Chapter Text
"Resident Number - 40571 - Identification - confirmed. Welcome - Raven."
A short, pale skinned, girl steps through the door when it opens with a loud hissing 'woosh' - once the system confirms it was indeed her.
"There you are - " Mercy Graves reaches a hand for her when she sees the young teenager enter.
Raven doesn't really think much of the woman - she can't ever sense anything from her - no thoughts or emotions, even when she tried. It's as if the woman's an empty shell - a robot, like the ones milling around in labs around here. But Mercy keeps her fed and clothed and away from harm, so Raven can't really complain.
"We have a new patient for you to see today." Mercy explains as she falls into step with Raven. They walk down the electronically lit tunnels towards the titanium door, men and women in long white lab coats flurry around, not paying them any attention - or maybe they're too afraid to make eye contact? Raven never bothered to find out.
"I thought I was going to do my regular rounds?" New patients? Raven doesn't like - new people. They make her uncomfortable, uneasy - like that last one, what was her name again? Isley? She doesn't remember, but Raven knows she didn't like her. She was too - obsessed with plants.
"You will - but recently Cadmus Labs has obtained a new specimen for you to work on. He's unstable, we believe he has extraordinary potential." Mercy continues, presses her hand into the print pad next to the door, it clicks, scans her retina and opens easily.
Unstable? That usually meant the patients were crazy, and dangerous.
"But we can't seem to – get him to talk to us."
Raven's dark eyes flicker to the woman as she follows her down another corridor. Only this one was lined with thirty-inch-thick glass cells. Behind each window was a patient, each with their own grievances and - unnatural abilities.
She knows these people were experimented on by Cadmus, but Mercy tells her it's for the greater good. It'll help so many later on, besides, people like them - like her -won't be accepted in the world outside - Raven knows all too well.
"Mo-Monster - she's a monster, please, please. I can't' take it anymore."
"Mommy?" Raven's wide eyes watering as she searches a small hand towards the shaking woman on the cold floor, she's begging someone to take her away.
The tall man in black suit and a heavy gold cross down the center of his chest smiles down at the frantic woman. "We'll do what's best." And he shoves past her.
No, no - "Mommy!" Raven gasps. No! Mommy wouldn't leave her - she wouldn't just - Raven reaches for her mother as two men pick her up and take her away. Mommy gets further and further away; she won't look at her. Tears stream down Ravens' eyes as Raven shrieks for her mother to help her - "Don't leave me Mommy! Don't leave! I'll be good! I'll be good! I promise!" She sobs, large tears spilling down her face.
Her mother never looks back.
And Raven's taken away.
"Raven?"
The young girl shakes her head, blinking rapidly and looks up at Mercy who's studying her silently. Raven's used to that look. "Yes?"
"Didn't you hear me?"
No - "I - yes."
"Good. Then I'll leave it to you. He's in there - don't - don't go into the cell. Alright? He's not- Human."
Raven stares at her, dark blue eyes narrowing. What does that mean?
"Not entirely anyway. They say he used to be but - well - " Mercy presses a button and the opaque cell window they'd stopped in front of - when had they stopped walking? - clears.
Instantly, a green monster lunges up and swipes at the glass, claws scratching the surface with a violent screech. Raven shudders, her heart jolts in her throat, but she remains impassive on the outside. Mercy's studying her again. Raven thinks Mercy does that to see if she can handle things. Raven doesn't like it. She can handle anything -even -
The monster paces the cell, growls are heard, it's slobbering, yellow sharp teeth clenching in massive jaws, it's muzzle wrinkling deeply, eyes glowing red as it stares at her throw the glass - Raven stares back - something -wasn't right about this.
The creature spine arches, its human looking paw have thick black claws jutting out in place of finger nails, if it wanted to - it could stand up on its hind legs and walk. Was this really once - a real person?
"We found him terrorizing villages in south Africa. The locals say he used to belong to one of their scientific explorer groups." Mercy gives her a brief. "But - this is what he is now."
Raven's not sure how this is to have anything to do with her. But - she doesn't want to disappoint so - "What do I have to do?"
"Get him to speak - or - at least see if it's possible."
I don't think there's anything human about this thing anymore. Raven agrees silently. She won't say anything out loud, lest it upset the woman. Not that Raven can ever tell when she's upset or not.
"See if you can - read its emotions - thoughts?"
What for? "What is he here for?" She's vaguely curious, the powerful looking monster just paces, growing more and more restless -it's coming close to the cell window again.
