[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ktlhhm5.png[/img][/center] The sky had burned. Like twin falling stars, two heroes flew through the dark skies, bringing light to the world in the form of brilliant death. The scorched remains of Dreamcatcher’s, no, Menagerie’s, monstrosities scattered into the wind. Brent hadn’t been comfortable with the idea of being caged like cattle and then being paraded around in a transparent truck, but now, he was glad for it. Though the soldiers were definitely concerned, though any one of those monstrosities could flatten those trucks, his purple eyes still flashed greedily as he drank in the sights all around him. It really was different from how it was on TV. Underneath, the road rumbled violently as a prismatic barrage sundered the earth. Somewhere, someone was cracking a snide joke about all this, and though Brent couldn’t see the person, he gave them a mental thumbs-up. Dude totally knew what was up. When they were all going to be stuck in the same institution together, it simply made sense that they should be trying to liven up the atmosphere, right? He turned to his neighbours in the chain-gang, an easy smile on his lips. [color=B0C4DE]“Hey, hey,” [/color]Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]“You two got any preferences?”[/color] They looked sullenly back at him. [color=B0C4DE]“You know, Prism or Sparrow? Gotta say that as a fellow purple-eye-mutation-person, I’d go with laser chick any day of the week. Though didn’t think she’d sleep in something so normal. I mea-”[/color] The truck bounced again, and Brent almost bit his tongue off. Beside him, the two Arbitors gave him a look full of ‘shut the fuck up’, enough that he chuckled awkwardly. [color=B0C4DE]“Neither of you two wanna talk eh? Alright, I get that. No coffee and late at night and going to ‘school’ and all that. That’s cool too. I can respect that.”[/color] A couple of minutes later, after he got tired of gazing off at the far-off battlefield and the light show that Prism was generating, Brent narrowed his eyes, tilted his head to the side, and turned to his buddies once more. [color=B0C4DE] “Actually, I retract that statement. Sparrow’s nightdress won me over. Still hilarious that she goes Super Saiyan when she flies, but…yeah, that aesthetic is totally more en-FHUNK!”[/color] The truck bounced once more, and this time, he really did bite his tongue. [hr] Though she lacked any compassion for her fellow human beings, Director Zhang was at least a promoter of equality, in the weirdest way every. Xboxes and white smears aren’t segregated! Genders aren’t segregated! Races aren’t segregated! And the guards pointed guns to buttfuck everybody, even the two uncuffed ‘veterans’ of USARILN East. How kind. How fair. How… …he really wouldn’t mind getting some special treatment for being white and male right now. But, alas, a whiter male than himself placated much of Brent’s worries with an explanation of just how USARILN East functioned. A boarding school where rulebreakers were punished with death, was it? That was certainly one way of thinking about it, and it sounded like positive enough of an image for him to use. They got free money, they got free meals, and they weren’t stuck in cells almost all the time. Though East looked to be the place with the highest chances of dying in, that was fine too. He wasn’t going to run away from their rules or their missions or anything like that. As a first goal, becoming friends with everyone sounded like a pretty good one. Might as well make a bearable life surrounded by people he liked. The clunk of heavy metal hitting the ground sounded, one of the students escaping with relative ease, only to surrender. Brent almost applauded. Was she showing off her Houdini powers? Or was her next magic trick going to make her disappear? Then, he felt the chains shift, people behind him moving away frantically. And then, he saw the barrel aimed at her. At her, and, as a result, himself. He managed one step to the side, amethyst eyes widening as they met the eyes of the young soldier. Their callous director hadn’t ordered it, but that man’s finger was already on the trigger. Was he going to shoot? He was definitely going to shoot. Before he could take a second step away from that crazy albino chick, his body jerked involuntarily, as the whole room blurred. Hitting the ground on his shoulder, Brent almost became blind from pain. It was as if a live coal was jammed into his shoulder bone, a deep, throbbing agony that made his vision swim. He screamed, trying to chase the pain away with his voice, but it felt out-of-place, as if he wasn’t really in his own body. His eyelids felt like lead weights. His skin was clammy from sweat. Though it only hit his shoulder, every part of his body reacted to that pain, and all he could do was grit his teeth and make sure he didn’t bite off his tongue. But his efforts were becoming sluggish, and he blinked. Another bang sounded, that panicked soldier’s brains splattered across the floor. Equality indeed. Brent smiled as his eyes closed, bringing him into the frontier of unconsciousness. [hr] It was sorta slightly disappointing, really, to wake up and see that he hadn’t been made magically whole. A surly, overworked nurse had told him not to move his right arm too much, as the bullet had done some substantial damage to his shoulder, and now, it was all bandaged up and shit. Occasionally, it throbbed painfully, but whatever painkillers they used work. All he felt was numb, from inside out, and it…was wholly unpleasant. His nose itched from the sanitized smell of the hospital room, and the whiteness that clung to everything around him set him on edge. It was so clean, so orderly, so…empty. Then again, he didn’t have much of a right to expect flowers or “Get Well Soon” cards, huh? He wormed himself even more deeply into his bed, content, at least, that the linen smelled of soap. That was something. Maybe, if USARILN East really did give an allowance to all their ‘students’, he could go customize his part of the hospital. Get green wallpaper. Get flowers. Get fancy fruit basket and pretend that his non-existent girlfriend sent it over. That sort of silly stuff. An electrifying jolt raced up his spine as he raised up his arms to stretch out. Brent hissed