Brooklyn Hearts

24

Adrian pulled out a gun and pointed it at Blaire. "Stand up, slowly, and put your hands in the air. You too, Peter."

Blaire and Peter did as they were told and Blaire was looking frantically for a way to run past Adrian.

"I have to say I'm impressed you were able to sneak into the labs this far. I'll have to revamp my security," Adrian said as he watched them. Some more men came up behind him wearing combat dress. They took out some zip ties and waited for Adrian's commands. Adrian flicked the gun towards Blaire and Peter, signaling for them to be bound. The men moved quickly and were efficient in their movements of securing their prisoners. They took off Blaire's lab coat and searched her pockets. They took her bag and dumped its contents on the floor. They did the same to Peter and took his cell phone, smashing it on the ground.

"So enlighten me, Miss Escobedo. Why are you sneaking around my labs?" Adrian stood to the side of her, eyeing her like a specimen.

"I-I know what you're doing down here and you won't get away with it. Steve knows where I am and he'll come looking for me soon."

"Tsk, tsk. What exactly am I doing down here besides doing research to help find cures for mankind?"

"You're experimenting on people- kids! You're kidnapping them!" Blaire was feeling frantic and trying to come up with a good plan.

"It doesn't matter what you think I am doing down here, only what you can prove. And I highly doubt you can prove anything." Adrian looked to his security team and said, "Take her to the lab. Put the boy in a holding cell." His face changed from sinister calculating to frighteningly devoid of emotion. Blaire was in trouble.

*

The lab techs strapped Blaire down on a table, drew blood to test, and inserted a lead for an IV. Her heart was racing and she was trying to not have a panic attack. What had she gotten herself and Peter into?! "Just think, just think..." she kept saying to herself. She noted all the people in the room and all the cameras she could see. Adrian joined the rest of the lab crew and stood beside her, looking down on her as if she was an insect. "I've been watching you for a while, Miss Escobedo. I know your father had powers and they were passed on to you. It was unfortunate he and your mother passed away so suddenly. I had hoped to receive full cooperation from him when your powers manifested."

Blaire crinkled her brow at his revelations. "What do you mean his cooperation?"

"He didn't have a chance to tell you but once your powers manifested you were to be handed over to our labs. Someone with your potential shouldn't waste away as a commoner, being useless. You could have real power over men, organizations, and governments. You could make the rules for a new world." His eyes began to gleam with a madness behind them. Blaire had no idea what he was talking about. "But instead you're with the Avengers, a band of misfits, who can't do the simplest of tasks on their own will. They answer to tiny men with big egos on committees. They could have real power but haven't been shown the vision."

Blaire had started tuning him out, concentrating on her plan to escape. She knew she could move small objects, but it always took too much concentration.

"Prep her for the first trial," Adrian said as he looked at her. "Such a waste," he said as he shook his head and walked away.

Immediately some men walked up to Blaire and injected her with four different syringes. She cringed and held her breath as the fluids went into her body. They left her to writhe in pain on the table and she tried to steady her breathing. "I can do this, I can do this..." she was telling herself. She looked around the room and up at the different nozzles and vents embedded in the ceiling. She pictured in her mind the mechanisms inside and the wiring that all led to the censors of the fire alarm system. She thought about the "on/off" switch and relay the censor would need to tell the computer there was a fire in the lab. Suddenly red lights, strobe lights, and an alarm started to sound. The people in the lab stopped their work, looked up and around in surprise at the alarm. She did it! Blaire had triggered fire alarm. Soon, fire retardant mist started to pour from the vents. She was still bound to the table but started to look at all the lab equipment and knocked it over with her powers. It was easier than she had remembered and she didn't feel drained. She looked down at the straps on the table and made them tear apart. She rolled off the table and crouched down as soon as a lab tech noticed her not on the table any more. She ran for the door that was unlocked due to the fire protocols. She shoved it the rest of the way open and ran down the hall, pushing past people to find Peter. Blaire saw a guard's body launched across the hallway and slam into a wall. Peter was already out of his cell fighting his way to her. "Blaire! Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and started running down a hallway way. "No, Peter! This way to the stairs!"