I can feel you all around me thickening the air I'm breathing ( Elle one-shot )
Trapped. Elle finally realized that's what she was. Tested. Not only her loyalty to her daddy and this company, but her ability's capabilities and limitations. Experimented on - experiments conducted by her own father. Driven insane because the procedures had been so intense, so harmful, that she'd suffered permanent damage. Memories erased ... she didn't remember a lot of it, but it was there on paper, clearly printed in black and white. All these horrible truths were now burned into her consciousness, relentlessly mocking her and her foolish naivety. There'd been times when she wanted to leave, but she hadn't. She'd stayed. She'd stayed by choice ( or had she? ) because she wanted to prove herself. She'd wanted to have a purpose. She'd wanted to belong. But after all this time, she was just another person for Primatech to play with. And while if you asked her, she'd probably say anger was her primary emotion, she was also struck by an overwhelming sense of loss: a loss of self, of family, and of direction. What was she supposed to do now?

She could do absolutely nothing: pretend she hadn't found out. Despite any newfound resentment towards these people, it would be easiest to act like nothing had happened. At least she'd still have a place to stay. But did she want to? Did she really have a choice? More importantly, could she even survive out there in the real world? This was the only life she'd ever known, the one thing she was good at. It's not like self-discovery or independence had ever been that important to her. She hadn't really given either much thought.

The ball and chain that held her here was invisible, yet it was just as effective as any physical binding. They'd manipulated her into believing that doing what she was told was the right thing, but right for who? And she had believed them. Sure, she asked questions, but only half of them ever got answered. She usually just let it go after that. Maybe she hadn't ever been happy, but she'd been content with her circumstances overall - until now. They'd made sure of that, hadn't they? How many times had they brought in the Haitian to help manage her whenever she got out of hand? He plucked all the troublesome stuff out, and then she was back to her old perky, obedient self again.

A fresh coat of tears clouded her vision as she walked. Where was she going? She was seeking out the one person she thought would understand how she felt. He'd been betrayed by them too. He was also really the only one she had to talk to. Even if he didn't want to listen, he had to. Right now, she didn't care about that. She wasn't looking for any particular reaction, she didn't want to hear any specific words of wisdom, and she didn't want to be pitied. So what did she want? Something real. Something honest. That might've sounded crazy considering this 'reliable source' she was about to pay a surprise visit to wasn't the most sincere person in the world, and she could almost guarantee he wouldn't be interested. Again with the not caring. Truth be told, they'd had some pretty cool conversations over the past three weeks. They'd almost started to get along - although he was probably just working her so she'd help him escape.

Whether it was a genuine 'friendship' or not, he knew a lot of stories, and she had a lot of free time. But this was different. She didn't just want to see him: she needed to see him.

Much to her disappointment, when she entered the room, she found Adam already asleep. Looks like their conversation would have to wait. Just to be sure he wasn't faking it and just lying there with his eyes closed, she took a couple steps forward, her heels clicking against the floor. He didn't move, didn't even rustle, so she took a couple more steps and continued this stop-and-go approach until she'd reached the bed. For reasons unknown to her, she didn't leave. Instead, she gently lowered herself onto the mattress. The thought of waking him by a harmless zap crossed her mind once or twice, but she decided against it.

She bit down on her lip when it started to tremble and choked back a sob. What had she done? Could she ever change? When you stripped away Primatech, who was she? It was stupid to think Adam Monroe could or would help her find the answers to her questions, but she wasn't really thinking all that clearly at the moment.

All she felt like doing was curling up into a ball and crying, but she also had a sudden desire to be close to someone. This time she couldn't go to daddy. He couldn't make this better - not this time.

Careful not to wake her sleeping companion, she repositioned herself so that she was lying on her side, back pressed lightly against Adam's chest once she'd scooted a little closer. That's when the tears started to fall.

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Elle woke with a start when the door slammed against the wall. Honestly, she hadn't intended on staying there the entire night. She must've dozed off. She was actually surprised that Adam hadn't woken up and shoved her off the bed. Nope. The first face she saw was her father's, and he was furious. Obviously he wanted to know what she was doing sleeping with Adam ( and that's all they'd done: sleep ).

She shook her head vigorously as she stood to her feet, appearing much like the scolded child that she was. "Seriously?" Her tone was laced with disbelief, offended that he could even think that's what was going on here, but she quickly bit her tongue and shot down the allegation. "Nothing is going on between me and Adam." Her defense would've worked better if someone hadn't tattled and told her dad that she'd been making frequent trips to visit Monroe. Really, she should've seen it coming. No one in this place could keep a secret - not when it was about someone else within the company. It's like everyone's business was their business, and someone had felt entitled to stick their nose in where it didn't belong and make some serious accusations concerning her conduct, or misconduct as the case may be.

When she realized her explanation wasn't good enough and she was being doubted, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment. Who was he to stand here and judge her, especially when he had no proof? Okay, so when a woman was found lying beside a man, that generally meant there was something between them, but it's not like either of them were missing any articles of clothing or anything. Besides, he was her father. He was supposed to give her the benefit of the doubt: believe her, not some stranger. She'd never given him a reason not to trust her. In fact, she'd always done exactly what he wanted her to. Surely he couldn't so easily forget that.

The unfortunate truth was that no one trusted anyone anymore, and with good reason. Elle hadn't fully learned that until this very moment. She knew she'd been lied to, but she had been completely blind-sighted by a bond that was completely one-sided to such an extent that what happened next ... she never saw it coming.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I'm doing this for your own good. Adam Monroe is a dangerous man. I hoped you'd see that on your own."

Confusion swept across her face.

Despite any anger she'd felt towards him last night or even just now, she was sorry. Sorry, even though she hadn't done anything wrong. "But nothing happened. I swear." Eyes widened once she caught sight of the syringe. She absentmindedly took a step back as fearful hues lifted and locked with her accuser. "Daddy, please. Please don't. I just fell asleep. I didn't mean to-" Her sentence was cut short when he grabbed her arm, nothing but a stern look given in response to her pleas. At first she tried to wriggle free, but he'd brought reinforcement. Two men helped steady her, and before she could generate enough electricity to get them off of her, whatever was in the needle was injected into her bloodstream. If she hadn't been so emotional, if she'd focused on using her ability to break free instead of begging for them to stop and struggling the old-fashioned way, she might've been able to slip away. But it's not like she had anywhere to go ...

Suddenly her eyelids felt heavy, and while something was being said, it was difficult to make out. She squinted, as if that would help her understand. Timeout. She was being placed in timeout.

A single tear trickled down her cheek right before everything faded to black.

_____________________________________________________________

Two months later

She'd been reprimanded for getting too close to Adam Monroe, and because of the harsh conditions of her punishment, she'd learned her lesson; she'd learned it all too well. So well that she'd deliberately avoided any interaction with Adam since she was first allowed out of her room a month ago. In the time that'd passed since then, she'd gone back to playing the role of dutiful daughter. After explaining her actions as a temporary lapse in judgement, she assured her father that it would never happen again. It's what he wanted to hear, and after she acknowledged his authority and apologized ( repeatedly ) for her behavior, things went back to normal - almost.

She thrust open the door and boldly pranced into the room, her piercing gaze instantly settling on its one and only occupant. There would be no getting caught this time; she'd made sure of that. She'd meticulously chosen now to take action, but action of what kind? Well, that was the real question, wasn't it?

"Come on. We're moving you." Her tone was flat and matter-of-fact, but when she stepped forward, the corners of her lips curled up into a smirk. "It's time to redecorate."