I Die Often Hank

Chapter 18

"Why not? As I sure you've noticed that I did you the courtesy of removing your curse."

"Curse? It was a damn gift that you had no right to take away!"

"You'll thank me in the end. After all, you'll get to live now."

"What makes you think I want to live?"

"I suppose you're willingness to die just means I will have to ask you some questions a little less nicely."

"I'll stop you right there. I'm taken and definitely not interested."

"Where is Xavier keeping the other mutants?"

"What other mutants?"

"The ones outside of his little school."

"He doesn't have any outside of the school."

"Fine. Guess I'll have to persuade you a bit."

Torture Warning

Stryker moved the table with the tools further away from me and studied them for a bit. His finger glided over the tools before stopping on a pair of pliers. He picked them up and took my remaining hand in one of his. 

"Last chance! Where the other mutants?"

"We don't know bro."

"Have it your way."

Stryker took the pliers and clamped them onto my pinky nail tightly. He grabbed a tight hold of the pliers and my hand and yanked the nail off of my hand. I bit down on my tongue trying to silence myself and not give him the satisfaction of my screams. 

"Where are other mutants?"

"WE DON'T KNOW"

Stryker clamped onto the nail on my ring finger and yanked it off. It hurt like a mother fucker, but the stump still hurt more. 

"WHERE ARE THE OTHER MUTANTS?"

"IN YOUR MOM'S BED!"

Stryker grabbed hold of my middle finger and broke the bone before ripping the nail off of it. 

Great now I can't flip him off. Wait if I don't have a left-hand does that mean I can't get married?

"WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?"

"UP YOUR ASS!"

Stryker furiously ripped the nails from my other two fingers. He looked over to my stump and wrapped it up while giving me a death stare. He walked back over to the table and grabbed a needle, instinctively I looked away from it. He jabbed it into the side of my neck and I could feel my body get much weaker, but I remained fully conscious. He released me from the table and picked me up. He carried me out of the room and down a hall. He placed me down on the floor of a bathroom. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and I tried to fight back, but my pathetic attempts at fighting did absolutely nothing. He picked my head up and then plunged it into the tub which had been filled up with ice-cold water. The cold water almost burned against my skin and I could feel it in my body. He continued to shove me under and pull me up briefly again and again. He pulled me up and held me there for a moment.

"Feel like talking now?"

"About pants and how unflattering they are sure"

He shoved me back into the water and held me under for longer this time before continuing the cycle of dunking and breathing and dunking and breathing. Suddenly an idea formed in my mind. When he pulled me up the next time I grabbed his leg weakly.

"Wait, I know where some other mutants are!"

"Then go on and tell me."

I gave them the address that Midas was using for his home base and fight club. Stryker gave a little smile that made me feel sick inside. He carried me back to the original room and strapped me back onto the table. 

The next day

Stryker happily strode into the room. Everything hurt and I was still missing my hand, I would appear he was telling the truth; about that at least. 

"Now tell me sweetheart where are the rest of the mutants?"

"I am not your sweetheart and I don't know of any others."

"That's what you said yesterday before you told me where those mutants were"

"I am still ready to talk about your horrible outfits though or that sorry excuse for a hairstyle."

Stryker must be really sensitive about his hair because he did not enjoy what I had to say about it. He flipped me outside down on the table and I was stuck face-down against the hard metal. I could hear him pick something up. He pulled my shirt all the way up until it sat against my neck. He started to carve into my upper back, I tried to decipher what it was. I focused hard on the shapes of his carving trying desperately to distract myself from the pain of it all. I finally got it, he carved in large letters across my upper back the word mutant in all capital letters. I could feel as blood trickled down my back and Stryker laughed to himself. He poured alcohol onto the wound which made the pain instantly increase tenfold. 

"Now the world will always know what you are; a filthy mutant."