Darkness faded slowly.
Pain came first.
Every muscle in Devin's body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together. His lungs burned with each breath. His head throbbed. The smell of antiseptic and cold metal filled the air.
He opened his eyes.
White lights.
Metal ceiling.
Cold.
He tried to move and realized instantly that he couldn't.
Heavy restraints bound his wrists, ankles, and torso. They weren't normal restraints either. Dark metallic bands etched with faint glowing symbols locked tightly against his skin. Additional cables ran from the restraints into the floor and walls, pulsing faintly.
He tensed.
Nothing.
His body felt… suppressed.
Weaker.
His eyes widened.
He tried to transform.
Normally, the shift would start immediately, bones cracking, muscles expanding, the familiar surge of power flooding his system. But this time… nothing happened.
It was like hitting a wall.
His evolution was stagnant.
Blocked.
His breathing quickened. Panic mixed with anger. He pulled harder against the restraints. They didn't budge. Instead, the symbols glowed brighter, emitting a faint humming sound. A subtle tingling spread through his body, dulling his strength further.
"What…?" he muttered hoarsely.
His mind raced.
Captured.
He looked around the chamber. Reinforced glass. Thick steel walls. Automated turrets recessed in the ceiling. Observation windows tinted dark.
His jaw tightened.
"They got me…" he whispered.
He assumed only one organization could manage something like this... the Foundation.
He growled softly, frustration building. He tried again to push his body, but the restraints suppressed any surge before it could build. His claws didn't even form.
For the first time since his transformation began… he felt powerless.
Then the intercom crackled.
A soft static filled the room.
"Subject is conscious," a calm voice said.
Devin froze.
That voice…
He knew it.
His heart skipped.
"Vitals stable. Suppression field holding."
It was her.
Amber.
But the tone was different.
Cold.
Professional.
Detached.
Devin's eyes widened as he stared toward the observation window.
"Amber?" he called out, confusion flooding his voice.
Silence for a second.
Then she spoke again, still through the intercom.
"Subject response confirmed. Cognitive awareness intact."
No warmth.
No familiarity.
No emotion.
He swallowed. "Amber… what's going on? Where am I?"
Another pause.
"Designation: Devin. Anomalous lycanthropic adaptive entity. Current containment successful."
His stomach dropped.
She wasn't speaking to him.
She was speaking about him.
"What… what are you talking about?" he said, his voice shaking slightly.
"We successfully recovered you following nuclear event. Containment protocols designed using behavioral and physiological data gathered during field observation period."
Field observation.
Devin's eyes slowly widened.
The farm.
The months.
The bonding.
The trust.
"…You…" he whispered.
Her voice continued, clinical and precise.
"The suppression restraints are calibrated to disrupt your transformation cycle and halt ongoing evolutionary adaptation. Resistance is not advised."
His chest tightened.
"You're… doing this?" he asked quietly.
No answer to the question itself.
Instead, she continued: "You are now under custody of the Global Occult Coalition. Compliance will improve your conditions."
The words hit harder than any physical blow.
Not the Scp but.....
G.O.C.
And Amber… was part of them.
His mind replayed everything
... her smile, the late nights, the shared meals, the quiet conversations, the trust he built. It all twisted painfully in his chest.
"You… you used me…" he said, voice low.
No response.
Just silence.
Finally, she spoke again.
"You will be evaluated for operational utility."
Operational.
Utility.
Asset.
Each word stripped away what he thought they had.
Devin stared at the restraints, his breathing uneven. Confusion, anger, betrayal, all mixing together. But he couldn't even rely on his transformation to release it.
For now… he was trapped.
And the woman he cared about was speaking to him like he was nothing more than equipment....
After some time after capture..
Devin stared at the observation window, trying to see through the tinted glass.
He couldn't.
All he could see was his own faint reflection which was very exhausted, restrained, powerless.
His jaw tightened.
"Amber… stop talking like that," he said, voice rough. "What is this? Why are you doing this?"
Silence answered him.
Then papers shuffled faintly over the intercom, followed by her voice again... controlled, emotionless.
"Subject displaying emotional fixation on field operative. Noted."
The words cut deep.
"I'm not a subject," he snapped, pulling against the restraints again. The seals glowed brighter, a low hum vibrating through his bones. His muscles weakened further, forcing him to stop.
"You stayed with me for years," he said, quieter now. "You… you cooked with me. You laughed. You... "
"Field infiltration required long-term trust establishment," she interrupted. "Your psychological profile indicated reduced aggression when exposed to companionship and stability."
Devin went still.
That meant…
Everything.
Every moment.
Every smile.
Calculated.
His chest felt heavy.
"So none of it was real?" he asked.
This time, there was a longer pause.
Behind the glass, unseen to him, Amber stood in a dim observation room surrounded by G.O.C analysts.
Her posture was rigid. A tablet rested in her hand, displaying biometric readings from Devin's restraints.
An officer beside her spoke quietly, "Maintain detachment with the asset . He's emotionally volatile."
She nodded slightly.
Over the intercom, she answered:
"Emotional engagement was part of mission parameters."
Not a yes.
Not a no.
But cold enough.
Devin let his head fall back against the metal support.
For the first time since gaining his powers… he felt something close to defeat.
He closed his eyes, breathing slowly, trying to calm the storm building inside him.
Rage pushed at the edges, but the restraints suppressed any spike before it could escalate. His evolution power... the thing that always adapted.. remained supressed and dormant.
He whispered, "You said I wasn't alone anymore…"
No reply.
The room felt colder.
After a moment, a different voice came over the intercom.... deeper, authoritative.
"Entity Devin, you are now classified as a potential strategic asset. Cooperation will be beneficial."
Devin opened his eyes again, anger flickering.
"And if I don't ?"
"Then containment remains indefinite and potentially harsh methods will used to insure... compliance ."
He laughed once, bitterly. "You think I'm going to help you after this... ?"
Silence.
Amber's voice returned.
"You don't currently have leverage to refuse."
That stung more than anything.
She was right.
He couldn't transform.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't evolve.
He was trapped.
He stared at the restraints around his wrists. The glowing symbols pulsed rhythmically, draining any surge of strength. He tested them again subtly.. nothing. His body felt artificially suppressed, like something was blocking the internal trigger for transformation.
He realized something else.
They hadn't just restrained him physically.
They'd studied him.
They'd understood him.
Because of her.
His voice dropped, quiet but intense.
"You told them everything you probably saw... Didn't you.. …"
No denial came.
Just another clinical response:
"All relevant behavioral and physiological data was documented."
He clenched his fists. The restraints tightened slightly.
Behind the glass, one of the G.O.C commanders leaned toward Amber.
"He's stabilizing. Emotional spike declining.....Good."
She nodded faintly but didn't speak.
Back in the chamber, Devin exhaled slowly.
Confusion still clouded his thoughts. He didn't understand everything... why they wanted him as an asset, what they planned to do next, why Amber sounded so distant, things didn't make sense...
But one thing was clear.
The life he'd had for that year…
Was gone.
And the woman he trusted most was now part of the cage holding him.
He looked up at the glass again.
"…Amber," he said quietly, almost hoping.
This time, she didn't respond.
The intercom went silent.
Leaving him alone with the faint hum of the anomalous restraints and the realization that, for now, even his evolution couldn't save him.