Ian sat on the floor in his new cage, chained down to the floor, with his hands behind his back, just staring up at the ceiling. When the riot squad came up to his floor, they all started beating him with their shields and stun batons.
Ian pushed back against the men, knocking them away from him. He then got on his knees with his hands behind his back and surrendered, but the guards only got up and attacked him again.
He was angry, angrier than he had ever been. But he knew, that if he didn't behave then he'd be locked away for much longer.
Ian turned over on his side to go to sleep, but as he did, he noticed the camera in his room suddenly go out, which to him wasn't a good sign. He watched the lock on his door shift and open to reveal a crew of inmates gathered at the door. One of them had a giant rhino suit on, one had a giant wrecking ball and was apparently made of stone, one guy with a crowbar, and the last one was just a guy.
" Heh! So, you're the little punk who needs to be taught a lesson? I don't remember seeing your face anywhere. Must be someone new. Tell me, do you know who I am kid?" One of the men asked.
Ian looked over the men carefully.
" It would be hard not to. The loser who gets beat up by spider-man, the guy who absorbs things, yet always gets his ass kicked by the hulk. And then two members of the wrecking crew, the guys who get beat up by kids all the time. Aren't you all up past your bedtime?" Ian asked. He knew what was coming, the least he could do was make it a little uncomfortable for them.
" Well, at least we're not the ones chained down and helpless, right boys?" Creel asked.
" Right!" Rhino bellowed.
" Heh! Do your worst you, gutless cowards." Ian exclaimed.
Creel smiled and raised his wrecking ball, smashing it down right on top of Ian's head and slamming the boy into the ground.
Ian lifted his head up and watched as a little bit of blood, trickled out from his head. His head was hard but getting hit in the head by a wrecking ball that hard would hurt just about anyone.
" Is that the best you got?" Ian asked.
" As a matter of fact." Creel spun his ball around again and smacked Ian in his jaw, knocking the boy to the ground.
As Ian tried to pick himself up again, Rhino kicked him right in his mouth, making his head snap back with force.
The then proceeded to attack Ian all at once, stomping on him, punching him, and bashing their weapons over his head.
" Is that all you got? Ow! I think I actually felt that one." Ian taunted the men, making them hit him even harder. " Who taught you how to throw a punch? Your husband?" Ian asked.
" Cocky little shit!" Piledriver exclaimed. He punched Ian in his bloody face, smearing it all over the floor, repeatedly.
" Come on, boys. Times up. We need to get back to our cells." Creel spoke. He pulled Piledriver off of Ian and the group of villains walked away. Ian's cell door closed and locked once again, and Ian just sat on the floor bleeding.
His X-gene was suppressed by the power collar on his neck, meaning his healing factor wasn't working. He had to heal the old-fashioned way.
The next day, Ian was found in his cell in a pool of blood and was quickly rushed off to the infirmary.
While Ian was being tended to in the infirmary, Agent Pierce arrived, as planned, to investigate just what had happened two nights before.
" Agent Pierce, welcome to Alcatraz." The warden spoke.
" Good to be here. Now, let's get to business, shall we? I want to see the guard who was on duty that night, the nurse, and of course, I'll need to see the Inmate as well. I'll also need the camera footage of the cell." Pierce told the warden.
" Right... Uhm." The warden spoke.
" What is it?" Pierce asked.
" Well, something happened last night, the Inmate was found in his cell this morning in a pool of blood. He had been beaten badly by some kind of objects. We've currently got him set up in the infirmary." The warden told the man.
" WHAT?! What do you mean something happened? What happened to the cameras in the hole. There should have been cameras. Did you see who did it?" Pierce asked.
" No, something happened in the night. All the cameras went out suddenly. We have no clue what happened, and the inmate isn't awake yet to tell us." The warden explained.
" This is bad. Do you know what'll happen if that boy dies in here? You'll have a horde of very angry mutants beating down on your doors. So, I suggest you get to work figuring out what happened." Pierce told the man. " Now go get me the guard who worked that night."
