Revenge is Best Served...

[Obelisk]

Alistair was left to guess what was silently being communicated between the two Argonauts, and in the meanwhile his anger was coming to a slow boil. How dare that horned-freak question his humanity, how dare he make it sound as if Alistair was nothing more than a soulless monster. He still felt some manner of emotions (though they were often unpredictable), he was still capable or showing mercy as he had in Isaac's case, he was still capable dreaming, of hoping. What, then, Mr.Mutant, is your definition of humanity? Alistair thought with distain.

Eros would find the rage he so blatantly demonstrated reflected within his captive's inhumanly cold stare. But Alistair was the picture of calm. His eyes dropped to observe the spot in which the metal of the screwdriver had stabbed through his flesh. Muscle fibers tore, flesh gave way, and Alistair felt no pain. His cruel eyes slowly moved back to Eros' face and his lips upturned into a sneer, teeth bared.

" Who're you to question my humanity." Alistair ground out viciously, eyes flaring. The amount of sheer hate he felt for the mutant could not be described with words. Eros was the one who had taken advantage of his weaknesses, made clear to Alistair just how much of a hybrid creature he was. Eros was the one who had chosen to take things this far, to seek his revenge over Alistair's comments and treatment the previous day. And here Alistair had thought he'd played nice, letting both Isaac and Eros off scott-free. The mutant's hate for anything tied to the government apparently ran too deep for him to see individuals, to see anything other than a collective enemy.

Eros was the one with someone strapped helpless and prone on a table. Eros was the one who was going to use him, to learn from him, then to discard him (as Alistair presumed) as if he truly was nothing more than a doll that had lost its appeal. Who was he to question Alistair's humanity?

The spite was so clear on the cyborg's face that no words were needed to communicate it, just how much fucking hate he was feeling at that moment. " Go ahead, its not like I'm in any position to stop you." Alistair said nose wrinkling in a show of disgust before he turned his attention back to the ceiling, eyes boring into the wall above.

He was scared, another human trait, but was too proud to show it. Pride. Yet another trait of humanity. His gut twist and he swallowed. What if Eros managed to bypass his inhibitor circuits? Alistair's fucking chest was open. He wasn't accustomed to pain, he didn't remember how fucking horrible it felt. And he was scared.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Eros was so furious he had now passed into the realm of a blank stare.

This cyborg. This thing. It had insulted Persephone. It had insulted him. It had disrespected he, Eros, in letting him go. And now he was throwing the insult back, questioning the rebels humanity. That in itself pissed him off so much he wasn't able to do anything but smile in a sort of deranged unstable manner.

Because Alistair was correct in his thinking. Eros wasn't looking down at a person. He was looking down at the government who hated him for what he was, and he was only doing what was expected of him. Loathing them right back. It didn't matter that Alistair had never done anything to wrong him before this. All he did was ask for his license and registration. Which wasn't even his fault, it was the guys job. Probably never even wanted to be a cyborg.

None of it mattered to Eros Kama though. This was the enemy. It was how he could blow up buildings with no concern for the innocent inside, because nobody was innocent in his eyes. And they were going to pay for what they did to him. Alistair was just the start.

"You're mistaken, my little metal friend. I'm no human." A twisted little smile as he stepped back to button up the uniform and pull the hat down so that it covered his eyes ever so ominously. "But how right you are, Series-Eight -Zero-Three-Hundred. You're in a position to do absolutely nothing while I fuck with your brain." While speaking he was pulling up a chair and getting out more precise tools, seemingly calm, having already snapped and being unable to get angry now. "I suggest you stay still. Don't worry, we'll probably release you back into the world once we're done taking samples and have turned your feelings back on."

Smile grew, the tiniest chuckle. "I doubt the labcoats will want you back once i'm done with you though." Knife had already dug through the scalp, following the scars. Skull was easily removed, most of the work had already been done for him. And Eros had read enough books to know where the pain centers of the brain was. During his little monologue he had already made his way there and was playing with the circuitry. "I'll have you know, you're a beautiful piece of equiptment. You oughta be proud. The complexity of your electrical system is practically making me salivate."

