OOC: Continued from the flashes of The Overdue Return.

Sixth Week of Captivity

Thousands of miles away from the world she knew, Katran Kjaer sat in a cold, dark, wet cell in the middle of England. No one knew where she was, not even her. One moment she had been attacking a facility holding a mutant that could have helped Eris' powers, the next moment she was lying here. She had no idea what was going on. None whatsoever.

The truth that no one knew about Haywire was Katran's sincere conviction that Jack's power would have helped Eris control her's better. What better thing to teach someone control over their powers, than a mutant who had no control whatsoever. It was a completely illogical conclusion, by a completely logical mind. That conclusion had led her to the Order and eventually to Haywire. And finally to this cell here, after a strange smack on the head and a white mist.

And after all of this time, she had finally realized why she was here. Slowly and methodically the man had broken down her will... torture and misery had driven her to come to this truth: The man wanted her to be completely manipulated, and completely in control of her anger. He had been successful.

While she was lying here, her mind was no longer on her rage. No, the rage had been replaced by an apathy, which had grown out of complete suffering. The numerous methods of torture the unseen perpetrator had used were too much for Katran to handle. In order to survive, she had to stop caring. To stop being mad. If she didn't her mind would explode in this place... because her powers weren't availible here for her to use. No, apathy had been the best policy... the man had won out.

She had been taught exactly what he wanted to teach her.

The door opened and the light streamed into the dark area. The man shadowed the doorway, his face hidden as always and his voice unreadable. He was the perfect captor.

The numbness in her mind disallowed her from wondering who the man was anymore. He asked her a simple question, "Do you want to leave this place?"

She turned her eyes to face his masked ones and stared thin lipped. "Why?"

She heard ghim chuckle beneath the dark mask. "Right answer." He walked toward her and took the chain holding her to the floor in his hands. Like a thin twig he snapped it in a single motion. Then he picked her up and motioned to the door. "Please..."

She staggered wearily out the door and into a long corridor that she had never seen before. Following it down the way seemed the right thing to do, so she did. Along the way she stared at the wall and noticed white-washed cement. Very old fashioned as prisons go. Annoying... but Katran didn't care. She reached the end of the hall and found a door on her right, which she opened. Before entering the mystery room, she spun around and looked for the man, but he was gone.

Stepping into the room, she found a table with a chair on either side. On the far side was a man in a dark red cape and a red masked face. He motioned for her to have a seat.

His raspy voice rung true in Katran's memory as the man who had held her here all these weeks. She wanted to hate him with everything that was in her. But she couldn't. Her apathy wouldn't allow that anymore.

He spoke first as she stared back. "Well Ms. Kjaer... you now know why you are here. I put you here to learn control over your emotion of anger... and you've done well... after six weeks."

Had it really been that long?

"Katran, I am here to offer you your position back as Eris, the goddess of chaos, as you so pridefully named yourself. But this time you will be under my charge, my pawn if you will, in the vast wide world. I have plans for this world Katran, some things you will never understand I am sure. As a high-level mutant, you can go places I can't go, because I would be discovered."

She shook her head in confusion, "Who are you?"

He coughed slightly, "You will know me as Dr. Menace, nothing more. Don't try to figure me out beyond that, it's not your perogative. You gave that up a long time ago when you sought out control over your powers unnaturally... but I have taught you naturally. It's hard for you to lose control if you're not mad. Am I right?"

She nodded painfully.

"Good. For now I will let you leave. Walk right out those doors into sunny England. Return to New York if you want. Find your friends from the Order. But do know that I will be in touch soon enough."

"What?" she said timidly, "How?"

"I have my ways, your cell phone number is very dear to me. And don't make an effort to change it... I have other ways of keeping you honest. Now, you may leave... you'll hear from me soon."

The door behind him swung open and he walked out. As she rose to follow him, she stepped out the door into a bright sunny hillside. It seemed this facility was built into the side of a hill somewhere in England. Crazy.

The man was nowhere in sight.

The Day After Release

The cold wind bit Katran's face as she staggered along the countryside. She had slept in an open-doored barn the night before, and hid when the owner cam round to see his horses. Katran didn't particuarly love animals, so the sight of seeing chickens when she woke up had nearly shocked her. But she had survived and struggled through. That was the deal. She had survived.

She was learning it was becoming more about survival and less about emotion. Emotion had been put on hold in the wake of her captivity. In essence, she was devoid of it. Like it had left her forever, perhaps never to return again. And she was sick too, bodily. Her torture had left her cold and dark, and sickness had leapt at the oppurtunity for weak meat. She had thrown up early that morning, and only when noon had come around was she able to finally stop hurling and start walking. Why the sudden sickness? She didn't know.