" Yes sir." The warden replied.
Pierce rubbed his temple and sat down in the waiting room.
" Oh man, that lady is gonna chew my head off for this." Pierce stated as he thought about Emma's rage.
The only thing keeping him from thinking about the utter annihilation he was facing was the door to the waiting room, opening up again.
" Uh, hell sir. My name is David. David williams. i was the guard on duty the night the incident occurred." David spoke.
" Nice to meet you, David. Sit. Please, tell me everything that happened that night." Pierce spoke.
" Well, it was just a normal day, after you left. The Inmate was acting Irate. When he was offered food, he refused to eat it. He complied of course, but that all changed when the nurse came up to the floor. He didn't want to get the standard bacteria shot, which is what we give to all new inmates to prevent them from getting sick. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually he did get up and comply. I thought everything was all good, but then while the nurse was trying to give him the needle, he did something and cut the nurse's hand. When I saw that, I hit him in the face with my baton, but it snapped in half. I quickly turned on the cell's shields again and called for support. The inmate backed into the cell and just stood there. When the riot squad came up to apprehend him, he fought back. But eventually we managed to get him down on the ground. And from there we took him down and threw him in the hole and contacted you." David explained.
" Really? Is that all that happened?" Pierce asked. " Nothing else out of the unusual, no threats. Any details you may be forgetting?" Pierce asked.
" No, sir. that's all." David replied.
" I see. Okay, thank you, David. I'll get to work on speaking to the nurse now, and if she can corroborate your story, you'll be free to go." Pierce spoke.
" Alright, thank you sir." David replied. He got up from his seat and quickly exited the room. Once he did, the nurse form that day came in.
" Hello, miss..." Pierce spoke.
" Gloria, Gloria Stevenson." The woman replied.
" Well, hello miss Stevenson. How is your arm?" Pierce asked.
" Oh, it's fine. It wasn't that bad of a cut. Just unfortunate." Gloria replied.
" Unfortunate. Can you tell me what happened when you got that cut ma'am?" Pierce asked.
" Well, it was just another ordinary day. I went up to the third floor to give a young man his bacteria shot. Now, he was a little irritated, but not disrespectful like a lot of the other inmates, and it did take a moment to convince him to cooperate. But he did." Gloria explained.
" I see. And how about your injury. Can you tell me how that happened?" Pierce asked.
" Well, it's not what you're probably thinking. It was a complete accident on my part." Gloria told the man.
" Really, now?" Pierce asked.
" Yes sir. I tried to inject him once, but when I did the needle bent. So, I removed the needle and tried again with a second one. When I couldn't get it to go in, I tried forcing it in. I guess I pushed a little too hard, because the needle shattered, and I ended up cutting myself. The young man tried to ask me if I was okay, but the guard hit him right across his face with a baton. The baton broke surprisingly, and the young man stepped back into the cell. But that wasn't the bad part." Gloira explained.
" Oh, and what was?" Pierce asked. He was beginning to put pieces into place and was starting to see the bigger picture without even having to look at the footage. David avoided eye contact and sweated a bit as he retold his story. Gloria didn't seem to have any of those problems.
" Well, the riot squad came up and entered the cell. The young man just stood there doing nothing and they started beating on him with those stun batons and shields. I mean they hammered the poor boy into the ground, and when he tried to jerk way, they all fell over. They tried to say he was fighting back, but the boy had his arms behind his back the whole time. I thought when he got on his knees it would be over, but they just kept on hitting him. After that they carted him off to the hole, which I think was unfair to him." Gloria explained.
" I see. Is that all you can remember ma'am. Is there anything the Inmate might have said? Did he threaten any of the guards? Anything like that?" Pierce asked.
" No, sir. He didn't do anything wrong." Gloria replied.
" I see, thank you so much miss Stevenson. You've been a great help to this investigation. Can I ask you to state your testimony in front of a judge if the need comes up?" Pierce asked.
