[Deleted]

If there was one thing about NY that Jessa was learning about was that she was unwittingly using her power more then she ever had and it wasn't on purpose like changing into the family dog. However, it was that 'startle' reaction, the same one that allowed to know she even had an ability was now causing all sorts of trouble, like the incident at the Zoo and the ape situation, something she is still dealing with but really doesnt want to think about it.

Now she was before a evil woman and her cat, asking a number of questions about her powers, most of them she did not even know the answers to, Jessa just gave a soft "I do not know how my powers work, though it seems when I get startled, I just change."

Then the evil woman explaining how people could communicate with animals even with out being a META. Jessa felt scared, escape, not escape? What to do, how and when to do it? She would watch as she prepared her arm for what? a needle? NO NO NOT A NEEDLE! Jessa felt like her skin was crawling but it was just the fear of the needle one that would soon poke her skin.

As the evil lady was explaining not to resit and if she turned into a bug . . . her cat jumping up to take a prime seat and again for some reason Jessa let out another loud hiss and she would again cover her mouth with fear in her eyes.

Just before the evil lady was going to produce 'the needle', she swiftly pulled her arm away. "NO!"
Drat now the evil lady would most likely send her cat to eat her, which she rather have then have a needle in her arm. Yes, her fear of needles was that great.

[Evelyn Winters]

Evelyn found this woman to be slow. She found everyone to be slow, so this was nothing special, but sometimes she found the slowness of the human population to be particularly taxing, and this was one of those times. Why had she not experimented with her powers? Why had she not tried to discover anything about herself? Even a basic human like her would be capable of simple experimentation, trial and error. Had she just accepted it? Tried to go on with her life just having this potentially debilitating ability in her with no knowledge of it or how it worked? ”People are fucking stupid.” She told Cat in Axevian. He blinked in agreement.

So she’s the type that’s afraid of needles. Great. ”Just great.” She muttered in Axevian. Cat’s tail swished with increased frequency, enthusiastic to watch the woman hiss and squirm. She sighed and put the needle on the table. ”Here’s what we can do.” She said in English, leaning into the woman’s face. ”We can do the tests that don’t involve needles first; cotton swab, skin sample, etcetera, then the tests I need you alive and conscious for, athletic tests, psychological tests, then I can knock you out and take your blood or I could kill you and take your blood. We could do that, or I could take your blood now, and there would be a much lower chance of me killing you in the end. Or, of course, you could not cooperate with me, and I could kill you right now. It’s up to you.” She stared her directly in the eyes, her blank face, heterochromatic eyes, and, of course, her scars, painting an unnerving and intimidating picture.

[Deleted]

Ever since this new life as a meta started things had been a bit harder. In her family it seemed like everyone was walking on egg shells, fearful to talk about what she could do now and what she was. It was simple to just dig into her studies and not be home to make the others so uncomfortable. The move to N.Y. she thought would be an opening to new things and a new life. Yet. that new life was being peppered with difficulties that were making this new life hard to adapt to.

The only good thing she had experienced was meeting Amora. She felt like she could freely talk about her ability without any fear of being judged or questioned. Amora had a life that Jessa could only dream for and now any sort of dreams Jessa had for a new life in New York was hanging in the balance being held against her will with this evil lady threatening to kill her.

The evil ladies options were follow directions of be killed. Jessa had no choice then let her do as she willed to her, but needles were one she rather avoid at all costs even if it meant being knocked out, even if that knocked might be by the butt of a gun or rock.

"What really do you want with me? You're keeping me alive for something and I have a feeling it more then just wanting to test on me." Jessa asked bravely but then regretted it, yet it was said and no going back now.

That cat of hers kept looking at Jessa more like it would look at a meal. Again, Jessa would let out a loud hiss to the cat. Jessa didn't cover her mouth this time just looked away from the evil lady. It was an unconscious act Jessa was unable to control. Maybe it was something left over from being a copy of the evil ladies cat? She did not know but she felt it may cause the evil lady to do something hurtful to her.

Jessa could only hope to survive all this.

[Evelyn Winters]

She had not expected her day to end up like this. She was simply expecting a relaxing walk in the city with Cat, harassing passersby and hunting pigeons. Not that she was complaining. She’d been waiting for an opportunity like this ever since she heard about metahumans; either to fight and defeat one or experiment on one. Or, she supposed, if needed, both. This woman was far from a physical threat, so she had fallen into the latter category. However, she was proving to be a somewhat difficult test subject.

