To Grow

I woke up. This time, though, I was no longer inside the white room. I was instead in a bed. A tube was inserted into my arm, and my shackles had been removed, though my arms were bound to the metal rails on the side of the bed. A machine was beeping nearby, and I could hear conversations around me. I could smell the slight tinge of blood, the scent of many humans sweating, and disinfectant.

I can smell! I can hear! I didn't even notice how much I missed this! How can they just take it away?!

I wasn't sure what I was feeling right now. I felt something, but it was like a veil was suddenly lifted and the sights, sounds, and smells that I didn't notice were muffled came back in full force. 

Does that mean I can shift again? 

I tried to shift into a big furred one. I still preferred that name over the official name.

The feeling came to me easily, and I felt as my bones melted and solidified, as my flesh warped and stretched, and as power flooded me. 

Sirens suddenly began ringing.

A team of doctors and nurses rushed in, and one immediately slammed a button. I felt something being injected into me, and everything went black.

I woke up later, and shocked a nurse. She slammed the button again, and everything went black.

This time, I didn't open my eyes immediately. I instead listened.

"When will the Dean be here?!" A female's voice came from nearby. A male's voice, from a bit farther away, replied, "As soon as he's available."

"He needs to get here immediately. The girl's woken up twice already, and she's probably going to wake up soon! Our hospital is not equipped for handling powered people, and especially not her type!"

Maybe she wasn't a nurse after all?

"I understand your concern, but we can't move her yet, not while she's an unknown."

"So it's fine if my hospital gets destroyed if she gets loose?!"

"No-"

"Sorry for the wait," A third voice interrupted. I tensed up. The man smelled powerful. He was probably stronger than some of the monsters within the inner section of the Fingard forest.

"Sir!" 

"You may leave."

A set of footsteps departed.

"Why did he have to leave? What if she-"

"She's already awake. I know you're awake." The last part was directed at me, and I felt an urge to open my eyes and declare that I had been awake the whole time.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up, pulling at my restraints slightly.

"I am awake!" I grinned, a laugh bubbling up. I was just suddenly so happy! 

"Yes, you are," The man, probably the Dean, smiled. He looked maybe forty-ish? He had dark blond hair, grey eyes, and was wearing a suit.

"Where am I?" I asked still grinning. 

"At the hospital. You were recently rescued from an abandoned research base in Nugleisia. Any idea how?" 

"Yep! I was just hibernating, but then this group of kids woke me up, and some guy shot me. I think the guy said he was the teacher of class 1 of the Heroics Preparatory Academy?" My head lolled. 

"Did you get any names?"

"Hmmmm. I dunno," I slurred.

"Ms. Hugh, please stop using your power on her. I need her to be fully aware of what's happening."

There was a pause from the woman. She had dark skin, short, dark brown hair, and she was also short.

"Fine." She muttered. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Everything snapped into focus, and I quickly shifted into my big furred form. I easily snapped the shackles, and I was about to leap off the bed when the man said clearly, "Stop."

I froze. "Now, You will tell me only the truth, and clarify anything that needs explanation."

I glared at him. 

"You will now shift back into a human."

My body acted against my will as it shifted back. The hospital clothes I had on before were tore at some places, but overall, still wearable.

"Why were you inside the research base in Nugleisia?"

"I told you. I was captured."

"How long were you there for?"

"I don't know. I was always kept inside that little white room. It was always bright in there."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"I don't know. Sometimes when I get too tired, I might fall asleep."

"What did they do to you there?" 

"They got some of my blood and put cuffs on me. I couldn't shift and my senses were all dulled."

"What was an outdated Teaching Assistant doing inside your room?"

"They sent it in one day and it taught me the language and more."

"Did you not know english before?"

"No. I had been living in the Fingard forest before."

There was a slight pause from his rapid questions.

"Why were you living in the Fingard forest?"

"I don't know. I just have been."

"Do you know why?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know what Nugleisia is?"

"A nation?"

"Do you know what they are known for?"

"No."

"They have been isolating themselves. They are known for the brutal treatment of anyone not registered within their database. They also keep the truth from their citizens. They have been fighting a war with the rest of the world using robots and drones, keeping their citizens sedate and staging feats of 'heroics' and feats of 'evil'. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Why does it matter?"

"Because once you have been cleared, you will join a private institute for young, troubled Powered."

"Why?" 

"Because you are now an orphaned, underage citizen who will most likely not fit in with other underaged children."

"Why am I a citizen? Why are you doing this?"

"You are a registered citizen, and so, you will have all the rights as a citizen. I am doing this because we can not allow a Powered teenager walking around the streets unsupervised."

"I just want to go home."

"This is your home now. You are now a charge of the nation." His expression softened. "And as much as you hate it right now, we can't have you living in the wilderness. You will be in danger."

"But-"

"I know you have lived there your whole life, but right now, you're malnourished and weak. You are also not sound of mind."

I sighed. I looked down at myself, and -he was right. About the weak part.

"Fine. But that means that once I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want?"

"Yes."