Chambers were amazing things, Corey Lindon decided.

Barely a day ago he had been a mangled mess that the paramedics had barely been able to touch. Yet now, here he was...still kind of a mangled mess, but at least feeling a lot better. And getting better, but that was going to take a while even with the Chamber's capabilities.

God, but this thing was great. It was like having an entire hospital's resources there for him...but in bed form. Well, maybe not bed form. More of large metal capsule that happened to include "being a bed" as one it's many functions.

"And a comfy one at that," he muttered.

Of course, it did much more important things than give him a good place to sleep. IVs, nutrient management, painkillers, the works. It constantly kept track of his vitals, and even sent them to the nearest hospital if something looked off.

More importantly, though, were the chemical baths. Those were what made the Chamber into a little miracle machine. A daily soak, during which the Chamber would close completely into it's full capsule form and flood itself with the mysterious neon green liquid, and there wasn't much it couldn't take care of. Injuries or illness, it could heal pretty much anything eventually, without need for any sort of surgery. He wasn't sure how it worked, or even what it actually was (though he learned long ago that this was a recurring theme with anything supplied by the Omegas), but fuck if it wasn't effective...even if he could barely stay awake for an hour after bathing in it.

With the Chamber currently being in it's exposed state (essentially a pill cut roughly in half) after his most recent bath, he was able to elevate his bed to be level with the Chamber's rim. Corey preferred this, as it actually allowed him to look at the room surrounding him. There wasn't too much to look at that he wasn't already familiar with. He knew his Chamber had been placed on the desk in his step-mother's study, a place he'd been in countless times over the years. More importantly, it let him take a look at the tan, ridged wall that was parked within arm's reach to the left side of of his bed and dwarfed the twenty foot tall chamber by another ten feet. He couldn't help but smile.

That was the best part about the Chamber: It let him recover with his family.

Looking down at his wetsuit-clad body, Corey made a quick check of the safety equipment. His shattered arm was secured safely to his chest, and his bum leg to the bed. The general safety belt across his midsection was good to go, as well.

Taking another look at the "wall," Corey couldn't help but laugh a little at his step-sister. They'd been a family for fifteen years, since he was 9 and she 5, and some things never changed. No doubt Claire thought of her finger as acting as some sort of guardian over him, it's mere presence acting as both assurance of his safety and a promise of harm against anything that would jeopardize that.

She was such a sweet girl. Silly, but sweet, and he was proud of the young woman she had become.

Lifting his left arm, he carefully placed it on the guarding finger and began gently stroking the ridges of Claire's fingertip.

"Hmmm?" boomed a voice far above him. A soft boom, but still a boom.

Corey was always amazed at the incredible sensitivity of a being about three thousand feet taller than him. He held no illusions about how he compared to his little sister on the physical side of things. Being as kind to himself as possible, she may as well be a goddess, and he a mortal dependent on her blessing solely to exist. The fact that a light touch from him could fetch her attention felt like divine providence at times.

Of course, Claire didn't really care about that side of things. All it meant to her was added responsibility. As far as she was concerned, he was a person just like her. He had desires and dreams, things he enjoyed and things he didn't, people he loved and outcomes he feared. These were all things they shared, and that was all Claire needed.

As a shadow enveloped him, he looked up only to be greeted by Claire's descending face, a comforting smile on her face and her soft brown eyes locked directly onto him. He gave her a smile of his own and a wave. Her smile widened a bit, her lips parting to reveal teeth that each individually dwarfed him, and dwarfed him easily. It was honestly the only thing that still made him a little nervous these days, but he would never tell his sister that. She had a wonderful smile, and he didn't want her to limit it over something so silly.

Her descent eventually halted a few hundred feet above him, her face now all that was visible. Corey moved his good hand over to his right ear. Finding the Voice Tag attached to his earlobe, he gave it a quick squeeze and felt a small jolt pass through his head as it activated. He had some questions

"What were you up to?" he asked, the amplification field now present around his mouth allowing his voice to be carried up to his sister's ears.

"Reading," Claire replied, her tone chipper and her voice softened by the tag's dampening field. Thundering, but not deafening. "Figured it was the quietest thing I could do in here."

"I meant while you were away."