The walk was long and tedious and the weather was cold. She needed to find help soon or she would die. She knew she would... but she couldn't. She would struggle through. The fear in her mind was suppressed by the knowledge that freedom was only found in the next step. Or was it? After all... Menace said he would be calling. She reached down into her pocket and pulled out the phone, the hesitated. She put it back and kept walking.

"I have my ways, your cell phone number is very dear to me." His voice bit through her brain. She hated him. But not with emotion.

She would return to America. Yes. Hours of walking had led her to a street, and thank God a taxi could be seen coming her way. She hailed it and jumped in the vehicle when the empty cab pulled to a stop. "London please."

The man turned and stared, "That's over 300 miles from her miss..." he was befuddled.

She was cold in her reply. "I don't care, I'll pay you whatever it costs. Take me there now."

"As you say miss...." The wind started to pick up and Eris could tell a storm was brewing. It was headed right for her, and rain would be falling soon. It was almost as if it were mimicking her heart.

Freedom - Day 2

The fare for the taxi had been ridiculous, but thankfully she still had her purse on her. It was strange that Menace had left her with her purse (the small red one which fit in her hidden pocket) and her cell phone. The phone. The stupid phone. She wanted to throw it as far as she could and have it land in the center of the Thames. But she couldn't because he had told her not too.

The sickness had been horrible this morning too. It was only now that she had been able to bring herself out of the hotel bed. It was 11 am and she was definitely used to waking up earlier. What was wrong with her? Two days straight of sickness. It was strange, but then again, so was everything about being a mutant. Her captivity hadn't exactly been a walk in the park. But as she thought about it, she thought maybe the torture was better than this illness. Constant throwing up had left her weak and tired. Weird.

Now she struggled out of bed and took a quick shower. She felt relieved as the hot water washed over her body like a flood. It was good to have some hygeine again, after the kidnapping. She had taken a forty-five minute shower the night before, and this one was just as long. She loved the feeling of the heat on her body. So soothing after the ordeal she had been through. She used the shampoo on her dark red hair and thought about how flairing it was.

She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. Brushed her teeth with a toothbrush she had obtained from a nice porter she had met the night before. He seemed English enough. The accent always made Katran laugh.

She worked her way back to her bedside and grabbed her red dress, preparing to change into it. Then the phone rang. It's him. It has to be him.

No one else had the number, it was inevitable that the call was from Menace. She had no choice but to pick it up. Taking a deep breath, she sat on the bed and snatched up the phone, pulling the robe closer around her in fear. She hesistated, then flipped it open and stuck it to her ear. She didn't speak.

A voice rung out after a few seconds. "Katran, I know you're there."

Her fear showed, "What do you want???"

"You, to help me of course." The voice was icy and sounded like an evil grin was on the other side. So here they were, two evil people talking via phone lines.

"Forget it." Her response was quick and decisive.

"I don't think so, you see Katran, I have ways of keeping you honest. Ways of keeping you on my team. You don't want to turn your back on me do you. Do you remember what you did to Thorn?"

She gasped and uttered, "What?"

"The chip, simple but effective. I made some modifications, but the concept is the same. Disobey me, and feel the pain. Here's a demonstration."

Instantly a shot like fire went up Katran's spine. The pain was nearly unbearable. It literally felt like someone had jammed a knife dripping with acid into her back, and slid it up and down her spine. She fell over off the bed and dropped the phone onto the carpet. Writhing on the ground, she couldn't think for a few seconds, but what felt like years.

The pain stopped and phone squealed, she reached for it instinctively. The man spoke, "Like it?"

Gasping for air, she pulled herself to her knees and adjusted the robe back over her half-exposed body. "W-w-what do y-you want with me?"

"Simple. Go to the Order, join them once more."

Her hair was a mess and wet, while her breath was still disorderly. "W-w-why?"

A chuckle at the other end. "Because I said so. Have a good day in London."

Click.

Freedom - Day 32

The truth of what was happening hadn't quite hit Katran yet. Slowly and surely she was being drawn in to follow the man who had tortured her. Not because she wanted to. No, she could never want to help him. But because she had to, she didn't have a choice in the matter. Her mind was made up therefore. She would follow his orders.

And as of this morning, her orders were to leave for New York City on the 3 p.m. flight. He had called in her in the middle of a wave of nasuea, and she threw up twice while he was on the phone. He had simply laughed and told her to get her butt to New York City, and that an afternoon flight was waiting for her. She would have to pay and make the arrangements. He woudl sit on the sidelines and watch the fun. Fun. He actually called it fun! I hate you Dr. Menace.