" Absolutely." Gloria replied. " But uh, there is one more thing I should probably tell you." Gloria told the man.
" Go ahead Ma'am. I'm listening." Pierce told the woman.
" Well... It's just. The guard at the time, David, he's a bit of a jerk. I mean the guy is just as nasty as nasty comes. He's had quite a few problems with previous inmates. And well... I think he might be sneaking things in for some of the inmates." Gloria explained.
" What do you mean?" Pierce asked.
" Well... I saw him sneaking out of the weapons vault quite a few times. It's a place where we take the weapons of the inmates, we bring in. And well, for the past few nights I've seen him sneaking down to the basement and not coming back up for a long time." Gloria told the man.
" I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Miss Stevenson, you've been a tremendous help. You take care and be safe. And make sure to get plenty of rest." Pierce told the woman. He stood up from his chair and shook the woman's good hand before stepping out with his note pad in hand.
" Okay, Mister Williams... What are you hiding." Pierce mumbled to himself.
" Agent Pierce." Agent Pierce turned towards the warden who called out to him.
" Yes, Warden?" Pierce asked.
" We have the video ready for you." The warden spoke.
" Right, let's get this over with." Pierce spoke.
He followed the warden into his office where the two sat down to watch the footage. All the while, Pierce took notes of the footage.
After it was over, Pierce sighed.
" Well, this is quite unfortunate for your people warden. Let them know that I will be paying a visit to all of them soon, and as for Mister Williams, let him know he's under investigation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see the inmate." Pierce spoke.
" Do you need an escort?" The warden asked.
" Thank you very much, but I know the way down. I will see you before I leave today to discuss what will happen next." Pierce spoke.
" Yes sir." The warden replied.
Pierce nodded and walked out of the man's office and started making his way down to the medical wing to see Ian's progress.
When he arrived, he was shocked to see how bad of shape the boy was in. Most of his skin was purple and his entire face was swollen.
" Jesus Christ." Pierce exclaimed.
" I know. Whoever did this too him, really did a number. But that's not the worst thing we found." One of the doctors said to Pierce.
" What do you mean?" Pierce asked.
" Well, we had to take an X-ray to see what kind of damage was done, but when we did, we were shocked to see that underneath the damaged skin and tissue, were perfectly fine bones. But not just any bones. His bones are made of metal. We tried to make an incision to see what was happening underneath, but we couldn't pierce his skin. Whatever did this, had to have hit him hard. And I mean HARD!" The doctor explained.
" Is he gonna make it?" Pierce asked.
" Hard to say. I've never seen anything like this in my life. Then again, I'm not used to patching up mutants. He could very likely be fine or he may die. None of his internal organs were damaged, the metal incasing his bones keeps them all perfectly protected. The problem would be any brain damage done, or the amount of blood lost." The doctor replied.
" I see. Keep working doc. I need to make a phone call." Pierce told the man. He reached into his pocket and walked out of the medical room. He dialed Scott's number in his phone and called the man.
" Hello? Agent Pierce, this is a bad time. Can I give you a call back later?" Scott asked.
" No, this is rather important, Mr. Summers." Pierce told the man.
" What is it?" Scott asked.
" Well, we have a bit of a problem. First let me give you some good news. The Assault charges aren't gonna stick. I saw the footage and gathered incident reports and Ian wasn't the transgressor in any shape or way." Pierce told the man.
" Well, that's good. Now, what's the bad news?" Scott asked.
" Sometime during the night, the cameras shut off and someone broke into Ian's cell and attacked him. Whoever it was, they were strong. They beat him badly, most of his skin is purple, he may have severe brain damage, and the doctors aren't sure he'll make it. They said they found metal coated on his bones, but that seemed to protect him from most of the damage." Pierce explained to the man.
Scott felt his blood begin to boil, but considering his company, he kept it under wraps.
" Pierce, tell them to take his collar off." Scott told the man.
" His power dampening collar? No way are they going to do that." Pierce told the man.
" His powers will heal his body. Once he's back to normal, you can turn it back on, but until then he needs to be able to heal." Scott told the man.
