Back In The Real World

Sonya slowly walked towards Robin, her boots clicking on the marble floor with each step until she stood in front of the girl, staring down at her without any expression at all. Just staring, studying, focusing her eyes onto the girls. Little did Robin know, with the single instance of eye contact, Sonya had been sending very slight psychic nudges to the girl, urging her to listen, to obey every command and not to run. The fear rolling of the girl was tantalizing, causing her eyes to flare slightly with each intake of breath.

Pressing a button on the back of the collar, she pulled it open and held it out to the girl at the same level as her neck. "Put this on. We have plenty of things to do and I will not have you running away in the middle of them." She stated, dropping the metal device into her hands before walking around behind her and shutting the door tight. Leaning her back against it, she folded her arms and waited, wondering how strong of a suggestion she had planted in her head if it did indeed take. The stronger the will, the more eye contact needed, but with such a small girl, not to mention one that had trusted her before and now feared her... It made a very powerful combination that would weaken her resolve to resist her.

Robin looked down nervously at the collar in her hands, taking a deep breath. Alright... that... was not good... She turned around slowly, looking up at the Time Lord, and mentally scolding herself for yet another bad decision. This woman... she was not Sonya, not at all... but she was terrifying. And she knew better than to try and disobey a killer. But... it was a collar. A freaking collar! What was she going to do, keep her as a pet?! She went over anything she could have done differently today in her head, finding that there were barely any chances to get her out of this position. And none of them would have done much. 

Her eyes drifted back down to the metal in her hands, which were beginning to shake. If Sonya killed her... no, that was not a good thought. Think of something good. Something happy. Um... Mal wasn't going to die? Yeah that was about it. Letting out the breath she didn't remember holding, she raised the collar to her neck and clamped it on, feeling much too scared to be insulted or humiliated.

A cold smile appeared on Sonya's face as soon as the metal was clamped onto Robin's neck. "Good girl." She murmured, her eyes shifting away from her face as she moved past and headed back towards her controls, setting them to take off towards her first destination she had already thought of. "I wouldn't try to take it off, either. It's isomorphic controls, only responds to my touch. If anyone else tries to take it off... Ten thousand volts go through you and whoever is touching it." She added from where she was, casting a sharp look over at the girl before returning to her work.

"Now, either you listen to me and do the things I've set out for you to do... Or you can simply move on, live with the collar and deal with the stares, the questions... Torchwood would find you fairly easily with that clamped around your neck, don't you think?" Sonya asked, her tone of voice sweet as she flashed another dark smile. "Oh we are going to have fun, Robin... First stop. Your friend's home... Mal."

Robin honestly wouldn't have minded much... She could have gone along with just about anything, but not this. Not Mal. "Don't you hurt her, don't you touch her." She growled, knowing the threat was useless on her, but not really know what else to do. "She was your friend too, once. You used to be friends. Don't you even care about that?" She started to ask, her voice a bit calmer than it as a moment ago. If she could somehow drill some sympathy into this monster... but that would practically be impossible. She was sure whatever sympathy she had left as wasted on getting her out of Torchwood, and that wasn't a good use of it at all. "Just... if you're going to do anything, do it to me. Don't hurt Mal, she hasn't done anything. I don't know if I did or not, but if I hurt you some how, I'm sorry..." She took a deep breath, turning towards the doors once more as her hands reached up to touch the metal around her neck. The thought of someone accidentally trying to pry it off of her... That was enough on its own to keep her under Sonya's control.

((I feel like this is a short post...))

Sonya gazed after Robin as she attempted to leave and shook her head slightly in disappointment. Reaching over she picked up what looked to be a credit card with a single, silver button on it. Her thumb hovered over the button until Robin's hand touched the handle of the door before pressing down, activating the collar and sending a three second arc of electricity pumping through the girl before shutting off once more. Pocketing the device, she strode over to the girl and stared down at her, her emotionless gold eyes taking in the expression on her face before she reached up and activated the electrical lock set in the door.

"Try that again and I'll make it last longer." Sonya stated in a soft tone before turning back around and continuing what she was doing earlier. Ignoring Robin as she worked, she reached under the console and gripped a lever she had found there days ago and yanked on it sharply, causing the lights inside the control room to flicker off, leaving them in darkness minus the faint glow from the time rotor and from her eyes as they flicked back and forth around the room. "Now then, shall we begin?"

