The Lab

Thanks for the accept!

 

Cobalt struggled in a battle against his mind. For an unexplained reason, the nerves in his hand went feral. Writhing violently and refusing to stop. This always meant an anxiety attack would strike. He couldn't have another attack, though. Consequences would be dire. Cobalt had many a time viewed his confidential records. Cobalt was shown to be extremely aggresive and nonsensical during his psychological breakdowns. With the Lab's newfound powers coursing through his veins, quite literally, the entire facility would never be seen again, and everyone inside, erased from history.
Cobalt had to find a way to calm himself down, and quickly. He grabbed at his pendant and cuffs on his wrists, alternating with no pattern, reminding himself of his life before he became a lab rat.

 

As his mind shattered its barriers and crawled back into reality, Cobalt scanned his prison through blurry eyes. As his eyes focused, a figure materialized through the bars. "Hi." "What's your name? I'm here to rescue you."
Rescue? Could this be happening? His mind most likely formed a mirage, sadistically tricking his sensitive cognition. Ever since he learned Dark Pulse, his brain would do that. However, when he saw her sweet, warm smile, one a sadist could never create, Cobalt realized this was not a dream.
This was a ray of light, cascading through sealed windows. This was a beam of hope to finally escape a four-year long nightmare he has lived.
This, was an embodiment of freedom.
Cobalt lunged at the bars, anxiously awaiting his release. Cobalt, however, drowned deep into his thoughts while awaiting his release. How would he interact socially? How could he possibly rewire with modern society?
He decided he'd just have to find out.

 

Cobalt slowly strided out of his cage, terrified he might have been deceived again. Cobalt kept an Aura Sphere charging, cautious that he would be sedated and forced back into testing. His hand formed a small, blue sphere when the girl enveloped herself in a lab coat. Cobalt took a step back, preparing to attack. "It's a disguise" she smiled. She grabbed Cobalt's hand and lied to the guards that she would be testing him. She wasn't entirely lying. Cobalt took this as a personal test of trust. Cobalt flinched as she moved closer. "It's a disguise to fool them". Cobalt's opinion of the girl transformed when he looked into her eyes. They opened a rift to a galaxy, glistening with life. She wasn't one of the Lab's lackeys. She was actually trying to help him escape.
Cobalt followed the girl outside and breathed in the fresh air. Air he hadn't tasted in such a long time.
"Could I have a moment? Arceus knows how long it's been since I could drink in pure air."
He didn't wait for a reaction. Cobalt swirled at a 180 and sprinted a few feet away, baking himself in a pure enviorment.

 

Cobalt felt elated in joy as he sprinted, letting his hair frolick around and his jacket whip in the wind. It was the first time in four years he had run outside of his scheduled workout sessions, even then, he just ran on a treadmill. Cobalt whirled around when he heard the girl laugh. Cobalt had no idea what to think. No one had ever laughed in the Lab. Four years, no sign of happiness or joy. Just screams of terror from the test subjects or indifferent chatter from the scientists. Cobalt laughed too, realizing he could finally let himself go. He could breathe, he could relax. Relaxing never came easy. Anxiety, flashbacks and paranoia gnawed at his mind, slobbering their consequences all over Cobalt's cognition. He never felt free, relaxed, or happy.
He turned around to finally thank her, when she morphed into a cat.
"Huh. I guess she isn't just a random girl. She was tested on too." Cobalt murmured to himself.
"Hm....well, might as well try a few tricks while I can." Cobalt decided.
A blue, luminescent ball of energy shined in his right palm. A midnight void of darkness clouded his left. First, the black void cascaded an eerie pulse, shooting into the sky. Not only did this confirm that he learned Dark Pulse, it temporarily cleared Cobalt's mind of any mental issues. For a short while, he could completely calm down.
Next, the ball of energy launched into the sky, destructing into navy blue waves of aura. Aura Sphere was not only an attack, it channeled the aura, creating the balls of energy. If you wanted them to be destructive, they could be. If not, they were an interesting way of passing time.
This made Cobalt realize that what they did to him wasn't entirely negative, however, he would still never forgive them. They transformed him into a mutant, never to be truly accepted by anyone. The Lab wasn't even proud of their own creations. Angrily, Cobalt walked off to follow the cat, wherever she may be going.

 

Kozuo was curled up in his cage, eyes closed, floating in the middle rather than on the floor. When asked to fill out the form, the pen moved on its own, without him moving a muscle, save for a faint smile.

 

Cobalt wondered how many others were in the Lab. He'd never seen anyone but the scientists, but screams would always echo in the halls. Disturbing, mutilated, nightmarish remixes of what used to be human voices. No one in there was unscarred. Their bodies and minds either callused or shattered. Whenever he walked towards the testing rooms and labs, he'd see their failed experiments. People with psychic powers, shapeshifters, even Pokémon weren't safe. Cobalt even knew the Lucario who received a portion of his blood. At least, before he died.
Cobalt loved that Lucario. He loved him, because he was that Lucario's trainer. Hypnosis, Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Psychic. Lucario's, now Cobalt's, moveset. As far as the scientists knew, Lucario couldn't even learn Hypnosis. That's why they found him interesting. They couldn't stay away. They kidnapped the Lucario, or so they thought. It was Cobalt who they had snagged. Lucario followed to rescue, due to his sister's, a Gardevoir's, advice. The whole idea made Cobalt taste bile. Cobalt figured there were many reasons to hate the Lab. But until you were mutilated by them, or in his case, transfused with your best friend, you could never truly want to end them.

