Fluttering her eyes open, she groggily looked up as Athena strutted towards her.
Heavy breaths of air exhaled from Jeremiah's lips as he threw another blow, watching in sick satisfaction as her body fell backward, the sound of chains rattling. He swung his leg up and kicked her chest, smirking as he heard a groan of pain.
"Step aside, Hogan. It's his turn, isn't it? Director Miles Warren?" Athena quipped, raising a mock-curious brow as she shoved the man forward. Fumbling over his own two feet, Miles fell to the ground with a thud.
Zakai stepped forward and picked him up, making sure the collar around his neck was still fastened tightly. Spinning the man towards the dangling woman, he stepped back.
"Go ahead, Miles. Don't be shy." Athena called, waving softly to the redhead whose eyes were wide, staring at her friend, and partner, in shock.
Growing bored with how slow things were proceeding, Jeremiah pressed down on the switch in his hands, watching as purple lightning sputtered from the collar and electrocuted Miles. Screams of pain echoed, and Piper felt tears fall down her cheeks.
"Either hit her, or you die. Which one is it?" Hogan asked, crossing his arms.
Miles was panting heavily as he made eye contact with Piper, his eyes foggy and bruised. It was apparent that she wasn't the only one being tortured for fun either.
"It's okay, Miles. It's okay." Piper choked out, pushing down the lump in her throat.
Lie.
The MHTF Director shook his head, refusing.
"I'm not going to let you die; hit me. I can take it." Piper lied again, feeling the handcuffs cut into her wrists more.
The man with black hair finally nodded, straightening up his posture. Bringing his fist up, he collided with her rib cage. The sound of bones cracking could be heard, and she cried.
Miles began shaking his head again as he watched his friend swing back and forth in mid-air. "No," he whispered, "I'm not doing this. I'm not going to hurt my own friend. She's my partner."
Rolling her eyes, Athena gave Zakai a pointed look. Nodding, he stepped back and out of the basement. Jeremiah pressed down on the white button, switching the level up to six.
Piper watched in horror as the man in front of her dropped to his knees, screams of anguish filling the room. Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to tune out his broken screams but ultimately failed. Again, Jeremiah pressed down, and Miles's screams got louder as he curled in inhumane positions on the floor.
"No! Stop it!" Piper screamed, shaking in the cuffs that were holding her up.
The blonde smirked and turned the switch off, leaving the black-haired man panting on the floor, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. Athena chuckled. The only entrance and exit to the basement opened, and Zakai dragged in an unconscious man. As soon as he stood in front of Piper, he tossed him to the ground.
Looking down, the redhead gasped as she saw one of her friends, teammates, and Miles's boyfriend, lying on the floor. He wore a collar like his boyfriend's, and tears came to her eyes.
This was it. This was how they were going to break her.
She was going to watch them get electrocuted to death, and then they would beat her. There was no other option. If she had to be crumbled up and thrown away for Miles and Damon to live, then so be it. No one was going to die for her. No one.
────
𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍. . .
SHE KEPT FIGHTING, BUT SHE KNEW AT SOME POINT SHE WAS GOING TO BREAK. As if she hadn't already.
Initially, she was fighting to stay strong and not give in to the torture— the pain, but that fight didn't last more than five days. Then, she fought for all the people she cared about, which didn't last more than six days. Now, she was fighting for her body to not completely fail her.
Her cheeks were colorless and hollow, and her eyes were grey puffs of smoke, fogging up her vision and letting her lose herself within the chaos around her. Barely a single letter was able to leave her icy pale lips. The only sound she was able to generate was a scream or gasp.
It may have only been two weeks thus far, but it'd felt like years.
Time was ticking by slowly, and Athena knew that. That's probably why she was enjoying this so much. She was now the puppet master, and with that came control and endless power. Piper, at this point, had just become her own personal doll. Available and extendable at all times, the redhead hated every moment of it.
Although sleep never came to her anymore, she sometimes prayed for the moment that she wouldn't wake up. That she would stop breathing. Stop living altogether. Yes, she might be fighting for her body, but that didn't mean she was fighting for her mind.
Voices and pictures of the people and things she missed burned her eyelids and flooded her brain with a false hope that she'd be rescued. It was excruciatingly irritable. All she wanted was for the pain to end, to not have to see Athena, Zakai, or Jeremiah ever again, for the voices to stop screaming so loudly in her ears that they consumed her whole, drowning her in their wake.
Piper Lita just wanted everything to end. It'd come down to be as simple as that.
"Pipa Colada," sang the blonde, a sadistic smile laced upon her lips. "I bring good news!"
Looking up from the floor, the redhead winced, the back of her neck sore from hanging down for so long. "Zoloman has followed all of my orders. So, naturally, it is time for me to return you to your little band of misfits. Don't worry, though, we'll be reunited once this is all done and over with." Athena giggled, patting her on the cheek.
"Jeremiah!" she screamed, the volume of her voice causing Piper to flinch, squeezing her eyes shut on instinct. The said man strode in with raised brows. "It's time. Use the extrapulator and leave her with Zoloman. Then come back here. We still have unfinished business to take care of." Athena instructed firmly, sending a sly wink to Piper before walking out.
Jeremiah reached up, unlocking the cuffs holding the speedster up and snorting as her body crumbled to the floor. It'd been forever since her legs had been placed on anything solid. He grabbed her by the arm, lifting her easily due to how much weight she'd lost since they first captured her.
"Time to go home, Expedite."
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