Robin yelped, jumping back as the electricity shot through her. Um... OW. God, she just couldn't make a good decision to save her life today, could she? Looking up at the demon lady as she towered over her, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, desperately trying to slow her heart and breathing back down to a normal pace. For a few moments after the shock, her hands were left shaking, and that sort of frustrated her. If there was ever a moment to keep calm, it was now. 

Turning around, she watched as the despicable excuse for a Time Lord worked around the console, doing whatever it as she was doing. Alright, no big deal, just- WOAH. Her heart skipped a beat as the lights flickered off, leaving her properly scared for the first time in a while. The only light sources she could identify were the time rotor and... Sonya's eyes. Alright, she knew they glowed a bit, bit that was insane. That was... it wasn't... GOD. Alright, don't panic... just... She took a shaky breath, pulling her arms tighter around herself. Right now, she was properly terrified, and the headache wasn't helping.

Sonya let out a low chuckle, the sound of the girl's heartbeat racing had caused it. Admittedly it was a rather empty chuckle, but the sudden appearance of such an action made her pause with confusion. Shaking her head, she tasted the air and feeling the hum of Robin's panic, fear and terror surround her. The lights being off was meant to frighten the girl into listening, but now... It became a feast for Sonya. Such a small child so full of fear and anger, it was intoxicating.

Slowly walking forward, Sonya approached Robin, knowing full well the only sounds the girl could hear was the click of her boots as each one touched the ground. Then again, she could tell where she was from her eyes, that would be something she would have to work on later. This experiment was rather fun, imagine how it would be if they couldn't see or hear her... Hm, the possibilities were endless. Stopping in front of Robin, Sonya reached out slowly and hovered her hand in front of her face, waving it slightly so the brush of air would startle her.

Robin didnt know what to do. She couldn't see anything in the dim lighting, just Sonya's eyes. At least she could see her coming, but there was no way she would make eye contact with the monster. Drawing in a shaky breath, she let her eyes meet the Time Lord's, her heart skipping yet another beat. The chuckle echoed around the room, at least it did in her head. Oh God... Taking another breath, she tried so very hard not to think of what that meant, but... Was she enjoying this? She was... The psychotic Time Lord was enjoying her fear. Oh God...

The sudden clicking of her boots made her jump, a tiny pathetic squeak escaping her lips. The golden glow moved closer and closer, Robin's eyes snapping shut from their bulging state. Screwing up her face in complete terror, she drew another shaky breath. "S-Sonya..." She murmured weakly, hoping that was all she had to say to get Sonya to quit it, but knowing it wouldn't do. The movement of air in front of her face sent her squeaking once more as she took a step back out of instinct. "S-Sonya, p-please... Please s-stop it..."

"Oh, terror is a fascinating thing, Robin. Do you know, if someone were to... Say, inject you with something to cause intense anger and aggression while you were in this state. The first thing you saw after the lights came on would become your point of anger until either the drug wore off or the person lay dead?" Sonya said quietly, the syringe in her hand and already plunging itself into Robin's neck, the exact same movement it took to bring her husband down. Now she used the tactic to entertain herself for the most part.

"Liquid meth I believe humans call it. It may take a few moments to run it's way through your system. But once it does, you'll begin to feel your fear turn to anger, then your heart rate will increase, from there your entire body will begin using what energy it has towards your muscles, making them larger than normal, not by much, but enough to cause damage." Sonya continued conversationally, pulling the needle from the girl's neck and dropping it to the floor as she strode back over to the console, fiddling with the controls for a moment then flipping a switch, causing a large, holographic image of Mal to appear in the middle of the room. Stepping carefully out of Robin's line of sight, she stood in the entrance of the hallway, using the shadows to keep her from being seen.

Robin's eyes snapped open at Sonya's words. "What? No- AGH!" She winced as the needle was stabbed into her neck, a yelp forced out of her throat. She hissed as it was pulled out, her hands flying up to her neck just to be stopped my the collar. Her breathing became heavy as she felt the liquid spread through her system, not liking the feeling of being drugged up at all. She'd been under too many things in her lifetime and meth was definitely not one of the things she though she'd ever do. Her arms fell to her sides, her fists clenching in rage. If she was going to be set on killing anyone, she was going to make sure it was Sonya.