So here she was walking down the terminal hall, looking for concourse C and trying not to puke in the process. Her sickness was getting later and more prolonged, and she had no idea why. Maybe one of these days it would stop, or the problem would become appearent. She had had a thought about the issue for a split second, but it had left her. Couldn't possibly be that... She kept walking and saw her plane in the distance.

The last time she could remember being on a plane was the fateful flight back from England. The one that had altered her perception and made her Eris truly. Katran had at that moment been transformed into an alter-ego, and Eris made the calls. Just like old times... But actually, Menace made the calls, and that was truly a problem.

She didn't have a choice. She was told to go to New York City, stumble around a few days, and eventually work her way back to the Sanctuary. Once there she would meet with it's members and work her way back into the little group. She would gain their trust, and Menace would be in touch the whole time.

Over the last thirty or so days he had kept close tabs on her, and Eris actually wondered why he hadn't shipped her out sooner. He was waiting for something, and she wasn't sure what. The sickness had crept in now in full force though, a brutal punishment for something she couldn't understand. Hopefully she would know soon. She would see a doctor if she didn't figure it out by herself.

After a twenty minute delay they boarded the plane and Eris settled into a comfortable seat in row 23. The cool AC blew down on her from above, and the sickness from this morning was finally wearing out. Time to breathe. She took deep breaths and slow ones. She had to calm her nerves down, even after thirty something days she wasn't calm yet. But she was certainly still apathetic. The man had done his job well.

Who was this Menace anyways? She let her thoughts wander as the plane taxied toward the runway...

OOC: Bringing Menace into the story as an NPC.

Reykjavík, Iceland - Freedom Day 33

Erik. His name was Erik. Very few knew his origins or story, but everyone who knew him had deep fear. He wasn't a man to be messed with or toyed with. He called himself Dr. Menace, and a menace he truly was. He wasn't content to let things run their course or sit around and wait. Menace demanded action, and he sought to help people by hurting them.

At the moment, his prey was Katran Kjaer.

A scientist and a scholar, Menace had uniquely discovered certain chemical susbstances that could alter the X-gene within certain mutants. Constant experimenting told him that very few mutants were actually vunerable to this chemical, but those who were had it bad, so he took advantage of it.

The main reaction was that the mutant would completely lose their powers while in close proximity. Menace developed it further and found it could have Haywire like abilities, and could be supressed by another chemical which was similiar.

He called the chemical Menastocinite. It supressor was known as Menastosoneer. When they came into contact, the result was a radical explosion of energy, that while causing no actual physical damage, it would cause an extreme energy pulse. This pulse was extremely painful, Menace had discovered the hard way.

It was a chip the size of an SD card that he had inserted into the back of Katran's neck. It was split in two, with one side containing a liquid component of Menastocinite, while the other side had Menastosoneer. The second overpowered the first, allowing Kjaer to use her powers at will. Until that is, Menace flipped the switch and the first chemical took over.

Katran was a mutant who was highly susceptible to Menastocinite. The chemical would render her completely unable to use her powers. Menace liked this control.

Plus, whenever he felt like it, he could flip a switch and the two chemicals would mix, causing Katran an extreme ammount of pain. Yes, he certainly had his ways of controlling her.

Step 1: Send her to New York City.

He sat back and kicked up his feet on the desk he was sitting behind. He stared at the computer screen that was monitoring Katran's movements. How fun. She can't do a thing, and here I am in the driver's seat. Excellent. Katran Kjaer... how the mighty have fallen. He chuckled slightly then spoke in his raspy voice,

"If you only knew girl. Katran, if you only knew the truth." His red mask obscured all his features but his eyes, and they were cloaked in a slight smirk of the pupils. He grinned beneath his mask, but none saw, "Everything as planned Katran. Good girl."

He took a deep breath and let it out with a satisfied sigh, "You've so easily forgotten... 'Disagree and be cold noise...'" The chuckle continued.

Freedom - Day 34

Another sick morning. "Uggh!" She let her thought out as she sat in the hotel room in downtown Manhattan. She was sitting on the bed with an Oprah rerun staring from across the room and a bowl of orange and red gunk staring up from her lap. She threw up again. The feeling of the warm formerly digested food coming back up through her throat and out again was purely disgusting. Well, maybe 'purely' wasn't the word for it, but was definitely disgusting.

She had gotten to the point where she was realizing that something significant had happened to her during the captivity. Something that had made her sick and kept her sick, and while she didn't know for sure what it was, she had a theory. If her theory was right, Katran was downright terrified. Terrified. The woman who intimidate, schemed, laughed, and stormed, was terrified. This wouldn't do at all.

She vomited again. And again.