in pain once more, eyes tearing up, before slowly, gently, bringing his right arm down again. Truly a pain in the arm. He tapped his finger lightly against the cast a couple of times, before frowning. Wasting time picking on his wounds? Pathetic. He didn’t have time for that. Amethyst orbs flickered from one detail to the next, frantically. Far off is entertainment section. Books, TV, games. Broken kids going around somewhat normally. Survivors bearing badges from monster fights, or perhaps just from the collateral damage caused by ‘discipline’. People with Xs were all glassy-eyed and braindead as far as he could tell. Why? Because regulars didn’t like the combination of bloodthirsty and subnaturals. Left side of him, muscled sportsy type was playing angry birds. Was he a surfer or something? Hair style sorta looked like it, and Brent could imagine him saying stuff like ‘su du’. To the right was a drugged up little girl. Another X. A bitter taste spread on the roof of his mouth. [color=B0C4DE]“So that’s how it is…”[/color] He smiled and waved at the glassy-eyed doll, and, without expecting an answer, turned to his buddy on the left. [color=B0C4DE]“Sup dude, name’s Brent. How’s the stage going?”[/color] [color=f7976a]"Mm,"[/color] was the extremely social response as the patient to Brent's left continued his game. Another few seconds of squinting and tapping resulted in a quiet [color=f7976a]"Fuck"[/color] before he turned to look at Brent. [color=f7976a]"Sorry, dude,"[/color] he waved a hand dismissively as he spoke, [color=f7976a]"stage was a total loss."[/color] [color=B0C4DE]"RIP man. Higher end levels are bullshit, eh?"[/color] His eyes flicked over the bandaged torso. [color=B0C4DE]"You got shot too?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"End levels are definitely bullshit,"[/color] he agreed with a snort and a grin. [color=f7976a]"And yeah. Well. If by shot you mean 'almost bisected by a spider-snake hybrid with razors for feet.' "[/color] His expression turned dark at the memory and he looked away. [color=f7976a]"Probably should've just died out there. Only reason I'm here is 'cuz our healer rushed out to patch my sorry ass up. Got decapitated for his trouble."[/color] The statement was too calm for what he was describing. Too calm for what he should have been feeling. But he grinned again as he turned back to Brent. [color=f7976a]"But that's my war story,"[/color] he laughed, [color=f7976a]"what's yours?"[/color] ...oh. Brent paused at the sudden weight of all that. Well. That was certainly...something. Half a chuckle slipped out of his mouth as he replied, [color=B0C4DE]"Oh...well, yeah, nothing as crazy as yours. Got to East like...early morning today? Our impeccable overlord Zhang brought a particularly jumpy guard to our orientation and the dude freaked out when some albino chick Houdini'd the cuffs." "Dude's aim sucked though. Swear I was like, two steps away from her and I still got shot. So much for my USARILN East debut."[/color] [color=f7976a]"Yeah?"[/color] the tanned guy laughed heartily in reponse to that before doubling over with a quick grimace of pain. [color=f7976a]"Shit. They told me I'm not supposed to move for a while, but they didn't mention jack about laughing. Hate these guys,"[/color] he muttered bitterly. [color=f7976a]"But that's pretty sweet, yeah? A battle scar on day one. And you survived it, too."[/color] At that, he groaned again and clutched his chest with an arm, lying back down gingerly before tapping a button on a little remote control attached to the bed by a thick cord. It flashed red before turning off. Within seconds, a nurse was at his bedside, administering something into his arm through a hypodermic needle. With another irritated groan, he saluted Brent with two fingers before dropping his head back onto the pillow, closing his eyes as he waited for the medication to take effect. As his new friend drifted off, Brent returned the two-fingered salute...only to suddenly jump as everything exploded around him in cacophonous noise. All around him, other injured individuals looked up and around as well, suddenly hyper-alert of their surroundings, as Zhang's voice filled even the hospital room. An attack? The appearance of monsters? And from Menagerie? Wasn't that dude a Precursor? Beside him, the glazed-eye Abberation twitched slightly, as if those sirens brought back a memory or another, but she quickly settled down, and soon, it all ended. Through all that, his tanned brother from another mother just snored heavily. Drugs be crazy. But it was a reminder that not all things were nice and calm in USARILN East. The monster activity wasn't merely a rumor. It was much too real. Brent's eyes turned to his bandaged shoulder. Yeah, as far as injuries went, his was probably ridiculously light. Compared to getting their organs scrambled by monsters or literally losing limbs, this should be nothing. So...no more slacking, no more flopping around in bed like a lazy piece of shit. Catching the eye of the graying, pinch-faced nurse who looked like she was in despair at the possibility of yet another day filled with blood and death, Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]"Hey there, young miss. Wouldn't happen to have dumbells or anything in the hospital, would you?"[/color] Today was going to be a left arm day. And not because he was planning on fapping. [color=f7976a]"The physical therapy ward will have all you need,"[/color] the nurse replied, not making eye contact with Brent. [color=f7976a]"That's the entire floor below."[/color] Before Brent could ask anything more, she turned on her heels and left. [color=B0C4DE]“Nice to meet you too…uh…Magaret!”[/color] With that, Brent rolled off his bed. The floor was cold against his bare feet, but whatever wooziness he still had in him was wiped away by that sensation. Taking one last look at the angry bird gamer, Brent caught a glimpse of his phone. It had fallen onto the floor, forgotten during the hurried request for medication and he gingerly picked it up, placing it on the bedside desk. And with that, Brent strode onwards and downwards. Perhaps a friendly face will guide him there. Not that he’d need any directional assistance, of course, but it’d be nice to chat while walking. It’s always nice to be chatting while walking.