And there, he had found it. Inhibitors. Eros had seen these before in non-organic constructions. The mutant wasn't kidding, he was truely impressed by the brain and regretted ever waiting. Documentation should be happening, but, this was too much fun. Mister Cupid remembered exactly how to bypass these, Apollo had showed him how when they were working on some locks. He hovered overtop of the connection, blade poised to break it.

"Ready, Alice?" Not waiting for an answer, he cut.

[Obelisk]

Alistair glowered at the ceiling, not bothering to supply Eros with a response. He wondered, idly, if he'd been some sort of war criminal or something equally horrible to have deserved such a fate, being turned into a cyborg and now this. But Alistair was no martyr. He knew better than to fall into the whole "woe-is-me" outlook. He wasn't alone. Many other soldiers had suffered the same fate as him. Though not all were as fortunate to live through the multiple surgeries and tests as he did. Fortunate? That was all point of view, really.

And right now, Alistair was anything but fortunate.

The circuits were cut, their ability to inhibit sensation rendered totally null. At first there was nothing, just utter silence save the inhalation of a baited breath.

Then all hell broke loose. A blood-curdling, soul-shattering, heart-wrenching scream was ripped from Alistair's throat. Wide, unfocused eyes stared aimlessly above has his entire body writhed and twisted, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of sensation. Literally every cell in his body was set alight, the pain, sheer, unfathomable pain sending his body into convulsions.

He screamed so loud that anyone and everyone present within the complex was likely to bear witness to his torture. He screamed so fiercely that his voice went hoarse, vocal cords straining under the stress. Alistair was not aware of anything. Not where he was, not who he was, not what was even happening. All he understood in that moment was pain.

The cyborg had reacted so fiercely to the sudden deluge of agony that he'd managed to bend his restraints out of shape, and rub his arm and leg raw. He convulsed and seizured until it grew to be too much and his mind and body could no longer handle it.

Alistair fell utterly still, glazed over eyes falling to look Eros in the face but not really look. He couldn't look. He wasn't aware of anything at that moment. He stared past him, stared into him as if he was nothing. His lips moved as if speaking, a silent benediction of senseless words driven up by his garbled mind.

Then, as if his own body took mercy upon him, Alistair was left numb, senseless. It wasn't clear if he was awake or passed out. His eyes were open but the rest of him was unmoving, frozen. The constant, rhythmic beating of his mechanical heart replaced his screams, and the pulsating lungs were one of the only indications that he was still alive. Though, when he came to, who knew what the cyborg's state of mind would be.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Eros was surprised, taking him out of his rage-numbed state. That scream was worse than a punch to the stomach, sending him back with his hands over his ears. Not that he regretted it at all, all this meant was that the operation was a success. Something in that scream was so incredibly human though that it managed to pull some strange feeling inside of him. The mutant was too busy to think about it though, rushing to somehow keep all of Alistairs organs inside of himself while the cyborg was thrashing around. Maybe he should have closed up his chest cavity first, or made a smaller incision along the head.

It was all part of the learning process though. After bending his bonds and thrashing around Alistair finally passed out. Or, Eros thought so atleast. There were fists banging on the locked doors, shouts of, "Are you okay?!" and Eros in a surprised stupor staggered over to it and opened it after unlocking it, nodding. Yeah, he was fine.

----

Alistair was actually doing pretty good too. When he woke up, or, came out of his whatever he'd find himself in a far better state than he had been in before. This was no car garage. He had been moved to an actual bedroom and placed down overtop of the sheets. No windows were in sight, but the thing was actually fairly homey. Not much furniture, except for the chair that Eros sat on across from the end of the bed. No visable restraints, except for the EMP device the Argonaut held casually in his hand.

Everything on the cyborg had been nicely closed up scarlessly and a pillow was propping his head up. Mechanical limbs were in perfect working condition. This probably wasn't nearly as important as the ability to feel, though.