"Ehhllwaa... gross." was the only words she could find to say. So far, Menace hadn't bothered to contact her today. All the better, she wasn't feeling up to it anyways. She also didn't want shock therapy in the middle of her gagging routine. Lightning coursing through your body and forcing food out of your body through your mouth, are rarely a good mix at the same time. Even separate they're both unpleasant.

"Menace. I hate you."

Reykjavík, Iceland - Freedom Day 35

Menace's cold eyes stared down the screen without emotion. Today he was in a good mood, but not good enough to smile. It was a serious good mood, one of those moods where you get a lot done, but not really with a good attitude. Apathy. For the first time in a while, Menace felt some shred of apathy. Maybe things are going too well. Maybe I should run into a bump... He told himself the unthinkable, and actually thought about it.

To think the unthinkable, those kinds of things are what make the world go round, change, and illuminate.

The plan was too perfect. Too perfect. Too perfect. Menace almost hated himself for it being to perfect.

Erik stood up and walked over to one of his numerous servers, then pushed a button on the side. A red light stared swirling in his office, and an alarm rang out through the silence of his mind.

'Code Storm, we have breach' The machine shrilled out over and over again in it's feminine voice.

"Shut up." He said, walking back to his chair amid the din. "Okay Katran, let's see what you can do with all the stops pulled out..."

He held his mouse, Menastocinite ready. He would pump her so full of the chemical it would render her useless... for a little while.

Manhattan

Katran was again in the hotel room, waiting for the food she ordered two hours ago to come up. For some reason she was ridiculously hungry, and now only that the sickness had left her for the day, had she realized this truth.

She stood and walked to the door, peering out the eyehole. Nothing. It would probably be another two hours.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Katran winced and shuddered at the same time.

Walking over quickly, she snatched up the phone and flipped it open. "What?"

"Katran, so good to hear you."

"What do you want." She was cold as ice.

"Just a little of your time." He was colder.

In a second, unknown to her, the chemicals in the chip in the back of her neck hit each other, sending a pain unlike she had ever felt surging through her. It was utterly horrendous. Pain coursed deeper than it ever had gone.

"Noooooo!" She screamed out and fell to the floor.

"Got t-t-t-oo." She stood and closed her eyes, which were tearing up in the midst of the pain. Suddenly, nothing.

She looked around the room and smiled. The pain was gone, so was the event. It hadn't actually happened yet. She was standing at the eyehole peering out. She had warped the time around her.

The phone didn't ring this time...

36 minutes later, much to her suprise, Katran Kjaer was not tired.

Iceland

He couldn't understand it. Why was he sitting here next to his computer, what was he intending to do here? And why was that absurd alarm ringing? Was he intending to torture Katran?

He stood and walked to the server, flipping the switch off. Something major had just happened, and he knew it. He just didn't know exactly what it was.

Manhattan - Freedom Day 36

The shock to Eris' body had certainly done a number on her. She didn't feel very well the next morning, and that was considering her current sick situation. If it was bad before, it was really bad now. On top of the vomiting, she had a cold chill. These were not good times of health.

But what was even more important to Eris at the moment, was why her weakness hadn't kicked in. Why, after the time warp, hadn't she gotten tired. Her weakness was always there, attacking her, keeping her from her true potential. Why hadn't the fatigue set in like it always did, tiring her, making her lose any sense of humanity. She couldn't do anything in her fatigue state, utter helplessness. But for some reason, it hadn't happened. Why?

She couldn't seem to figure it out, and here in the coffee shop in downtown Manhattan she wasn't getting any answers. The vomiting had left her hours ago, but the cold chill remained. She felt horrible, and hated Menace every minute for it. He wasn't definitely behind the attack, but with the warp he hadn't repeated his actions. Maybe he didn't fully understand Eris' potential. That's it. He had underestimated her. Good. One for the home team. She took a sip from her expresso and prayed that the chill would go away. It didn't. The steaming liquid didn't even affect it. Pathetic.

Her sense of sarcasm had been restored to her, and she felt somewhat better because of that. But still different, unable to fume. Unlike this coffee, she couldn't get steamy any more, not emotionally anyways. She had lost her edge of anger, and that made her mad. She got frustrated that she couldn't get out her frustration. Menace, one day I will kill you... and steam you.

A concert poster was above her head in the lights of the city. It said simply, 'Noise' advertising some unknown band that was probably annoyingly loud. Eris hated having her brain hurt with things like that. Suddenly, her old phrase came back to her with the buzz word, noise. "All hail the fullness, disagree and be cold noise."

Indeed, she had forgotten the truth behind her favorite quote. In order to escape fading away, one has to make payment where payment is due. In other words, Eris had to go with the flow. Make a difference.

She stood and headed out of the coffee shop. Time to give some old friends a visit...

OOC: And here we segway back into "The Overdue Return"