Playing With Metal

Lighting shot around Amanda's body in a fury as the bolts struck stone, dirt, and the iron bars that made up her cell. It had been three days since she had touched anything electronic and her body has had it. Her heart and mind had been frayed to its furthest extent as she sat in the corner of the small 6x6 space, the lightning dancing around her in a frensy that mimicked her mind. Her hands clutching her shins as she rocked back and forth over and over and over. "5890... 5890... 5890..." The last reading her holographic readout displayed before all of her things were striped from her, it now echoed through her mind, imprinted as if with a hot iron, and then set on repeat as the anxiety shifted back and forth.

She had been brough here against her will. Stripped naked. Given a thick tan jumpsuit, and then shoved into a cell. All without any warning or explanation. Her cell was the only place her lightning could seem to leave her body. On the initial entry into this god forsaken place that was the first thing she had noticed, the complete lack of resistance she could muster. Her lighting had sputtered then stopped, like a Bic lighter with little to no flint. She didn't have her suit, her holo band, nothing. It had all been confiscated. In situations like these she has always had some form of electronic with her or around to steady her mind, but without the feeling of their presence, without their gentle hums, she couldn't even ease her mind enough to think about anything else. "5890... 5890... 589-"

"Will you shut up!?" A man yelled as he passed the bars. He was clothed in the same kind of jumpsuit she wore, but was bare of anything electronic, it was the first place she had looked for comfort. He only wore a flak jacket and a belt with a baton hanging from a metal ring. "When is this woman going to get outta here?" He said to another guard who sat at a small table. Their voices echoed slightly off the walls of the spacious room. Amanda couldn't perceive it, but just past her cell door was a line of five or six more cells that joined to another wall with the same. In one corner of the room stairs went upwards, towards the high ceiling. "He will call for her when he's ready. You know that." One of the men said as the other sighed tiredly. "I don't know how you can focus on anything with her babbling like that." The other man shrugged, "You don't have kids do you?" And before the other man could answer, the florescent white bulbs turned off, and red lights replaced them. "There it is!" He exclaimed. The guard hurried to her cell and tossed in small black ring. It landed at her feet.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

When Amanda came to, her mind was greeted by the soft hum of electronics. It would have lulled her back to sleep if it wasn't for a guards boot that slammed into her chest. It wasn't a full kick, she could tell, but it had jolted her awake enough to notice her hands were chained to the ground, connected to an anchor, and she was sitting in front of someone with a small crowd behind her.

"Welcome to Universe 8590." The man said with a deep voice. Amanda would have spoken, would have yelled all of her questions, but her mouth was dry and horse from the lack of water. Her eyes focused on the light hum that had first greeted her, a large metallic cat that sat next to the man's throne. It looked like a leopard, but was completely made of metal. As she focused she started to hear others, electronics screamed out to her, a symphony of peace to her nerves. "My name is Emperor Infinitus. You were brought here to serve me." He said, but Amanda didn't pay him any mind till the emperor touched the leopard like machine with his metallic right hand. It leaned into his caress like any normal house cat. "Do you... understand?" Infinitus asked.

"To serve you?" Amanda's horse voice was low but clear. She looked around, "It looks like you have plenty of other people for that." One of the guards started to walk over, presumably to kick her again, but Infinitus shooed him away with a flick of his wrist.

"These men are loyal, yes. But the task I have in mind is a little more complicated." He said.
"Go fuck yourself." Amanda answered. She didn't know this man, but she knows what had happened these last few days and if it was his fault, cooperation would be the last thing she would give him.
"Ok..." With a glance two guards came, unlatched her from the ground with a switch that released the ring and began to haul her off back to the cell. "You can spend the rest of your life in there for all I care." He said with a chuckle.

Fear and loneliness. "NO!" She screamed. The guards stopped, as if on que.
"Yes?" Infinitus asked.
"...What do you have in mind?" Amanda said lowly.