A/N: Ok, I lied. We have two more chapters before we get back to the group. BUT, I think you guys will like them. :3
Hope you all enjoy!
Love ya guys! ^-^
-KittCat
*Warning*: This chapter contains, violence, torture, mentions of past trauma and mentions of murder. Viewer discretion is advised please!
Where was he...?
'Why does everything feel hazy...?'
When did he pass out...?
'Why can't I move...?'
Who did this to him?
'Everything hurts...'
What happened?
'Please...I wanna go home...'
There were times where he tried to open his eyes from time to time, attempting to catch a glimpse around him and figure out what was going on.
But his eyelids felt like weights had been attached to them, refusing to budge open no matter how hard he tried.
He couldn't see but while his vision was off limits, he could still hear and smell what was around him.
The sound of something shutting and locking echoed in his ears.
The smell of metal, cleaner and drying copper filled his nose and made him want to hurl.
He felt something latch onto his shoulder and a strained cry was ripped from his throat.
He was only faintly aware of someone forcing his limbs to contort and move in painful and awkward fashions, of someone's hands on his body shifting and positioning him like a ragdoll.
It all hurt...his muscles burned from strain and constantly being coiled up with stress.
The cuts and bruises from his most recent sessions with Keon and Marcella stung with a vengeance and that was nothing to say of his older wounds that had started scarring and scabbing over to varying extents.
His shoulder and leg hurt the most, the slices of pain each time one of the limbs was moved made him want to vomit from the intensity.
There was a persistent ache in his head and ribs that since the day they had plucked him out of the school, hadn't gone away.
Despite their efforts to keep him in a functioning condition, all the wounds from however long it had been had begun to pile up. Whoever had been healing him would only take care of his most major wounds but only enough so he wasn't at risk of dying on them. Everything else was left to heal on its own.
Needless to say, even moving and being moved had become unpleasant, the layering pain leaving him struggling to do anything besides sit or lay there on that damned bed like he had the night they'd come to collect him.
As much as he hated the sh*ty thing, he realized he couldn't keep sleeping on the floor, less he risk infecting some of his wounds.
Being stuck there on that cot without so much as the ability to move somewhere else made him feel even more trapped than he was.
But this situation took it to a whole new level.
He couldn't move his limbs on his own, his eyes wouldn't crack open even a bit. The only time he felt his mouth move was when he was jostled too hard but other than that, his tongue felt like it was tinged with lead. The only thing he had any semblance of control over was his hearing and it only came in firework-like bursts before he was once again sucked back under into nothing.
It was eerily familiar to when he first woke up in that van all that time ago and he couldn't help the tremors that wracked his body.
He tried to force his eyes open but they felt like they were sealed shut. His neck stung and he could faintly feel the headache pulling at the back of his skull.
'Drugged' his half awake mind supplied. Whatever they had done, they had drugged him.
Considering he was now awake but not aware, he could only assume that they had sedated him or something to prevent him from struggling too much.
John couldn't feel a damn thing right now. Every part of his body felt numb, being stabbed with pins and needles except for the flashes of pain from time to time. It was uncomfortable to say the least but it wasn't the pain that had him shaking like a leaf.
He vaguely remembers Valerie walking into the cell, Zander in tow. While he initially recalls blacking out after a nightmare, he remembers waking up as hands descended upon him, trying to pull and drag him.
He remembers weakly thrashing as someone's hands threaded and tangled in his hair to hold his head back. He thrashed and kicked with his good leg and he heard a shout and something break. Something pointed grazing along the thin flesh of his throat and he thrashed even harder until he felt it stab into the juncture of his neck.
Then everything sunk away into this hellish limbo.
But it was those words the woman had said before hand that continued to echo in his head and throughout his limp form.
'"Congratulations John. You're being transferred."'
To where?!
Where was he going?!
Who was taking him now?!
Was his time with Keon and Marcella not enough?!
It wouldn't surprise him. But the way she just so casually mentioned he was being moved somewhere different sent alarms blaring in his head.
