The riots had died down enough that Mangle could go out and get food without being beaten to death by the other scientists, though they were shunned by everyone, save the janitors who were nice to It. When Mangle was balancing two trays of food, one of the janitors always silently came over and took one to carry. All the scientists assumed that the tray would be taken away and It would never get the food. Fortunately no one had tested that theory. Mangle always walked in silence with whichever janitor helped them out, but always made a point to give them something for their efforts, usually just some time alone behind closed doors with It or a few dollar bills Mangle had in their pockets. It was a silent agreement among them that whatever was best for It, they’d work together in the shadows to achieve.
Mangle brought the food into It’s room where she was sitting in front of the tablet, muttering syllables under her breath as she read the kindergarten-level books Mangle had set up for It to choose from, trying to avoid any more books about racism for a while, as Mangle knew that the protests later on in the early 2000s and 2010s could get quite violent.
It perked up at the sound of a knock at the door. Mangle looked at it wearily. They didn’t feel like arguing with anyone right now, but they supposed any human contact besides It would be a refreshing change. They were dead wrong.
Milbridge was on the other side of the door. He looked like a wolf, his grin was so wide. It saw who it was and immediately changed the tablet to a coloring program, watching Milbridge carefully. “You’ve done yourself in, Mangle,” Milbridge said casually. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were fired within the week.”
Mangle grit their teeth. “Is there anything I can help you with, Dr. Milbridge, or are you just here to gloat?”
Milbridge pushed Mangle aside. “Actually...I’m here to see your little ‘dragon girl’.” Milbridge strolled up to it. “What’ve you got there, ‘kid’?”
It frowned at the mocking. “Drawing,” It said. “I think I might make rainbows.”
“Make rainbows, huh?” Milbridge chuckled. “Do you suppose they have rainbows in heaven?”
It furrowed her eyebrows. “I dunno. Maybe?”
Milbridge clucked his tongue. “It’s a shame that no-one knows. But then again, I suppose it doesn’t really matter since something like you would never go to heaven.”
“Get out.” Mangle ordered, “Now.”
“Now, now, Dr. Mangle. That’s no way to treat a superior,” Milbridge smarmed.
“The only way you are superior to me is rank. And right now, that means nothing. Get. Out.”
Milbridge ignored Mangle and stroked It’s hair and neck. It bristled. “Stop, please,” she whimpered.
Milbridge laughed and continued to toy with her. It brought out her wings and scratched Dr. Milbridge, before fleeing the room on the wind. Mangle ran after her, Milbridge hot on their heels. Soon other scientists joined in, desperate to catch It before she could escape. It outflew any previous record she held, zipping around heads and over any objects lobbed in her direction, finding a perch in the form of an opened vent in the ceiling. She folded in her wings and watched the chaos below her, not with fear, but with fascination.
“We need to get it down!” one scientist yelled.
“She’s not coming down if you’re yelling at her like that!” a janitor shouted back.
“It tried to tear my arms to shreds! Someone kill it!” Milbridge wailed.
“No she didn’t, you absolute moron! She was extremely uncomfortable with you stroking her like a cat, and you wouldn’t listen when she told you to stop! How else was she supposed to feel safe than get away from you!” Mangle protested.
“Stop calling it a she!” several people yelled.
It cocked her head. “Why, you elitists?” she asked.
Everyone went silent.
“Just ‘cause I don’t look the same as you, I’m not a human, is that it?” she continued. “Always an abomination, simply because you see yourselves as ‘pure’? I’m the next level, I’ve evolved past you morons, thanks to your genetic meddling! If someone has the sense of humanity to treat me as a person, is that really such a bad thing? I will tell you right now; the way you’re treating me, I won’t work with anyone except Dr. Mangle, or someone else who treats me as the human that I deserve to be.”
No one said anything after that. Mangle tentatively stepped forward. “It, will you come out of that vent, please? Let’s go back to your room so you can finish your lunch.”
It shrugged. “Did my point get across?”
Mangle made a point to look around at the stunned crowd. “I’d say so, sweetheart. Come down, if it’s not too much trouble?”
It looked around at the scientists, nodded satisfied, and shoved off the lip of the vent, falling right into Mangle’s outstretched arms. “Can I have some of your corn with my lunch? I wanna try it.”
“Uh, if that’s really what you want, I can give you some kernels, yeah.”
It grinned. “Well what are we doing out here still with all the elitists? Let’s get to where the corn is!”
Mangle gave It a small smile, and walked through the stunned crowd. “We’re going to die by an angry mob at this rate,” Mangle chuckled.
It shrugged. “I dunno. I can fly, and you can run. I think we’d outmaneuver them, at least for a little bit. If we can do it long enough to get out of here, then no one could catch us.”
Mangle’s blood ran cold. “Don’t talk like that!”
It turned at Mangle’s sharp tone. “Dad?”
