Fateful Encounter {Kara} {PLOT}

[ĸara вelova★]

Kara slammed into the door. Pounding it relentlessly didn't seem like a very effective method of making it open, and her fingers could find no purchase around the edges to try and pry it. Her little bottle-opener necklace wasn't going to open this door. Kara panicked.

She pulled out her phone, pressing 1 for speed-dial. 'Lucifer' popped up on the screen and she hit dial. Holding it up to her ear, she bounced in her impatience for it to start ringing.

It didn't ring.

FUCK! She screamed inwardly, staring at the zero bars she had in the building. Modern technology was shit. If she made it out of this, she was going to invest in a good cell phone that didn't die right when she needed it, and could still work out-of-country.

It was either stay cowering up here, or go down and meet her fate. Every survival instinct told her to stay where she was. Nothing was going to make her go back down those stairs. So Kara cowered in the corner of the stairwell, back pressing against the cool metal of the wall, heels slipping out from under her. Taking deep breaths, she tried to make herself calm.

She was trapped. It didn't matter that these stairs were roomier than a mortitian's freezer shelf. The space was closing in on her and it was impossible to breathe. Kara's fear escalated and she silently floundered in her own terror. Downstairs, Stephens would be feeling an inexplicable horror, as Kara was still connected with him.

All she wanted was to get the hell out of there. Stephens should be feeling quite agitated, and probably confused as to why he felt that way. Kara was still forcing her emotions on him. He probably didn't want to be there any more than she did.

[Admin]

"She's not moving."
"I can see that."
"What should we do?"
"She still has the phone, we call her."

Stephens could feel the anxiety and agitation. It was a rather unusual feeling for him, as he'd long ago learned to suppress his emotions, not wanting them to get the better of him. So he was able to suppress the terror, fight against the foreign emotion, rein in his fear.

Kara would feel her phone vibrate, and jingle in its generic ring. A look at the name display would simply yield "Unlisted." Doubtless, she'd wonder how they could possibly access it, and might not even bother to pick it up.

If she did, the first thing she'd hear is a sly male voice: "Hello, Kara."

[ĸara вelova★]

Her phone was working?! Kara fumbled to answer it. She was too poor to to even think of adding something high-tech like Caller Display, so she didn't check for a number. Maybe her call to Eiji had gone through, and he was calling her back!

When she picked up, Kara snapped the phone shut not one second after hearing the voice. That was most certainly not Eiji.

She felt Stephens downstairs calm himself, and it helped her think. There was no escape this way, that much was clear. A big scary and nearly calm man was waiting for her downstairs. They had threatened her one and only friend who meant more to her in the world. What were her options?

If she stayed up here long enough, maybe someone would open the door by mistake and let her out. That didn't seem likely; these people were obviously smart - they knew her phone number, her name, and that Eiji was her friend. They'd probably be able to contact anyone outside wanting in and tell them not to open the door, or they'd disable the open command entirely. And if she didn't budge, she doubted they'd get bored waiting for her and just let her go. Someone, Stephens probably, would come up and drag her down the stairs.

Kara had enough bruises, thank you very much, and there was nothing she loathed more than being manhandled. So she could go downstairs, face the unknown. Die now or die in a year? The only difference would be the time she'd have spent with Eiji. And whoever said 'die'? Maybe they didn't want Kara dead - she didn't have any enemies. At least no serious ones with resources like these. Maybe she'd get a harsh interrogation, a scare, and a warning and then they'd let her skip on her merry way home. She wouldn't pry any longer, she understood the message loud and clear. No outsiders.

Before she did anything, she sent Eiji a text with '9362 St Louis St call police', hoping that they wouldn't be able to intercept it.

Then grudgingly Kara stood up and took a deep breath. Maybe one of her last. With that morbid thought she trudged down the stairs, taking her sweet time. The surly teenager used the railing, refusing to look over her shoulder at the stairs she'd already descended from.