Pierce sighed and rubbed his face. Getting them to do that might just be impossible.
" Alright, I'll speak with the doctors. I just wanted to update you on the situation. If I find anything else out, I promise I'll inform you immediately." Pierce spoke.
" Thank you, Agent. Have a nice day." Scott told the man. He hung up his phone and Pierce sighed.
" At least he didn't scream my head off." Pierce muttered, he walked back into the room and called the doctor over.
" Yes? How can I help you?" The doctor asked.
" I need you to turn off the collar." Pierce told the man.
" What?" The doctor asked.
" Turn off the collar." Pierce replied.
" Why, would I do that?" The doctor asked again.
" Because I just got off the phone with an expert on his body and they said that his powers can heal him. Save his life. So, unless you want a lawsuit on your head, then turn his collar off. Just long enough for his wounds to heal. Once he's safe you can turn it back on." Pierce explained to the man.
" I... I can't do that without the warden's permission." The doctor told the man.
" Well, the warden gave me permission to do whatever I needed to complete my investigation. Which means right now you're hindering a federal investigation. If he dies, then I'm holding you responsible." Pierce told the man. " Obstructing an investigation, accessory to murder. Do those sound-like charges you want to face?" Pierce asked.
" No sir." The doctor replied.
There are only three keys in the entire facility that can turn off the power dampening collars. The first is in the warden's room and is usually locked behind a wall. The second is down in the guard's locker room, where all firearms and other belongings that the guards possess are placed, and the final one is in the medical wing. Where the doctors can activate certain powers if it is absolutely necessary.
The doctor pulled out his key from his drawer and quickly deactivated Ian's collar. The moment his powers were restored his body started, healing. His swollen face shrunk, and his skin cleared up.
" There, see? Was that so bad?" Pierce asked the doctor, who quickly turned the collar back on.
" I don't believe it. Weeks, maybe months of healing and therapy just fixed in a matter of seconds. It's Astonishing." The doctor spoke.
" Well, that's what mutants are, my friend. Astonishing." Pierce stated.
With his injuries, finally healed, Ian suddenly awoke from his slumber. Her jerked up from the bed with force and jumped to his feet.
" Easy, kid. Easy." Pierce exclaimed.
" Where am I now?" Ian asked.
" You're in the medical wing. The doctors found you in a pool of blood. You wanna tell me what happened?" Pierce asked.
Ian considered telling for a moment, but shook his head no.
' I don't need your help.' Ian thought to himself, if anything, he was going to handle the bastards that attacked him, by himself.
" No, I don't. It was dark and I couldn't see who it was. But it doesn't matter now. It won't happen again." Ian told the man.
" You can't be sure of that, kid. I may not seem like it. But I am on your side. If you tell me, I can find the guys who did this and make sure they see justice." Pierce told the boy.
" Well, I told you. I didn't see anyone." Ian replied.
Pierce sighed, knowing that even if he did, Ian didn't trust him and therefore wouldn't tell him the truth no matter what.
" Okay, but I'll be keeping a tighter eye on you kid. Now, I'm here for a reason. I heard about what happened the night before. I need you to tell me what happened." Pierce told the boy.
" What's there to tell? I was beat up by a bunch of armed men, because my skin was hard." Ian told the man. " I didn't do ANYTHING!" Ian roared.
" All right, all right." Pierce replied. " Can you tell me what happened specifically?" Pierce asked.
" I didn't want a shot, because I knew it would be pointless. When the nurse tried giving it to me anyway, she cut herself. I tried to see if she was okay, but the guard wacked me across the face for no reason. After that, a bunch of guards with shields and stun batons came into my cell and beat me down, when I managed to get off the floor, they fell down. And then not wanting to make anything worse, I got down on my knees and they still hit me. Then I was thrown in the hole. The end. Is there anything else you need to know?" Ian asked.
" No... That is all." Pierce replied.
" Good, now if you don't mind. I'd like to go back to my cell." Ian spoke.
