Conscious, Conscientious

“Hit me harder! If I’m not bleeding, you’re not trying! We’ll both drown! We’ll drown just like your Mom, got it?! HARDER!”

…

“No?…Alright then, I’ll show you. I’ll make YOU bleed. Come here.”

It hurts…

The walls shook. Water reached her ankles.

No…I don’t want Daddy to die. I don’t want to die…I have to get better.

Red blotched her hands.

I just have to kill.

They’re still breathing. I’ll kill faster. More. MORE!

Good. I’m good at this. I’m saving us.

“Are you happy with me, Daddy? Are you proud of me?”

A floating vessel.

“One spot! Only one!!”

An outstretched hand.

“Daddy…why are you pushing me away…?”

“DADDY?!?! COME BACK!!”

Come back for me…

~

Everything spun.

Nonsensical murmurs were muffled behind a droning hum.

Cold…

Her sight was close to useless: all colors warped and blurred into each other. And the colors were already dim to begin with.

Pang tried to open her eyes wider. They drifted upward for a moment, then finally hovered forward enough to make sense of her immediate, foggy surroundings.

A face.

Loose blue-green hair, and a pale, delicate frown were before her. All she could see of this young woman’s eyes were how their blinks would move the bangs covering them.

The glass between the two of them only became evident when the woman raised a sleeve-covered hand to it and pressed gently while her stare deepened. Her attention was practically trancelike—apparently, Pang was the candlelight to which this moth was drawn.

Who the heck…are you?

Pang could only ask it in her mind. Her mouth wouldn’t move, or rather, she couldn’t seem to find the right command to open it.

Her next processed moment seemed illogical, because next, her eyelids were drifting open again. Fighting to keep her brain at work, she only managed one last sight.

There was a doorway at the end of this dark space. The young woman was passing through it now, her arm stretched back as someone unseen was guiding her away by the hand.

But before she disappeared beyond the room, the young woman’s head turned back to Pang. Her hood flopped and she nearly tripped.

