Dixon screamed but didn't let up. His face had contorted into a grimacing smile as he throtled hard and squeezed Victor's neck. Darkness pressed hard against the edges of Victor's vision as he put his hand on Dixon's face, squeezing and pushing him away as hard as he could manage. Instead of Dixon's face Victor now saw the back of his hand, the trademark 'V' that reminded him of his lineage.

His hands went limp as the room began to swim into silence. Strangely, he felt the grip around his neck loosen and a weight lifted from on top of him. Had the girls intervened? No. Dixon had himself fallen unconscious from the shock of having a finger broken. Now people were swimming around both of them. Victor was tired. So tired. He wanted to sleep.

He drifted off as the sounds of hall drones surrounded them. Just in time, as always. He felt something soft on his cheek. A kiss? The last thing he heard before losing consciousness were the drones:

"Warning: Evidence of violent behavior detected. Immediate medical attention required. Hyperbolic suspension mandatory."

When Victor woke he was in the med bay on the girl's side. The table felt cool under him, and though his head was still swimming he felt much, much better. Until he tried to move and found that he couldn't. He was bound to the table. Victor pulled at the metal clasps binding his writs and legs, but nothing he did made them budge.

Then he heard a laugh that froze him solid. He turned his head slowly onto it's side. Next to him, on an identical white slab only a few feet away, Dixon was bound to another table.

"You look just like I did before I went to the box. Helpless. Afraid. Waiting to be put in the box. It would be better if they put you in straightaway, but no. They just have to update your med file, first. I think it's on purpose. Fortunately, this ain't my first rodeo."

Victor could see Dixon slide something from under the cuff of his uniform as he began to whistle. It was a pin. His broken finger was in a cast, but he still managed to get the pin out and begin fiddling with clasping mechanism. Victor laid and watched, willing the pin to drop from his fingers, hoping the clasps would hold out.

*SNAP*

The clasp from around his wrist sprung open.

"You see, Vic? Everything on this station was designed with a back door. Forget Scores, Nexus itself is the real test. Now you sit tight little buddy. Uncle Dixon is going to be right over in a moment."

"Help! Nexus! Drones! ANYBODY!" Victor screamed. Dixon laughed.

*SNAP*

The clasp from around Dixon's under hand came open. Now he was working on his legs.

"You need to stop this, Victor. You're making this my favorite moment. Well, second favorite. My favorite moment comes after this last clasp comes loose. I'm thinking of some other creative uses for this pin."

Victor ignored him. "Goddamnit Nexus! I know you hear me!"

Dixon nodded sympathetically as he continued to fiddle with one of his feet clasps.

*SNAP*

Only one more clasp left, now.

"Yep. She hears you, alright. But think about it. When has Nexus ever really saved you? I mean, I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm fucking crazy. Yet I, of all people, was woke up out of hypersleep suddenly and was unleashed upon you. If I'm not mistaken, Nexus even helped me. Hold on a sec," he said, concentrating hard on the final clasp.

*SNAP*

"There. Finally free. Now we can talk like civilized people, eh?" Dixon said, flashing his charming smile as he hoped lightly off of the table. "Anyway, it's like I was saying. If anything, Nexus is on my side. That got me to thinking," he said conversationally as he strolled over to Victor's table, "why would it side with me? Well, the Nexus A.I. could have lost its goddamned mind. That's one possibility."

He was looking Victor in the face now. Victor pulled hard at the clasps. The metal cut into his skin. He tried to pull, to squeeze through the clasp even if it meant breaking his hand, but he feared that if he cut a vein or caused a deep gash he really would be screwed. Whatever torture Dixon had planned, Victor thought there was a fair chance the boy didn't intend to kill him. He enjoyed causing Victor pain too much. Then again, 'intend' was the key word.

When Dixon began to unbutton Victor's shirt, Victor couldn't help letting horror show on his face. Dixon laughed.

"Don't worry, buddy. I don't have anything like that planned. Just plain 'ole boring torture," he said. Despite his situation, Victor felt a deep relief at this assurance.

Then Dixon jammed his pin hard into Victor's chest. Victor screamed. The pin was thin, but long. It hurt, but mostly he had screamed because of the shock and suddenness of it. Dixon sighed.

"This will never do," he said, leaving the pin in Victor's chest. "Wait right there, will you?"

Victor could hear Dixon rustling through drawers of medical tools. There was a full assortment in case the A.I.'s arm stopped operating and students had to be directed through a surgery or treatment manually. After all, hyperbolic suspension was only a good temporary fix if you could freeze the person before they died.

"Dixon..." Victor said, meaning it to sound gentler than it did. He didn't know how to complete the sentence. How did you reason with someone that not only knew they were insane, but embraced the fact? Dixon ignored him.

"Like I was saying. One possibility is that Nexus is insane." Dixon reappeared in Victor's view. He was thinking as he tapped the bottom of a large scalpel on his chin. In his other hand was a pair of dental extracting forceps. Victor heard a clank has he placed them on a tray next to the slab where he lay. "I don't think that's the case, however. I think this is exactly what HQ wanted. I think Nexus is turning up the crank on the tension to prepare us for something. Something that's coming. Something big."

Dixon brought the scalpel and forceps back into view.

"I'm sorry, Vic. How rude of me. Which would you prefer?" Dixon said, holding a tool in each hand, "The scalpel or the forceps?"

"Fuck you." Victor said as calmly as he could. Tears streamed down his face, but he resolved not to give Dixon any satisfaction as best he could.

"I see. Both, then. I think we'll start with the scalpel . Then, when you're a little less resistant to therapy, we can move on to getting rid of those teeth. You seem to be under the delusion that you're a hero and I'm a villain. But let's see how people deal with a disfigured hero and a handsome villain. I think it'll be fun, don't you?"

He placed the scalpel just above Victor's cheek.

"We'll start with the face. Hold still."

There was a metallic clang as Dixon's head whipped to the side. His eyes rolled upward and he dropped to the floor. Behind him, holding a large wrench, stood Eve.

"Hello Victor. Sorry I'm late."