She sat alone in the dark. She was cold, her teeth chattering as her knuckles dug into the moth-eaten mattress she was sitting on. The room around her was cramped, the walls made of pure metal. There were no windows, only a single locked door that wouldn't budge. She knew, she had tried but there was no way out. She...she was trapped.
Jacqueline's fingers dug further into the mattress, ripping through the dirty sheets. She'd been replaying the events of the last few hours over and over again her mind. It all seemed so unreal. But she knew, not matter how much she had tried to deny it, what had happened to her was reality. Everything from the fight at Alcatraz to her final struggle on the Inferno's sinking deck where she'd...she'd...
Jacqueline squeezed her eyes shut. She'd been beaten. They'd torn apart her beautiful suit like animals, rendering her jetpack non-functional, tearing off her weapons like they were pulling free the wings of a fly, before that bug freak had torn off her helmet, her beautiful helmet, that she'd forged with her own hands...tirelessly...her greatest creation had been ruined even as she had fought so, so hard. But...but it just hadn't been enough!
Jacqueline slumped over on her knees. It was like a nightmare. She...she couldn't comprehend it all. And what had come after was even worse. She'd been taken away from her suit, her precious creation, ripped out of it by the brutish hands of the military. She'd tried to fight, oh had she tried, but those monsters had no mercy for her and had torn her out of it. They'd taken her suit away before her eyes, as she herself was bustled away into some maximum security prison. And now she was here, stuffed into some cramped cell, waiting for her tormentors to come.
She felt like crying. Her mind felt like it was on fire, as the moments of her defeat played again and again in her mind. Her fingernails dug harder into the mattress as her teeth clenched together, as she fought back a flood of tears
The Metahuman Agency...those children! Damn them! Damn those little fuckers! They...just...wouldn't die! They'd ruined everything! Their refusal to roll over and let themselves be shot, crushed, or anything had ruined her brilliant scheme! Now they were alive, out there somewhere...mocking her...jeering at her loss as they celebrated their fucking victory! Bastards!
Oh, she could see them in her mind's eye. Their impish grins, mocking her with their monstrous insults as they rested. Oh, she could just see it! She imagined wrapped her fingers around their smug throats and squeezing, strangling the life out of them! They thought they were better than her! They thought she was weak! Well, she'd never just roll down and die! NEVER! Little bastards just couldn't...they couldn't...
Jacqueline's trembling fingers slumped to her sides as she lost her train of thought. She buried her head in her hands, feeling her head slick with sweat. She allowed the tears to come them, cursing hoarsely as she cried into her cupped palms. The bastards! The little bastards! Why...why wouldn't they DIE?!
There was a creak at the door. Jacqueline raised her head, blinking through a haze of tears. A latch opened at the doors bottom and a small food tray was slid inside. A gruff voice snarled outside, "Lunch" before the latch was slammed shut.
Jacqueline stared at the food for a moment. Poorly prepared chicken, some potatoes, and a small helping of corn. I might as well eat poison! She thought angrily, before rising. She grabbed the tray and with a scream, threw it across the room. It rebounded against the wall with a metal clang, the food spraying everywhere before it crashed upside down against the floor.
The outside voice barked: "HEY! If you don't take it easy in there, I'll call the guards."
"Fuck you!" Jacqueline snarled, slamming her hands against the door. The blow hurt her hands and she stumbled back, rubbing at her now aching fingers. But she refused to back down. "Fuck all of you! You monsters, keeping me locked in here like an animal! You don't know...you don't know who you're dealing with! I'm Jacqueline Prescott, you sick motherfuckers! I'll get out of this! And I'll kill all of you!" She gave into a fit of laughter, the surge of anger filling with her with feelings of positivity, the shot of adrenaline drowning out the storm in her mind and the unclean thoughts dragging her down.
The gruff voice responded with his own snippet of laughter. "Get out?" The voice outside snickered. "Keep dreaming, lady. Way I see this going, I wouldn't be surprised if you get the death penalty. Matter of fact, I'm hoping for it. You know how many people you killed? Do you even care?" He laughed. "What am I saying? You probably don't."
Jacqueline clutched her hands together, her nails digging into her skin. "You..." She hissed angrily. "YOU! I...insolent little man! I'll...I'll..." She sputtered, her thoughts giving way to the soup in her mind, as it choked her threats, drowning out what she was trying to say. She was reduced to incoherent, angry sputtering, more tears spilling down her cheeks, her lip quivering in rage.
The guard outside just laughed at her again. "Yeah. Whatever. Now shut up." His mocking words cut into her like a knife. Jacqueline stumbled backward, her eyes burning, feeling like a pair of hands had settled around her throat and started to squeeze.
She fell to the floor, the reality of it all coming down on her. She had been captured by the United States government...after invading their territory and causing untold amounts of damage...loss of life...the death penalty wasn't just crude mockery from her captors. It was a real possibility...her heart hammered painfully in her chest, as she struggled to breathe, to even think. It was all too much, the weight of her decisions coming down in a landslide. They'd tear her apart from all the innocents she'd killed, all the destruction she'd caused.
