Rude Awakening

[Rasp]

Anthony groaned and rolled over. He couldn't remember his bed ever feeling so hard. His head was pounding and his body felt like it had been hit by a bus. Whatever he'd been drinking last night he was going to make a note never to touch the stuff again. This was the worst hangover he had ever had. Slowly, he hauled open one gummy eye and peered out the outside world.

He wasn't on a bed.

In fact he wasn't anywhere recognisable.

Memories bubbled up from the tepid lagoon of his subconscious. He remembered pain and fear and an awful lot of blood. Then things got sort of fuzzy. And now he was here.

Tony attempted to rise and immediately collapsed again, gasping in pain. Every inch of his skin felt like it was on fire. The one light in the cell made his eyes hurt and he squinted. Why did everything hurt so much?

He waved a hand in front of his face in an effort to reassure himself that his body at least retained some mobility. His hand and arm was swaddled in thick bandages and he could see a faint pinkness had soaked into the wrappings from beneath. More memories surfaced.

He had been wounded. No, that wasn't right. Somehow he had wounded himself. Quite badly from the look of the bandages. That explained the painful stiffness of his limbs and body.

If he had been cared for that meant that somebody was around, monitoring his condition. That's what they did in hospitals wasn't it? This didn't seem much like any hospital he had ever seen though.

"Hello?" He croaked, surprised at the feeble sound of his own voice.

He swallowed and tried again.

"Hello?" he said again with slightly more conviction.

[magneto]

((continued from In the Office))

Erik was currently standing behind a one-way window, watching Anthony Jenkins struggle to figure out where he was and what was going on inside the small chamber. If humans had their way, every mutant would be where Jenkins was, permanantly. His eyes narrowed at the thought.

Erik pressed a button, causing the one-way window to shimmer and allow Jenkins to see beyond the room. A second button was pressed and a two way communicator was opened.

"Ah, Mr. Jenkins. So good to see you awake. I am Erik Lensherr, the head of this research center. How are you feeling?"

While he waited for a response, a scientist whispered something in his ear. So the new mockant's ability could several layers of flesh from his body. The true nature of his powers were unknown at the moment, but Erik had faith they'd figure it out soon enough.

[Rasp]

The reply made Tony jump involuntarily and he flinched as a new wave of pain danced across his body. He stifled a whimper and gritted his teeth in determination. Somebody WAS watching over him, the least he could do was turn to face them.

With a supreme effort that left him almost weeping in pain he was able to turn himself on his side to face Mr. Lensherr. He stood behind an observation screen, the reflection of the light still causing him to squint as it bounced off the newly reflective surface.

"Research facility?" Anthony mumbled in confusion. That confirmed he wasn't in a hospital then. The sluggish memories continued to stir. He had a vague recollection of having met this man before, whatever, had happened. He had said words of reassurance. He had smiled. Tony's awareness returned to the present.

"Feel," he rasped, "I feel ... awful ... and thirsty." It felt as though he had not tasted water in a week.

"Where am I?" He asked somewhat plaintively.

[magneto]

He eyed the man critically. Erik had been lucky with the past few survivors, as they hadnt needed him to spoonfeed information and recent events to them. Anthony, however, seemed to be drawing a mental blank. His left eye twitched in mild annoyance. On the bright side, maybe holding his hand and walking him through everything would help form a bond. Erik was fond of loyalty in his men. Erik gave his most comforting smile.

"If you look to your left, you'll see a glass of water already prepared for you." Erik paused for a moment, trying to word his next statement as best as possible. "You're currently in the El Dorado, a research center for mutant powers. You signed up for the experiment. Your new powers, however, are a little dangerous. For your own saftey, we need to keep you in this room until we're sure you'll be alright. Until that time comes, a team of dedicated doctors will be looking out for your best interests."

The man didn't feel like pussy-footing around. Best to lay down the facts and let him ask whatever else he needed to ask in order to be satisfied.

[Rasp]

Mutant powers.

Another bubble popped. That was it, he had panicked and done something to himself. Something with his mind. The memory of fear returned along with an equally powerful memory of lashing out at the source of that fear. But Mr. Lensherr was taking care of him. The bandages and, Tony twisted slightly to his left, water were testimony to that.

He could have just let him die. One look at the stained dressings said that he had sustained enough wounds to be fatal had he not received swift medical attention.

Anthony tried feebly to smile but guessed it might have appeared as more of a grimace.

He slowly reached out, grasped the tumbler of water and drank. He'd never known water could be so very sweet.

"Thankyou," he managed.

A sudden, worrying thought occurred to him and he gulped.

"I ... I didn't hurt anybody did I?"

[magneto]

It looked like the man was currently experiencing a fresh wave of pain, but waved it away. Life was painful sometimes. It built character. By the look of the bandages, they'd have to be changed soon. He hoped the medicine that had been pumped into his system would help speed up the healing proccess. He muttered something to the nearest scientist, making sure Jenkins would be tended to after their meeting had concluded.

"Well Mr. Jenkins, you did manage to nearly skin yourself alive, but no one else was hurt in the proccess. If we hadn't been prepared for the unexpected, who knows if you'd have survived. But all of that is in the past now, and you seem to be recovering marvelously."

[Rasp]

Anthony relaxed. At least his outburst hadn't hurt anybody else; he wasn't sure he could have lived with himself if he had. He nodded to Mr. Lensherr.

"Thank you ... for everything," he said again, and meant it.

"I'll be on my feet in no time," he attempted a second smile and the refreshing water gave him the strength to carry it off.

With a sigh he rolled back onto his back, the effort once again causing him to wince in discomfort.

"Well, almost no time," he said to the ceiling and choked out a laugh.

Though he was hurt and still more than a little confused Anthony Jenkins felt like a new man.

[magneto]

Assuming that Anthony's curiousity was sated, he decided to wrap things up.

"Well, I'll be back later to check up on your progress. In the mean time, drink plenty of fluids and get your rest." A click followed, and both the intercom and the window were closed off once again. Erik nodded to the man in charge of Jenkins, and gave some generic words of support before disappearing back into the elevator. Finally, he had time to himself.

((continued into a Playground of Steel))

[mob]

The scientists who remained continued to observe and take notes. An impressive looking machine hooked up to the room was registering brain waves and body temperature and other sorts of variables inside the room. For the most part, Anthony Jenkins was reading okay.

A petite woman with a tray pitcher of cold water and new gauze walked into the holding cell. Setting the pitcher down, she went about changing Anthony's bandages.