The Expatriate-the story of a Prodigy

2. The Muter

Alex Mars felt absolutely dreadful on the way. He hated hospitals just like anyone else, and he was getting especially annoyed with his brain being hastened from streaming thoughts with the LSS-like-thing. Steph kept apologizing, stroking his hair(s**t, he hated it. Ruffling would be better). Rick was just set at driving.

They got to the biggest hospital in the city, and after one of his rare tantrums to walk, Alex got to walk-which didn't mean ordinary baby walks of course, thus surprising every passerby.

They entered a white building, and waited in line for 10 minutes. Just when it had become 10 minutes and 2 seconds, a nurse called the family in.

A doctor(in a white suit, of course) sat behind a huge oak desk and stared at Alex Mars' non hesitant gait. Jesus, he thought, look at him, he's so small...so strange people these days...

Rick told him, Doc Haver, Alex's thing, and Alex winced and didn't even truly to hide it. He suddenly wished that he had acted, just let his strangeness be, and not let his dad tattletale them to a doctor who had a bad first impression.

The doctor stared at the boy, then decided to do as he was taught-the pulse checks, the temperature checks, the saliva checks,etc etc. He also looked at the ear.

"How's it?" Rick asked anxiously.

"Looks absolutely normal. At least on the outside," He grumbled in a thick, raspy voice. He suddenly seemed nervous himself, just as bouncy as Rick. He gestured for the nurse to get the hell out of there and looked down at his desk. Then straight into the boy's bored eyes.

"You have something nearly unallowed," He said in a monotone. "As you guys know," He strangely managed to not underestimate him and stared at him, still-which only meant that he knew that Alex watche d the news and knew what was allowed and what was not. "The gov doesn't like people with these traits, like special abilities and geniuses," "But I don't understand," Gasped Steph. "Indeed. I'm very sorry for this young man, but for his sake to not be caught and arrested on the day he goes to elementary for being-" he paused. "-special, I'll try to help. There are a few illegal companies that secretly disagree with the discriminate policies. They are close to me and gave me some of these," He ducked and pulled out a shoe-box-sized-box from under his desk, opened it and pulled out a round device about the size of his thumb. "These are the so-called Muters-they hide your strange abilities, but don't make them vanish. It'll help you get through the gov tests," He said almost proudly. "So you give us those and he'll be fine?" Steph asked. The doctor miserably shook his head. "No, not in the meaning that  you meant-this needs a surgery to be put in,"

Alex Mars suddenly felt sick. He felt as if a limb was gonna be amputed from him just a second later. He got up and was bolting for the door when

-his dad and the goddam doctor caught his shoulders and wrists. He writhed silently as his dad sadly looked at his mom, nodded at the doctor firmly, then as the doctor plunged some drug into his arm...

Then darkness.

He had never been in sleep for so long, nor subjected to forced sleep in his 4 year old life. He didn't feel painful when he got his senses and woke up, though not opening his eyes.

He only felt as if a dark curtains had been put on part of his brain, Muting off his ear.

He did hear some one getting up from his side to leave-but noticed right away that he couldn't hear those familiar, ingrained sounds of even the smallest fibers in the clothe rubbing together, etc. He felt...

incapable.

Also a whole army of different feelings.

Revenge. Regret. Anger. Remorse. Sadness. Loss. Mental pain. Blindness.

And feeling weak for the first time in his life.

He couldn't hear the sounds of his parents arriving in his hospital room an hour later, for the first time-and it poured goddam oil onto his torches of fire ready to be grown, and he grit his teeth. He still felt, at least, smart and ready to to pounce.

It was a sight as the parents came in and saw their 4 year old son with his hands into fists, teeth barred, and a growl tearing out of his small throat.

They didn't laugh.

Stephenie bit her lip and Alex Mars decided to let her go-for now-when he saw fat tears ready to roll out of her eyes.

Then he turned his glare to Rick.

He looked back, the adult. His whole body frame became stone and he stared miserably at his Prodigy son. He counted the time in his head-he knew that usually, kids were comforted after the adults stared at them for a few seconds, then would burst out laughing. Maybe his son needed more time to laugh. Well, since he was strange.

Alex's oddity went further than that, and Rick didn't know.

Stephanie sat on a chair beside them and sighed, looking between them. This had been unprecedented. And she knew that Alex must be infuriated than any other kid on the whole universe.

The staring-contest went on for an hour.

Rick started his eyes start to bulge and tremble, and while he felt that he was the dad, he should say sorry first, he also felt afraid by his son, his fury. What if he later used his capable fury and prodigal brain to become a villain, like Darth Vader? He wondered. He gulped at that. Ok, that should never happen.

"Mars," (this difference in the end names let him call his son that instead of ending up calling himself)He walked from the open door of the room, and it readily shut close. He sat in a chair and scooted himself to Stephenie's side.

"Alex," He said again.

Alex Mars said nothing, his brown eyes glaring.

Then he said the following words extra-fast and his mouth was closed in the next second that Stephenie nearly forgot that he had talked after more seconds of silence.

"Get this s**t out of me,"

But Rick had heard it. And he sighed.

"Al, that's not gonna happen. This surgery itself was a risk and-" "I didn't fuckin' want this!!" Alex yelled. His voice was huge compared to his small frame.

Jesus, a foreshadow of Vader?Rick wondered.

"Alex, we didn't do it for me nor the doc. It's for you. You have great futures ahead of you, Alex. You can get to the gifted school right away, get all the stuff done in a few years and get to uni or college right away. Then you can become CEO or something and live a prestigious life, Alex Mars," He ranted all his absurd plans to his 4-year old son.

Alex didn't flinch.

"Al, listen to this-what if we put the Muter out of you right after you get through a ll the needed stuff? You'll get it back, I promise," Steph pleaded. Alex looked back sadly at her. "But that's gonna take a long time, mom," He said. "Yes, but in the end, you get what you want," Well, compared to what Rick was probably dreaming about, which he had been, putting the thing inside of Alex's brain till the days he died, it seemed much better. Alex Mars didn't look at his dad for approval. He had already let him go-forever, he hoped. Yup, remember that, dudes-if you have a lot of support and faith after decades of accumulation, then lose it in a single second, that's all-it's gone forever.

"Fair," Alex Mars forced it out of his mouth.

Then he jumped off the bed to leave the nightmarish hospital, on his own, and on two feet.

He didn't feel like himself.

He missed his own form, his ears. He even missed his old relationships with his parents-he had been close to his dad especially...

But the strongest emotion stayed as what he had said to his traitor-dad for the first time: He wanted the thing out of him, and it better be in two shakes of the lamb's tail.

Life was pretty much the same-on the outside, at least. He kept on his studies, learning calc.on his own when he was 6. He became interested in electricity, protons, neutrons, those stuff.

But he always felt...

Lacking.

And lost.

His beloved ears were under the veil, breathing frantically, waiting endlessly for their renaissance supposed to be years and years and years and years later. Alex Mars felt sorry for them. He remembered the day always and vowed to never show anyone else secrets like those, especially to his goddam parents. He remember the day when he opened his eyes for real in the grey crib and felt the terrifying effects of his gifted ears. But as you know with your 'horrid' siblings or crazy dog, the more they annoy you, the more you get to miss the annoying times later. He just felt like that. He prayed every day for the Muters to be demolished by his thinking skills, like mental telekinesis.

Those insane stuff didn't happen yet.

Yet, my friends.