[b]URIEL ATTICUS - LOCATION: ROOM 8 (URIEL'S ROOM) TO GYM[/b]

The blood test passed without incident. Uriel never had any problems with needles. So long as he looked away and focused on something else while a metal tube was stuck into his flesh, he would be fine.

[color=a2d39c]“We believe that your ability is to transmit a sort of wave that alters the amount of pain that an individual feels. We aren’t sure whether your power is affecting the nocireceptors or the somatosensory cortex but I’m sure we'll be able to determine this after some testing.”[/color]

Julia’s spiel was met with deadpan.

[color=00aeef]“I totally understood all of what you just said. Totally.”[/color]

Julia laughed and sighed. [color=a2d39c]“I mean we don’t know if you are affecting pain nerves themselves or the part of the brain receiving the pain. We suspect the latter, considering the number you did on your classmates during that test.”[/color]

Oh, of course they knew about that. What a shocker.

[color=a2d39c]“Thank you for being so co-operative. Here's your call to your family, as promised.”[/color] She handed him a tablet from her bag. Uriel eagerly snatched it.

[color=a2d39c]“Tell me if you need anything, like books or clothes,”[/color] she said as she went through the door.

[color=a2d39c]“Oh and one more thing. I hope that you don't plan on doing anything like that mirror stunt during your stay here. You’re a good kid and I don't want to see you get unjustly punished for something stupid.”[/color]

Uriel merely grinned.

[color=00aeef]“Ha, ‘something stupid’. That's what my ex-girlfriend called me all the time.”[/color]

Julia smiled exasperatedly and prepared to leave.

[color=00aeef]“A medical encyclopaedia would be nice! And pyjamas!”[/color] he shouted after her.

Julia wordlessly flashed him a thumbs up as she headed out.

Uriel’s expression turned back to neutral, then to nervous as he fiddled with the tablet.

[color=00aeef]“Help me out here, guys,”[/color] Uriel whispered before turning the tablet on. He took some deep breaths to calm his beating heart and slowly eased his face into an easy-going smile as the dial tone rang.
 
The image on the screen showed his mother in a high class, well-lit space, no doubt the penthouse suite of some fancy European hotel. Which conference were they at again? There were too many to keep track of, and honestly Uriel had stopped caring when he hit the age of thirteen.
 
“Uriel, honey! Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” the chestnut-haired woman asked frantically.

Uriel laughed, genuinely for once.

[color=00aeef]“You mean apart from the kidnapping? Yeah, everything’s pretty great. You should see this place, it’s crazy cool!”[/color]

They chatted like that for a long while, with the elder Atticus firing off questions about his health and Uriel responding with light-hearted quips. Dad Atticus was at a lunch with investors and unfortunately couldn’t be there (not that he would have contributed much anyway), The subject of special abilities was briefly brought up but immediately dismissed as if there was another silent level of conversation that made it clear that it was not to be mentioned. Yes, everything was fine. It almost felt normal until...
 
[color=00aeef]“Haha yeah, I just hope they let me out in time for Christmas. I still owe Uncle Jim that rematch. He won’t be taking the Atticus Air Hockey Champion’s Trophy three years in a row!”[/color]
 
And there it was. As soon as he mentioned being let out, Joanne Nicholson-Atticus’ hearty façade shattered. Her slight flinch was quickly concealed by her public speaking experience as CEO. But Uriel saw it. It was more than just a betrayal. It was the disintegration of any semblance of hope that he had managed to hold on to since his kidnapping. He would not get out of this place, not soon and maybe not ever. He wouldn’t get to laugh with his friends or play a mobster in his school’s musical production or get yelled at for running in the halls. He wouldn’t get to help his buddy Matt serenade his crush to ask her to Formal or get to prank the underclassmen on Muck Up Day. He would never get to truly [i]live[/i]. And his parents knew! And they were fine with it! Hurt and outrage seared through his being but were quickly smothered by the numbness he felt in regards to anything referring to his absent parents. In a way...he wasn’t surprised. That was perhaps the worst part.

“Well, I’m sure that if you behave yourself and don’t act like you did when you lost last Christmas, we’ll see you soon enough,” she smiled without a trace of guilt.

Damn liar.

[color=00aeef]“He totally had it coming, Mum! Plus it was revenge for what he did at Lisa’s baptism that year, not ‘cos I’m a sore loser or anything!”[/color] he mock-whined.

This farce was getting tedious to maintain.

[color=00aeef]“Say, didn't ya have a big speech to give soon? I don't wanna keep you from anything.”[/color]

“Oh, I can't believe you actually remembered this time! Yes, it's in a few hours but contacting you was my first priori-”

[color=00aeef]“You should be practicing now, not talking to me! This is really big for the company!”[/color]

“Yes, but-”

[color=00aeef]“We can always catch up later. You only get to announce this new collaboration once, right?”[/color]

[i][color=00aeef]Come on, just go already.[/color][/i]

She sighed. “I suppose so. You get off easy this time but mark my words, you're gonna tell me all about what you’ve been up to!”

[color=00aeef]“Alright, alright! See you later.”[/color]

He carelessly tossed the tablet onto the bedside table after hanging up and exited the room. He needed a bloody walk. Uriel headed in the opposite direction of the cafeteria this time, seeking to explore the rest of his prison. Huh, now that was a swanky looking gym. Numerous ellipticals and cycling machines were arranged in neat rows. The well lit decor would have made the place a lovely area to work out in on any other day, but now it just reminded him of stark white laboratories and evil scientists. Uriel perused the room, trying to pick a machine that would work him hard enough to quell the loneliness and despair he was trying to ignore again. There was a girl at the back of the room, viciously pounding on a punching bag. She seemed fucking piiiissssseedd. 

[i][color=00aeef]Heh, I feel ya, sister.[/color][/i]

Uriel ignored her as he walked past. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation. But then he was struck with that feeling again, the sensations that weren't his own. The feeling blossomed outwards from the girl’s fists. Upon further inspection, he identified her as the upset girl who was in the cafeteria. The angry one at the presentation, well, one of the angry ones. And she was seriously mangling her hands.

[color=00aeef]“Woah there mate, you’re seriously gonna mangle your hands if you keep going at it like that!”[/color]

[@wolverbells]