His sister's pool-sized eyes narrowed at that, her favorite intimidation tactic. Too bad that stopped working on him when she was 7, and he narrowed his own eyes in response, knowing that she could see every detail.

"Don't you narrow your eyes at me. Oughta poke them right out," he said, voice deadly serious. A giggle thundered above him as Claire's eyes widened back to normal.

"You've been making that threat for thirteen years, big brother," Claire said with a smile. "Sooner or later I'm going to have to stop taking you seriously on it."

A random passerby might have thought she was mocking him with that term, but Corey knew it was quite the opposite. They had their fun sniping at each other, but she had always used that title earnestly. It was a term of endearment, one she would occasionally use if she felt that she might have intimidated him with a comment or action. It was rarely actually needed, particularly in this case, but it was appreciated. He wanted to smile, but he wanted to stay committed to his bravado a bit more.

"You're just lucky I'm stuck in bed!" he yelled up. "I'd climb right up and do it this time if I could!"

Claire arched a massive eyebrow at this, a playful smirk on her lips.

"Aw," she cooed, "then what kind of sister would I be if I didn't give my brother a hand in his time of need?"

Before Corey could properly register the movement, his sister's face was already nearly upon him, and he watched in a daze as one of her brown eyes quickly took up his field of vision, becoming larger and larger until stopping within arm's reach above him.

"Well?" Claire's voice boomed, louder than it had been before.

The only thing Corey could do in response was shiver, and Claire's face began to retreat the moment of the first twitch. Her smirk was gone now, her face tinged with concern.

"Corey, I'm so sorry," she uttered, almost at a whisper for her. "I didn't think...are you okay? If you want me to leave for a bit, I'd understand."

"It's fine, Claire," he croaked, breathing heavily, causing mild discomfort in his chest. "It's fine. You're fine. I just need a moment."

Claire pursed her lips above him, nodding in response but continuing to watch over him.

She really hadn't done anything wrong. That kind of joke was normal between them, and Corey knew that she would never, ever hurt him. This particular joke was simply ill-timed, given the circumstances. His memories of the assault were still fresh, and seeing such a large object descending on him so quickly...it hadn't been good for him.

"Can I pick you up?" Claire suddenly asked, her tone pleading.

Corey simply looked up at her for a moment, considering the request. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected her to eventually ask, but he was still somewhat shaken up.

"Go ahead," he finally answered. "I'm nice and secure."

Claire gave him a sad smile, and he watched as the fingertip that had been keeping him company repositioned itself to the head of the Chamber. Soon after, he marked the arrival of his sister's thumb at the foot. A light shake marked the digit impacting his bed, and he felt another impact behind him.

"Here we go," Claire announced, and Corey felt the capsule being lifted off the desk it had been sitting on.

He couldn't help but take in the scale of Claire's body as she lifted him up and began drawing him in closer to herself. It wasn't really any detail about her that caught his eye, she was just so...massive. It wasn't intimidating or scary anymore, but it was always an experience to take in a living, breathing landscape of a person. To know that the attention of such a being was focused squarely on him, that he was the most important thing in the world to her in that moment.

Honestly, it was a hell of a pick-me-up to have that kind of support.

Corey saw his intended destination well before he actually arrived there, since it was the most frequent place Claire would deposit him to talk. The elbow of her left arm, itself the length of a skyscraper, rested on the armrest of the office chair upon which she sat, her closed fist held straight up and near level with her eyes. His container quickly closed in on his sister's hand, and ultimately found itself deposited gently in the space between the knuckles of her index and middle fingers.

"Everything okay?' Claire asked, keeping her voice low as she pulled her fingers away from the Chamber.

"Perfectly," Corey responded. "As gentle as always." It was also much nicer to look her in the eyes from a few hundred feet away instead of from a few hundred feet below, but that was the whole point of the transfer.

Claire hated looking down on him during conversations. It was something she had realized back when she was in her teens, when her worldview had started to grow and mature into what it was now. It was one thing to tower over him during short little exchanges, but actual conversation...she felt it was dehumanizing to him. That it actively set a hierarchy in their relationship, having him be literally talked down to by his god-like sibling. She didn't want that, and it was something they had talked about frequently during that time in their lives.

"Are you feeling any better? After having a chance at a few baths, I mean," Claire said.

