Time in the Vault (Alisa and Simon)

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

The Vault was not the happiest place on Earth. The inmates hated Alisa LeBeau with a passion. Either they knew her brother, or word got out on what she had done. Either way, that one hour out of her cell was like a nightmare. There was always a fight, and since she had no motivation to fight back, she usually ended up in the prison infirmary.

Currently, she had more than a hundred stitches in her. One fight resulted in her getting her inmate number carved into the left side of her chest (right above her heart), another resulted in a cut that went from the corner of her mouth, nearly to her ear. In some sick way, she felt she deserved it all. With her mind clear, she hated who she was, what she was, and what she had done. Every scar was a sign of penance in her mind.

Today, however, she was called out of her cell... and long before the one hour free-time was to happen. In shackles, she was brought to a medical room, for what she thought was to see how well her current wounds were healing up. She took a seat on the examination table, and just waited with a guard on either side of her.

Comments

[simon_didnt_say]

Since it had been SHIELD who had captured Ms. LeBeau, it was their scientists and professionals who were being given access to her in order to better assess what might be done.

He would... he would have to speak to someone about the barbaric conditions she was enduring here. That she hadn't been placed in solitary for her own protection suggested that someone was being bribed to look the other way. Or maybe he just watched too many movies.

On the plus side, he'd had access to the medical records the Future Foundation had sent over, as well as his own scans from the field, and the files from the medical examination when she'd been processed.

Some of the people who'd examined her in the past had been, in a few words, bloody brilliant. But Simon was also bloody brilliant, and he had the whole picture in front of her. Especially given that he had the correct combination of engineering and biochemistry to understand exactly what was happening here.

"Ms. LeBeau," he began. "How... how are you f..f..feeling?"

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

She looked up, giving a rather meek wave to Simon. The shackles mad a slight jungle as she did so.

"Honestly? Not good, not that it matters." Her voice was a bit on the quiet side. She seemed completely different from when he first saw her. Gone was the snark, sass, and hulk like anger. In it's place was a somewhat quiet, depressed woman.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of being taken out of my cell so early? Checking for infection? I am trying not to move my mouth too much on my right side... it would tear open the stitches and would extend my mouth more than I desire."

[simon_didnt_say]

That change in demeanor tracked with what Simon had hypothesized. With the Vault actively suppressing her mutant abilities, she had less of a battery of negative emotions to subject herself too.

"Simply... following up on some things," he said. "Understand, please, I am in no position to offer any kind of deals or put nearly any offers on the table. That's far above by pay-grade."

He went on. "But I have had a chance to examine your medical records. You've led a rather complicated life, Ms. LeBeau, and in a very short time as well."

"Beyond the obvious fact that your neurological implants are still in need of calibration...

I think your powers are proving detrimental to your long-term health, mental and physical."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"I cannot deny that." She continued to speak with a somewhat soft voice. "You have no clue what it is like. To all of a sudden be hit with every negative emotion you can imagine. Hate, rage, anger... and then it warps you. You begin to feel it, live it. It changes you for the worse. And while it made me more confident, more sexual, and without a care in the world, it also made me into a monster. Unthinking, wanting to make the world hurt as much as I had."

Her head lowered for a moment.

"I cannot sleep, knowing all the people I hurt. Not just physically, but emotionally. My ex was right to pity the poor fool who I dated next. I cannot imagine how this makes Steve feel." She swallowed hard. "I did not just burn bridges with possible friends and people who may have cared, I napalmed them. They are vaporized and turned to dust. I can never get them back, so... I just do my penance here, at the Vault. I let the prisoners punish me for my crimes, my sins, because I deserve it. All of it."

[simon_didnt_say]

Yes, well, this was all getting very uncomfortable. Simon really didn't have the tools for something like this. He needed to steer this conversation back to things he could actually fix.