Opening her eyes slowly, her heart sank at the image of Mal before her. Of course Sonya would set it up like that, but she could never hurt Mal... Right? Well she did sort of murder her, even if it wasn't her yet and she wasn't dead... But... Thanks to her, she knew what death felt like. The absolute darkness, nothing, NOTHING else there. Just her and the darkness. There was the one bit of black, the one that stirred... She had never been as terrified as that until a moment ago. She felt her fear slowly melting away to be replaced with rage, directed at her best friend. The surprising part was that she almost welcomed it.... Taking a deep breath, the tried to calm her heartbeat as her eyes narrowed at what used to be her friend, her ally. Now all she saw was an enemy, and she was going to make her pay.

Sonya felt the now-familiar cold smile spread across her face as the taste in the air changed. Anger, yes, that was what she wanted. Stepping from the shadows slowly, she made her way to the controls and pulled the lever in front of her, sending the TARDIS flying through the vortex quickly only to land in the middle of Mal's living room. "There... Out those doors is this woman. Don't kill her. But do your best to hurt her." She instructed Robin, the lights flickering on in the control room once more as the door behind the young girl creaked open, allowing her to exit the control room.

Settling herself back into the chair, Sonya crossed her legs at the ankles and stretched them out in front of her, hands lacing themselves behind her head as she leaned it back and stared up at the ceiling above her with the same cold smile on her face, listening to the beating of her own hearts as she waited for everything she had planned to come together at last.

Robin rolled her eyes at her instructions. Of course she wouldn't be allowed to kill her, even if that was the only thing keeping her away from feeling like herself again, according to Sonya. "How long is this gonna last..." She mumbled to herself, turning towards the open door and finding a sick smile growing on her face. Oh, this would be too fun. Sure she's regret it later, but right now she felt so angry she wasn't sure she had ever liked this woman. Alright, the best approach would be casual, right? Get her in her grasp before she could run, then beat her up. Simple. Except that she had to remember what she was like when she wasn't high. Ugh. Maybe she'd get lucky, who knows. Strolling out of the TARDIS, the though occurred to her that she might be running, so she picked up the pace. Arranging her face into one of shock, she yelled out for her. "Mal!" Okay, sounded innocent enough. Not bad so far.

Mal had been in bed. She was going to drink tea, take a bath, but she was just so exhausted she flopped on her bed and it was lights out. Dreams. Nightmares. Whatever they were, they showed up every single time she closed her eyes. And the one now was no excuse. It was the same repetitive taunt to run, to keep running. She should sweat and run and bleed but the future was set, there was no escape. But there was a new addition to this dream. There was black mist, a yellow moon offering the only light. The Tyndall effect was in full force and it only caused the setting to scare Mal more. She didn't know if she could run. Every which way she turned she ran into a wall until she finally realized she was caged. Trapped. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run Over and over, louder and louder. "I can't." She whispered. "I can't!" A shout this time. Then face me. Someone was there and Mal turned around. The figure was black but was taking slow, calculated steps toward her. The mist made it hard to see, she had to squint. And of course the figure was none other than...

Mal!

She jerked awake, springing up onto her feet as a cold shiver ran up her spine. It was almost paralytic but with a shake of her head she was allowed to move. Someone was in her apartment. Again. Someone was in her apartment again and all she could think about were guns, needles, men in black. Harm. Danger. She was in danger.

Mal didn't say anything, she just whipped her head around the small room and realized she had no weapons. But that voice.. it was Robin's, wasn't it? Yes, it was. It had to be. She was back and more importantly alive. She exited her room with slow steps but couldn't seem to feel relief her friend was safe. Danger. But she was already in the living room, looking at the small red-head. "You should have knocked. " Was her voice... hard? Mal's senses were very keen at this point, a feeling of dread filling her up and pumping up her veins with adrenaline. Your instinct never lied and everything was telling her this was not a good situation.

(You two go on with this, Sonya is just chilling in the TARDIS right now)

Robin sighed, seeing the flaw in her logic. "Give me a break, I'm involuntarily high. It's not like I'll think straight." She shrugged, coming right out to the woman. "I'm honestly sort of surprised you didn't bother asking about this, though." She reached up and touched her collar, seeing exactly how long she could stall and still catch Mal off guard. She had a sort of idea, though, maybe it'd work. Then again her logic was equivalent to a donkey's right now.

