𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘━︎━︎ J. Proudstar

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐢𝐱

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX:
❝︎The Hospital/Prison Thing❞︎

LAUREN, APHRODITE, CLARICE, JOHN, AND ARTEMIS WERE ALL LEANING AGAINST THE WALL RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ROOM GRAPH WAS IN. Marcos was standing in front of the door, watching the interaction with crossed arms. When they had been told Graph actually decided to help them, it came to a surprise as the entire group.

Marcos turned and walked towards the group. "He, uh, he told us the Inner Circle were looking at a mental facility in Bethesda."

John looked at him, an arm wrapped around Aphrodite's waist. "You talking about Lynwood?"

Lauren removed herself from the wall. "You know it?"

John nodded. "It's more prison than hospital. They declare mutants mentally unstable and detain them without trial."

Artemis let out a breath of surprise. "Sounds lovely."

"How is that legal?" Lauren asked.

"You just get a shrink to say that they're a danger to themselves or society. That's all they need." Clarice answered, looking at Lauren with a clenched jaw.

"And when she was young, a judge put Lorna into one of those hellholes." Marcos told them. "She had nightmares about it for years."

"We don't even know what they're doing in there." Lauren frowned, reaching for Artemis' hand who quickly gave it to her, interlacing their fingers.

"It's something damn important if you're gonna convince Lorna to set foot in a place like that."

The sound of Graph's cries made them pause before Clarice looked at Marcos. "Guess we'll find out soon enough."

Aphrodite glanced at Marcos and shrugged. "Maybe we don't interfere with this one." The group all looked at her. "If it's as awful as you say, maybe they'll burn the place to the ground."

Artemis hummed. "Yeah, that's true. Or maybe they're doing something bad. There's still people inside that building, mom."

Aphrodite looked at her daughter and said nothing, looking away. If she was being completely honest, she really didn't care what the Inner Circle was doing. Lorna and Andy had made their choice and they weren't coming back. She was sick and tired of fighting. She turned her head when Reed and Caitlin walked out, immediately telling them they had to move, that whatever was happening was happening right now.

They made their way outside and down the stairs, Caitlin staying behind with Graph. "They've cut off all communication. That's all we know so far." Reed told them. "Graph's gonna get into their security system. We'll let you know if he finds something."

Clarice snapped her head towards him. "Do we have a plan? I mean, other than just driving up to the hospital/prison thing and knocking on the door?"