Ryn opened her eyes, blinking blearily. She was in a bed ([i]a bed?[/i]) and in a room ([i]when did that happen?[/i]). The furniture was adequate for a room of this size, if rather simple in design. What was going on?

The door opened and a woman in a nurse uniform walked in. "Oh good, you're awake. Hurry up, you just missed breakfast." Her tone, however, suggested that she couldn't have cared less. 

"Is this a hospital?" Ryn demanded as she got out of the bed. Her clothes had been replaced with lilac scrubs. Yep, definitely a hospital. "Who are you?"

"Your nurse, obviously," the woman replied. "It's time for your medicine."

Ryn's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sick—" She yelped as the nurse jabbed her with a needle. 

"[i]What did you do?[/i]" But she already knew the answer. The "medicine" raced through her bloodstream, binding to various cells. Dulling her emotions. 

She had never bothered to make herself resistant to poisons or sedatives. Holding on to that anger, she reached out mentally to rip apart the air molecules around the nurse's head. 

Nothing happened. 

What was this? The covalent bonds held fast, despite her best efforts at breaking them. This had never happened before...

Memories returned in a flash. [i]The needle sinking into her neck, insectoid eyes watching impassively as she lost consciousness. Bob![/i]

The nurse didn't seem to notice. "Can't have you crazies starting shit now." She turned and walked to the door. "I'll show you to the cafeteria, and afterwards I'm supposed to give you a tour of the place." She stopped. "Well? Are you coming?"

She should have been furious at being out-maneuvered, but the drug blunted the emotion, reducing it to dull anger. This allowed her to think: why had he sent her to a loony bin?

The answer was obvious. Ryn smiled beatifically and followed the nurse, using her powers to smooth out the tangles in her hair and shape her energy field into wings. It was important to make a good impression. 

As it turned out, there was nobody in the cafeteria. At least she didn't have to stand in line. Parts of the selection didn't look edible at all, though. What kinds of freaks stayed here?

She'd carefully selected her meal so it had all the components of a balanced diet. If she'd had her auxiliary mouths, she could have tested her meal for drugs. For now, she'd just have to rely on her taste buds. The food got no reaction from her nurse, which annoyed her. Would a crazy person care what they ate?

Then again, she wouldn't expect her escape to be that easy. 

At least they had a library. Their selection was mind-boggling; she'd be thrilled if it weren't for the fact that this was a mental hospital. They even had all the scientific journals from the annual flesh-crafting competition on Videnis, though she only needed the ones dating from five years ago onwards. She had to get ideas, after all.

The music room had an equally wide selection, and the Great Room reminded her of some ballrooms her clients and targets had. They was even a gymnasium and recreation room, all well-equipped. They didn't spend nearly as much money on hiring staff, if her nurse was any indication. 

Eventually, it was time to return to the cafeteria for lunch. A few patients were already eating; two blood bags of a silvery liquid floated to a table as she watched. Ryn frowned. If all the patients had powers like her, she'd need to be careful. She had no intention of starting anything she couldn't win. 

She stopped by the table after selecting another nutritious and balanced meal (salad with baked chicken breast and an apple as a snack). A girl with a bandaged eye and a white-haired woman were sitting there. Ryn scrutinised the girl, thinking. If she offered to heal her eye, the benefits were obvious: gratitude and a potential ally. On the other hand, she wasn't keen on revealing her bio-manipulation abilities to the staff. 

"What happened to your eye?" She asked as she sat next to them.