Reaching the foot, the brunette crossed her arms over her chest, broke her emotional connection with Stephens, and glowered at his chin. She refused to let him see how terrified she was, and she rubbed her arms so maybe he'd chalk her shivering to the cool temperature. And Kara certainly didn't want him to figure out that what he'd been feeling before was her fear.

"Let's go," Kara said cooly, the shake not reaching her vocal chords. The words were icey, fierce, and did not at all sound like a fifteen year-old girl demanding to be lead to her doom. She looked as though someone stronger, perhaps a great leader in battle, was stuck in her scrawny little frame. The flash of her eyes were meant to intimidate. And when she met her eyes up with Stephens, she gave him an inexplicable feeling of insignificance. For no reason, he'd find that Kara wasn't as ordinary and pitiful as she'd been two seconds ago.

[Admin]

"She's trying to send something out."
"Intercept it."
"Already done."
"Shame that she remain on the phone. Would have made things more interesting."
"Message intercepted."
"And?"
"It was sent to 'Lucifer,' and asks to call the police. Has the address of one our of surface entrances."
"Change the address to the nearest McDonald's and let it go through."
"Yes, Dr."
"Now, we wait for Stephens to bring in our guest."

Stephens simply nodded as Kara approached. He'd figured she'd show up sooner or later, and could easily ignore teenage hostility. After all, he'd had to deal with much worse than Kara on a daily basis. He was slightly impressed by the shimmer in her eyes, and made a note to be extra careful around her.

Stephens began leading Kara further into the facility. As they walked, the sterile feeling grew, along with a stillness in the air. The slight rumble of machinery could still be heard from the walls, and didn't seem to get any louder as they went deeper.

Several doors lined the pristine white hallway, most labeled "Lab" with a series of numbers behind it. A few were storage areas, with a good deal less security. But there were clearly a few research areas here.

At last, Stephens stopped before an impressive double-door. Two Stephenses could stand on each other's shoulders and still not touch it. And you could march a small army through the width. Unlike most areas, there was no visible keypad. In fact, there was only a small camera perched at the top, constantly scanning the ground.

Once it detected Stephens and Kara, a ping sounded, and the door slid open. Stephens nodded, motioning for Kara to enter.

When she did, she'd find herself in what looked like a command center. Dozens of computer screens with unfathomable data flashing across. There was only two people in the room:

A slim woman with a sharp nose, glasses just balanced there. A white coat hung loosely on her skeletal frame, and she looked servile.

And an impressive middle aged man with salt and pepper hair. His gut protruded slightly, and he looked like an ex-linebacker. When Kara entered, he smiled and spread his hand wide.

"Kara Belova, a pleasure to meet you in person."

[ĸara вelova★]

Refusing to acknowledge her own intimidation when they approached the identical-looking body guards, Kara abandoned the man guiding her readily enough, stepping through the vast room of monitors. Eyes flicking from one screen to the next, attempting to decipher what sort of game they ran here, Kara's gaze eventually fell on the woman, then her male partner. As he spoke, Kara took a heady step back when her name was called to her. Of course she knew they knew her already, but it was always unnerving to know that someone knew almost as much about you as you did.

I can't say the feeling is mutual, Kara thought coldly, wishing desperately she could spit the icy words out. It was too bad she never spoke the things she thought, not even with Eiji, whom she was most comfortable around.

"You have something on your face," Kara said with little care, gesturing to the woman. Oh wait, that's your nose, Kara added silently, pursing her lips and clenching her teeth as she switched her attention back to the open-armed man. One eyebrow cocked and she adjusted her arms to hug her stomach tighter.

"Can I go now?"

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. See the head honcho and leave. But one could hope.

[Admin]

The woman momentarily brushed her face, but soon figured out there was nothing there. this resulted in her giving Kara a thoroughly annoyed look, and shooting withering glances at the middle aged man.

