It was late at night when Charlie got home, his wife Becky had closed her clothes shop an hour ago and was already in bed. Barely a sound could be heard outside with the exception of the occasional question from Takahashi as a guard walked past – Nan-ni shimasho-ka?
Charlie sat on the sofa, exhausted, yet falling asleep was never easy now – ever since the Institute started kidnapping people in the night you never knew if tonight was your last night. Charlie sat there for a few minutes listening to the radio; he could hear his wife snoring upstairs.
Then suddenly there was a blinding blue flash as the world seemed to shake around him, what Charlie instinctively knew was a synth stood before him in a long black uniform and a laser pistol in his hand. He said in a cold, heartless voice, “You’re coming with me”
Charlie scrambled out of bed and tried to run for the door, but the synth landed a well-placed shot to his leg and he fell to the floor with a thud. Nevertheless, he didn’t give up and crawled to the door he screamed for help but he knew it was futile. He could hear the guards outside discussing it – “Shall we help him?” one guard said, “No, you know what McDonough said – no interfering in kidnappings or the Institute will destroy Diamond City” the other one replied. Charlie took in the reality of what was happening – he was being kidnapped and nobody would help him – even his wife, she was such a deep sleeper she wouldn’t even hear him scream.
The synth grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up, “Stand next to me, stay still and don’t scream, or I will kill you” he said in the same expressionless voice. He stood up straight then said to what seemed like no one, “Y7-4X, ready to relay with Charlie Fallon”.
Suddenly another blinding blue flash enveloped him as he felt like his stomach was turned inside out, then he landed on a cold metallic floor. Two other synths, the robotic skeleton ones, came up and grabbed him by both arms as they walked him down the elevator. Despite the agony and fear he felt he couldn’t help but admire his surroundings, the place was simply amazing; everything he thought was lost 200 years ago and things he’d only heard of were scattered everywhere – it was almost as if the war never happened.
As he was dragged out of the elevator and over to the door he saw a sign above, despite his blurry vision he read it, ‘Bioscience’. A man in a white lab coat walked out of the sliding doors and inspected him, he then addressed the Synths – “Knock him out and take him over to the FEV lab”. Charlie registered what he had just said and looked up to see a syringe being stuck into his neck and the world went black.
He woke up in a tank filled with green liquid; somehow he could breathe in it, he felt different: taller, stronger and powerful.
He looked down at his hands and was taken aback with shock, they were green and muscly. It was with complete horror that he realised what had happened – he was a Super Mutant.
He screamed but it came out as a roar, the man he’d seen earlier, the scientist who ordered him to be knocked out, was standing before him.
“I’m sorry, Charlie” the scientist began with a tone that suggested great regret and guilt, “The procedure failed, we’ll send you back to the Commonwealth, it will only take a few days for you to forget your past and lose your intelligence – then you’ll just be another mutant with the desire to kill everything”
He saw the blue light surrounding him once again, he knew his life was over now and thought of only one thing as he was teleported out of the Institute.
“Goodbye, Becky”
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Even in Fallout there's Thalmor policy....