" I'll give my report to the warden and have you back in your old cell soon. Thank you for the cooperation." Pierce told the boy.
" Yeah." Ian replied.
He sat back down on the bed and waited for the guards to come get him, to take him back to his cell. Not even a week in and he's already been accosted by guards and other prisoners alike.
After a while, a group of guards came down and escorted Ian back up to his cell.
" Why are you still here?" Ian asked Agent Pierce who had come up with him.
" Because I have some people who want to speak with you." Pierce told the boy.
" Really? I don't want to speak with them." Ian replied.
" Come on, don't be like that. Your teachers are doing everything in their power to make sure this whole process is as comfortable as possible for you. I mean the room. The food." Pierce explained. " All them."
" Right. Didn't ask. Don't need it. Go fuck yourselves." Ian replied.
" Look, kid. Come on. Can it really hurt to speak to people who care about you?" Pierce asked.
" If they cared they wouldn't have let you take me." Ian told the man.
" They did that because they did. Honestly, do you want that school to be the enemy of the entire US government? Surely you had to know what would happen if they did." Pierce replied.
" You mean, everything that has already happened a hundred times? Kidnapping mutants, experimenting on them, killing them, creating giant metal monsters to kill them, all of that is what you mean?" Ian asked. " Because all of that has already been done a hundred times. Why do you all of a sudden care about mutants and what happens to them? Where were you during the Mutant Registration Act? You know, when mutants were rounded up and killed." Ian exclaimed.
" Look, I get it. The government hasn't always been good to the mutants. But Mutants haven't always been the victim. All I'm saying is that you should talk to them. No one wants to be alone." Pierce told the boy.
" If I talk to them, will you leave me alone?" Ian asked.
" Sure." Pierce replied. He held out a tablet for Ian and Ian took it from the man, to see that there was already a group call in session.
" HEEEEEY!" Ian was greeted all together by the New Mutants, The Hellions, Dani, Emma and Scott and Rahne all grouped up in one small screen.
Ian looked down at the screen and nodded.
" How are you feeling man? You doing alright?" Josh asked.
" No, I'm not. What do you want?" Ian asked. His attitude threw them off a little.
" We wanted to see you, man. We can't visit. But they said we could make a video call." David explained.
" It was supposed to just be me, Emma, And Dani. But everyone else asked to join us." Scott spoke up.
" I see. Well, it was nice seeing you all. But I have to go back to getting beat up in jail. So, bye." Ian spoke.
" Wait. Dude, come on. Don't be like that." Noriko spoke up.
" Yeah, come on. We miss you. And we're worried about you." Sofia stated.
" Yeah man. Don't just blow us off. I get it your mad, but... I mean, we know you're innocent. And I'm sure you won't be in there too long. So, just try to chill out." Josh spoke.
" Chill out? You want me to chill out?! Let me tell you something, I just got out of the infirmary after someone attacked me in the middle of the night, I was chained to a floor, laying in my own blood. My teachers, who claim to be on my side, let all this happen. And my so-called friends refused to lift a finger to help me when I needed you. Yeah, right. I think I'm allowed to be a little... No very fucking upset right now! So, do me a favor all right? Leave me alone, okay. I want to try and get through the time I have left in here alive, and I can't do that thinking about all the people who let me down. Julian, Hellions, Rahne you all take care of yourselves and please stay safe. Give me a call anytime, as for the rest of you..." Ian leaned over spit on the ground before handing the tablet back to Pierce. He then laid down and face the wall, refusing to even acknowledge anyone else.
His bond with Rahne was strong, so powerful in fact he could feel her pain from across the country. And she his, so the fact that she couldn't even get a moment to speak with him did hurt. Ian had hoped by recognizing her and the others that she would at least feel safe knowing he doesn't in anyway blame her or them for what is happening, and that he still loved her.
Pierce sighed and walked away with the tablet, apologizing to everyone on the screen. He knew Ian was in a bad mood, but he didn't think he'd be that mad.