Captivity. Part One.

Kidnappings are something that happens too often, a sad part of reality really, but when said thing keeps happening again and again in a short span of time… people tend to notice. At least I did, thinking I could do some good and find out what was going on.

It’s how I ended up here.

Normally people don’t realize how easy it is to lose the sense of time, especially when you can’t even see the sun move or the time on a clock. The continuous loss of consciousness for indeterminate periods of time makes it worse.

I’ve been a prisoner of these people for more than a month now (I think), maybe two months, but it could be more than that. I really don’t know anymore.

All I can do is sit in this little cell and talk to the people around me, for as long as I’m allowed to that is, eventually they just make us sleep with gas and then take us out. I’ve had the luck to regain consciousness during their… ‘experiments’ and I’m somewhat thankful that not every single person here has to.

I don’t even know what their long-term goal is here, all that they do is drag them around and open us up. God, the things I’ve seen them do to people… Most of them wish they’d were dead. Some of them die inside their cells, screaming and moaning in pain.

And for what reason? No one in the cells knows, the oldest ones who could probably have an idea of what is going on are either insane or dead and anyone who probably figures it out ends up getting killed and disposed of… Unless they’re experimented on, in which case they’ll probably want to be dead instead.

The one thing I thought most of the people here had in common were Powers, yes Superpowers, in the sense that most of the people here had one of their own, but that theory quickly died when I talked to several people who didn’t have any. The other idea in my head, which was that maybe they just went after Heroes or people with heroic complexes, who for some reason tend to be number one prime subject for getting Superpowers, died as soon as I realized common thugs and Villains were, also, held captive.

I myself am a Hero, or at least I tell myself I am, my power is fire control, my body being capable of generating flames. I’d like to say I’m good with it, that with my powers giving me a higher resistance to fire (It takes longer for me to cook up inside a fire) and that I can light myself up and end up looking like a 6-foot-tall flaming skeleton man.

Just before I was unceremoniously dropped here, I had heard of people going missing on the streets, a sad and common occurrence in this day and age, but what wasn’t normal about the disappearances was how people were missing almost everywhere in the city and the speed at which they were taken. Something had to be done and that something was a bunch of costumed freaks investigating.

I work on my own (apparently the image of a skeleton man in flames throwing fire doesn’t do wonders for your public relations) and was making my own investigation into this mess, which is probably why I got nabbed on the first place. Maybe I found something they didn’t want found, maybe it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

Maybe I’m just unlucky.

At least there’s a couple of positives, now I know what they’re doing (kind of), and back home no had said anything about Heroes and Villains going missing too, (weird, when you think about it) which I found out as soon as I woke up here, so I suppose not all of this is bad.

…You have to remain positive in situations like these, otherwise you eat yourself up with anxiousness.

I could sure do without the ‘stress tests’ that they put me under though.

Just because I’m somewhat resistant to fire doesn’t mean I’m completely immune to the thing, a fact that their constant prodding has demonstrated and that the left-over burn scars won’t let me forget. Thankfully, I hardly feel them anymore, but I’m not sure if that’s because they’re healing or because of the drugs they pumped me with.

…

Oh, look. My cell neighbor is just waking up. Joy.

Standing on the cell right in front of mine (or at least trying to) is a giant of a man most people call Legate, although most people call him ‘Oh dear god please don’t hurt me’ thanks to the fact the guy hits like a nuclear truck with superspeed and that he can also take a hit from a nuclear truck with superspeed like nothing ever happened.

That and because he’s a Villain.

At least he’s good company, being stuck in a cell alone for so long will drive a guy crazy, sadly, I didn’t really have any other neighbors and had to do with what was given. Turns out he’s not really that bad! At least when he doesn’t look at me with murder in his eyes.

I wouldn’t say we’re friends, or that I wouldn’t wish to have someone else in front of me, but it beats talking to and making up my imaginary friends.

“Morning sleepy head.” I greet the guy while he gets his bearings.

He just stares at me with the same scowl he always has while softly massaging his jaw.

“I see you’re still alive.” Is his only response.

I can’t help but sigh.

“…Yeah, I missed you too.”

The man is such a great conversationalist, every time I talk to him, I feel enlightened.

“What was it this time? They poke you with the electric sticks again?” I can’t stop myself from asking really, I need to make some conversation to fight the silence and if I don’t say anything this guy won’t either.

It takes a while for him to answer “If you really must now” He starts, stretching a little. “I believe it was ‘endurance’ training”

…Ah “The sticks then” Is what I say.

Yeah, turns out I’m not great at this whole conversation thing either.

The only response I received was a grunt, before he got back to his usual stretching.

You have to really try to get a conversation going with this guy.

I don’t think it’s his fault, he’s a very successful Villain so there’s several worth’s of people trying to get him every time he shows up. My guess is that he’s used to the usual hero talk of ‘hold there, villain!’ or something like that, so he expects most of the Heroes that speak to him to be idiots, or fools as he calls them.

Not saying those people are idiots, but if you dress up in spandex and threaten a guy that can flatten your entire city with words like ‘cease your heinous villainy you scoundrel!’ what do you expect to happen?

I can’t help but look at him as he keeps stretching in his cell.

It makes me think, if Legate is really that strong, how did these guys manage to keep in incarcerated, incapable of breaking free?

Surprisingly, it’s the man in question who interrupts my thoughts and starts the conversation this time.

“I don’t suppose you’ve found out anything about our captors” He’s finally done stretching and just stares at me, sitting on the center of his cell.

I’m tempted to be an ass to him, like usual, but… “No, I haven’t. All I’ve seen is cells and experiments” I remark, looking at my now burnt hand. “Same as you, I guess”

Legate stares at me for a long moment before sighing, the man takes a moment before he continues, all the while looking at the ceiling.

“By my estimates, it’s been at least four months since they’ve started” He takes a moment to let that sink in “Two since we’ve been imprisoned, seeing as we were both taken around the same time”

“I have tried, and failed, to find the reasoning behind this madness” He continues.

“For two months I have listened, I have paid attention to the actions of the madmen calling themselves scientists as they dissect and cut their way through us”

“Yet all I see is just madness. No rhyme or reason. No purpose.”

I can’t stop myself from saying “Look, there has to be a reason. There’s no way they’re doing this to have a good time” You just don’t cut up people unless you’re crazy and the things they’ve been doing to us implies that there’s more than crazy on this.

“Oh no, there is definitely a reason behind it all” He begins “Whatever it may be, I doubt we’re going to find anything at all ourselves”

“…You think we can’t do anything ourselves?” I cross my arms.

“Not against these people no. These ones aren’t your average street thug, they’re professionals”

I can hear him click his tongue “Had I all of my strength…” He trails off.

A moment passes. Neither of us says anything while I process Legate’s words.

“What do we do then?”

“…We wait.” He says “We wait until our associates find this place.”

“You think they’re still looking?” A part of me believes they are, but another one lost hope some time ago.

“It’s not like they have a choice” He gestures to the other cells far from us, to all of the people we can see at a distance.

…I think some of them aren’t moving anymore.

“With the speed at which they’re taking these people… It’s only a matter of time until they’re found out”

The moment I turn to him I see him looking back at me. Right into my eyes.

“All we can do… is wait”

…And with that, he shuts up, leaning back into his cell and closing his eyes. He doesn’t say anything anymore for the rest of the day. Neither do I.

All we can do is wait.

…I just hope they find us before our time’s up.

Where have you been Guub0? You may ask.

University is a cruel mistress, online semesters are a thing of the devil, plus my general laziness... Yeah.