I can get out of this,Jacqueline thought bitterly, biting her lip. I'm the smartest...the best...person in this whole fucking world. I'm a genius. I've...I've survived worse...
But she knew she hadn't. And Jacqueline knew, even as she tried to deny it with all her will, that she was doomed. There was no escape from her fate now. For the first time since she was young she felt helpless.
"Jacqueline..." A voice suddenly cut through the silence. Jacqueline's eyes widened. No. No no no...it couldn't be! "Oh Jacqueline, look what you've done to yourself."
Jacqueline raised her head, her skull throbbing, finding it now difficult to breathe. At the other end of her cell, standing in the corner, was Amanda. She looked extraordinarily pale, almost to point of seeming to glow slightly. But otherwise...otherwise she looked exactly the same as when Jacqueline had killed her. She held one of her damn cigarettes in one hand, the muscles in her face seeming to contort in something resembling amusement.
Jacqueline let out a puff of air. How?!She screamed inwardly as she desperately fought for words, for reason, for thought itself. She's DEAD! I KILLED HER! I...I saw her die! I murdered her! SHE IS DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE...SHE CAN'T!
"You looked surprised to see me," Amanda grunted. Her voice sounded different. It lacked the rasp that had plagued her elderly tone. She took a suck on her cigarette and blew but no smoke came out. "Well, it's a change from the rampant contempt you often gave me, I'll say that much."
"You..." Jacqueline raised a shaking finger, sweat peeling down her face. "Y-you...y-y-you're DEAD!" She screamed the last word out, her voice rebounding off the walls.
"Hey!" The guard barked outside. "What did I say? Keep it fucking down!"
"Mmm," Amanda said, ignoring the guard's voice. "I suppose I am. I guess I'm not really here, am I? I'm probably not even real. You might be hallucinating, Jacky. Your mind is far gone enough that you've might have got to that point."
"Shut up!" Jacqueline hissed, practically frothing at the mouth. "You're...you're not real! You're..." She laughed hysterically, feeling one eye throb involuntarily. "You're...you...you aren't real! I...I...don't have to listen to you!"
Amanda shrugged, twiddling her cigarette between her fingers. "In that case, I guess I shouldn't be here at all. But I am and I'm bothering you just from being here." Amanda cocked her head. "No...no...I've been bothering you the moment you killed me. I've been gnawing at you ever since that moment."
Jacqueline swallowed Her mouth felt dry. She squeezed one hand into a fist and hissed out, "Bitch. You've been a fucking plague on me since my childhood. You and dad! Both tormenting me...hounding me...now you're fucking haunting me! Leave ME ALONE!" She screamed at her sister. Her voice rebounded off the walls, filling the small, cramped space.
A shutter on the door opened and a patch of light came in. Jacqueline raised one hand, blinking in the sudden surge of light. She caught of a glimpse of an outline of the guard standing outside.
"Be quiet," The guard growled threateningly. "Final warning." Without waiting a response, he slammed the shutter closed, plunging the cell back into darkness.
Jacqueline was briefly blinded, seeing spots. She blinked rapidly, trying to get them away. It took a few moments for her vision to clear and when she did...the cell was empty. Her sister was nowhere to be seen.
Jacqueline fell to her knees, rubbing her fingers to her temples. Her teeth began to chatter, against her will, and she hugged her arms closed to herself, eyes continuing to scan her surroundings wildly. Her breathing was coming too quickly, as her heartbeat continued to pound away in her ears.
"She's right you know," A new voice rumbled from behind her. Jacqueline jumped up, gasping wildly and spun around. What she saw made her freeze. Standing there, next to her bed, was the ICARUS Flight Suit. Her magnificent suit stood towering there in all its glory, its optics glowing in the darkness.
Jacqueline stared at it in shock. Her jaw fell open, her mouth going slack. She tried to find words but there were none. The suit cocked its bird-like head at her and its flexed its metallic fingers, producing a horrendous grinding noise.
"You've always known she's right," The suit rumbled in the synthesized voice Jacqueline had so often spoke through. It raised one hand, jabbing a claw in her direction. Jacqueline took a step backwards, suddenly terrified. "You brought this upon yourself. You've obsessed over her for years, obsessed over minor incidents of a tortured childhood of your own making. And you killed her out of some petty jealously because she did what you always wanted to do. She was the 'special' one and that hurt you, far more than anything else she did. You made yourself insane over these perceived slights and you made yourself into this..." The suit rapped a hand against its breastplate. "A monster. A freak. The thing you, Jacqueline, always wanted desperately to be."
"That's..." Jacqueline stared at her suit, cowering before its visage, feeling its mechanical optics bearing down her. "That's not...that's not..." She took another step back, her eyes flicking to the door.