Then as she vanished from Pang’s view, all awareness melted once more.

~~~

“And that’s what measures the median rate of the trace reader,” a man explained.

“Ooh…neat…”

Pang’s eyelids lifted open again. This time, with a blink, she shook away the fogginess and focused forward, attributing her success to her sheer willpower alone.

Alright, I’m over this. Who’s screwing with me?

Fists clenching, Pang tried to move. But though some of her strength was back, her wrists and ankles pressed up against metal. She couldn’t even look down to investigate: her head and waist were stuck against the surface behind her.

It seemed, for now, only her eyes and ears could help her.

Nothing stood directly before her besides a black tiled floor, but reflections from computer screens illuminated it in even patches. And the steady hum from within this odd container had lessened a bit, so the voices in the room reached her clearly.

She followed the voices to the right wall of the room.

“So that’s how you’re able to figure out her elemental compatibility?”

“Ha, not quite. This is just to get an idea of the trace reader functionality before we pull new readings.”

A long series of screens and desks covered the wall. Several people in long white coats were analyzing them as they turned knobs and pressed buttons. Pang’s frown deepened when she noticed diagrams of herself on some of the screens amongst the swarms of symbols and scrolling data.

A chair rolled closer to the screens out from behind another worker, and Pang noticed a woman dressed much more casually than the others within it. Instead of a lab coat, she sat wrapped in a sweater that matched her loosely tied deep green hair. The woman crossed her legs on the chair and stared on, mouth hanging open with the computer data reflecting on her wooden-framed glasses.

“Okay, I think I understand,” she said slowly. Between the subtle lisp and the way her airy words descended in pitch towards the end of her sentence, she matched one of the voices Pang heard when she awoke.

“I uh…designed that part myself, you know,” touted the worker beside her. “No big deal.”

“Really? Good job, Mike!”

Pang cringed at the man’s ensuing blush, and cringed even further when a couple other lab workers flocked over to show her more.

Gross. Guys think everything is flirting…Pang lamented. Why are they all drooling over this dorky chick?

Wait a second—why is THAT what I’m hung up on right now?!

She gave another tug at her bindings, but it was still useless.

“Oh. Well, hello.”

Pang was about to try moving again, but she locked eyes with the woman from across the room and realized the greeting was for her. It appeared her squirming had caught the woman’s attention.

“Hi there,” came another greeting attempt.

“Bite me.”

The lab workers turned to find the newly-awake Pang. One of them hurried to a particular set of knobs, but his counterpart stopped him.

“We’re done with her for today. We still have to finish reconfiguration,” he said. “Let’s not be wasteful. We can send her to solitary for now.”

“Well good luck getting her there. You saw how it played out when Benton woke her up the first time.”

Pang’s memory jolted.

Oh yeah…Baldy.

She could see Deon’s cousin and his princess friend’s desperate faces again above the overgrown grass. She’d tried to get them all out of there.

It should’ve been easy.

But whatever that bulky gray guy and the tall woman did to her mind had brought her to her knees in seconds.

The last thing she remembered was becoming fixated with the bald man’s eyes and growing drowsy…

And then, when his voice told her to, she awoke all at once.

But the unnatural lighting hurt her eyes. She’d ended up in an entirely different place. Lammy, the princess, and their friend were gone.

She had no idea who all the weird new strangers were. But within moments, they all felt her wrath.

She’d shoved one through a window. She was pretty sure she broke another’s wrist, if she was remembering right.

But then, that man Benton’s face had returned to her. And once again, it was the last sight she’d remembered before falling asleep.

With her memories pieced back together, Pang reevaluated her current environment.

The Benton guy’s not here this time. I can take them.

But the lab worker waved off his cohort’s concern. “The boosted sedative will take a while to totally wear off,” he said. “If we move her now, we should be fine.”

The green-haired woman stood from her chair, retrieving a mug from the desk.

“Do you want me to help?” she offered.

But before she could receive an answer, a man stormed into the open doorway. His yellow spiked hair stood out harshly against the room.

“Oh, there you are! Could you come with me? We have that meeting!”

The woman bonked her hand against her head. “That’s right—I forgot!” She took a hurried sip from her mug as she rushed towards the door, waving back. “It was a pleasure! See you all later!”

She disappeared with the man, but their voices still echoed back as they departed further down the hall.

“Didn’t you hear what happened to Wei?” the man huffed.

“No…I know his team had a mission. Why? Is that what this is gonna be about…?”

The sliding and slamming of a door muted their conversation behind it. Then, the lab workers all returned their gazes to Pang.

She stared back at them unwaveringly. “What am I, a zoo animal?”

The two main engineers deliberated for a little while longer, until finally, the more apprehensive one conceded.

“Fine…”

Pang studied their every move, though she couldn’t derive any sense from all of the typing, lever pulling, and screen checking.

But at last, with a hiss from beneath her, she felt her body lower to the floor level. The glass slid away and the ambience from the tech around her increased.

The lab members drew close. Pang felt the bindings on her wrists withdraw—but before she could act, something tied her wrists and yanked her hands behind her back, just like when she’d been captured with Lammy and the others.

This crap again…

She knew she should have reacted faster. In that moment when the bindings were changing over, she should have been able to pull free. But her mind didn’t act as quickly as usual.