“Don’t talk like that ever again, It. Not where everyone is watching.”
It looked up confused. “But I was just--”
“I know. But you can’t say things like that. It’ll get you killed!”
It took a deep breath, on the verge of tears. “Dad…”
Mangle gently covered It’s mouth and guided her to her room. She was sobbing by the time they got there. Mangle closed the door and scooped It up, rubbing circles on her back. “Sh, sh. It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re safe in here. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
It looked up at Mangle warily. “Y-you’ve had that conversation with others, haven’t you? About me running away.”
Mangle nodded. “With your intelligence the others have always worried about it being a possibility.”
“S-So...th-they want to kill me? H...how long have they wanted to kill me?!”
Mangle held It as close as they could. “For about as long as I’ve been working with you. I’ve ignored their orders for so long, trying to help you...but if you start talking about escaping, there’s nothing I can do. You’ll be killed in one fashion or another, and I’ll most likely be fired, and won't be able to find work ever again.”
“What about going to the...what do the other scientists call them? The ‘abomination advocates’?”
“Without you in tow, I’ll sound like just another disgruntled employee.”
“So take me with you,” It looked up. “I’d be willing to look outside into the big, bad world if you’re there to help me.”
Mangle looked down. “But we can’t just escape from here, you know. We have to legalize quite a few things, even before we can approach the board.”
It looked up. "How long would that take, do you know?"
"Um...a couple months, maybe. And then arranging a meeting with the board, which could take another. Why do you ask?"
It looked up with determination in her eyes. "Because I want out of here. I want to go somewhere where I'm not treated like a stray dog. I want to get away from Dr. Milbridge. I want to go."
Mangle nodded. "You've got it. I was getting tired of staying here, anyway."
It brightened. "Really?"
Mangle nodded. "Really. We'll be fine, hopefully, and the process shouldn't take too long."
It smiled. "That seems a bit optimistic, Dad."
Mangle chuckled. "Well, I was trying for your sake."
It laughed. "Really? When have I ever bought into that?"
"When you were 2, you treated my words like they were the Gospel, or something!"
It laughed, disbelieving. “Oh, sure. You were the first adult who treated me like an actual life form, what was I supposed to do?”
Mangle rolled their eyes. “The fact remains, you did. Now, listen. I’m not sure staying in here is the safest thing for you, but we’ll have to deal with it for a little while longer, at least until Dr. James can come in and have a word with you about what happened. She won’t talk with me, since she sees me as extremely biased now towards you. You can not use the words escape or run away in your explanation, okay? I know that you were simply trying to escape Dr. Milbridge, but that can be horribly misconstrued. And then you’re dead.”
It frowned. “You’re really supportive.”
Mangle sighed. “It…”
It waved a hand to dismiss Mangle. “I know, I know, it’s for the best, blah blah blah. The fact remains, that you’re not the most supportive when it comes to pep talks.”
Mangle shrugged. “I won’t apologize for saying something like it is, you realize.”
It nodded. “Your word choice does need work.”
Mangle snorted. Dr. James walked in. “Mangle, with me, now. And bring the abomination with you.”
“Tell me, from the beginning, what happened.” Dr. James ordered, “Quickly.”
“Well, um…” It paused, looking at Mangle. “The Doc and I were eating lunch. Dr. Milbridge walked in, all smiles. He...was acting all weird. Like, he was gloating, except gloating isn’t really the right term. He pushed the Doc out of his way and came over and started...stroking me. There isn’t another word for it, honestly. He was stroking me. And I told him to stop, because it felt weird, and I felt like I was in danger. ‘Cause I probably was, you know? When he wouldn’t listen, I had to find another way to get him to listen, and get away so that he would stop whether he liked it or not. So I snapped my wings back to use the thumbs to scratch him, just to startle him, you know? To get him to stop long enough that I could move away from his hands. And in my panic I flew out of the room, and went to the first place I saw that he couldn’t get to me, which was the vent.
“I knew that any one of the people in the crowd could have had the same attitude towards me as Dr. Milbridge, except the Doc here because they could have hurt me for years now and never did. So I refused to leave with anyone except them, because I could have been in danger again. I don’t want to leave, really, I just don’t want to be in danger.”
Dr. James looked to Mangle. “You coached it.”
Mangle shrugged. “Well. I don’t want the one person who calls me ‘Dad’ to be dead.”
Dr. James glared. Mangle smiled benignly. “This isn’t over,” Dr. James threatened.
“Oh, I think it is,” Mangle said. “I’ll be keeping It in my room, from now on; it’s safer than her room. I’ll be considering whether it is truly in my best interest to continue working here, and what actions should be taken to keep It safe. I’ll let you know if I require anything.”
As Mangle left the room, they could hear Dr. James swearing and covered It’s ears. It looked up, annoyed. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted me to learn new words!”
“Not like that,” Mangle assured. “Never like that.”
ns 15.158.61.17da2