"A lot, honestly," Corey responded. "Though it's honestly hard to tell if that's the bath or the painkillers."

He heard Claire's tongue click beyond her lips. Maybe that hadn't been the right thing to say. This probably wasn't going to be either.

"You still haven't answered my question," he remarked. Claire simply grunted, but she at least gave something up this time.

"A lot of things. I was up to a lot of things," she stated curtly.

"Such as?"

His sister scowled this time, but finally started to open up.

"I went to the Facility to process those girls and pick up a few things. I also talked to Mom and Dad."

"Are they going to be able come home?" Corey asked, hopefully. He hadn't seen either in a while, and was hoping for the opportunity during the holiday break.

Claire gave a rueful shake of her head.

"No. Dad is dealing with a viral outbreak out in the jungle somewhere. He wishes he could be here, and sends his best but...he said he just can't leave that many people. Apparently they're really short on trained staff."

Corey was understanding of that. His dad was a doctor, and frankly everything he himself aspired to be. He'd have been disappointed if his father had left people who needed him, honestly.

"And Mom?" he inquired.

Claire sighed at this one, a cool minty breeze flowing from between her lips and washing gently over him.

"Before I tell you," she started, "you have to promise that this stays between us. You've been given clearance to know this because of the circumstances, but you can't share it."

This was new, Corey thought. He'd been privy to a few things over the years that the general population wasn't aware of due to his step-mom and sister being Omegas, but there had never been any sort of stipulation attached attached to it before.

"Corey," his sister stated, her tone shifting to one of commandment, "do you understand that? I need to hear you say that you do."

He couldn't say he cared for the tone, but one look at Claire's face assuaged his annoyance. Her tone may have been commanding, but her eyes were pleading. Whatever the reason for this, it was clear that she wanted him to take the stipulation seriously.

"I do," he answered.

"Good," Claire answered, another minty breeze washing over Corey as she sighed once again. "The truth is, she's being held close as part of Dr. Everett's research team. They're working on something really, really important and Mom can't leave while they're in the middle of testing. Mom wanted me to tell you that she loves you, and that she'll check up on you as much as she can. She hopes your recovery goes smoothly."

Corey found that...disappointing, but he was also in a slight amount of awe. Dr. Everett was the Omega. The original Omega. She basically ran Aegis. If Dr. Everett wanted her to stay, Corey wasn't sure how much choice his mom had in the matter. That said...

"That doesn't really sound any more important than anything you've shared with me before," he responded.

"That's not the classified part," Claire answered. "Dr. Everett also sends her regards, along with an apology for keeping Mom away. She hopes you get better soon, and that what they're working on will provide the final incentive needed to prevent incidents like yours from happening again."

Well that was something. Corey hadn't expected to be acknowledged by arguably the most powerful person in the world when he woke up today. His interest in that new "incentive" was certainly piqued, though, and he wanted to hear more. Looking Claire in the eye, he began to put on his best puppy-dog face.

"No," she stated immediately.

Shit.

"You didn't even let me ask!" he whined.

"I didn't need to," she remarked with a grin. "That's all you had clearance to know, and we won't be discussing it further."

"Oh, come on! That was barely anything to go on!"

"Yet it's more than anyone else shorter than me knows. Be happy with that," she replied.

"Fine," Corey conceded, turning away from his sister for a few minutes. He glanced down at his body, at his arm and leg.

"Then tell me what happened to those girls," he remarked, still focusing on his injured limbs.

Claire didn't reply, and as seconds turned into minutes, Corey began to doubt that she would. Slowly turning to face her once again, he didn't have to play pitiful this time.

"Please," he begged, and his sister immediately winced. She broke eye contact for a moment, sighing as she did so. Eventually she turned back to him.

"They were processed into my custody," she said. "I just finished with their orientation. They're in my room right now."

Corey's blood froze, and he quickly turned away from his sister. They were here...at his home? They should have been far away from him, with some other Omega. Their faces passed through his mind as he remembered them towering above him, surrounding him and blocking any chance of escape. He remembered the look in each girl's eyes as they looked down upon him. The redhead just wanted to hurt someone, and she seemed to feel that it was his place to satiate that desire. The brunette...she just didn't care about him. Her friends wanted to play with him, and she felt so little for him that she joined without a second thought. He was a momentary curiosity, nothing more.