"If you're not gonna care, though, that's just another reason to do this." She grinned a sick grin, jumping up into the air, sprouting her wings to steady herself, and kicking Mal until she had fallen down. Giggling darkly - for whatever reason she dreaded to let her sober mind remember - she landed back on the floor, letting her wings back in and crouching beside the woman's torso. "I bet you have questions now, yeah?" Before she could get a word in, Robin slugged Mal right in the face.

((.... How did I forget the god damn collar? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! *facepalm*))

Mal stared at Robin, her eyes widening, "What did she do to you?" She whispered. Her eyes roamed the collar. It almost didn't seem odd to her probably due to the fact the last few months have been hectic and there was a white cylinder in her living room, blocking the only exit. Why would Mal's mind pick up a simple collar when she was worrying about getting out of this situation. But if there was a collar did that mean Robin was being controlled to do this? When she ran into the redhead she didn't seem to hate Mal so what changed? Sonya must have changed her.

Mal yelped when Robin began assaulting her. One arm went up to protect her head while the other wrapped around her stomach. She was use to this. In her childhood she would normally curl into a ball while Sirus took out his frustrations and hate on her. To be a punching bag was one of her many qualities. This is what she thought of while she hit the ground with a grunt, looking up at Robin with pity as she kept an arm ready to defend herself.

She couldn't just take this. She couldn't just be smacked around any more. She had something to protect because it couldn't be erased. Not this. Robin crouched and the dreaded feeling in Mal's kicked her. Be prepared. Questions? No, no more questions. Only demands.

Surprising even herself, Mal caught Robin's hand and tightened the hold so she couldn't pull away immediately. The other girl could feel the moment the mental connection snapped into place. Mal felt guilty for doing this but with the rage in Robin's eyes... she didn't think the little girl would listen to reason without being shoved in that direction. "Stop this. Right now. I'm not your enemy. We're friends, remember? Sonya is changing you, don't let her do that. Please, Robin. Just stop."

"Mal, no!" Robin growled, trying to yank her hand away before Mal could establish a connection. Too late - she was now under the influence of Mal AND a drug. God, it gave her a headache. She could feel a sense of friendliness washing over her, but she didn't want it. All she knew right now was that Mal was an enemy and that she was being manipulated. Giving up on yanking her hand loose, she pryed her fingers off of her, quickly moving her arm away. It was already too late, but the drug was still in her system. "Mal, if you're not my enemy, then why did you kill me? You murdered me!" She shouted in her moment of innocence, feeling the meth slowly overriding Mal's instructions. "How am I supposed to forgive you after that?! HOW?!" She dropped an elbow on her stomach, the mix of the headache and her rage becoming overwhelming. Why did Mal have to complicate things?!

Mal was confused. Robin was made at her. But she was under the influence of some drug, or so she said. "No- but it wasn't... I haven't done that, it wasn't this me. I can't... I can't blame myself for something I haven't done! A-and I won't let you either. You can hate me but don't... you just... don't hurt me." Mal could see the elbow coming and scrambled out of the way, quickly making it to her feet and using the wall for support.

"Please, stop! You don't understand! Robin, just go. Just leave. Leave!" Mal was shouting too, tears stinging her eyes as she felt her own frustrations ad guilt rise.

"Either I stay and finish what I was told to do or I die. I'm not dying AGAIN, Mal! Oh, but you don't care, DO YOU?!" Robin screamed, a scowl set on her face as she rubbed her elbow. The floor hurt much more that a person. Getting to her feet, she charged after the traitor, heart racing with the combination of the drug and the intense headache she had caused. "I don't care if its orders or not, I'm gonna make you pay!" She growled as she sent three punches in a row at the woman's torso, her foot coming up to kick her knees and hopefully make then weak so she would stop running. "You don't understand how BAD death really is!" Tears began to form in her eyes, probably from the sympathy left over from Mal's meddling.

"Of course I care! That's exactly why you have to go! Why stick around me if I'm just going to kill you, huh?" Mal didn't know what she could do to stop Robin's attack. Her ability seemed to only delay the young girl but didn't stop the oncoming attacks. She was being punched at so she covered her stomach again, grunting with each hit and yelped in pain as her knee was kicked. That bloody hurt! And it just made her mad. "Death is bad? Do you really think that? It would be a god damn blessing at this point. Death is nothing compared to living like this!"