"Yes, well," he went on, "I might be able to help with some of that. Whoever set your implants did not have a particularly good understanding of how they'd interact with your mutant abilities or how they cause your biochemistry to spike when you're particularly charged.

"I may be able to reprogram your neuro-implants to act as a natural override for your abilities."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"And what would the chances of that failing be? Fifty point two percent?" Alisa sighed, managing to remove her handcuffs on her own. The guards looked panicked for a moment, but then she put them back on. "The implants do more than you think. They keep my intelligence levels up, as well. Unfortunately my emotions over-rode that and now I am seen as an idiot muscle head, who is too clingy or too dangerous."

She gave off a sigh, as the Guards began to relax.

"If you fail, we are talking about me being in a somewhat irreversible lobotomized state. My intelligence levels would be close to being between a three and five year old, and that would also include motor-functions and emotions as well. Something I sort of welcome, as I would never be able to do harm to anyone else ever again. However, while I have one person willing to over-see my care in such a state... I have a Father who does not support such a decision." She continued to frown.

"Either way, I would be cut off from the emotional chaos my powers put me through. I merely wish to inform you of what could happen should you fail and that I do not care either way. And if I may, I think I wish to ask something that would be within your clearance and field of SHIELD. Would you mind?"

[simon_didnt_say]

When she moved, it was to Simon's credit that he didn't flinch overly much, though his head noticeably pitched back.

"With all due respect, Miss LeBeau," he said, "I'm in the rather unique position of having degrees in both engineering and biochemistry. If anyone is in a position to understand your needs, it's me. I can assure you, if we proceed, you will be in very good hands."

And, okay, maybe he could be just a liiiittle prideful when his areas of skill were being questioned.

"I'm... I'm prepared to listen to any requests," he said.

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"I heard rumors that some prisoners have volunteered to be test subjects for SHIELD. Granted, survival is not something that is guaranteed." She gave him a look that showed little to no emotion on her face. "I wish to be signed up for such a program. It would keep me away from the majority of the prison population, and yet I would be doing something to help... undo all the wrong I have done."

She then started playing with her handcuffs once more, much to the annoyance of the guards watching her.

"Please, just shut down my powers, for good. But leave my intelligence levels as they are, and find a way to balance out my emotions, or remove them completely. I... cannot be a danger to others, or some ball of chaos in someone's life."

[simon_didnt_say]

"I... I c-c-certainly can't speak to those rumors," Simon said quickly, "but I shall pass the message along.

He fussed with the stack of paperwork he'd brought with him. "Ob--obviously, we won't be doing anything today... but I shall study your schematics further, and develop a p-p-plan of action."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"Why do you stutter so much?" She tilted her head, a bit curious. "Nervous? Frightened of me? Childhood trauma? Brain trauma?"

She again shook her head, sliding herself off of the exam table and standing on the floor with ease. All despite the fact she remained somewhat shackled.

"Well, then. I thank you for taking the time to see me, today." Alisa gave a nod of the head. "Hopefully we can get this straightened out, soon. And that I am alive to see that solution to my... problem. Please, take care of yourself, and Steve... if you see him, that is."

[simon_didnt_say]

Because he really wasn't good with people. Human interaction always set him off, attractive women even more so. Why people couldn't be simpler, like machines...

"I can do that, Miss," he said. "I should be contracting you again soon."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"Wonderful." She acted more like some emotion-less robot at times, self hating at others. "Guards, could I please go back to my cell, now? I would like to rest. I have a bad feeling that it is going to be a rough one hour, today, and I would like to be prepared for it."

The guards began to lead her out of the room, the shackles making a rather loud jingling sound as she moved. Simon could hear one of them grumbling that they need to find better restraints, as Alisa appears to have managed to get out of nearly ever pair they put her in (yet not make an escape attempt).

[simon_didnt_say]

Simon would certainly have quite a bit to take back in his report to SHIELD on this one...

He really did hope they could help this girl, though. No one deserved the kind of instability she had suffered through.