Snippet #1584787

With a startled scream, the boy awoke from his externally-induced state of unconsciousness. He was in danger; he knew he was, and so he threw his arms out wide, searching for any source of flame he could use without a second thought. But a calming voice stayed his hand, lulling him into what he believed to be a state of security. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his hands chilled by the cold, unforgiving metal of the gurney beneath him. He looked around the room; he was in a lab of sorts... and there was a strange man in a black coat speaking to him... His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he did as they wanted and stepped off the gurney to be seated near a table. The man procured what looked to be a cup of purple liquid, and some sort of blue pill. He listened as he spoke, and took the cup and pill from him cautiously.

With a gulp, he swallowed the pill, along with a mouthful of juice. His eyes widened in surprise and delight at the taste and texture of the juice, which he downed completely in a few seconds. After a few seconds, the man and his assistant began examining him, taking notes of some kind. He was still wary of their intent, but let them continue regardless of his suspicions.

After a few minutes of this, the black-coated man pulled out a zippo, and began talking some sort of mumbo-jumbo about BOOST and APPS and whatnot. He didn't know what the man was talking about, but in an attempt to please, he gave a sharp nod. The man nodded back and lit the lighter, pointing to the dummy across the room. With an excited and slightly entranced glance at the flame, he smiled and nodded yet again. He let out a bit of a psychotic laugh as he began to manipulate the fire; he had never felt such a connection to it before; sure, he had been able to make it do stuff, but this! This felt as though the fire were an extension of his very being. He let out a howl and launched an intense pyroclasmic blast towards the dummy, incinerating it nearly instantaneously. He stared, dumbfounded for a second at the results. He turned to look at the man, but for reasons unknown to him passed out shortly afterward.

He awoke a few moments later within his holding cell, confused and mildly disappointed. He had actually believed that they were going to help him... that he would finally escape this wretched place...

~*~

Back within the lab, Nightshade's assistant was busy scribbling observations and thoughts down at the command of his "employer". The experiment had gone without a hitch, and he was very pleased that their efforts were finally paying off.

A faint bubbling noise distracted him. His head perked up, looking around the room desperately for the source of the sound. After a few seconds, he found it; the blood sample they had taken from the boy earlier. The one they had tested BOOST on. The tiny sample was bubbling violently, and even from where he was standing, he could feel the heat emanating from it. This was not good...

With a small whooshing noise, the blood ignited itself, burning just as violently as it had been bubbling, and it didn't appear as though it would be stopping any time soon. He quickly attempted to douse the flames before they spread, but to no avail.

"D-Doctor? Doctor Nightshade! We've... got a bit of a problem here..."

~*~

His head was beginning to ache now, he felt what he believed to be a fever coming on. Not that he'd ever had a fever before... or at least that he knew of... But he knew what they were... Many of the others here had died from them. The pain was quickly spreading from his temples to his shoulders, eventually reaching his feet. Soon, his entire body was a writhing ball of white hot pain... He clutched at himself, willing the pain to vanish. He felt like he was on fire. Which soon, he found he was.

He let out a shriek of manic pain and clutched at his head. The flames that were now emanating from his pores whipped and snapped around the room, the door of which bursting outwards with one of the jets. The guards patrolling the halls jumped at the sudden explosion of metal and heat, instantly training their weapons on the doorway. The boy walked out slowly, still wreathed in fire. He glanced maniacally at the three, before incinerating them all with a quick jet of fire.

The fire alarms within the underground base went off, sending jets of precious water down upon the flame-cloaked boy. The air around him sizzled as the rain evaporated before impact. He was only slightly conscious of what was going on, but he knew he was going to die. As resistant to fire as his body may be, it wouldn't be able to stand it much longer. Well, if he was going down, so was everyone else in this base. He really didn't care anymore.

With his last ounce of strength, he pushed the fire outwards as far as he could, and collapsed to the ground in flames.