"To see if we can - cure him." Mercy says evenly.
Raven's eyes flicker to the woman. "And if we can't?" She doesn't think she's ever asked what happens to those they can't help -she never wonder about it. Why should she? She's alive and well - she helps who she can. This was more than she deserved anyway.
"You deserve nothing. Your father was a demon, your mother a cult bitch - and you? You're just the spawn of some sick twisted darkness. you don't deserve the life you have." The words cut as much as the knife.
Raven flinches, the slap sharp across her bruised and bloody swollen face - The woman was ruthless, merciless - she was sent here to - break her.
"Get up!" The woman screeches, her heavy gold cross glinting in the dim lighting of the cold concrete cell.
Raven never got her name. It doesn't matter - she's not allowed to speak. The Woman grabs her by the hair and yanks her to her feet - Raven bites down a cry, eyes down, vision blurry, she tastes blood under her tongue again.
"Who are you?!" The Woman demands. She does every day.
Raven never knows the answer. When she doesn't - she gets beat.
Today wasn't an exception. Who was she? She doesn't know - but perhaps. . . perhaps she does.
"A - a useless piece of shit." The little girl rasps, her throat hurts - the Woman had strangled her a bit today.
"Close." She sneers and drops the girl, kicking at her. "You are a piece of shit - but you won't be useless for much longer." She takes out a needle and stabs it into Ravens arm.
The girl doesn't even flinch, just lies still on the cold floor - bleeding - alone, hurting. Not even tears in her eyes. Just vacant - empty. Like her soul.
"Trigon will be eliminated and you - "
The bared door creaks open in the dark room cutting the black with white. Raven can't see anything, the light blinding her. All she hears are sharp sounds that shatter the air, something screaming and then - she's being lifted and taken outside.
"Don't you worry little girl. You're going to like your new home."
"So - what do you think?" Mercy asks, though Raven knows she's not really asking. Mercy Graves doesn't ask anyone anything. Except maybe her boss?
Raven looks at the snarling thing in the cell again. He's completely unhinged. She doesn't feel anything except a fierce blood lust from it. There is no human in that thing anymore - whatever the case was before. Raven's about to say so this time- but something - flickers. She stops, those red eyes meet hers and - something reaches out at her - like a subtle scream - somebody was screaming inside that thing's head - was it possible?
Was there still someone trying to get out? She wants to find out. It's a novel thing though - Raven doesn't care about other beings. But she wants to find out about this one.
"I'll see what I can get." She says calmly.
Mercy nods. "Good - updates will be needed regularly. And Raven?"
"Yes?"
"Never go inside that cell. It'll kill you and nobody can stop it. Understand?" Mercy sounds like she's utterly certain of that as a fact.
Raven wonders how many people this thing killed before they captured it.
"Understood."
"Good." Mercy nods and leaves, taking all her empty emotions with her. Raven doesn't like when the woman's around much - it's like - a weird itch that you can't scratch because it's impossible to get in it when Mercy's next to her – an itch under her skin or inside her body or something unreachable. Raven can't read her, not her face or thoughts or emotions. It gives the girl a slightly disoriented feeling - like she's floating on nothing solid, looking for something to grab but she always hits a slipper wall of tile.
The rage and blood lust behind her sucks her in. Raven turns hard dark eyes at the monster inside.
"Who are you?" She whispers, hands on the glass, thick brows furrowing as she presses her palms against it.
The beast keeps pacing, throwing snarls at her. The screaming - faint - comes again. Raven takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Who are you? She asks inside her mind - everything's black - and her soul-self detracts from inside her body as she meditates - she's become stronger at this since she was ten.
"You can go inside people heads?" Mercy looked impressed, as impressed as she could be.
Raven feels excited, desperate for approval of some kind. "I did with that weird armless guy! He screamed though - and it hurt." Raven doesn't like admitting weaknesses out loud. But that guy had screamed - and then she was forced out.
Mercy's eyes glint in the light, Raven can't read it. "Good work Raven. Very good work."
Hello? Raven pushes against the barrier of the monster - she gasps, something hot rips through her - like claw mark slashing at her and suddenly the darkness in her head shatters like glass and she screams -
Raven jolts back into reality, her heart thundering in her chest as she tries to regain focus in the real world. What? What was that? She looks up at the creature - it's right in front of her. Muzzle wrinkles in rage, eyes red and glowing, sharp teeth bared. But it's - silent?