“As all living things are.” Axel reminded her.

Yes but with humans specifically, one must deal with a somewhat more refined consciousness than other animals. And Evelyn had never been good at dealing with that.

Her comment confused her somewhat. ”More than just test on you? Of course not. You offer me no other value than to gain personal knowledge and insight on metahuman biology that corporate-sponsored, headline-grabbing research papers made by mediocre minds won’t afford me.” She looked her in the eyes. ”I think it’s important for you to know that you have no worth to me as a human being, as human beings are generally overrated in their worth. You are simply a particularly useful pile of flesh and nothing more. I will not hesitate to hurt you, kill you, or worse. Is that clear?”

She smirked inwardly, ”And you should know your hissing is doing nothing than make you look even more pathetic, to both me and Cat.” Cat licked his lips, pupils wide, staring at the woman. ”Which brings me to my previous query, which, to my annoyment, you have not yet answered.” She picked up the needle in one hand and a cotton swab in the other. ”Swab, needle, or death?”

[Deleted]

Jessa clear was in over her head in trouble this time Just how she was going to escape? That was the question she was seeking an answer to but was failing. Trying to convince her was also failing. Her latest thought came to mind 'Now what?'

Jessa had no choice but to submit to the evil ladies tests, though she warned her about her 'startle' reaction and how she tends to change. Jessa had also tried to explain about the hissing, it wasn't her well she didn't want to do that and Jessa felt like it was something in the animals DNA or what not.
Jessa told the evil lady that she did not know much about her ability other then changing into the family dog, she really never tried to change into else and the only two other times she has changed was at the ape encloser and now with her . . . cat. Jessa glance over at the cat and before she could let out another hiss, she overed her mouth, just in case.

"Please, whatever you do, don't kill me." Jessa pleaded with the evil lady.

What would her mother think if she knew Jessa had gotten into trouble? Maybe wave a finger at her and tell her "I told you so?" Yeah, maybe.

"I'm sorry I never meant to cross you, I just wanted to help the cat." Jessa told the evil lady.

[Evelyn Winters]

Her pleading gave her yet another ego boost. Another affirmation of her power over her. There was a good chance that this woman wouldn’t come out of this alive, but on the other hand, she could provide a good case study, she could track her movements, her activities, see the long-term effects of being a metahuman. The more she thought about, the more she liked the idea.

Evelyn wanted to laugh. ”Help the cat?” She looked at Cat. ”Cat would never need help, certainly not yours.” Cat was one of the most independent creatures Evelyn had ever met. He refused to eat anything she fed him, insisting on hunting for his own food. The only reason he accepted water from her in the first place was because of a drought, he was desperate. She had a feeling he detested her initially for forcing him to go so low as to accept assistance. Though eventually, she believed, he felt in her what she felt in him; a kindred spirit.

”And again, you didn’t answer the question.” She pulled a knife out of her pocket. ”I’ll ask for the last time.” She was careful, she didn’t want to trigger the startle response the woman had been going on about, so instead of stabbing a hole in her hand, she simply pressed the knife against her throat. ”Swab, needle, or death?” She asked. ”Also, hand me your wallet.” She added as an afterthought.

[Deleted]

This evil lady was just that evil. Jessa's kind nature once again has gotten her into another mess and not even a week after the dam gorilla incident. The evil lady was talking about that flea bitten creature that at first Jessa had thought was in need. Yet, her simple gesture of pick up this evil ladys cat as landed her in rather a life and death situation. However, Jessa was not about to give up and she could feel like a second wind of courage wah over her.

"Its people like you that make life hard in this city, never mind the high cost of living here on a student budget." Well yeah, she had taken time off from med school so she wasn't lying. She was only making just enough to pay for that apartment hence the thought of getting a room mate. Why the h**l is she thinking of cost of living at a time like this? Jessa really fit the dum blonde stereo type. At least she was smart enough not to use white out on the computer when making corrections.

"Do what you want, your going to anyway." Jessa snapped back about the question regarding the swab, needle or death. Whatever possessed to say we may never know, maybe we can just say that she honestly was scared shitless so bad that she shot her mouth off without even thinking. Even with that sharp blade digging into her skin of her neck

Even with that bold move, she could still feel her skin craw and that cold chill running down her spine. Everything in her being was begining to feel like it was on fire. Was it her fight or flight? Jessa couldn't shake the feeling. Yet, Jessa knew if the evil lady does kill her, her tests are over and she would be in a better place never having to worry about her power causing her problems again. Jessa almost wished that the evil would do the deed.