With the help of Apollo Eros has systematically gone through and destroyed every inhibitor circuit. The cyborg now had all of the natural human sensations back he had lost, including both pain and pleasure. Another bonus was finally being dressed, clothes being washed and returned to him. Except for the hat. The mutant still had that and refused to return it no matter what his underlings insisted. After that heart-wrenching scream they had made him put him in a nicer room and fix him up. All the testing had been done, samples had been collected, information had been recorded. His entire body had been scoured and everything interesting had been examined and notes were taken. They now had the ability to recreate him through reverse-engineering. The badge had been examined and all the knowledge that was to be gained had been drained from it.

Eros sat across from Alistair, half expecting to be strangled as soon as the other woke up (hense the EMP poised and ready). But no. Apparently it was too 'mean' after what he had done. The leader still didn't give a shit. He had agreed to it though, as there was a tiny bit of guilt. And that ounce was just enough.

[Obelisk]

He hadn't dreamt at all during his comatose state. The cyborg's mind had needed all its resources to process the mass amount of sensory information he had been bombarded with. The mutants had mended his body and he slept, slowly recuperating from the hellish experience that had driven him into momentary insanity.

His eyes had closed on their own accord sometime after he'd fallen into a stasis-like state. Now they opened in one, swift movement, wide, alert, and staring at the ceiling. Once again confusion wracked his mind as Alistair realized that he was somewhere he wasn't familiar with. The events of that day had yet to be recalled.

The man moved his robotic arm experimentally then used it to help prop him up. The instant he had moved, however, his free hand shot to cradle his head, eyes screwing shut. A groan escaped out from between his lips as a headache made its presence known. He stayed completely still in that half leaning, half sitting up position until the pain started to ebb away and it no longer felt as if something was trying to claw its way out of his skull.

Alistair felt groggy at best and finally managed to sit up, back leaning against the wall. It was only then that he started to screen his surroundings, eyes wandering until they met with Eros figure. It was that instant, upon seeing the other man's face, that the memories flooded back into his mind. His blank face slowly began to darken as he remembered what Eros had done to him. Hate, pure hate, nothing more and nothing less was communicated through Alistair's frigid glare. If looks could kill.

He didn't let his gaze linger and directed it towards the door. Alistair opted to not say a word for quite sometime and just allowed himself sometime to think, ignoring the Eros completely. There was something different in his personality, his presence that had changed when the ability to feel had been so forcibly returned to him. He seemed a bit mellow, less careless. Though that could've been because he had just woken up.

When the silence became to thick, too awkward, Alistair finally spoke.

" You had no right to do what you did." Voice was calm and even, and his eyes flicked back to Eros. " No right." Alistair reasserted, tone grim and pensive. His gaze lingered on the EMP device for a moment and Alistair snorted, shaking his head. " Why am I alive? You at least owe me a answer to that." His voice turned cold and his expression hardened. It was a valid question.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

If looks could kill, there was no doubt these two would already have fallen over dead years ago. It was a pleasant surprise to not be instantly attacked with anything but a glare, which actually made Eros incredibly uncomfortable. That blue gaze of scorn made him stir in his seat, pulling down the hat to shade his eyes from it.

"Maybe not. But neither did they, we were just reversing what had been done by those who play god." After tearing apart Alistairs brain he had justified the action to himself with this logic and it made him feel far better about that horrible scream. By the tone of his voice he vehemently believed what he said. The question, those orbs of cold hate turned back on him, Eros sunk down in his seat and averted his eyes, unable to meet the others.

"We may be ruthless. But we are not evil." In truth, Eros didn't quite know why he hadn't been able to end Alistairs existance once all the data had been gathered. The mutant couldn't understand why he agreed to all of these niceties. He was fairly positive he wasn't going to kill the man, though. If he did, all of the repairs would have been an utter waste of resources. And currently he couldn't even afford soap for himself, everything went to the Argonauts. So expenditure of what they had was taken very seriously.

The cyborg would no longer be able to see Eros Kama's eyes, they were shielded by the brim of the others hat. His tone was unbelievably low, almost depressed sounding, but with the utmost in seriousness.

