The Lady and the Tiger

I don't own the X-men or the character Tigra.  I borrowed her from Marvel.  Don't sue me.  I don't have anything.

            "Daddy please it hurts!" His daughter's voice ran shrill in his ears, breaking his heart with ever word.  Trying desperately to push his daughters cries a side; Dr. Nelson only intensified the injection therapy.  A piercing scream craked thought the air almost forcing Dr. Nelson to cover his ears.  Speaking into the intercom as sympathetically as possible "Please, Greer honey just a little longer.  It's almost over."  She only screamed louder.

 Why had god done this?  Why had god cursed his beautiful, beloved child?  No Dr. Nelson thought, he wasn't going to pray to God, that bastard did this to his baby.  Checking the percentage of genetic absorption, seeing it at least at 20 percent he decreased the injection speed till the last buzzing, hummed to a stop.  Almost whispering into the intercom, "Its over sweetie.  We're all done."  It was all he could do, to keep his voice even.  His heart hurt so much, seeing his daughters hysterically crying, body strapped down trembling.  Dr. Nelson checked his readings, making sure all the data was saved properly and the serine injection gun was powered down.  The huge injection needle screeched backwards dripping a slight trail of fluid before it.  Its massive mechanical arms, that ironically had the look of a tattoo gun since that was somewhat of its purpose, shrieked into its off, unused position.  Checking his data a second time before considering his daughter, Dr Nelson slipped out of the control room, to decontaminate in the clean room.

            Greer couldn't see the floor beneath her; her eyes were so hazed with tears.  She had hoped she would faint but the pain was too much.  She hiccupped for air trying to think of anything else except the sharp fire that blazed up and down her spinal cord and head.

 Only six months ago, Greer Nelson was your typical 17-year-old teenager.  Her only worry in life was figuring out how to tell her parents she stopped going to her violins lessons and making captain of the basketball team.  It was a routine physical for basketball that started her on her road to hell.  Her blood test had come back form her physician as abnormal.  Greer's father, one of the countries top ranked neo-geneticist, took this news to heart and took it upon himself to give her a blood test, personally. Greer found her father a mumbling mess, yelling about how this couldn't happen to his daughter and sat Greer down to have a long talk about DNA.

  She had active traces of the x-gene, the gene that caused mutation.  Fortunately, Dr. David Nelson pioneered one of the few, proven, gene therapy procedures to actually dormant the genetic material. Her father had told her that the work he did saved hundreds of thousands of people from a fate worse than dead but she wondered now, at what price.   She had no idea what mutants really were or looked like, just what she saw on TV.  A clinical slide show and a heart felt talk with her father had cleared the way for vivid image of monsters with unwanted appendages as well as grotesque deformities, she couldn't even imagine.  Fear, made her so glad to go ahead with whatever procedures were needed to stop her from becoming a monster. 

Her father had said 'therapy'.  The word therapy evoked images of cortizon shots and horrible tedious workouts, she did when she dislocated her elbow, but this, this was torture.  First, the medication of 9 pills a day, three times a day to suppress her adrenal glad and pituitary glad, to stop the mutation at its start.  Greer protested even more because such medication made it all but impossible to go through school, let alone continue basketball. Her fathers constant reminders of the beast growing inside of her set her on the straight an narrow though.  Now she was on her 9th injection therapy treatment, the second process of exterminating her genetic flaws, she still had 27 more, every six weeks and they were only getting worse as they went on.  Greer didn't know how much more she could take.  Any time though she would have a moment of weakness her father would 'comfort' her.  Telling her she was strong and that there were other people, even kids, going thought the same treatment as her and that she shouldn't be so selfish.  She wondered really who was being the selfish one.  Controlling her sobs and gasps for air Greer could hear the hiss of the decompression of the door to the clean room. 

            Stepping into the room quickly Dr. Nelson had scrubs in his hands.  Greer couldn't wear them during the procedure since all viable nerve areas must be available.  Leaving Greer a trembling naked young girl strapped down onto a cold table.  Petting the back of her head, cooing softly, "It's okay baby its all over."  Only to be responded to with the silence.  Un-strapping her arms and legs he turn around to let his daughter get dressed.  Greer crawled up from her stomach to sit on her legs, keeling there she grabbed the scrubs her father always brought in.  She used to be so shy, now she didn't have much of a choice.  Sliding a gown over her front she slipped slowly on the pants, not letting the waist band go any higher than the lowest part of her hips.  Lightly stepping off the examination table her father turned around,  "All done."

 That phase was her que to turn around and let her father do the finial insult of poking her back and head, probing her fresh wounds.  Wincing Greer spoke as clearly and confidently as she could, "I don't want to do this anymore.  I don't care if I do turn into a freak."  Dr. Nelson only sighed, he had this conversation with his daughter on many occasions.  "Greer I know its tough but you have to be strong.  We will beat this."  Frustration and anger getting the best of her Greer's temper flared, "What if I don't want to beat this!  What if this is all in vein and the torture you're putting me through is for your own sadistic research!"  Greer looked over her shoulder shyly, realizing what she had just said.  Dr. Nelson did a half step back, focusing on not letting the hurt show in his face.  She turned around fully, "I'm sorry.  I know your only trying to help dad."  Her father and her used to be so close.  She was daddy's little girl.  Now all she felt, all the time, was alone and betrayed.  Dr. Nelson stepped forward and set a gentle kiss on his daughter's forehead. Whispering into her hair, " It's okay sweetie.  Just remember you're not alone.  You have me and mom and remember there are other people going through this too."  He rubbed her shoulders gently.  Greer only nodded her head.  His words passed through her like mist.  Mom had no idea what exactly was going on.  She would have nipped this in the bud way before it had gone this far and Greer never saw anyone else coming in or out of the lab that wasn't in a lab coat or had an ID badge.  Any time she asked about the other patients of the procedure, her father relied on the patient-doctor confidentiality code.  She sighed and whimpered, "I want to go home."