Mal grappled with Robin and shoved the girl to the ground. "You have no idea what I'd give to make this all go away! My life, Sonya, my future, this moment. But I can't! I can't reach deaths' welcoming arms because I have to suffer with the responsibility forced on me! You wanna know what it is? I'm pregnant! Pregnant! Do you understand? Get in that stupid ship and go away! I'm tired. I'm done. I have enough to struggle through without you trying to hurt me!"

Robin froze. Pregnant... She was... Oh God... No matter how mad she was, she wasn't going to hurt her that much. WAIT. Pregant meant... EW EW EW EWWWW. Robin took a deep breath, her hands moving to cover her mouth as she backed up. Even through the drug, she couldn't hurt her anymore. The Mal she saw in the TARDIS... Was not this Mal. This Mal was broken and... Pregant. "Mal... I..." Her head spun, not able to choose between the drug and Mal's assistance. "You don't want death. Please believe me, I'd know. There's nothing there. Nothing. Life is all we have and nothing is terrifying beyond belief..." She blinked. Was she helping her? She couldn't tell what was what right now... Her mind was under so much it couldn't think. She shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs. That didnt help, she nearly fell over from the confusion, anger, and guilt all mixing together and almost making her pass out from the intensity. "Mal..." She had no words.

"That's the point of dying." Mal spat bitterly. She never told anyone how much she was considering just ending it. It was one of the reasons he went on a walk tonight. The fresh air would help clear her mind and the physical distance from her home kept her away from any dangerous substances. But of course a thought of a certain someone and the damn kid she was now carrying stopped her. "Yeah, yeah, I know. How could someone like me get knocked up, eh? Blame Torchwood." She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears but failing. Damn life, so unfair. So cruel.

Robin tried her hardest to force whatever anger she had out of her mind, knowing she felt so bad for her, but still so mad. Sonya.. Just had to go around drugging people... Sighing heavily, she walked back over to Mal and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't we blame them for everything these days?" She chuckled emptily, letting go and standing in front of her. "Please, whatever you do, don't die. The other side is no better than anything here, and you know what? I forgive you!" She shouted the last bit, trying to get Sonya's attention. If she died because she refused to beat up a pregant woman, then she died honorably. "Alright. That might just be your cue to run." She turned around, ready to face whatever punishment she had ahead of her.

Sonya tapped her foot on the ground as Robin walked back into the TARDIS, her thunderous expression stating very simply she was not pleased at all with the younger girl. Without moving from her spot in the chair, she used a foot to flick the switch that shut and locked the door behind her as she stopped inside of the control room. "You let her run. That was not the orders I gave you. Put simply, you are a disappointment, Robin. I had hoped to unleash the darkness that had formed inside of you all of those days inside that little cell in Torchwood. I need a good weapon. My brother failed me, and now you have too. I have no room in my TARDIS for failure."

Suddenly she got to her feet and strode over to the girl, her fingers hooking into the edge of the collar and dragging Robin towards the hallway that lead deeper into the TARDIS. "I'm sure a few days on your own might change your point of view on some things. Perhaps a few weeks... I could make the TARDIS slow time in your room so an hour could seem to be a year, how would you like that?" Sonya asked coldly, not bothering to look down at her as she continued choking her with the collar with her much longer steps. Finally she reached a blank, white door, her hand pressing against it lightly to slide it open, revealing a stark white room with a single mattress set in one corner.

Flinging the girl forward, she sprawled her on the floor and planted a hand on the edge of the doorway in a sudden fit of dizziness. "Stay in here until I come for you." She snapped sharply before shutting the door and inputting the code to lock it before walking away to relax in the zero grav room. She needed to get away from this headache of hers.

Robin yelped, her legs scrambling to keep up with the quick pace of the Time Lord. Her hands clawed at the collar, desperately hoping Sonya remembered that she was human and had to breathe eventually. She gasped for air as she was flung to the floor, barely hearing what Sonya had to say. "No!" She struggled to get to her feet as the door was closed and locked, her legs taking her towards it anyway. Pounding on the door, she screamed as loud as she could. "Let me out! Sonya, LET ME OUT!" She slowly stopped her struggle, turning around and leaning against the white surface. She took a deep breath as she examined the room, finding it much too small. This was smaller than Torchwood was, plus she couldn't see out of it. This was it. She slid down the wall, starting to hyperventilate. This was bad. Very bad. Curling up into a ball, Robin shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to pass out but only finding she couldn't. A tear slipped out from her eyelid as she whimpered, rocking back and forth. This was going to be torture.