Talk:Kumiho/@comment-25922165-20150322011217/@comment-4849011-20150721153401

''In order to help show the state Estes was in when he came to Genie for treatment, I’ve written a scene which occurs before the part of the story told in “Kumiho”. Let me explain a couple things about this scene beforehand. First, the part about Estes not being able to drown is a reference to his superpower. He has the ability to turn into liquid form and buffet opponents like a wave, which is vaguely hinted at in “Kumiho”. Second, Dart Tongue is an alias used by Gerard Ripley, the iguana man gangster that Estes works for.''

Genie turned to Van. “Could you excuse us, please?” Van nodded, arose, and exited the room. Genie turned back to Estes and explained, “While I want you two to share your experiences to help each other, I also want you to know that you can trust me to be confidential. I know this is a difficult question, but it has to be asked. Have you attempted or considered suicide during this ordeal?”

In the minutes that followed, Genie could tell that Estes was reflecting on a number of things. She waited patiently. Finally Estes replied, “I haven’t attempted, no.” He took another long pause before admitting, “I have thought about it, though. I can’t drown, but there are other ways I could do it. Shoot, the arsenal has a bunch of weapons I could use, not to mention the lab. I could slash my wrists or impale myself. I could shoot myself, or jab myself with so many drugged darts I wouldn’t recover. I could get some cord or chain and hang myself. I could get some gas grenades, or one of the tanks, and turn my room into a gas chamber. For that matter, I could start my car and lie down by the exhaust pipe.” Tears started to trickle down his face.

“Take your time,” Genie told him gently.

Estes wiped his eyes, expelled a trembling sigh, and gathered himself before continuing. “Dart Tongue has been making me do extra work recently, and he’s made it a point to have me accompany him. I see now that it’s not just cracking down on me. It’s also about making sure I’m preoccupied and not…entertaining these thoughts.”

“He wants you to know you’re still useful to him,” noted Genie.

“Yeah,” agreed Estes, ignoring his fresh tears.