Distortion
"Good morning, crew!" The daily announcement came over the intercom, robotic as always, accompanied by a friendly chime. "Today, we have- 2- new abnormalities in the facility. We will need to study them, as always, so don't be surprised if you are called down to their containment chambers. Have a safe and secure shift!"
One by one, agents began to file in from the dormitories, heading down to their assigned department. Most everyone was ready to work, but some were more awake than others, unsurprisingly. And one particular fellow, always dead last, shuffled out of the dorm hallway a few minutes after everyone else. Xavier brushed his messy hair out of his face and rubbed his eyes. He never was a morning person, but he tried his best. He waved to his coworkers as he started ambling toward the elevators, on his way down to Central Command.
When he arrived in Central Command's upper hallways, he found his teammates crowded around one of the tables, chattering about something. Curious about what might've been going on, but too easygoing to bother interjecting, he instead chose to sit down in a nearby armchair and listen. Nobody noticed him arrive; they usually never did. But that was fine! Really, he'd rather just laze around half-asleep until the manager calls for him than strike up conversation with his teammates, so he didn't care. Leaning back in his chair, he absent-mindedly "listened" to the conversation, but even in his semi-conscious state, he still heard something quite interesting.
"Have you been in the fourth containment up here yet?," McKenna asked.
"Yeah, it's super weird," replied Aurelie. "They did say two new abnormalities today, right? I didn't mishear?"
"No, I heard two, too. But it looks like there's nothing in there...?"
"Maybe it's something like that chamber in Information," Mortimer said, his voice quiet and flat. "The one we're not allowed to take radios into."
"Ohhh yeah, you might be on to something!", said McKenna. "Next time one of us goes in there, we should bring in a walkie-talkie and see if it does anything weird."
Mortimer tilted his head. "Be careful. We don't want anyone getting hurt when we don't even know what's in there..."
...
"Xavieeeeeer...Xavier!"
Xavier jolted upright in his seat. Fallen asleep on the job again! He'd be losing some pay this week for sure. Aurelie was leaning on the armrest next to him, waving her hand.
"Yoo-hoo! You alive yet, ya dipshit? The manager has been trying to call for you for, like, ten minutes!"
Xavier chuckled in response. "Yeaahh, sorry about that...I'm way out of it today."
"Uh-huh. You always are." Aurelie gave a knowing smirk, and Xavier looked fairly embarrassed. "Anyway, yeah, you're late for an assignment. You've been called down to chamber 4. Get your ass down there before the manager decides to dock your pay more than they probably already have!" She firmly patted his back.
"Hahaha, alright, alright, I'm up..."
So he strolled off down the hallway, headed to containment chamber CNCM-1-04. He carried with him a white clipboard, holding papers for Insight work- he'd been told to pick that one up on his way there. Pulling a keycard out of his pocket and sliding it through the door's lock, he heard the soft click of the door unlocking, before it slid open, and he stepped into the containment chamber. Immediately, he remembered that conversation he'd overheard, when he looked across at what was- or wasn't?- across the chamber from him. It did indeed appear to be empty. He thought he could kind of see a slight wavering, like heat distortion, behind the hazard line if he squinted, but he wasn't sure. Maybe he was just imagining it. Regardless, he knew what he had to do- he had to work until the intercom chimed, even if there wasn't anything obviously in there, so he took out a pencil and started working.
First on the list, checking the equipment. He looked over the assortment of buttons, dials and switches on the front wall, making sure everything was in order, and adjusting a few things to see how the abnormality reacted. Turning the lights up and down got no noticeable response- he wrote that down, before moving on to the sound system.
...Is it just me, or is the air in here kind of stuffy...
The equipment was all working normally, so that was good. Now he moved on to the stress test part of Insight study. He flipped a switch, turning on a bright ceiling-mounted light, shining onto the back wall. Seemingly no response here, either. A little odd, but he didn't think much of it. Maybe this abnormality just didn't visibly react to things. He'd worked in that other chamber before- with the weird radio wave. No response from anything in there, but it generated energy all the same. So this was probably the same deal. Next he switched on the noise generator...
...geez, it's like something's pressing on my chest...
Xavier sighed, suddenly out of breath. He took a moment to flip the noise generator back off, before sitting down on the spot. It seemed like with each thing he did, it got a little bit harder to breathe...he looked across the room, at the back wall, and now he could swear he definitely saw something. Some vague shape, formed from warping light, distorting everything- like something cloaked, not-quite-invisible. He suddenly realized it seemed like it was over the hazard line now, and clenched his hands.
But...he had to keep working. So, he stood back up, huffing as he tried to breathe, picked up his clipboard, and began writing things down again. He thought, maybe, he could see the distortion out of the corner of his eye, but...maybe he was just imagining it. He hoped he was just imagining it. He took a moment to look over the equipment again, before shuffling through his papers to try and find the Insight sentience tests.
Before he could even open his mouth to try and begin the test, something seized him.
It enveloped him, the distortion everywhere he could see, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He wheezed and gasped and struggled to breathe; he stumbled and nearly fell forward, but whatever this thing was, it seemed to grab him, pull him back up, and then it lifted him upwards. He could've touched the ceiling if he could move, but struggling only made it hold him tighter. It pulled his arms out straight, to the sides, pulling his legs down, like it wanted to rip him apart. At first he kept trying to struggle; soon, however, his movements brought only agony. He swore his limbs were going to pop off any moment; he gritted his teeth and felt tears forming in his eyes; he wished he could scream, but all he could manage was a feeble wheeze...
The intercom chimed.
Just as suddenly as it began, whatever it was that was holding him dropped him, and he fell with a thud to the floor. He couldn't be more relieved to find his gasps for air finally bringing oxygen into his lungs again, but just as quickly realized he couldn't move. Every attempt he made to move his arms and legs gave him little movement and lots of sharp, tearing, excruciating pain. All he could do was cry for help.
It took what felt like an eternity before someone heard his calls. The door slid open, and Aurelie barreled into the chamber, frantic and alarmed. "XAVIER! I heard you yelling! What's going on??" She knelt down at his side. "What happened to you? Can you walk?"
Xavier groaned as she tried to lift his arm. "Can't move...bring me-"
"Medbay? Got it, we'll be there in a heartbeat," she blurted out, not even letting him finish his sentence before she started picking him up. Hoisting him over her shoulder, she turned and hurried out of the containment chamber.
"...Yoo-hoo."
Xavier grumbled, opening his eyes to look around the medbay, before making eye contact with Aurelie, now accompanied by the rest of his team.
"You awake yet, bud?", she said.
"We've been worried sick about you," McKenna added, from behind her.
"Mmmnnrgh." Xavier wanted to roll over and go to sleep, but moving still hurt. Not as much as before, thank god, but he couldn't just get up and leave the bed yet. "I'm awake. Kind of."
"How are you feeling?", asked Mortimer.
"Could be better."
Aurelie chuckled, putting a hand- very gently- on his shoulder. "Yeah, we can tell." She looked over at Mortimer, who gave a curt nod. "Don't worry about the rest of your shift. We'll cover for you. You just rest while you heal up. Whatever happened to you was naaaaasty, I think your arms and legs like, dislocated or something."
"Huh. Wouldn't be surprised."
"Well, we gotta get back to work now, but let us know if you need anything, alright?" Aurelie smiled. "Hope you feel better soon. Dork."
"...Dipass," Xavier replied with a smirk.