Slaves of Cerberus

The first thing she felt upon regaining consciousness was the bite of the straps around her wrists and ankles. And immediately the panic set in.

No no no no no. Not again, Jack thought, her mind racing as she felt herself start to hyperventilate. The old memories immediately came flooding back, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead as she struggled against her bonds.

But it was no good. Even with the lights dimmed so low that she could barely see, Jack knew where she was: strapped into some sort of examination chair just like the one back in the Teltin facility. She had been so sure she had gotten away from all of this shit, but apparently if Cerberus knew one thing well, it was how to fuck with her mind.

Behind her, she could hear the sound of a door opening, and soft footprints echoing across the room. "You're awake, I see," said Henneman, his voice calm and soothing even as Jack struggled helplessly against her restraints. "Faster than I would have anticipated. I'll have to adjust the mixture in your cell's sedative tanks, I suppose."

Jack struggled to control the tremble in her voice, not wanting the twisted Cerberus bastard to see how terrified she was. "What did you do with Jenny?" she asked. "I swear, if you do a single thing to hurt her..."

"Miss Madigan is fine," Henneman said. In the dim light, Jack caught a quick glimpse of the shine of his glasses, as he glanced down at a datapad. "And as long as you cooperate and follow my instructions, she will continue to remain completely unharmed by me and my men."

"So, you gonna fuck with my brain like you did with that asari, huh?" Jack said, trying her best to sound unconcerned even as she feared for what twisted experiments Henneman was about to perform on her. "Make me an obedient little cock-whore like her? Because if that's the plan... hey, you ain't gonna need any messed-up experiments to get that out of me. I mean... really, doc. Just bring all your men back here, drop those uniform pants down to the floor, and I'll make that hot little blue bitch look like a choir girl in comparison."

"Yes, I'm sure you would," Henneman said, with a noted lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "All while looking for the first opportunity to clamp your teeth down on me or one of my associates."

Jack forced a laugh. "Under normal circumstances, doc, you'd be right on the money. But I ain't gonna pull any shit like that when you've got me and my friends over a barrel like this. I step out of line, you're liable to just take it out on Jenny or one of my old comrades. So, fuck it. Cerberus has me right where they want me, so why don't you just fucking enjoy it, huh? Seriously, doc, the things I've learned to do to men over the years... well, just get me out of this chair and I'll show every last one of them to you."

Henneman didn't respond for a long time. When he finally spoke, there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "You're afraid, aren't you?" he asked, in that way that said without words that he already knew the answer. "Understandable, I suppose. The Shadow Broker actually had extensive files regarding the Teltin facility. I've spent quite a bit of time looking over the... heh, 'scientific research' they performed on Pragia." He let out a short, disdainful breath. "Amateurs. What exactly did they hope to accomplish there? Their experiments were unfocused. Pointlessly sadistic and cruel. And worst of all, recorded no useful data. All they managed to produce in the end..." he paused, the gleam of his glasses pointing directly at Jack, "was you. And forgive me for being dismissive, Subject Zero, but one powerful and angry biotic hardly seems worth the expense the Illusive Man put into that facility."

"F... fuck you," Jack spat at him, unable to control her temper at the mention of that name. "You twisted fucking prick! You don't even care about all of the kids that suffered and died there, do you? All you care about was that it didn't produce any results for you Cerberus assholes."

"Suffering. Death," Henneman said, and even in the darkness Jack could see his uncaring shrug. "All of these are inevitabilities. There is no preventing them. There is only fleeing from them as long as possible. But breakthroughs in scientific understanding like what could have been achieved at the Teltin facility... and like what I intend to achieve... those are something remarkable. And if a few animals must suffer... if a few people must die... in order for those breakthroughs to be made? All worth it in the end. Because that knowledge will last for centuries to come, long after those unfortunate test subjects would have already met their ends."

The gleam of Henneman's glasses turned back to the datapad in his hands. "But then, I wouldn't expect a vulgar, ignorant beast like yourself to understand that. But just know that what I intend to discover with my research will echo through the generations. And even after my death, my name will linger on the lips of those who truly value the advancement of scientific knowledge. And you? Well, whatever happens, you can spend the rest of your life knowing that you played your part. Perhaps I'll even mention your name in my dissertation." He considered this and quirked an eyebrow. "In a footnote, of course."

"How fucking generous," Jack snarled. "And what about your boss lady? The one calling the shots up from the top? You going to put Cordelia Lawson's name in there, too? Or is that just your little secret?"