"My wallet is in my back pocket, Other then IDs and and a 20 spot, your not getting much." Jessa almost ended that with 'bi*ch'. Where was this language and attitude coming from?

[Evelyn Winters]

The woman’s comment about Evelyn’s supposed blight on the city amused her. She supposed there must be some unheard of pandemic of scientifically minded unconventionally moraled people going around kidnapping metahumans and experimenting on them, and that’s why it’s so hard to live in this city on a student budget. ”A trapped animal squealing in defense.” She muttered at Cat who simply licked his lips in response.

So she wasn’t going to hand the wallet to her herself. Strange. Typically having someone reach into her back pocket makes the person feel uncomfortable, but Evelyn felt no such discomfort committing the act. Once she had the wallet, she pulled out her ID. Committing her full name, address, and date of birth to memory she put the ID back in the wallet and handed it back to who she now knew was Jessamine.

So it was up to her. Jessamine here was likely going to regret those words. She already venipuncture stuff ready, so, ”Needle it is then.” She grabbed her wrist and held it with and iron grip so her arm was completely straight. ”Don’t move. It’ll get messy. For you.” She slowly brought the needle towards the vein in her forearm, careful not to trigger her startle response.

[Deleted]

Normally she would have fought with anyone who wanted to take her wallet but this time she stood still almost holding her breath, trying not even to flinch when she reached into her pocket for the wallet that didn't contain much. Other then experimenting on her, Jessa thought to her self what else would she do to her? One could tell she maybe watched one to many of those thriller movies of people getting kidnapped and forced to do things against their will, Jessa only could hope this was not the case here. Take her blood or whatever and let her go.

Jessa saw the needle and fear washed over her, the evil lady held her arm so hard it hurt, Jessa wanted to scream, wanted to faint, wanted to do anything but a needle! Fighting the urge to change, faint or scream. The needle went in to her skin with a slight pop and only then did she try to pull her arm away but couldn't because of the evil lady's grip.

"Fine, you have what you want, please let me go!" Jessa snapped.

[Evelyn Winters]

”Stop whining, it’s unbecoming.” It wasn’t unbecoming. Not for her and Cat anyway. They loved seeing someone squeal before them, but she knew telling her to stop would only make her do it more. It amused her to play with people like this. That kind of stuff was usually Axel’s game, he was the one who could emote after all, but she could play it too, in her own way. ”Besides, I have no idea what gave you the impression I was anywhere near done with you.” She said as she took the vial, now filled with blood, and replaced it with an empty one. It was difficult to do one handed, but she managed. ”I have three more vials to fill after this one, then I have to take skin samples, saliva samples, hair samples. Then we do the physical acuity assessments.”

She looked Jessamine in the eye as she replaced the second vial with a third. ”You really are slow, aren’t you.” It was not a question. Sometimes it amazed her how inept everyone was. Not that it was a bad thing, no, not necessarily. It simply asserted her superiority. Most people took years to learn a language. It took her, at most, a month to become fluent. She created her own language by the time she was six. ”So very, very slow.” She asserted, replacing the third vial with a fourth.

[Deleted]

Jessa tried to think of her childhood, something pleasent. However, with her wrist hurting as it was in the vise like grip on the evil lady. She wanted to scream, she wanted to faint and all this time she managed to hold both. Yet, the evil lady talking about more tests and more vials of blood to still be collected. Where was that quiet place she wanted to escape to? Oh how she needed it now!

"Please, please let me go. I won't tell anyone, I'm no body here, please let me go!" Jessa said in tears with a clearly distressed voice tone.

At the comment that she was slow, Jessa snapped at her "At least I'm not evil like you." That distressed voice tone was still clearly present and tears flowed down the side of her face.

All this time she had managed to keep herself some what lucid and upright, however after that fourth vial, she felt faint and just happen to catch a glance at the blood flowing into the tube and in an instant she was out cold, again.

[Evelyn Winters]

”You won’t tell anyone...what?” She asked condescendingly. ”’Do you know where you are right now? Do you have any idea who I am?” The answer to both would obviously be no. She was unconscious when she brought her here, and she had given no indication to her identity.