Said man smiled warmly at Kara, chuckling at her request. "Now, Kara, you wanted to see us, remember? After all, we certainly didn't accost you on the streets. And I don't believe anyone handed you the key to this facility."

He waved his hands to indicate the surrounding areas. "And I'm fairly certain that we didn't even invite you to come in here. No, this is something you did on your own, for some reason."

He templed his fingers together, raising his eyebrows as he studied Kara. The girl didn't know that they'd already pulled files on her. Whatever records existed on Kara had now fallen into these people's hands, excepting the private documents at the Academy, or anything else of that nature.

"Now, why don't you explain why you were so eager to find 'the lab,'" he held his hands up, making air quotation marks as he spoke, "and we'll see if we can help one another."

[ĸara вelova★]

Ugh look how regal he thinks he is, Kara scoffed, her body jumping with the force of a silent cough. The brunette stared at his fingers, wanting to crush them with her chunky three year-old boots. Those stupid quotation marks... it felt like he was mocking her, despite his overall pleasant demeanor.

"I didn't find what I was looking for, and now I want to leave," Kara said curtly. No details, no fine trimming, no decoration whatsoever. It was short and bitter and actually not a lie.

The girl then turned her attention to the unfortunate looking woman a few feet in front of her.

"The exit?" She prompted, having the confidence now to tell authorities that she had requested to leave, but was withheld against her will. She couldn't count on Eiji, as much as she wished she could. She had no idea if her message had gone through. Oh how she wished she had one of those gifts where people could communicate long-distances with their minds... Instead she had this subtle, pathetic gift that was neither offensive or defensive.

Oh how Kara wished she could manipulate her violence into something physical. All she could do was glower and pout. Maybe she would get her way if she weren't being seen as a moody teenager. Maybe they'd let her go if they found themselves inexplicably adoring her. Kara locked eyes with the scarily calm man and projected an admirable feeling into him, one that would make him see her differently. Not like Stephens, where he grew slightly more wary of her. This mysterious man in charge would see something he liked. Anything. Kara would be compelling for no obvious reason, just simply because.

Kara had suddenly gone from ordinary to extraordinary - the exact opposite of what she always did. When she tripped and fell, she'd force everyone not to care. She'd make them look away, fear her, become queasy at the sight of blood, anything so long as they didn't stick around and make a scene of her clumsiness. It felt strange to try and make someone like her.

Her arms shifted a little, still holding her own elbows tightly, and waited for a change of heart to come. It was the best she could hope for.

[Admin]

"Oh," the doctor chuckled, "you certainly found what you were looking for. Though I doubt you were looking for something quite this secret with quite this much secrecy. Perhaps if you had taken the time to stop and think about your actions, you wouldn't be in this situation."

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, shaking his head slowly. The motion of a teacher who's student has just made a minor error when learning their lesson.

"There's several ways to leave this facility. Judging by your lack of cooperation, I'm afraid you'll probably be taking the least preferred exit," the man smiled again now, "you know we were impressed with you, until you proved so uncooperative."

He sighed now rubbing the bridge of his nose. Another opportunity lost, gone into the wind. It was a shame too, because he had just begun to feel some admiration for the girl...

wait a moment, he had just been demeaning the girl. Why would he suddenly feel admiration for her? Because he mentioned it off hand? His feelings simply did not change that quickly.

"You know," he lifted a finger, pointing it at Kara, "Kara, I believe we might have a use for you yet. Dr. Reed."

He turned to the woman with the killer nose. "Prep lab 1."

[ĸara вelova★]

Time for drastic measures. Kara's chin jutted out. No one she would see in her every day life was going to see what she was about to do. She could make as big a scene as she wanted without worrying about repercussions the next day from classmates and professors. She stepped back, away from ugly Dr. Reed and Mr. Creep.