Two lab workers timidly grabbed her arms and guided her out of the capsule. Everything felt too fast. Her vision lost focus from the motion, despite her best attempts to control it.

The nerd was right: whatever they juiced me up with still hasn’t worn off…she knew. Still…I might be able to handle these guys if…

Her sluggish thought cut short. As the lab workers guided her forward, a surge of individuals in black rushed in.

The workers wasted no time leaving her in their care. Pang did her best to glance around: eight total. And their tight black armor made it clear they were built to handle resistance.

One of them grabbed her tight by the shoulder, not nearly as worried as the lab workers.

I can still take them…Pang tried.

They pushed her forward through the door, and the world spun again.

Jeez…alright. Maybe just wait for the right moment.

The hallway was even plainer than the lab they’d just exited. But Pang squinted under the increased lighting—between the glossy white walls and long ceiling bulbs, everything was much brighter here.

She peeked over the shoulders of the guards in front. Another perpendicular hall awaited them at the end, and windows leading to the outdoors appeared to span the length of it.

Pang’s eyes twinkled.

There.

A guard shoved her from behind. With a stumble, she tried to speed her pace. The walls were still swerving in her sight, but not quite as harshly as when she exited the capsule.

Her senses were recovering, however slightly. If she could just manage to get to that window…

“So what is this place?” she asked her escorts.

No response.

“Got it. A secret lab for doing illegal experiments,” Pang answered for them. “That’s all over your faces. Honestly, it was obvious already. They pay you alright, at least?”

Nothing.

She eyed their progress again. They’d guided her past all remaining doors in the hall. All that was left was the next hall.

Almost there.

“Which zone?” a guard uttered.

“Z.”

“Z?”

“Yeah. I guess she already caused a ton of commotion.”

Pang tried not to smirk.

They reached the hall and veered left.

“I sure hope they pay you guys well,” she said.

She braced herself.

“’Cuz it’s gonna have to be worth all that prison time when I rat this place out.”

Her spinning kick swung slower than she was used to, but it was enough: her heel met the face of the guard nearest the window. As he launched back, she began ducking to avoid the hands she knew was coming.

“GET HER!!”

Half of them slammed against each other in their attempt as Pang descended just in time.

Using the momentum from her motions thus far, Pang pushed off and pounced at her new clear-shot for the window. Spinning to position her feet first, she bashed a double-kick through the glass.

As she freefell within the shards, she glanced back at her former captors one last time.

“Piss off, normies!”

But her next problem came immediately: her descent sped up, and she realized she just dove out of one of the top floors of a multi-story building.

Cursing, Pang jerked herself to spin the other way. With her hands bound, her legwork was her only hope.

She lucked out: the lower part of the building was wider, so her feet would be able to reach its wall. Pang skidded her shoes against it and leaned up, heading straight for the unforgiving pavement.

Through her blowing hair, she noticed a strip of bushes and soil just past the walkway she was yet to collide with.

She just had to make it that far.

The friction slowed her only marginally, but it was just enough: nearing the ground, Pang pushed off the wall with all of her strength. She pressed her eyes shut and broke into a much-practiced roll.

However, she didn’t quite clear the street: Pang’s shoulder skidded against pavement for a fleeting moment. But then, she rolled fully through the garden strip.

The sheer force of her speed launched her back to her feet, and she almost failed to regain her balance as she broke into a sprint. Her shoulder’s new scrape only stung a bit, though she finally noticed a few cuts from the glass she’d shattered.

Pang shook it off and powered forward. Considering what she pulled off, she could live with minor injuries.

“BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!!”

“Great.”

She winced as the piercing alarm announced her escape across the sky. She’d figured something like that would probably sound within the building itself, but not the entire city.

So where even was she?

Pang could only spare a few quick looks around as she raced ahead. Tall, white buildings surrounded the walkway, with plenty of trees neatly interspersed. A park was in the distance.

But if the alarm was blaring everywhere, then clearly, the building she’d fled wasn’t the entire facility.

All of this was.

It was a campus.

“STOP!”

Pang sprinted faster. Her strength was nearly all the way back. Just ahead, the collection of buildings opened up to an empty, open area of paved ground. Only the foggy horizon was beyond it.

Perfect. Just keep running this way.

Phillip and everyone are coming. I just have to get somewhere visible.

Memories of desperate roars and crowded, clawing nails stabbed into her head.

No…

“THERE’S NOWHERE TO RUN! STOP!”

Within the whitish sky she’d set her sights on, Pang could see her own, younger hand reaching out in vain.

“Daddy!! Come back!! Please don’t leave me!!”

She saw the aircraft speeding away. Then the reaching hands of others blocked it from view.

Pang shook her head, and the images vanished.

No! Not this time! Not…

She brought herself to a sliding stop, and nearly fell forward. If she had, it would have been the last mistake she ever made.

Somehow she’d noticed it moments before. But her mind refused to accept it: the pavement didn’t continue on endlessly towards the horizon.

It came to an abrupt end.

Just past her toes lay the edge of the ground, and beneath it, an endless drop into nothing but white air.

What…? No…

Her head darted to both sides. The ground completely ended for as far as she could see.

Pang’s hands trembled until she clenched them into fists to make them stop. She tensed.

All right, then…I’ll play for a little bit longer.

She spun around in a fighting stance, aside from her bound arms. As anticipated, another horde of black-armored people were closing in—some on foot, and others riding sleek, hovering scooters.