The Asian girl had scared him the most. Forget her eyes, the girl had exuded ecstasy from every fiber of her being at finding him out alone. He recalled her licking her lips in anticipation as she had knelt down, her eyes locked hungrily onto him as her hand approached and eventually entrapped him.

He fought back the primal urge to shake. He wanted to know more, and Claire would end this conversation immediately if she saw that reaction.

"Why you? And how long?"

"I was curious about that as well," she started. "Apparently Dr. Everett overrode the initial choice for their warden and gave them to me. Said something about it being a good first charge for me."

Corey frowned. That sounded strange, to say the least. There was such an obvious conflict of interest there...what was Everett thinking?

"As for how long," Claire continued, "their minimum sentencing period was for 52 disciplinary sessions, so they will be here for 52 weeks at the least. Potentially longer, if they mess up."

"Think any of them will?" Corey asked, finally turning back to face her.

"The redhead, Marion, would be my leading bet," she responded. "I already had to discipline her once on my own for throwing a little tantrum. Nice little shot to her stomach with my middle finger."

Corey wished he had been there to see that.

"One of them asked me to pass a message along, by the way."

What? What would one of those girls possibly have to say to him? Some mocking threat? A desperate promise get him in retaliation for their sentence?

"And what would what be?" he asked, voice deadpan.

"She wanted me to let you know that she was sorry. And that she wanted to tell you that herself someday," Claire somberly replied. "It was Naomi, the Asian girl, that wanted to me to tell you that."

Corey didn't know how to process that. He hadn't been expecting an apology to begin with, but hearing that it came from the assailant that had taken the most joy in torturing him? What the fuck?

"Do you think she's sincere?" he found himself asking.

"I do," Claire replied, a hint of..was that softness in her voice? "Everything I've seen and heard from her indicates genuine remorse at what she did to you. I think she's honestly ashamed of what she did, and she even had a little fight with her companions over their attitudes. And God, you should have seen her bawl her eyes out when I went over your injuries..."

"Well how about that," he muttered, and paused for a moment to yawn. "Can you tell her thanks for me?"

"I can," Claire replied. "Are you ready to take a nap? You've been looking really tired the last few minutes."

He actually was starting to feel worn out. Looked like that bath was starting to catch up to him.

"I think I'd like that, yeah," he said, another yawn following.

Claire gave him a smile, and the thumb and forefinger of her free hand returned to pluck up his Chamber from between her knuckles. He drowsily watched her body move further and further away from him as she gradually returned his bed to where it had been. Soon after it touched down and her fingers retreated, he watched as Claire's face began to descend upon him quickly once again. He knew what this was, though, and the thought of panicking didn't even cross his mind as he eventually found the tip of her nose hovering slightly above him.

It was their little method of an affectionate hug, and had been since they were children. Under more normal circumstances, Corey would actually give the tip of her nose a hug while Claire would gingerly stroke his back. That wasn't quite doable this time, so Corey simply stroked the nose before returning his hand to his side and making himself comfortable.

"Have a nice nap, big brother," Claire whispered as her face began to withdraw, a tender smile on her lips. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Corey muttered a sleepy "thank you" and was about to turn his voice tag off, when a thought suddenly came to mind.

"Claire?" he called out, catching his sister's attention just before she pulled away entirely.

"Mmmhmm?" she thundered.

"Please watch yourself when you handle those girls, sis," he said. "I don't like what Dr. Everett did. I think she had a reason for it. Please don't let your personal feelings affect how you treat them. Just do what you need to do."

Claire looked at him for a moment, a look of confusion on her face.

"Alright," she replied. "I'll endeavor to treat them fairly. Now get some sleep. And remember, if you need anything, I'm just a button press a-"

Claire suddenly paused, a look of annoyance on her face.

"What's wrong?" Corey asked.

"I forgot to pick up some fucking clothes for them."

Corey couldn't help but snort.

"Feel free to go get them. I'm going to pass out any minute, so I won't need anything for a while,"he said, nuzzling into his bed. "Turning my tag off now."

His hand didn't even reach his ear before he nodded off, and Claire suppressed a giggle as she softly exited the room.