”Evil, what an interesting concept to bring up. Of course you would believe in such a thing. Tell me, do you think I’m a human evil or a natural evil?” She doubted Jessamine would be aware of the philosophical distinction, but she was curious to see what her answer would be anyway. That is until she caught a glimpse of her face. She was barely conscious. Of course she would be squeamish around blood, of course she would be. “Well, we didn’t need her to be conscious for this part anyway.” She told Cat as Jessamine slumped over, out cold.

Evelyn sighed and propped her up so she wouldn’t get in the way of her work. She finished filling the fourth vial, then then fifth as Cat climbed on Jessamine’s lap, as if claiming ownership of her. ”Yes, she certainly is your prey.” Evelyn agreed, as she placed the vials in safe storage. ”But she’s mine too.” Cat purred in response, digging his claws into Jessamine’s flesh.

She took a small knife and shaved off a small layer of Jessamine’s skin, so small she wouldn’t even notice, and placed it in storage. She then took a cotton swab and swabbed the inside of her cheek, placing the swab in a vial and putting it in storage as well. Finally, she took a pair of tweezers and plucked out a single strand of hair and placed it in a ziplock bag, then placed that, too, in storage.

Once all the physical samples were taken care of, she took off her gloves, her scarred, gnarled hands covered in a thin layer of sweat. She wiped them on her pants, then returned to her taxidermy, waiting for Jessamine to wake up. Cat remained perched on her lap.

[Deleted]

Jessa would wake shortly after fainting at the sight of her own blood in a tube. How did she get so scared of her own blood? Maybe it was just the overwhelming fear that triggered that. It's not everyday that one gets kidnapped by an evil lady with an evil cat that she notices is in her lap. At first she was still afraid that the cat would bite her, though the cat was digging its claws in her legs already.

If she was going to make a break for it, this would be the time to try. She thought about changing but a cat or dog would be to small, and that is when she thought of the gorilla. But she never tried to change into an animal that big, the only reason she had changed once was a fight or flight response, could she do it fast enough?

If she was going to do this she was only going to have one try at this. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself into that massive gorilla form, thankfully it was a fast and complete change, now she had to control the beast. The cat was the first thing she threw across the room, the next was the evil lady, picking her up with one arm and tossing her aside, she made her way to what she thought was a door.

[Evelyn Winters]

”Oh good, you’re awa-” She was cut off as Jessamine suddenly turned into a gorilla and threw Cat across the room. He let out a yelp of pain as he slammed against the well. She heard something crack. ”Cat!” She said, with genuine worry in her voice and on her face. Distracted with her concern for Cat’s wellbeing, she didn’t have time to react to the giant hand that threw her to the side. Her body slammed against the table, knocking her taxidermy equipment asunder. It hurt. Nothing was broken, but the attack would most certainly cause some serious bruising.

She had to paralyze her. No spinal damage, that would be permanent. She couldn’t irreparably damage her subject, she had plans for further studies. She reached into her pocket, using the artificial nerves in her leg to siphon through her collect on knives until it conjured one knife in particular. It was small, thin, fast. It would be relatively ineffective if it weren’t for the powerful venom coating the blade. It was fast acting, of her own creation, and would paralyze the victim almost instantly as soon as it entered the bloodstream.

She pulled out the blade and tossed it at the animal as it was lunging for the door. She was aiming for the shoulder, somewhere that wouldn’t cause permanent damage. It was a large target and she had impeccable aim. Despite her injury, this would be an easy hit.

[Deleted]

Jessa was trying to escape the evil lady was short lived when she threw something sharp at her. It hit her on the edge of her shoulder, she thought it had missed until a searing pain went through her causing her to fall unable to move. Whatever it was it made her change back to her human form, again naked before the evil one.

Jessa would again think 'what now' something that was coming to mind more and more but she had others concerns on her mind, breathing was becoming harder for her. What did the evil lady do?

Jessa's memories would slip into a joyous time of her life in an attempt to keep her body alive.
It was a fond memory of when she was young at the beach, swimming in the ocean so blue and so clear, the sea shells she collected and the sun on her back, the smell of salt water and warm white sand under the bluest of the sky above.

Her memory short lived as she could feel her heart racing as her breath slowed. She could almost feel the her life slipping away.