"Would you rather be dead?"

[Obelisk]

Alistair nearly scoffed at Eros' words. He kept his composure, however, not wishing to anger the other into activating that dangerous invention of his. If he wanted to undue what the scientists had done, he could've done it in a more graceful manner. One that didn't nearly kill Alistair with agony. Alistair said nothing in reply to this. He'd leave Eros to his skewed logic. Whatever helped him sleep at night.

Though, Alistair was not without sin. How many "criminals" had he arrested, dooming them to an unfair trial and subsequent incineration. His excuse? He was only doing his job and he had no real choice. He was a puppet, he'd accepted this. It was only a matter of time before the Series Eight scientists, after not being able to track him down, would terminate his program, which meant sending a single to his systems. Said signals were meant to set off a series of commands, all meant to destroy the inner workings of his lungs and heart, effectively killing him. They called it termination, they didn't consider it murder.

Alistair considered that Apollo and Eros had somehow cut off his links to the system, thereby rendering the termination program null, but there was always that possibility. When he though back on the things he'd done, the people he helped the government round up and kill, Alistair wondered if his excuse was valid at all. They had had much control over him, but they hadn't robbed him of his free will. He could've revolted. He could've refused. They would've terminated him, but he could've done something. Instead he had gone along with it, not really considering that he was part of a body of people that were cruel and indifferent to the suffering of others, and especially that of the mutants. He didn't consider it because he didn't want to. Alistair had been so caught up with his own issues and desire for self-preservation that he hadn't really cared about the woes of others.

Both of his hands, one robotic, one flesh, were resting on his legs, palms face up. Alistair's eyes wandered over each, considering them, looking at them. Maybe he really was nothing more than a tool. His thoughts of humanity could've been nothing more than a delusion, something that helped him justify his existence. Now that he could feel pain again he realized what he had done to others in the past, and it hurt somewhere beyond physical. It made his eyes burn, his teeth clench. Self-loathing was something he hadn't felt it quite sometime.

It wasn't a nice feeling.

All this was going on his head and Alistair had nearly missed Eros' question. Alistair had caught it, though, and it caused him to give pause. What kind of question was that? He wanted to feel angry at the audacity of the question but couldn't because he found he really didn't have an answer. Before, when the inhibitors had still functioned, he'd often wish he had the ability to feel and had cursed the names of the doctors who had robbed in from him. Now Alistair wasn't certain. Pain. Pain. God did he hate it. He was certain that no manner of pleasure would be able to make the exchange worth while. Pain was just too horrible. Maybe he'd been better off without the ability to feel.

The forty-year-old man turned his attention to Eros, gaze lingering on his hidden features. Alistair spoke, looking more human than ever because he appeared confused, uncertain.

" I really don't know." His voice was soft, as if he was speaking some sort of secret, words that weren't meant to be heard by anyone else. Alistair's blue gaze fell to his hands again and he flexed the robotic one, watching as the metal gleamed in the light. " But I guess... I was already, before, in some ways." He didn't know what to think and the frustration was starting to well up inside.

"Doesn't matter anyway. I'll be dead soon enough." Lips twitched into a smile with no meaning, "Termination program." He stated simply, turning his eyes to Eros once again. There was some of that never-appropriate humor back in his expression, but it was dark. " I'm afraid all the time and resources you spent to fix me will go to waste. Poor you." He looked downright mean for a fleeting moment but adopted a more apathetic look. What Alistair did not know was that the termination program would, in fact, never reach him. Apollo's and Eros' tinkering around had saw to that, and the EMP probably had helped.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

He listened attentively to the answer, head managing to lower itself even more when the response was given. Eros himself had said it earlier, or atleast thought it. He was dead already, or the quality of life was barely worth living. But when the cyborg himself said it it just seemed so much worse. It seemed like worse than any pain Eros could bring him, for atleast the mutant had all of his brains intact. Hell, they were more than intact, he had a beautiful squishy brain which was loaded down with incredible book-smarts. And he had a ton of emotions, both good and bad ones. The sensation and feeling was something he nearly envied Alistair for. There wasn't a whole lot of physical pleasure in his life, it was mainly filled with getting the crap beaten out of him. Or shot.

