5604/Changeling: What You Become pt 1

Changeling: What You Become pt 1
Date of Scene:	20 October 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	'Karl runs an experiment on Skye, seventy years in the making. Will it work? Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion!
Cast of Characters:	Arnim Zola, Quake
Tinyplot:	Changeling

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Arnim Zola has posed:
The last few days Skye has been in lockdown, food is shoved through a slot in the door, no more medical visits, no more chances to escape.

On the third day, as predicted by Skye's would be saviour, the door to the cell opens and an armed body of men, led by Kowalski, enter the cell.

"On your feet," Kowlaski says, hand on his sidearm. "It's time."

Quake has posed:
It's been several days of growing pain for Skye. Sure, there are a number of places that have numbed and healed over the past few days, but other things, like the cracked or broken ribs, and the throbbing ache in her head have only increased as the drugs she'd been given by the med tech who helped her began to wear off.

She was still mobile, but stiff and sore, despite moving about her cell to try and stave off such issues.

And bored. Incredibly bored. Skye couldn't even begin to think about escape plans under the new lockdown conditions. All she had was biding her time.

So it is when Kowalski comes, Skye is rather grateful for not only the change of scenery, but also the miniscule possibility of escape - or at least gleaning information that might help her formulate a future plan.

Despite knowing what Karl had planned for her, Skye still held out hope that not only would she be rescued, but that Karl's machinations would be a dud. It wouldn't prevent him from hurting her further, but it was one less worry on her plate: becoming a monster.

"I see they sent the ugly squad. Nice. You'd think an organization like HYDRA could afford to treat its members a little better. That nose. What, break it a few thousand times in your lifetime?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Nice try, you think I am as sloppy as that nurse, or that idiot, Bob?" Kowalski says with a savage grin. "You're not going to goad me into fucking up. Though, keep talking, and when this is all over I'll give you a nose to match mine."

The man nods to his underlings who come forward to grab Skye, they've got arm and leg chains as well as shock sticks.

They're not taking chances. Its almost flattering.

"See, none of us are keen on going swimming after you."

Quake has posed:
It's both flattering and sobering. But, yes, Skye realizes she's not managing a hit and run sort of dash for the 13th floor again.. and that her tactics aren't going to work on Kowalski.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," she says with a smirk, holding her arms out to be shackled. "I have to say, there are an awful lot of you for one me. Just what do you think I'm going to do, anyway? See?" She wriggles her fingers and hands. "No weapons."

Not that she's not tempted by the thought of starting a fight and making them work for it. Those shock sticks, and her still unhealed bruises say otherwise. Not to mention she's a better chance if her brain is alert and she's as mobile as possible.

The minions have no clue how close they were to a kick in the groin.

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Shut it," one of the Hydra soldiers barks reaching his hand back and looking for Kowalski's word to get swinging.

Kowalski shakes his head. "Sticks and stones," he says with a grin. "Don't let her get to you. Cuff her up." Then to Skye, he says. "You didn't have weapons last time either until you took them off our people. Fool us once..."

He gives a shrug, and his men move forward to cuff Skye's legs and arms.

Quake has posed:
Minion One gets a smirk. "See, even your boss knows you suck. Damn you guys are easy."

Kowalski gets the remainder of that smirk, and a shrug. "Not my fault your training sucks. Seriously. One of me, and an entire Hydra base? Do you know how close I got to actually escaping?"

She snorts.

He likely does know. She'd been walked back to her cell soaking wet, by Karl himself.

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Well, we did trust watching you to Bob," Kowalski says with a grin. "Poor bastard."

The minion ratches the cuffs tight on Skye's wrists, and the one doing her ankles is a little nicer, but not much.

"Petty," Kowalski grins, scratching his hand across the stubble on his chin.

"Get her up, 'Karl' is waiting," he says shaking his head and giving a little laugh at the name. He heads out of the cell and lets the minions handle getting Skye to her feet.

The minion who was going to smack her, growls, "Just give me a reason, bitch."

Quake has posed:
"I'd feel bad about poor Bob, but he's one of you guys, so really, his life choices sucked to begin with. I wouldn't say he was a good choice for leaving to watch me, though." Skye gives a negligent tilt of head, even as she winces at the tightening wrist cuffs.

Kowalski is eyeballed. He's an actual threat. And, if not an alley, the best thing to an advocate she has at the moment. Now that she's got him talking to her (for some value of talking) it opens up all sorts of possibility for the young woman.

"You're only discovering now that your organization is petty? You jack your groupies heads with time bombs to keep them in line. I have to say that's not much of an incentive plan and sure doesn't speak to trusting your own rhetoric."