"I won't be a lab rat," Kara said suddenly. You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that 'prep lab one' after 'we might have a use for you' meant something bad was in store for you. The two occupants of the room would soon be flooded by stifling fear. There was nothing artificial about Kara's gift. Their heart rate would quicken and should they test their pulse, it would be anywhere from 100-120 beats per minute and climbing. If they kept focused on Kara, which they probably would (seeing as how they were trying to stick her in a lab), they'd assume she was the reason for their sudden unexpected fear.

"Let me out." She demanded, voice not rising but becoming more forceful. Normally when Kara 'threatened' people, she didn't use her power. Eiji found it amusing when something as small as her hurled death threats around. But Kara's eerie, quiet voice with a powerful hiss in it was sort of intimidating on its own - but with her gift influencing it, she was positively terrifying.

"Now."

[Admin]

The good doctor had been anticipating such a reaction. Generally people didn't react well to being told they were about to be used in lab experiments. And Kara struck him as being a particularly pro-active person, certainly the sort to act upon that knowledge.

Suddenly the doctor began to feel a great deal of fear of the girl. Sheer terror at her mere presence. It threatened to overwhelm him, and seemed to be doing just that to Dr. Reed who now stumbled back, yelping.

However, the director had not reached his position by losing his head when terror set it. Nor was he the type to overlook things. This was the second time he'd felt his emotions undergo a sudden change, and he was beginning to suspect that Kara had something to do with it. If that were the case, then you simply needed to overcome the source.

The director flung himself at Kara, using his terror to fuel his actions. As he did, he also hollered out "Stephens!" And he did not bother to mask the terror in his voice. Kara and the director would go down in a tangle of limbs. Proximity drove the doctor's fear to a fever pitch, and he actively attempted to shove Kara away. This resulted in the two of them becoming quite tangled.

And this was the scene Stephens arrived upon.

[ĸara вelova★]

The teenager smirked when Dr. Reed reacted so obviously to Kara's subtle change of her emotions. But Kara certainly hadn't been prepared for the older man's lunge. Kara was tiny. She was frail. She stood no chance against a full-grown man throwing his weight at her. His panic didn't help her either, she could taste it on her tongue and it made her frantic. When they went down, Kara smacked her head on the hard floor. Her elbows cracked loudly against the floor and her one hip slammed down hard too. She didn't make any noise beyond a sudden gasp, and she grimaced. The man on top of her was not very comfortable at all.

When she saw Stephens arrive, Kara began to feel the effects of her excessive mood manipulation weigh on her. The weakened and injured teenager glowered fiercely at the big man, intending to startle him. But she couldn't do anything past that, because her strength gave out, and although her survival instinct was screaming at her to stay conscious, the blackness closing in on her vision was all-powerful and would not listen to her protests. She couldn't favour it or scare it away. It kept coming at her until it consumed her vision completely, and then blanketed her consciousness.

Kara grew still under the terrified man, who would feel his fear subside and eventually ebb away completely. Her breathing regulated.

Kara's frayed red plaid winter coat was raised, revealing the pale skin of her stomach just below her navel. Her holey and patched-up jeans had ripped again on one of the haphazardly sewn patches on her hip and one of her boots had come half-off. She looked broken and pathetic, not at all something that had invoked admiration or fear in the great minds of this super-secret facility.

Kara's phone vibrated once in her pocket.

[Admin]

The doctor continued to flail and scream until Kara finally faded into unconsciousness. Just as she lost it, the doctor found his mind. Raising his brow and chuckling, he pulled off the girl.

"It would appear that there is something quite special with our dear Kara here," insisted the doctor. He rose unsteadily to his feet. The crash hadn't treated him well either. His days of tackling were long behind him, and his body felt it necessary to protest the strange treatment.

Stephens bent over to render the girl unconscious. When this turned out to be a pointless gesture, he patted her down for weapons. His search revealed her vibrating phone, which he then handed to the director.

The director flipped it open, greatly amused. "Hello, I'm afraid that Kara can't come to the phone right now, feel free to try again later."

With that, he closed the phone, tossing it onto the ground. "Now, move her into lab one. Things are about to get interesting."