When Eros wasn't being mocked and annoyed he could actually be a pretty nice guy. So when Alistair informed him he was going to die, the mutant looked up in concern. To be truthful, it wasn't concern for the cyborgs life as much as it was alarm at the notion they had wasted their precious time. Time that could be used to build bombs or put something in the populuses water.

The phrase Termination program turned the worried look into a grin. Ali may have taken this as some sort of sadistic smile. "If I have to give the government credit for one thing, it will be their meticulous labeling of things."

It was an expression of relief. "We neutralized that by accident, found out what it was and were quite relieved. Also neutralized the tracking device in your badge." Hand relaxed itself on his stomach as legs crossed at the ankle, glad there wasn't going to be cyborg guts all over their guest room.

[Obelisk]

Alistair didn't have the energy to mock Eros, besides, he no longer had the desire to. As much at the mutant may have convinced himself that he had done something good by reversing the inhibitor circuits, Alistair still harbored a grudge. Eros had put him through hell, and maybe Alistair deserved it for the things he'd done in his past (he would never really know), but the cyborg couldn't look at the man without feeling that flare of spite within his chest. Right then Alistair couldn't stand to joke with the other. It wasn't worth it.

Alistair had missed Eros' smile so didn't have the chance to jump to any conclusion. He did, however, hear the man's words. The older man's eyes flicked over to Eros who he looked at with a guarded sort of curiosity. Was that a note of humor he detected within the mutant's voice? It was strange and it seemed out of place, but that was due to the fact he'd only ever hear Eros when he'd been annoyed or pissed.

" They like to sugarcoat things," He said absently. "Nice" words helped the public accept whatever the government did without so much as a raised brow. Murder and incineration became euthanasia. The words "Termination Program" were meant to cause the public to see the government cyborgs as nothing more than some kind of device. As long as they were kept safe and relatively happy, no one cared. Alistair had been guilty of the same sin, really. What with his carrying out orders like an obedient dog.

There was a clear look of surprise on Alistair's face and he almost looked disbelieving.
"Gotta hand it to you, you certainly covered all your bases." It might've been taken as a compliment had Alistair's voice not been rude and a bit snide. At the moment he still harbored a wealth of ill feelings towards Eros. But perhaps, in time, that would change. Maybe he'd be grateful. It was an off chance but Eros had cut all Alistair's ties to the government. He was a free man, so to speak. Free from the government, sure, but now he was kept by a group of terrorist mutants.

" What're you going to do with me, then?" Alistair questioned carefully, jaw muscles moving under his sickly-colored skin and he clenched his teeth briefly. " You're obviously not going to kill me, seeing as you put time and money into my repairs. So what then? You can't keep watch over me forever."

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Eros took smug satisfaction in seeing the surprise in his face. Alistair should have expected it though, despite their personal appearances of second class citizens, their rebellion was incredibly organized. To let something like a tracking device slip would be incredibly stupid. The self destruct had been purely accidental, though. Not that he was going to mention it.

A frown covered the features of the mutant, sitting up and slipping the EMP in his pocket. That rude tone of Alistairs was offensive, but, he was now positive the other had no intention of killing him. Atleast not right now. It would be a stupid move, he'd get five feet before someone busted his head open. Although, this was an option. A moronic one. Maybe it wouldn't occur to someone of lesser intelligence.

"I already have one mentally inadequate crew-member, I certaintly don't need another." Yeap. The leader may have been all nice and given him a pillow and some pants, but, Eros still fucking loathed the other. "The reason i'm sitting here instead of someone else is because most of the Argonauts want you dead for insulting me. Your badge was 'neutralized' because Persephone smashed it up till it was dust."