She shakes off any help from the cot, and stands on her own. Blowing Minion One a kiss. "I bet you hit like a girl." Adding, "I wouldn't have to cuff you to keep you in line. So who's the bitch now?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Heh," Kowalski says about Bob and his life choices. He doesn't sounds like he disagrees, but it also doesn't sound like he cares. Skye's likely met the type on the streets, guys who know they're in a shitty situation, one likely to end with their death, but just don't care. They like hurting people and what they do lets them do it.

Added to that, he's got the walk of someone who can handle himself in a fight, like Clint, but without any of the restraint that makes the archer an agent instead of a killer.

"Don't knock the incentives plan, the Doctor, ahem, I mean Karl, is likely going to fit you with one of those detonators, after he's done his experiment. Unless you die of course, then, /flush/ it's out to sea with your body," Kowalsk is says before calling back to his minions. "Hurry up."

They urge Skye forward but that kiss and the snark, that has Slappy enraged. He takes a swing at Skye, closed fist, right at her jaw.

Quake has posed:
Skye laughs, trying to duck out of the way of Slappy's swing, not managing it. But that's okay. She knows she's won. She evoked a reaction. This was all about proving to the minions where she stood in the food chain on this little escort mission. Kowalski might own her ass at the moment, but they all knew she was barely a half step below him, and none of them even rated acknowledgement.

She licks the corner of her mouth where the blow hit, touching at the swelling there with the tip of her tongue, and nodding to Kowalski. He knows she's one, too.

She notes his presense. The swagger. The lack of Clint's restraint. All things that could be used against him if it came down to it.

"You say that like I should be worried? His little experiment isn't going to work. And ...Karl.. as you say is a lot more concerned about keeping me alive than he is about you, so I wouldn't be so smug."

Arnim Zola has posed:
A breath hisses through Kowalski's mouth when Slappy punches Skye. "Idiot, just bring her," he says.

"Probably," he says to Skye as his team brings her out into the hall and begins to drag her to one of the doors down by the end. "But either way, Karl told me to tell you if you get out of hand again, someone like me is going to visit your friend with the rollerskates, the one from the SHIELD typing pool or whatever. So, do what your told, and none of your friends have to get bloody."

He leads the way down the hall, pausing at a door to enter an access code. 3-6-4, the rest is obscured by his body. The door hisses open and inside is what looks like a surgical theatre, with three glass tubes in the centre of the lower level two of which are occupied, one by an obvious mutant, green skinned, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth, the other by Bob, the now former Hydra guard.

Up above there is a glassed off control booth, where Karl stands watching while men and women in black lab coats get things sorted out around him.

Quake has posed:
Skye frowns, but she's not actually worried. Darcy might be 'typing' pool, but she was also a SHIELD agent, and fairly capable of holding her own. Besides, May would hunt down whoever's ass with prejudice should anyone attempt that. "Whatever," she scowls. "Now like me and my shackles can do much anyway."

Except, you know, strangle some goons, and with luck slug Kowalski hard enough to knock him out and steal the keys. After that it would be his weapons and pass card, and this time she wouldn't be making a pit stop at comms...

Arnim Zola has posed:
In the laboratory, Kowalski nods to his team.

"Take her to tube three," he says before looking up at the control room, to Karl. "Doctor, we should be ready in just a few minutes," he actually sounds genuinely deferential.

Karl nods, leaning forward to activate an intercom. "Very good," Karl says with that flat voice of his. His attention turns to Skye as the third tube rises up to let her be secured to the rig inside. "And welcome, Skye, this should be a momenteous day for us both, despite all the trouble you've caused me in getting here."

Quake has posed:
Skye just chuckles to herself. "Brown noser. Might want to wipe that shit off your face before you leave the room." Because, yeah, she's noticed Kowalksi's deference.

She doesn't struggle being put in the tube. It's pointless. Another case of saving her energy for a winnable fight. She'd already made her point with the minions.

"You know, Karl, I'd have thought you'd gotten the message when I didn't come with you the first time. Seriously, you've nobody but yourself to blame for the trouble you've had. Most people would have gotten the hint by now."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Kowalski turns wiping his nose with an exaggerated motion that turns into extending his middle finger.

"Sticks and stones," he repeats in sing-song.

His team undo the cuffs, only to strap Skye's legs and wrists to the cross-shaped rig in the tube. The same sort the mutant and Bob are affixed to.

"True, but I am not most people, and while your computer skils were of value to me, this is today, will be the culmination of over 70 years of anticipation. I have read all about your people, seen studied them after the change, but I've never seen the moment itself, never been able to study it. Today all of that will change, and we will see what secrets that unlocks."