Raven realizes that only thirty inches of glass are separating her from getting her head brutally ripped off. Her face looks like it could touch his nose right now. She gasps, and shudders, backing away - whatever is wrong with this thing - she's not sure she can help it.
The next day, Raven doesn't want to go back. But Mercy seems adamant about this green monster. So she does. Her heart beats hard inside her rib cage, her face remains impassive as she walks back to its cell. It's sitting in a corner, hunched, eyes riveting to her face when she appears through the glass, it starts growling low in its throat, but it doesn't come closer to the glass yet.
Strange.
Raven bites her bottom lip and closes her eyes, pressing hands on the glass again - last time she did this it felt like something slashed her soul self. But - maybe she can go deeper today? Was there a sub conscious in animals? She doesn't think so but -
It's pitch black again. Raven feels the rage and and savagery and pure animal instance like a rush of wind surround her. It's slashing at her again, wild and savage. She shudders, her body is weakening as her soul-self pushes forward again the barred teeth and snarling. Hello! Is anybody in here?!
Something jolts, Raven gasps and falls back into emptiness- the slashes and red streaks of the mental claws cutting through her, then she sees a door.
Raven gasps back to reality. Sweat beading down her face as she pants. What - what was that? She swallows thickly, taking in deep breaths - a door - a doorway? Maybe it was reaching into the locked away part of it - the human part? If he had one still. She needs to go back in and find out.
With another set of nerves, she sits down on the cold tiles, crosses her legs, and closes her eyes. One more time - I can do this one more time.
Her soul-self enters the strangely un-moving beast.
She runs this time - she runs from the snapping jaws and slashing claws and she jumps off the dark edge, down - down - down - it strains her - she feels weakened, something's pulling her back, trying to kill her perhaps?
There! Door - Raven reaches hands for the handle, it's green and small - she pulls – it's locked? No - no she doesn't know how to - the monster is coming - she can feel her vision blurring at the edges - No! With one more tug, she breaks through - and she's falling again -
Raven tumbles into - grass? Was this - grass? She lifts her head up, heart pounding in her head, her black silhouette of her soul-self quivering, her eyes glow a faint purple now as she looks at the grassy field. Endless miles of nothing but grass waving around, even though there is no sky or wind or sun. The place is white and - grassy.
Something whimpers behind her.
Raven startles and looks behind her- a - an animal?
A dog. It's a dog - it's green and has droopy eyes and ears as it whimpers as if it's in pain again. Raven's soul -self shudders as she reaches for the dog. It backs away, teeth baring weakly, eyes terrified and large.
I won't hurt you. She's trying to feel non-threatening. She doesn't know how to be kind.
It continues to move away. Raven follows it - maybe this dog was what was left of the not savage side? If it was then - that means the human has been completely lost. Raven has to tell Mercy this but - she feels an urge to explore further.
Come here doggie - I won't hurt you, just . . . let me talk to you? She's trying to coax it - her energy is waning, the beast - the beast - is coming?! The dog suddenly barks, then whimpers, tucks its tail between its legs and huddles down into a tight ball of green fur. Raven gasps sharply, something wrenches her away and the grassy field is gone, so is the terrified dog.
She's choking on the cold tiles when she comes too herself. What? What was that? Had the dog just - pushed her out? Why was it - Raven stops, a loud howl shakes the walls. She peeks into the cell. The beast is thrashing around wildly - slashing and snarling and howling at everything, there were horrible gashes in the walls now and saliva dripping all over everything. It's gone rabid!
"Releasing suppressants." The computer above announces and lets out a white gas into the cell with a mechanical 'hisssss' Raven stares, eyes wide as the beast's running and ravaging slows down - then it wobbles, still growling in its throat, shaking its head to ease whatever is happening to it and - passes out with a heavy thump on the floor, all quivering muscles under mangled green fur.
Raven thinks for a moment. She could go back in there? Her heart pokes her chest painfully - no - she couldn't, going in twice for so long had a physical effect on her. She's too drained. But perhaps - perhaps tomorrow - tomorrow if they put it to sleep - she could try again? Yes, perhaps it might be easier that way. Or more dangerous, she's not sure, she's never gone into a sleeping animals head before.
Raven stands, her knees shake as she tries to walk. Yeah - too much energy wasted. She shudders, the sweat making her cold now and keeps walking out.
Need a - nap or -something.