"It is true," Amanda appeared next to her, out of thin air. Jacqueline squealed, jumping back. Amanda twirled her cigarette as she glared at Jacqueline. "I know you Jacqueline. You used to watch those old superhero cartoons. Your obsession with gadgets and gizmos was born out of that childhood fascination. But you couldn't admit that. No, you wanted to be better. You wanted to feel special amidst a changing world. And look at your precious creations now..." She took a drag on her cigarette. "They'll be remembered as symbols of terror and destroyed. You could have made brilliant things to help the world but instead, you chose to turn them on a world out of nothing but selfish desire. You could have been so much more, Jacqueline. But you chose to become another two bit criminal in a world overflowing with them. You deserve this. You deserve every ounce of the hell you fell into."
"SHUT UP!" Jacqueline screamed at her sister. She clawed at her, but her fingers just touched air. A snarl echoed outside.
"That's it!" The guard shouted angrily. "I'm calling in the others!" She heard him shouting something but she didn't care. She was totally focused on Amanda, drawing in furious breaths.
"Hmmph," Amanda smirked and shook her head. "You're still just as immature as you were then. I guess you never changed, Jacqueline. You know..." She smiled at her. "If you hadn't been so consumed by madness, you might have won this. You're original plan to take me as a hostage? Brilliant. But just a few short insults reduced you into a screaming mess and you killed me. Just like I wanted. When you did that, you sealed your fate. You were destined to lose the moment you turn your claws on me."
"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!" Jacqueline screamed at the top of her lungs, before diving forward, attempting to tackle her sister. But she passed through nothing and struck the floor painfully, one elbow cracking against the metal surface hard enough to send tingles down her limb. Gasping, she pushed herself up, her arm numb with pain. She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing there.
"I...I'm seeing t-things..." Jacqueline whispered, grabbing handfuls of her messy hair. She chuckled nervously. "M-my imagination...playing tricks on me...its just pent up stress...hallucinations! Nothing to fear..."
She then heard a cough behind her. Slowly, dreading what was there, she turned around. Her eyes went wide. She couldn't even but her legs buckled like jelly and she flopped to the floor, her nails clutching at the floor.
Standing there was her father, looking exactly the same as he when she had last seen him, on that fateful night. He didn't say a word, didn't even breathe, but his eyes, his horrible eyes, glared down at her and pierced through her like a pair of swords.
"D-daddy?"! She stammered and sputtered, her lips trembling. Her father didn't speak. He just continued to glare down at her, unmoving. He was like a statue, his features frozen in a terrible grimace.
"I...I...I..." Jacqueline clasped her hands together. She felt cold. It was like the walls of the cell were closing in on her, an icy hand grabbed her throat and tried to strangle her. "Please...please don't hurt me...I didn't meant to hurt...I didn't want...please..." She couldn't think, she couldn't process anything. It was all too much.
Her father didn't say a word. But Amanda walked out of the darkness and stepped next to her. She leaned down, her face inches from Jacqueline. Jacqueline tried to crawl away, to slink under the bed and hide, but her body refused to cooperate. She was rooted to the spot.
"We tried to help you," Amanda whispered, shaking her head. "We tried, Jacqueline. But I moved on. You never did. And this life? This is what your in store for. This is only the beginning. You're a victim of yourself and now, your own mind is going to slowly torture you until there's nothing left. And deep down...you know what?" She smiled and threw her cigarette away. "I think you know you deserve it. Somewhere inside that twisted brain is my sister and she knows she deserves to be punished for what she's done."
Jacqueline stared into her sister's cold eyes, shaking with terror. She suddenly heard the clomping of feet outside and one man's voice snarl, "Get in there!" There was a jingle of keys before the click of one being inserted into the lock.
Amanda stepped back next to her father. They joined hands. Then, the ICARUS Flight Suit appeared behind the two. It unfurled its giant mechanical wings and enveloped them. Its rocket thrusters roared to life and the suit shot upward, vanishing into nothingness as it touched the ceiling.
Jacqueline was left there, kneeling on the floor, just staring ahead blankly. The door was forced open and several riot guards stampeded in. They grabbed her roughly, forcing her onto the bed. Jacqueline's reflexes kicked back into gear and she began screaming, kicking and scratching out at everything around her.
The guards forced her down and her limbs were strapped against the frame. Jacqueline continued to struggle, wailing, fighting against her restraints. Through her blurred vision, she caught a glimpse of a guard approaching with a primed syringe. She hissed at her, trying to bite at him but the others held her back.
The guard jabbed the syringe into her arm. Jacqueline snapped at him, still struggling violently. But then, she felt her limbs relax. Her mind grew foggy and her eyelids began to droop. She cursed, sobbing, as she fell unconscious, cursing the Metahuman Agency, the world, and her family until blackness took hold of her. For the first time in years, she experienced something resembling peace.