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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 25, 2019 17:54:55 GMT -5
Max never found her taser in time. In an ironic twist, before she knew what hit her, electricity was coursing through her body, knocking her to the ground, seizing all motor control. She only barely heard Ryan straining to call out to her, and she was virtually unable to offer a reply as she went completely numb.
She could still see and think clearly, at least. Enough to notice the LunArc crew marching their way, fronted by the woman in charge herself. A guard pulled Max onto her feet and secured her arms behind her back, an action she was too weak to resist or even struggle against. The best she could muster was a fierce scowl and a snarl at her and Ryan's captors, only briefly disturbed by a look of devastation as Liderc easily rendered Will unconscious.
After all this time, after all the trials and tribulations... here, staring down the face of failure, Max's anger reached its pinnacle.
"CORA!" The doctor's begrudging, barely complimentary compliment rolled right off Max's back. "Enough of this! We know you're up to something! WHERE IS LYDIA?!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 25, 2019 18:26:57 GMT -5
Lydia started in abject terror as the woman she instantly guessed was Dr. Michaels appeared on her monitor, ordering Liderc to let Will down. Soon after, her visual feed went blurry. Then it faded out altogether.
"NO!!!" Lydia frantically sorted through her nanomachine program, looking for the one she had planted on Will's heart. "WILL, COME ON, STAY WITH ME, STAY WITH ME!"
Beep. Clear. Zap. Beep. Clear. Zap.
"WAKE UP!!!"
Dr. Michaels let out a low, almost sultry chuckle as she watch Ryan squirm, gently brushing a knuckle along his chin. She turned back to Liderc with a curt nod and a smug, satisfied grin. "Why yes. Your help has absolutely been invaluable, good sir. I'm more than prepared to uphold my end of the bargain once we're finished dealing with these little lab rats. If you would be so kind as to indulge me a little while longer, we could use the extra security."
She sharply turned back around, facing Max as the young woman started shouting at her. Her burning question about the Pendleton girl only amused Dr. Michaels further. "Where is Lydia? Goodness, Maxine, I fear I may have given you too much credit. You poor thing..."
The doctor then snapped her fingers and started leading her crew back towards the facility entrance. "Let's get these runts locked up. We need to get the chamber ready for when Mr. Stone arrives. And you two... prepare the neuralyzation units. These three will need new memories once this all blows over."
Though she couldn't see the guards dragging Will, Max and Ryan inside, Lydia could clearly hear every word out of Dr. Michaels's mouth. At this rate, she could easily guess what was to come, and unlike every time before when she had some sort of contingency plan in mind or could trust herself to improvise, she had absolutely no idea what to do now. Will was unconscious. Max and Ryan were detained, not that she had any way to communicate with them anyway. She couldn't see what was happening around her.
Lydia had felt this before. Helplessness. Usually she had someone or something to fall back on. Alcohol, Max, Jack, Will... Now she had nothing. And she had no one to blame but herself. She'd let them all down.
She really hated feeling this small...
---------------------------
With a nudge far from gentle, the guards pushed Will, Max and Ryan into a room, letting them crumble to the floor, promptly closing and locking the door behind them. The cell they found themselves in was stark white, barely bigger than the average bedroom, devoid of windows or furniture. Despite the subtle illumination, there didn't seem to be any fixed source of light; it was as if the white walls themselves were emitting a faint glow.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on May 25, 2019 19:07:55 GMT -5
Will barely registered being tossed into the cell, eyes still shut, landing on his face. His closed eyes stared at beautiful, blissful blackness. Ah, it was relaxing-
OH GODS WHAT WAS THAT FEELING?
Will sprung up all of a sudden, gasping for air, eyes darting around the room. Max? Ryan? What was this place?! Was... was this a holding cell? To make sure that this wasn't just a weird dream, he pinched his face. Ow. Shit. He wasn't dreaming. Reaching up, he frowned at the sudden warmth on his shoulders, red dots visible through the holes Liderc's talons had torn in his stolen clothes.
"... Max. Ryan..." Will couldn't bring himself to look at either of the people he ad just doomed. "... I... I have no explanation. It's my fault we're in this situation."
---
"... Hm." Hang on. There were only three intruders. Where was their fourth...?
"... If you have any means of inducing mind control, I would get it ready," Liderc said to Cora, expression turning serious. "We're missing the blonde buffoon's friend. I suspect he'll find a way onto this moon, with or without whatever help he can scrape up." Well, provided he can fly faster than a jet. He saw nothing of the sort from his current position. "The best way I can sum up what we're in for if he gets here is space chimera bullshit thing." An amusing thought passed his mind. "Then again, if you could control him..."