"So," he continues. "I've had plenty of reason to keep going despite your hints."

Quake has posed:
There's a laugh from the girl. "I win, asshole," she mouths. Because she had. Karl might do what he wished with her, and she couldn't stop him, but she'd won. She'd broken every one of them.

"What hints," she asks of Karl. "And it won't work. The crystals are flawed. I know. I had some. I tried already." Let him suck on that.

Arnim Zola has posed:
There's a twitch in Karl's right eye, "If that," he nods to the frame Skye is being strapped into, "Is winning I would hate to see losing."

There is a faint smile.

"Well, your father and mother were not the minds I am, I am confident my crystals will work."

Kowalski, scowls, seeing his leader drawn into the muck. "Doctor, I'll be happy to sedate her..." he volunteers.

Karl shakes his head. "No need, your team has secured her, and I want her awake to see what is to come."

The team withdraws, leving Skye strapped to the frame. "Any final jibes?" Karl asks. "Before we begin?"

Quake has posed:
"Loser says what?" Skye chuckles at Kowalski. Unlike him, she's not falling for it. And her chuckle only grows when he asks Karl about sedating her. Despite what Kowalski might say, she'd gotten to him. And hard.

Karl, she knew was a whole other brand. She was pretty sure she and he understood one another on some level. "Jibes? No. Maybe an explanation, though. You said they let her die. Who?" Though now she has a time frame: 70 years ago this happened. Or so she figured based on the combination of his speech about what SHIELD had done and his time devoted to researching this... Unless SHIELD had had him working on this project. In which case, Skye wasn't sure what to think. Only.. only she knew they had an original. They didn't need him working on this.

Which put her back to 70 years. Had SHIELD even been around that long ago??

"I figure I deserve a question or two. I mean, if you're right and all this works, I won't be in any position to apprecite what you tell me, but I'm still curious."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Karl pauses a moment mulling things over.

His eyes flick around the room, to the mutant, to Bob, to Kowlaski and finally to Skye. She can see it, he wants to answer, wants to talk but the audience holds him back.

"No," he says finally shaking his head. "The experiment will proceed, and if you survive it, we may talk then."

He nods to one of the men in lab coats and the tube begins to decend around Skye.

Quake has posed:
Skye won't beg. She's not only not that type of girl, it would defeat everything she'd done up to this point. And much as she wanted to believe she was right, and this wouldn't work, she was just a little bit terrified that it would. That he'd figured out the formula, and whatever it was one of those crystals was going to turn her into, was going to happen.

Still, she wouldn't stoop to begging or pleading, or pushing for more time wasting. It was demaning to them both. Not that she'd admit it, but she understood why he wouldn't say in front of the others. Then again, they should know, too. They hadn't earned it; there she was, in shackles, and secured to a medical bed, in a science bay, in an experiment tube, and she still had won out over the lot of them sent to collect her. Kowalski's middle finger had spelled his doom.

"After, then," Skye says, lips twisting over a wry grin. "Consider it a date."

Arnim Zola has posed:
There is a nod from Karl, "After," he says, and the tube closes down around Skye, her ears popping as it seals air tight.

From the control booth Karl calmly presses controls and an array of sensors lower around the tubes, so as not to miss a moment of what is to occur.

Then, he hesitates a moment, but only a moment before pressing one more button.

At the top of each tube, a small door opens and a blue and silver crystal drops into each tube. They shatter one after the other, a rush of greyish mist bursting out of them. It smells faintly of cinnamon.

That's when it begins.

The weight around her legs, the feeling like something was crawling up them encasing her in something dry and heavy, it starts on her hands as well, working inwards and upwards along her body.

Quake has posed:
As the tube starts sealing her in, Skye begins to know real fear. Not that she lets it be known. At least she tries to hide it as best she can. It's fortuitous that she's strapped down, because it saves her from the decision to fight and stuggle.

At least until the crawling itch begins.

She'd had the chickenpox. It was the only real childhood illness she'd gotten. Skye remembers how the bumps had itched and burned with the need to scratch them - only she'd been forbidden. The nuns had taped her hands inside oven mitts and left her under strict supervision in the infirmary. She thought she was going to die of the need to scratch - as it was, she'd wriggled and squirmed her body about her bed until Sister Mary-Agnes had taken the strap to her forearms and threatened worse if she didn't stop it. "Offer it up to God," she'd intoned, and scowled at Skye as though she believed the young girl was destined for hell and no amount of offering up to any god would help her.

It was like that.

Only infinitely worse. It burned and itched and ached along every cell and nerve ending of her, and despite herself, Skye found herself opening up her mouth to issue a wailing scream of impending doom and agony.