A shrug. "The only one who doesn't want you dead is Apollo, and I suppose that's only because he has a hard-on for technology. So the way I see it you have two options." One finger was raised, "First, you could be a renegade cyborg. You'd have trouble getting repairs, but for the right price you can find anything in the slums." Another finger, "Or second, you could crawl back to the government. They'd put your brain all back together like fallen humpty dumpty."

Hand closed, raising it to his nose to spin the metal lodged in the flesh there. "I really don't give a shit, you're just a science experiment to me. A really annoying one. You can take a week or whatever to decide, but before you leave tell me so we can escort you out blindfolded."

[Obelisk]

Alistair's bark of laughter was quick, harsh, and impossibly cruel. He turned his pair of incredulous icy eyes on Eros, expression amused, disbelieving. " And you think I would ever help you after the shit you pulled?" Another laugh, this time quiet, almost like the low growl of a predator. " I can't believe you even brought it up."

Alistair watched Eros with a cruel gaze, and one could only guess what was going on in the cyborg's mind. All he needed to know was the fact the Argonauts would let him go, release him. The decision between living as a renegade or going back to the government wasn't really a decision at all. There was no way in hell Alistair was going to allow someone to pop him open again, fiddle in his mind until he wasn't sure of anything. All he had was a name and maybe that was enough to make it in the slums.

" I've made my decision." Alistair said, allowing his eyes to slide away from Eros as he directed his face towards the door. After the sobering affects of pain had jarred him, Alistair was calmer, for now. He looked stoic and proud, despite his shit-poor situation.

"Two days. Give me two days. That's all I ask. Then you can throw my ass out of here." Alistair wagered two days would be enough for him to get a handle on his revived ability to feel. Right now the slightest brush of fabric over his skin sent his senses whirling, fire racing through his veins. Until he was able to harbor and control his reaction to sensations, Alistair knew he wouldn't be able to make it. He'd break down. Two days. Would that really be enough?

He sighed quietly, eyes going unfocused. It would have to be.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Eros really only had one thing to say. It was a short and sweet line which had been brewing in his mind while he sat scowling, incredibly displeased by Alistair throwing the insult back in his face. Fingers drummed on his arm till he stood, frowning with the hat pulled back over his face to avoid eye contact.

Once the cyborg announced his decision the mutant stood, speaking with clarity and perfect english, motioning towards the other with the wave of a hand. "You are such an asshole." The former cop may have been nice and calm but Eros was now a moody bitch, he had been secretly hoping Alistair would run back to the government and would cry about how horrible and fearsome the Argonauts were. It would have been great for their image. He had already been fantastizing about the headlines, 'Totally Awesome Mutant Rebel Group 'Argonauts' Royally Fucks With Jackass Cops Brain!'. Well, maybe not exactly like that. But if he had been running the newspaper...

Psh. Oh well. Atleast there would be one less government dog running around beating up mutants. Eros made to leave, but remembered something which made him smile.

"Right. And you're not getting your fucking hat back, either." An amused laugh, quite pleased with himself as he opened the unlocked door and would exit unless Alistair said something to stop him.

Sure, Eros probably should have warned him to avoid Aphrodite at all costs as the woman had seen Alistair nude. And her codename was Aphrodite. Or to avoid Persephone as she wanted him dead. Really, to avoid females of any sorts in this building. Perhaps even warn him not to mock Hephaestus as doing such a thing was very bad for ones health. But Kama didn't really want to. At all. He planned on keeping a close eye on the cyborg during his two days of inhabitance. Because it was going to be the best entertainment ever, and probably more fun than kicking someones face in. The thought alone made him smile even broader.

[Obelisk]

"Takes one to know one." Alistair replied back quickly, wearing that infernal smug smirk of his. He supposed he should've been thankful that Eros had allowed him leave to stay until he was acclimated to his new senses, but Alistair was anything but obliged. It would take time for Alistair to feel anything but hatred towards the mutant. At his comment about the officers hat, Alistair smiled cryptically.

"Nah," He dragged the sound out a bit, " Keep it. As a reminder." Alistair was still smiling, but his eyes took on a dangerous, knowing glint. A reminder of everything that had passed between them. Every word. Every heated glare. Every little injustice they had caused each other. Every single ounce of pain that they had given one another. Everything.