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Post by ColArana on May 25, 2019 19:29:11 GMT -5
Ryan was pretty much blue-screen of death-ing, at the moment. Figuratively and literally. Even the biological parts of his mind had gone disturbingly numb as he tried to come to terms with what was happening. They'd all been captured. Lydia was probably going to die. There has to be something we can do.... But as hard as he could think, he could not come up with something.
Shoved into the room on the floor, Ryan didn't really have room to feel sorry for himself. Max and Will were in here with him. He had to do something. They had to get out of here...
He tried to move his good eye to look at Max, groaning. My vocal cords are shot... It'll take a bit for them to come back on... Ryan's fingers twitched. Getting control back there... Little movements were possible, but his body was coming back to him agonizingly slowly. It took all of his concentration and focus just to turn his head slightly to see what Max's situation was like. "S... S...." He tried to vocalize an apology to Max, for dragging her into this.
Then Ryan heard Will's voice. Will was conscious!? "W...I...LL...." Ryan groaned out, the artificiality of his voice being clear in these moments. There is an explanation.... The voice inside your head just won't let you say it damnit! Ryan thought angrily. But... really, he wasn't angry at Will. Or Lydia. He was a little pissed off at himself, but he knew that was all just an artifice of trying to divert his mind over how screwed they were here. And it sounded... It sounded like Ryan's body was at least partially a product of LunArc advancements now. What are they going to do to us...? He wondered, turning onto his back.
Oh, hey, he could turn over now, and move his head. That was a positive, he supposed.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 25, 2019 20:28:26 GMT -5
Max emitted a loud groan as she was unceremoniously tossed into their temporary prison, falling flat on the floor. She clearly heard the door slamming shut behind them, but she hadn't the heart to look up at their only exit. Her tote bag had been confiscated prior to their incarceration, practically robbing her of any chance at being useful. At the very least, after a good thirty or so seconds of lying there in misery, Max seemed to summon enough strength to slowly, limply lift herself onto her hands and knees. Maybe they used a weaker setting on their stun guns. Maybe they just had a harsher effect on Ryan. She didn't know, and she was losing the will to care.
Out of the corner of her eye, Max watched Will sit up. She didn't look in his direction otherwise, even as he issued his apology. She did briefly cast a sad glance at Ryan, but other than this display of sympathy, she didn't know how to help him.
All Max could think to do was shuffle over to the far corner of the room, sit down, and lean against the wall with her arms folded and her back to both boys. There was no beating around the bush. They'd messed up horribly.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 25, 2019 20:45:54 GMT -5
Lydia gasped for air just as powerfully as Will had, as if his unconsciousness had been suffocating her. Finally, her repeated attempts at kickstarting his heart paid off. Her hand retreated from the nanomachine's trigger and her arms wrapped around her waist as she practically doubled over. "Will...! Oh my God, Will..." It took her a while to really snap out of her stupor. For one brief moment, she was just happy that he was okay.
Rubbing her face, trying to pretend she wasn't shedding tears, Lydia anxiously stared at her visual feed. She found Will sitting in a blank white room. There was only one door and virtually no doubt it was locked. Max and Ryan were slowly but surely recovering from being stunned, a painful sight to be sure.
A sigh escaped her throat as she heard Will speaking to the others in the room, blaming himself for their predicament. "No... No, Will, it's not your fault. I-It's mine, really..."
Lydia's heart sank as she watched Max inch away from Will. From her. "You're all here because of my dumb*ss decisions. Because I don't know what's good for me. I... I don't even know what else to say. I'm sorry... I'm just sorry."
---------------------------
"Ah, yes..." Dr. Michaels nodded along with Liderc as she walked down the hall alongside her crew. "The hippie-haired magician that attacked Mr. Stone... How could I forget? I'll have to ensure we're fully prepared for an outside attack if one comes."
She tapped her chin with a delicately manicured finger. "Mind control, though... that is an interesting proposal. I may have just the solution for that."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on May 25, 2019 20:59:41 GMT -5
"Max..." Will whispered to himself. She didn't even look at him. He didn't blame her. He'd be blaming himself. "... I'm sure I'll never be able to fully apologizing for fucking this up." Understatement of the decade there. He turned around, facing the door.
