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Dr Stevenson had me drop him off at his lab and then sent me away. "I'm not going to get this done any faster with you pacing and huffing around outside. Just go home and see your parents or what have you."

"Dr-"

"Now, Jason."

"Yes sir," I said a little sullenly and stalked across the compound to my home.

Mom and Dad were waiting for me outside. It's not usually that hard to figure out when I approach if I'm not trying to be stealthy and even then you'd have to be blind to miss a 50 or so foot tiger walking along.

They were both atop the platform built next to my room, smiling at me. My mind flickered back to old times, when I was just a normal human spending time with them, going on outings, vacations, having cook outs, all the things normal families do and were mostly denied me any longer.

I shook my head, pushing the memories away. My family was still with me, at least. I had heard of others that had been rejected by their families and a few that were even murdered by them. My situation was better than some and so I really should not grouse about things.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had never met another of the Changed. I had made plans to but somehow they had never come to fruition. I knew there were at least two others in the state. I made a mental note to ask Dr Stevenson about it.

"Hey Jason," Dad said and held out his arms as if to hug me. I snorted softly and put my head down where he could rub my cheeks and he laughed. "Can't just give my boy a hug anymore, just too grown!" He patted me. "A father's lament, though I suppose I have greater reason!"

"Told you we fed him too much," mom said as she went to the other side to rub my opposite cheek.

I huffed a small sigh and relaxed at the attention of my parents. For some reason times like this didn't seem to happen very often, even though we were together most of the time. When I first changed my parents were close by the whole time, always touching, always reassuring, trying to keep their own fears away. Sometimes I think mom and dad are the strongest people on earth.

I suppose even situations as strange as this one can become normal if left long enough. How odd that it often takes something large to happen for people to come together.

"So what happened, Jason?" dad asked me softly.

I opened my eyes. True fact: I can see on both sides of my head fully, though not in stereo. I looked at the both of them. "He had me digging up minerals of some sort."

"I mean what was Dr Stevenson concerned with."

"Nothing that I know of."

"Jason Clarke don't you even try that with me! Giant tiger or no, I can still read you quite well and could tell the man was upset by something. Now what is it?" mom said in a no nonsense voice

I winced, I couldn't help it, then smiled. Mom, in some ways, is far tougher than my dad could ever be. I mulled it over for a moment and sighed. There was nothing to be gained by lying and she was right, she could usually tell when I was. "They...gave me an injection, something to help boost my system and protect me."

Mom went pale and my father said "What?"

"I had no choice. He made some veiled threats against the both of you! I'm not going to have you hurt."

"What about you?" father demanded.

I shrugged. "what about me?"

Mom grabbed my ear, hard, and leaned in. "If you say it I swear I'll find a way to spank you! I thought we were done with that nonsense!"

"I didn't say anything!" I protested.

"I know what you were going to say, Jason," she said, still angry. "It wasn't true then, it's not true now, so you can stop it."

Frustration that I didn't even know I was hiding suddenly boiled up in me. "Mom, it doesn't matter what you, dad, David, Dr Stevenson or anyone else says. I am a freak, like it or not. How many 50 foot tigers do you see walking around? How many people do you see that are more or less prisoners in their own private compound?

"How many people are wards of the government, more or less, because the cost of caring for them far exceeds that of any ten families? Not to mention all of the information they can possibly get from studying me! Don't think I don't know they're taking extra vials of my blood, tissue samples, and seeing how they can apply them to other situations.

In some ways I'm just a giant lab experiment that was given over to them by some freak accident and subject to whatever whims they have!"

"That's not true, Jason, there are laws," dad said weakly

"Those laws are written in such a way that they can do what they like, more or less, if it's a matter of national security. all they need to do is find something in me that is useful to the defense establishment and I'll be declared a munition and under lock and key even more so than I am now. I can see it coming, mom, dad. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but some day

"I don't doubt there are people who do care about what happens to me, David and Dr Stevenson certainly do as do some of the others, but they are in the minority."

"I think more care about you than you want to give credit for!" mom said

"Perhaps that is so, mother, but it really matters little. Even if they do care, I'm still set aside in this place, still a dog in a very large kennel"

"Jason, you can go where you want, you know that!" Dad said, not looking at me.

"Yes, if security doesn't mind. You don't think I don't notice the howitzers sitting around for my protection? That mine field out there? If I should try to leave or go "feral" I'll have 155mm shell in my chest before I know what's happening or simply be blown up. I have no illusions over just how free I really am."

I stopped and took a deep breath and looked at my parents who were both looking stricken. "I'm sorry, I don't know where all that came from. I'm sorry."

They both looked at each other and then at me. "I guess we really should have known how you felt, Jason," mom said quietly. "I guess we were just too busy making sure you were being taken care of rather than asking how you wanted to be taken care of." she stopped and fidgeted with her dress. "And you hide so much from us."

My ears went flat. "I don't want to be a bother. There's already too much that is a bother about me."

"Jason, we're your parents. It's okay to bother us," dad said gently and gestured for me to move closer. I hesitated and pushed my head forward and he stroked my nose. "Son, you're never a bother to me, no matter the problem."

"I know."

"Obviously not or you would have gotten this off your chest months ago," he said with a laugh and I grinned.

"Jason, I'm not sure what to do, but we will figure out something. There has to be way of giving you more space and more say over what is done to you."

"I suppose we can try, mom."

"Excuse me," I heard from below and looked down to see Dr Stevenson there, looking troubled. My stomach fell.

"What did they do to me."

He looked down with a huge sigh and then back up at me. "Nothing, Jason. It was exactly what they said it was."