A grin came to Jack's face, as she heard the scientist sputter in the darkness. "How... how did you..." he stammered, before recovering his composure. Even then, there was a new, cold edge to his tone. "Oh. Of course. She couldn't help but rub it in the faces of her 'sisters,' could she? Foolish. Normally she is much more cautious with her identity."

"Yeah, and now I know all about Henry's daughter and her secret identity," Jack said. "Maybe I should start spreading it around, huh? Let everybody know who's really calling the shots around here."

It was a bluff, and when Henneman responded it was obviously that he wasn't buying it. "Oh? And who exactly do you intend to 'spread it around' to, exactly?" he asked snidely. "Those mindless brutes minding your cells? Telling them about Miss Lawson would be like detailing the secret of eternal life to a sea slug. They wouldn't even begin to comprehend how valuable the information was." Henneman let out a simpering laugh that made Jack wish she had a hand free to pop him right in the jaw. "It's exactly the reason why I allowed Bowers and his people to stay around as the guards of this little cellblock: because they're too stupid to have any ambitions other than fucking whatever pieces of tail I throw in front of them. So, by all means, shout about Cordelia Lawson until your lungs give out. It will do you little good in the end." There was a moment's pause, and then Henneman coldly added. "And regardless... it isn't going to be much longer now before thoughts of rebellion against Cerberus will no longer even cross your mind."

"Yeah, sure," Jack said, now unable to hold back the trace of fear in her voice as Henneman stepped through the darkness towards her. "I'll be just like that blue bitch at the end of the cellblock. Brainlessly obedient to you Cerberus bastards. But I'm gonna warn you... you fuck with my head like that, you'd better give me the strongest dose you've got. Because if I get my mind back, even just for a second... well, those teeth you were talking about before? You and your people might just feel them after all." She forced a confident smirk on her face, even though she doubted Henneman could see it in the dark. "So even if you do shoot me up with that slut juice of yours... just think about that every time you stick your cock in my mouth."

Henneman paused in his approach towards her, and for a moment Jack thought that maybe she had managed to talk her way out of this. But then Henneman spoke, Jack now able to barely make out his features in the darkness, just enough to see the unconcerned smile on his face.

"Oh, but you're mistaken, Subject Zero. That formula is already perfected. I would learn nothing further from testing it on you," Henneman said. Reaching into his labcoat, he stowed away his datapad and retrieved a long, frightening-looking syringe. Even in the darkness, Jack could see the bright-red liquid contained inside the glass vial. "No, my dear. You have been chosen for a much different sort of test." Standing beside her chair, Henneman gripped one hand onto her arm, just below the elbow. "Now, try not to struggle too much. You'll just cause me to injure you, and we'll have to do this all over again." With his other hand, he brought the syringe down to her lower arm, aiming it at one of the veins peeking from between the dark ink of her tattoos. Jack hissed as she felt the needle bite into her flesh, and the red liquid begin pumping into her blood stream.

Once the syringe was empty, Henneman stood back up and took a deep breath. "Now, I'm not confident that this formula is ready quite yet," he said. "If I'm being honest with you, Subject Zero - and at this point, why waste time with lies - I expect it to have little result. But it's a start, and will give me a good deal of valuable data to work on developing the next formulation."

Tucking away the used medical instrument, Henneman reached down again for Jack's arm. This time, to begin unfastening the leather restraint holding Jack in place. "I'm going to free your left arm now. Once I have left the room and the door shuts behind me, you may unfasten your other restraints. If you attempt to do so at any time before the door shuts behind me... I only need to speak one word to activate the station's VI and summon Bowers and his people into the room with me. And if you force me to do that, or take any other hostile action against me, then you and Miss Madigan will deeply, deeply regret it."

Jack said nothing, merely flexed her left arm as it was removed from captivity. She could have reached out and grabbed onto that prick's labcoat from here, but in her current state it would have done little good except earn her and Jenny a beating... or worse. She tried to get a small measure of satisfaction out of the panicked way that that wormy shit dashed towards the door once her arm was free, but she was still feeling the fear of being thrust back into her nightmares of the Teltin facility. Once she heard the door shut, she quickly reached over to undo her other wrist restraint. All while breathing deeply, waiting to see if she felt any effects from whatever drug Henneman had shot her full of. He said it would probably have no effect, but she trusted that sneering prick about as far as she could throw him (without her biotics, that was), so she kept attentive to her body and any sign of changes as she leaned down to free her ankles.

Once she was finally free of her chair, on her feet and wondering what exactly Cerberus was planning to do to her next, the room suddenly filled with light. And what Jack saw then made her wish she had wrapped her hand around Henneman's throat when she had had the chance.