With Eros ready to slip out the door and leave him to his own devices, Alistair said one last thing. This time his voice was even and without disdain. His expression was completely serious as well.

"Tell Apollo 'thank you,'.... for everything." Alistair's ill-feelings centered around Eros. He had no reason to hate the people who worked for the man. Save for Persephone. That bitch was on Alistair's list of people he'd like to hurt, despite his newfound understanding of just how horrible pain was. Some people deserved it, he figured.

He watched Eros' back and waited for the man to speak or leave.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Maybe the hat was a reminder to Alistair, but, Eros was giving it a whole new meaning. It was like keeping the head of a bear you've shot or indians scalping their victims. Well, they did have some physical parts of the cyborg. For instance, they had actually taken one of his fingers and replaced it with a new one to see if they were able to reproduce the technology. Not that the man would ever notice, except for a slight colour different it was the exact same.

Hand fisted at his side when Ali requested him to give thanks, wrist twisting around as he repressed the urge to put a hole in the wall. Fucking asshole. It wasn't Apollo, that moron should be thanking HIM. It wasn't any of the crew who had.. It was all too frusterating, so with the intention of probably getting drunk off his ass the mutant exited, leaving the door wide open to any intruders. Fuck privacy. There was something in the pit of his stomach though, some horrible anxiety which he couldn't ignore. He had his revenge on Alistair, but, would it ever be returned? Too much thinking. Now is time for congratulatory booze with Pan.

---




Alistair would only be left to his own devices for about half an hour before he was finally disturbed. Although, disturbed was a pretty harsh word for what entered the room. She stood in the doorway, rapping her knuckles against the frame in a knock, peering in. "Mind if I come in?" The voice was feminine with a bit of a latin accent to it. The woman herself looked thirty or thirtyfive, it was hard to tell. The figure had the body of the godess she was named after, Aphrodite. A beautifully formed creature which would have any man frothing.

If it hadn't of been for the thin layer of lime-green velvet fur on her skin, that is. When you got past that, though, and the elongated tufts on the tip of slightly pointed ears, you would see the perfect voluptuous body of a woman in the prime of her life. Thick wavy black hair down to her mid back, parts of it hanging over her shoulders. A printed summer dress rested on her form, hugging her waist perfectly.

It was impossible to tell what was going on in the womans mind. From her expression though, she was intensely curious about their new guest and happy to finally get a chance meet him.

[Obelisk]

The moment Eros stepped out of the room, Alistair released a shuddering breath, eyes screwing shut. Both his hands shot up to cradle his skull and the man focused on his breathing. Despite every cell in his body being a shaky, overwhelmed mess, the cyborg's lungs and heart still functioned as they were supposed to. The rhythm of his breathing and the beating of his heart never truly changed. They were in direct contrast to the pathetic state the rest of his body was in. Control vs. the complete lack of it.

There he sat on the bed trying to keep absolutely still to avoid any unwelcome sensation. It helped when he concentrated on his breathing, on the constant, predictable sound of his heart. Everything else he tried to zone out, which explained his late reaction to Aphrodite's arrival. The rap on the door went largely unnoticed and it wasn't until the woman spoke that Alistair realized he wasn't alone.

His head moved up, blue eyes moving to the figure while his hands fell to his lap. He stared at her for a moment but blinked his surprise away. The cyborg pressed his mind in an attempt to drive up any memories that told him that he'd seen her before. He was unsuccessful, she was new to him. (As far as he knew.)

"You tell me," Alistair said coldly, leaving the rest unsaid. He was their captive. He was in their spare room. It wasn't his call whether or not she could enter. The man was feeling bitter and angry -- A rod suffering from so much tension it was likely to snap at any time.

He sighed out and rubbed at his eyes, voice coming out in a rasp as he next spoke. " Whatever, I don't give a damn." It wasn't an invitation, but it wasn't a dismissal either. The mutant female could take it anyway she wanted to.