"... But..." He swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. Gods, what was he about to say?! He wasn't the motivational speech type! Hell, he had a hard time getting his siblings to listen to him! But... Hmm, maybe tragedy really does bring out the best in people. "... I'm not going to stand here and wait for 'em to come and do whatever." Holding out a hand, a small ember formed, going out only when the blonde clenched his fist. "... Fire never dies."
There was no point in trying to open the door normally. Stealth was already out the window. Inhaling, Will went back as far as he could in the room. "Gonna try something to get us out." Pausing for a moment, he ran at the door, jumping into a powerful dropkick with a shout.
Oh gods that hurt and that is why he wears heavy boots that damn door had better be broken!!
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Post by ColArana on May 26, 2019 13:06:47 GMT -5
Ryan, bit by bit, regained his strength. Annoyingly, his vocal unit seemed to be one of the last things coming on, but as time went by, he was slowly beginning to be able to move again. First his arms. Then he felt his torso coming back online, along with his legs. Ryan pushed himself up to a seated position, getting a good look at their cell. He saw Max with her back to him and Will. ...He couldn't blame her. They'd really... really screwed up.
Ryan looked at the cell door solemnly, only giving Will a partial glance when he began to apologize. Ryan would have been willing to accept the apology, but that wasn't up to him. He'd come here knowing all the risks and all the details. Max hadn't. She had been deliberately denied a piece of the puzzle by Will and himself, and if she'd known maybe this could have been avoided. She was smarter than either of them anyways. Ryan shifted a little bit in place. He still wanted to tell Max, but without the ability to verbalize, the best he'd be able to do was charades, and something told him Max wouldn't be in the mood for that.
His movement re-enabled, Ryan slumped back against the a different wall than Max, facing the others, but looking at Will somberly. How many hours do you have left Lydia...? He wondered miserably.
Will attempted to motivate the group and Ryan watched Will lunge and crash into the door.
Ryan slowly got up, walked up to the door, and put his hand on it for a moment. Pushing a little bit. He already guessed that Will wouldn't have done anything to it. They were putting Ryan in this cell, with Doctor Michaels knowing his capabilities, probably right down to the ounce that he was able to lift. He doubted he'd be able to break out of the cell, and while he didn't know how hard Will hit, he wasn't surprised. This was horrible. Completely awful. What the hell are we supposed to do!? Ryan's eyes scanned around the room for any cameras or recording devices.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 26, 2019 20:22:08 GMT -5
Max had no response to Will's weak reparation. She didn't move, not even a twitch. The only change in her posture was a slight narrowing of her eyes, not that he could see it with her back turned to him. She was in no mood for such a trivial exchange. An apology was not what she wanted.
She did visibly cringe when she heard Will slam into the door and subsequently drop to the floor, a collision that sounded unspeakably painful. Without even looking, Max could easily guess that his escape attempt didn't work.
Even then, Max did not move.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 26, 2019 20:40:06 GMT -5
Lydia's heart was in her stomach by the time Will addressed Max. Her eyes were locked on the screen, though her ex refused to acknowledge her host. She wished Will didn't have to apologize on her behalf. Seeing Max at her lowest low, knowing it was her own reservations that got her there, Lydia wanted nothing more than to tell her herself...
"Uh..." She didn't have much time to wallow in self-pity, though. Will was reeling back, eyeing the door. Uncomfortable with where this was going, not wanting a repeat of that morning, Lydia shakily fastened her seatbelt and watched the monitor with growing dread. "Will? I don't think THAT'S A GOOD-!!!"
CLANG
The pod shook wildly from the reverb and collapse. Lydia felt the world spin for a moment, then she found herself lying flat against her chair's back cushion with her ponytail in her face. Well, at least she was still in the chair this time...
"Will..." Lydia painfully grunted. "They clearly have some idea what Ryan is capable of. If this room is built to contain something like him, I don't think a simple kick is gonna suffice."
After fixing her hair a bit, Lydia sat up enough to check the monitor again, straining to inspect the door from Will's awkward angle. "Maybe I can... short out the lock with the electromagnetic booster? As long as... Ryan stands on the other side of the room; I don't want him to get hurt again. Or... no... Looks like we're dealing with a more traditional lock and key scenario. I don't think that's gonna work."
She flopped onto her back again with a dejected sigh. "And there goes the extent of my usefulness..."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on May 26, 2019 21:04:55 GMT -5
"... Ow."
Yep, he was going to feel that in the morning, assuming he got to see the next morning. Will lay down on the floor for a few minutes, cringing at the ungodly pain burning through his legs, before his face fell. Even Lydia sounded like she had given up. That... was discouraging, really.
