, at least I hadn't received a personal visit after her threat. I was willing to bet that with the way things were, he wasn't going to use kid gloves.
I wasn't sure how he would torture me, but I trusted Coil to be inventive if nothing else. I was sure that I wasn't getting out of here though. I flexed my limbs as best as I could, stretching the sore muscles where my bonds allowed. It was too bad the mattress was...just that. No bed frame, and probably no springs either. I doubted the coils of whatever would be broken by working them against that, but it would have been nice to have the option.
A sigh escaped my lips, the only noise in the soundless box I was stuck in. I wanted to go home. Not even to whatever multiversal Earth, just to fucking 5226 Bell Avenue, the place I'd lived my whole life. I wasn't one for Brockton pride or whatever, this city had shit, dick, and ball to be proud of, but god dammit it was--
I shook my head violently. No it wasn't home because home didn't try and fucking kill me every few days. I needed to get better about reality checking myself, this was ridiculous. I was letting shit slip left and right too. Something was wrong, but I had no clue what it was beyond the whole 'getting kidnapped' thing.
Hopefully Gallant was okay. Those guns hadn't done much damage to me, but obviously. He had armour though, stuff good enough to take a thrashing in an Endbringer fight. Plus he had years more experience, and a useful power. He probably drove them off and they ran away with me. Too bad he hadn't helped more, but I was rapidly learning that my allies were unreliable.
Had Mannequin attacked yet? Tattletale hadn't mentioned anything, and that was the kind of thing she would dig into. Oh god, was Amy okay? I mean, they had an advanced warning, they should be able to avert it if they were smart. Unless she did what she did that one time and bolted, in which case...
Oh my god, this might be my last chance. Coil was going to try and keep me alive at all costs, and I knew how deep his pockets were. If he managed it, managed to force me to live, I might get fucking stuck. That thought wrapped icy fingers around my throat and twisted my guts into knots. the idea that for everything I'd done it wouldn't matter because I'd never do a good thing in my life again.
My heart thudded loudly in my chest, shaking my body. Leviathan hadn't scared me as much as this did right now. I screwed my eyes shut and tried to breathe normally. It was starting to work, when the door suddenly banged open. I let out a yelp and my eyes flew open just in time to see a helmetless soldier grab me.
He slung me over his shoulder and started sprinting without a word. My pounding heart was louder than ever in my ears, shaking the whole world around me. No...no, that wasn't my heart, it was off tempo and way too fucking slow. What the fuck was--
I heard a tremendous crash from close by, followed by a string of curses from the man carrying me. He stepped up his pace, jostling me as he ran headlong down the corridor. Another booming noise echoed, with a shake violent enough to throw the soldier to the ground. I let out a yelp as I hit the ground, then screamed when I saw what was coming.
At the other end of the wide hallway, closing the distance far too fast, was a genuine monster. Black, shimmering plates of armour covered its body and six rapidly moving limbs. The creature's jaw hung open, showing off a mouth full of uneven, mismatching fangs. Drool dripped from its mouth as it ran, leaving little puffs of smoke where it hit the concrete floor.
I heard the soldier scramble to his feet and twisted my neck just in time to see him fleeing further down the corridor, leaving me to my fate. I turned back and tried shuffling away, still tied up. It seemed to notice me though and paused, staring at me. Without warning it leaped through the air, landing on top of me.
A shriek of terror escape my lips as a quartet of wickedly sharp claws bit into my chest. Or, at least they tried to. Despite myself, I hadn't flinched when the monster struck me. It cocked its head and struck again, then again with no effect. Wait, this was my chance! Fuck, I did not want to die, but fuck I didn't want to live either. Before I could think twice, I shoved my projection back, ignoring the pain as my bonds dug into my flesh. Then the thing spat.
It was like I had doused my soul in gasoline and set it fire, then skinned myself alive while burning. I tried to scream but the acidic saliva had melted my lips and my throat. My projection whipped back into position without my say-so, clearing what remained on my skin.
I felt feverish, sick. Bile rose in my throat and stayed there, with nowhere else to go since my mouth was destroyed. I couldn't see anything, my eyes burned away by the gob of caustic spittle. My body shuddered with sobs that no one would ever hear, and I curled into a ball despite the agony it caused me. A sudden chill made me shiver uncontrollably. It was like someone had sucked the heat from my bones. Even the pain of my acid burns seemed utterly frigid. And I was so tired.
I shut my eyes, just for a while.