The first pack of scooter-riding guards reached her. Their rides vanished from existence, and they formed a wide semi-circle around Pang to block off any option for retreat.

Those scooters were imagined, she recognized. That means at least one of these guys is an Imaginer. But last time I tried using my powers on these people…

She could practically still feel the slicing pain in her head as she played back her failed fight against Benton and Irma.

Are any of these guys like those two?

The guards all took a step and lifted their arms as if holding a large gun. Pang’s eyes furrowed: nothing was in their hands.

…At least, not yet. All at once, black rifles faded into their grips, similar in material to the scooters.

“Fire!”

Red clusters of light zipped Pang’s way. She launched into an array of spins and evasive flips. It should have been easy enough—but with her hands tied behind her back and her speed not all the way there, she knew this was destined to end badly.

She had no other choice. Pang let her senses reach out towards them.

Immediately, she locked on:

Far right. He’s the imaginer.

She probed his powers. Without a doubt, he was the one who imagined all the scooters and the guns. Pang tried to sink deeper into his imagination…

…But to her utter bafflement, only two options emerged: the scooters, and the guns.

That’s ALL this loser knows how to make?! she lamented.

Sighing and dodging simultaneously, Pang knew there was no use manipulating his powers to imagine something of her own. His creativity was astoundingly dull.

She’d have to go with one of his two techniques.

On her command, three of the Imaginer guard’s rifles appeared before her enemies. She fired them rapidly, swerving their aim to shower the entire group. The guards shouted as they all toppled to the ground, sparks shooting out from their armor.

Pang wasted no time in continuing her escape. She zipped along the edge of the ground before the bottomless pit, desperate to find any kind of way off. But the edge curved inward, indicating a circular shape to this floating place, and the abyss remained the only sight beyond it.

Shouts and buzzing blasts continued behind her from near the buildings. She found the flood of her pursuers struggling to close in, accomplishing little more than keeping pace.

Pang observed the campus once more. The towering buildings were everywhere. Everything was eerily tidy.

Lammy, the princess, and that older guy…she pondered. Are they all here, too? Shouldn’t I try busting them out first?

But she remembered the way her original capturers spoke. Benton and Irma seemed inconvenienced, like Lammy and Princess Zayza were a side task.

They were helping those bad guys from Princess Zayza’s reality…Pang recalled. So they probably took them there.

Either way, she knew: even if her short-lived allies were here, she couldn’t be much help to them right now. She’d have to get away and recuperate before pulling off a rescue.

So she had to keep running.

The outer abyss, however, only continued.

One of the red blasts popped just behind her heel. She sensed several more consciousness powers closing in. Pang pushed harder.

I can keep this up way longer than them…they have no idea what I’ve had to do.

“DON’T RESIST!!”

“STOP!!”

“Oh. Yeah, I figured it would be you.”

That third voice was much closer. And it was one she’d heard before.

Suddenly, something stabbed into her mind.

It wasn’t physical, but that didn’t make it any less excruciating. Pang screamed, white flashing in her eyes as she lost all sense of her surroundings for a split moment. She felt the pavement as she toppled onto it and rolled to a harsh stop.

Pang squeezed her eyes shut and cursed over and over.

Not this again!

Her senses recovering, she heard casual, dragging footsteps come to a stop near her side.

“Sorry. Believe me, that was to save you from a bigger headache later,” the woman said. “These guys have no people skills.”

Pang lifted her head from the concrete. First she saw the flip-flops and long legs. Then the neon runner shorts and the long, multicolored hair behind a plain t-shirt. When she raised her gaze high enough, she found the exact eyes she expected.

One was yellow and the other pink. The woman adjusted the big white sunglasses atop her head, peering down at Pang like a patient babysitter to a rambunctious child.

Her…

“Thank you, Irma! She’s a fast one,” came a gasping guard. “We’ll take it from here.”

He lifted his rifle, but without looking, Irma placed her hand on it and pushed it back down.

“Nah. I think I will.”

“But…Irma…we have specific instructions to take her to confinement and—”

“They told me we could have her if she behaves,” Irma interrupted. “This is the most someone like her is gonna behave when you treat her like a lab rat. So tell them I’m taking her.”

“Irma…you c—can’t just undermine—”

“What? Are you guys gonna do something about it? Are you guys gonna stop me?”

The guard bit his tongue. When her gaze fell to him, he inched away.

“S—sorry, Irma.”

She placed her hand out. “Bondage remote?”

The guard hesitated. But he had no trouble locating it on his belt when Irma raised her eyebrow.

She retrieved the small device and pressed a button. Immediately, Pang felt her wrists fall free from her back.

Irma turned to her. “Come on. You can clean up at my place.”

She dropped the remote and began walking away, the rest of the guards displaying the same frozen stupor as the one she’d spoken to.

Pang sat in silence. All she could manage was to watch Irma’s lazy strut.

Immediately, she understood her obstacles were far grander than knowing no way off of this place. Between Irma and Benton, she was stranded with two people who could drop her in less than a blink if she tried anything.

If I wanna last long enough for someone to find me, she thought, I have to get strong enough to take them both out on my own…

Her memories surged back.

The sinking floors of the ship. The pools of blood.

Then this really is the same as back then.

It’s happening again.

Irma turned back to her once more.

“Hm? You coming, or what?” she called back. “I have a lasagna in the oven. I need someone to try my new recipe.”

Her glare unwavering like a hawk, Pang finally stood. Stepping forward, she began following Irma back towards the campus.