The Labyrinth

Chapter 9: Testing? Testing? Is This Meta On?

The hand grabbed his other arm and did the same thing, but paused at his neck. Dr. Kurr locked eyes with Dick for a moment, staring down the child like some gunslinger western movie. "You will let me feel your neck. If you want I can knock you out and do this while you're asleep, but I'd rather you be cognizant so I can get some feedback."

It obviously wasn't a question, but Dick was being given a choice. The obvious answer was to stay awake and let the man do what he needed, because anything could happen if he was asleep.

So he uncinched his neck and shoulders, straightening his back and neck. The man's eyes glittered and the hands came up. Dick flinched at first contact and the hands laid heavily on both sides of his neck. They started moving, going back and fourth and feeling over the muscles at the base of his neck and closer to his normal shoulders. He then went up, along his jaw and one hand grabbed his chin. Dick squeaked in fright and his hands came up to push the man away, but he stopped right before his hands made contact.

Dr. Kurr rose an eyebrow at him, a smirk too wide on his face. He jerked Dick's face to the side, his other hand coming to run across the shell of his ear. "No auditory changes, no increase in noise receptivity?"

Dick tried to shake his head, but the hand still held his face.

"Little bird." The man taunted, the child's stomach dropped as he realized what the man was implying.

"N-no... I c-can't hear a-a-any better." The hand on his jaw loosed just enough for him to stutter out an answer, his eyes tearing up because this was just so darn scary.

His face was jerked back into place and the man lowered himself to look straight at Dick's face. The man was looking at his eyes now, the stare was uncomfortable because he seemed to be looking for something and Dick had no idea what it was.

A wave of nausea rolled over the child and he keened quietly. He shouldn't close his eyes, it's what the scientist wants, but he was sure he wouldn't want vomit over his pur- white coat either. The colors started glowing brighter, the way it always did right before he heaved, the man looked as white as his coat was supposed to be, but his eyes remained pitch black, and his smile... for some reason it turned red, bright, blood red.

The boy clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.

"Getting dizzy little bird?"

He was breathing hard now, huffing between his teeth and feeling clammy. Another wave of nausea rolled over him and he limply fell forwards, jaw tingling.

An arm caught him across his chest, the man twisting to the side. "Careful there birdy-" whatever he said next was lost because the roar in his ears was too loud, the cotton over his head too thick.

Dick vomited.

He coughed and spluttered, gut clenching as it tried to spew more but nothing was left in the tank. The child swallowed slowly, his muscles not quite cooperating with him. The arm keeping him from falling was the only thing keeping him upright as well, he felt completely limp and weak, like everything was a thousand pounds.

"Ah, I see." Dick barely put any thought as to what that meant, he just started shivering.

A second pair of hands held his chest, the arm going away. Dick barely remembered Dr. Quinn when a hand was on his face, fingers splitting open his eye lids.