...
"... No." It didn't seem as though Will was talking to just Max and Ryan. "... I'm not giving up just yet." A weak, fiery aura briefly appeared around the blonde's hands as he stood up, wincing at the pain in his legs. Once he was sure he wasn't going to collapse from just standing, he steeled his gaze, glaring at the door. Fire always comes with pain, but maybe that's just our nature.
"... Ryan, Max." Will turned around to face the other two people in the room, walking towards the cyborg, offering him a hand. "I can't break this door down. But maybe one of you knows a way. We're not giving up. We're gonna be the Trojan Horse here."
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Post by ColArana on May 26, 2019 21:10:27 GMT -5
Ryan looked over at Will and Max as Will lay on the ground in pain. "...I'm sorry." Ryan murmured weakly. It seemed his voice had returned. "They probably have a door like that because of me. If I weren't here, maybe you'd have been put in a lower security cell."
Will stated his refusal to give up, and Ryan looked at him. And nodded. "...Yeah." He accepted Will's hand. "I promised you, didn't I Max?" Ryan commented. "I told you back on the island that if we got into trouble, I'd made sure you guys made it out. I'm still going to make good on that if I can." A voice nagged him at the back of his mind. Not sure how I can do that right now but...
Ryan sighed deeply as Will mentioned the comment about the Trojan Horse. He gave Will a look that pretty much just screamed "Really?"
"Max?" Ryan asked her tentatively. "...I know it's asking a lot, after everything you've already gone through today. But we could use your help brainstorming a way out of here."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 26, 2019 21:21:25 GMT -5
"NO."
A stiff silence befell the room. Then Max sharply craned her neck to look up at Will and Ryan over her shoulder, a cold scowl on her face, her eyes shining with restrained tears.
"No," she repeated in a somewhat softer tone. "Now you listen to me and you listen well. I am not lifting another finger until you two tell me what the hell is going on! I've been threatened. I've watched you get abducted. I've engaged in corporate espionage! I let myself get launched to the freaking MOON! And for WHAT?!"
Max then fully turned around, propped herself up on her knees, and slammed her fist against the wall. "You ask me for my help, yet you go against my back and negate my ideas at every turn! And I KNOW you haven't given me the full story of what we're doing and what happened to Lydia! I'm sick of everybody keeping me in the dark all the time! SO START TALKING! And I wanna know EVERYTHING, GUYS!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 26, 2019 21:33:47 GMT -5
Lydia rubbed her head and unbuckled herself, taking a moment to get realigned as Will stood back up. She wished she had his and Ryan's kind of optimism despite their apparent mutual lack of ideas.
But... Max...
Everything about Max's rant felt unmistakably familiar to Lydia. The bitterness over her cold shoulder, her help ultimately being for naught, the unfavorable conditions she had been left in for her efforts, the furious and desperate plea for honesty... Lydia had heard it all before, and it didn't hurt any less than every other time prior. She could tell that the raw emotions pouring out of her ex right now weren't just directed at Will and Ryan, even if Max herself was unaware that the true target of her ire was right there, receiving this spiel once again, letting it finally... finally hit home.
Ryan was right. They were just hurting her like this.
The deepest, repentant sigh wheezed out of Lydia's throat and into her humble host's ear. "Oh, what the hell... You might as well tell her..."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on May 26, 2019 21:45:47 GMT -5
"... Finally. I suck at lying as you might have noticed."
He was honestly waiting for Max to explode on him like that. He deserved that, really. She was right. They kept hurting her. They left her in the dark. And now, with Lydia granting him permission.
Will slowly walked up to Max, looking her in the eye. "The truth is... Lydia was injected into me." He waited for her reaction. About what he expected. "That mage, Rio, he was her original target, but things went awry, and she was injected into me to save her from LunArc's assailants." It felt relieving, honestly, to just finally say everything he wanted to say. "Lydia was, until a few minutes ago, adamant about keeping this a secret from you, Max. She says several things, but... maybe she wanted to keep you safe." He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. It's like how I had to lie about certain things to my siblings to keep them safe.
"... The face morph? Punching out the doctor I impersonated? Piloting the jet here?" He stared at his own hands, before lowering them. "That was all Lydia's doing. Gods..." Will brought a hand to his face. "I wish I could've told you earlier. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." He lowered his hand, slowly looking back at Max. "... I can't take back all the time I stepped on your toes, fucked up your plans. But the least I can do is listen. And I'm sure Lydia will, too."
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