 

Cobalt finally caught up with the girl, who was with an Eevee. There was a Fire Stone around the Eevee's neck. She must've been experimented on as well.

Amber asked if the Eevee, revealed to be named Stephanie, if she was okay. Definitely experimented on. Was she capable of speech?
"So, are any other test subjects being rescued? I mean, there are still people in there. And Pokémon. We need to get everyone out."
Cobalt realized he was talking. Not statistically to the Lab workers, not frantically to himself, but to other people. Social interaction never occured in the Lab. It was nearly alien.

Cobalt wondered how everyone could escape. Wouldn't they notice everyone's disappearance? He prayed the girl had a plan for this. It struck Cobalt that one of many things had to be uncovered.
"What's your name? The one who rescued me? What's your name?"

 

"I'm Amber." The girl said. Amber morphed back into a human. Cobalt could still never get over that. How was that even possible? His procedure made the least bit of sense, but it still sucked. The Eevee startled Cobalt when it's eyes flashed open. Stephanie sighed. "Another nightmare." This made Cobalt skeptical. How in Arceus' name did an Eevee talk? They really took their chances with this one. She cleared her head and looked at Cobalt. "Another one! What's...your name?" Cobalt was about to answer, when the Eevee became cloaked in light and came out a human. Cobalt realized Amber wasn't the only one who could transform. How many were there?
How many were there like Cobalt?
"Uh...I'm Cobalt..." Cobalt trailed off when he saw the Fire Stone became an Ice Rock. What was going on with this girl?
Cobalt couldn't resist. "When are we getting the others? There are more! We should go get them immediatley!"
Cobalt realized he had started shouting. What if the people in the Lab heard him? He couldn't return. He just couldn't. He charged an Aura Sphere in both palms, keeping them both at the ready. His hand shook, however, launching the sphere straight into the air. It exploded with blue sparks, lighting up the sky.

Cobalt looked back warily, keeping the other Sphere charged. If anyone heard and came outside, they'd be sorry.

No one heard a thing. No one came out, luckily for Cobalt.

"I'm so sorry...if I frightened either of you, I apologize. Being stuck in there for so long, with nothing but what I am wearing and my thoughts to keep me sane, I lost control for a second. The anxiety and paranoia can get to me, you know? At least no one caught us. And if they did, I'd put myself in front of you."
This was out of character for Cobalt, due to his trust issues. He figured it was that Dark Pulse. It must've allowed him to break his mind's rules for once, and develop a bond.

One he hoped would never shatter.

 

Cobalt watched as Amber morphed into a hawk, swooping down and landing on Stephanie's bed. Cobalt decided to sit down. He needed some sleep. Stephanie suddenly enveloped herself into a bright light, brighter than Cobalt could look at. When he turned around, he saw Stephanie the Jolteon. Wait, Jolteon? Wasn't that an Ice Rock before? It changed again?

"Ready. Who's next?" Stephanie sounded depressed.

Cobalt finally saw his wish come true when Amber gave Stephanie two forms. "A psychic guy and a Vulpix? I'm going for-"

Cobalt didn't bother listening to the rest. It was obvious those two were the rescue team. Hopefully they'd give him a role soon. "Well, Amber, what should I do? I don't want to sit back and do nothing, otherwise I would just be like I was back in the Lab. I was too dangerous too handle, so I just sat in my cage. I gotta do something, you know?"

 

Cobalt thought hard on the proposal Amber gave, at least after he recovered from nonsensical speed of Stephanie. Train them? How?

"Well, if you mean giving them moves, it's not that easy. I was transfused with a Lucario, so I can learn moves like that. They'd have to be transfused, transformed, or able to shapeshift into a Pokémon. I guess we can take into account other circumstances, like Psychic boy. However, most people are capable of channeling their Aura. Not powerful enough to really hurt someone like mine, but to stun them, or they can be used as a distraction. I could help everyone adjust to their new mutations and make them positive, even effective..it's a perfect job for a trainer like me."he replied to Amber's idea.

Cobalt realized he sounded like a Lab worker. That wasn't so, however. He was helping people recover and adapt with their mutations, not forcing them upon others. It seemed like a near charitable idea. He would help people recover from abuse and allow them to use their newfound, or should he say new-forced, abilities.

"Sounds good to me. I'll start thinking of some ideas for Psychic boy. They did teach me Psychic and Hypnosis, so those might work." he reassured Amber.

Cobalt sat on his bed and played around with small Aura Spheres. They helped him calm down and focus. He could help people. He knew he could.