Why?
Why not just keep him wherever he was?
Had something come up?
Did they have something planned for him?
Or was there something he wasn't aware of...?
But then of course...there was also what Leilah had said prior to all of this...
'"Valerie was lying. She doesn't want you to help them with vigilantes. At least, not in the way you'd think."'
What were they going to do with him...?
What were they going to do to him...?
That sentence could've meant a thousand things for him. and none of them sounded pleasant.
The look in the woman's emerald irises that day did little to smooth any anxiety he had over this place or the people he was surrounded by.
A million questions circled in his head like preying vultures.
Did Leilah know about this? Did she know they were taking him elsewhere? Had Keon or one of the others found out about her meet-ups with him? Was Valerie going to hurt him? Hurt her? What about Sera and Darren? Would they be punished too? Were they ok?
Part of him wanted to laugh at the idea that he was worried about the magenta haired girl.
But try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to completely hate her.
He had hurt her and countless others...
Because even though he wished he could, John couldn't hate the girl who had actually allowed him to change his life around. He couldn't hate her for leaving his side when he had already shown her that he was a monster, when he had already f*cked up her life and everyone else's.
John wanted to place blame somewhere, but as Keon had shown him a dozen times over now, he had no one to blame but himself.
He had caused all of this...he had hurt people at his school, he had ripped everything to shreds because he was a coward, and he had destroyed Seraphina's life...
The ravenette wanted to place blame somewhere. He wanted to blame Arlo for ambushing him, he wanted to blame Blyke for shooting that beam at his head, he wanted to blame Isen for sneaking through his records, he wanted to blame Remi for her nativity, he wanted to blame Seraphina for leaving him...
But the truth was, he was the only one to blame.
Just like New Bostin, he was the reason everything went to sh*t.
When he was a cripple, John had failed to fit into the standard mold, fighting back against those stronger than him even though it was just the way things were. But when he had powers, he let them go to his head and he lost everything.
And what did he do the minute he entered Wellston?
The exact same thing.
He really was hopeless...
But there was no use dwelling on it now, was there?
Though his mistakes were piled up in the hundreds, he knew there was nothing he could do about it now or ever.
John was heaven knows where and by this point, it was safe to say he was a lost cause. Absolutely no one wanted to go looking for trouble which was all John seemed to be.
Not only that, he had been missing for far too long at this point.
Even if by some twisted miracle someone came looking for him, it would be a waste of effort, especially now that he was being moved. He didn't even know where he was to begin with and he had long since given up on escaping on his own.
He was useless without an ability...
He knew no one was coming for him, that much was certain.
Keon told him so, Marcella told him so, even Valerie had mentioned it on the rare occasion she had stopped by.
He knew it was useless to hope for others to come to his aid.
There had been a brief moment where he thought Leilah would get him out, but those hopes had been quickly dashed when he heard of the predicament she was in.
Not to mention, he still didn't trust her.
At least, not completely.
Sure, she may have been better than everyone else he's encountered at this forsaken place, but he knew that could all flip on a dime.
Despite those small moments where he had been genuine with her, a small voice in the back of his head whispered doubts when she left, telling him she would stab him in the back the moment his guard was down.
He believed in some of her words though...especially about Valerie and her plans for him. Leilah's words matched frighteningly well with the impression he had gotten upon meeting the blonde woman.
There was still a part of him that erred on the side of caution but until he had proof that suggested otherwise, he'd heed her warnings.
He had to admit though, a part of him genuinely trusted her.
A small, stupidly naive part of him, but a part of him nonetheless.
It was a worthless part of him...
In the handful of times she had visited him, John always waited for the other shoe to drop with Leilah. He waited for her to finally tell him her true intentions, for her to drag him out for interrogation or turn against him or to even come in with Keon, satisfied that she managed to gain his trust and in turn use it to break him down.
But it never happened.
It had been a mounting suspense whenever she walked in. But while he kept his guard up and his brash personality at the forefront, he couldn't help the undercurrent of fear. Especially if he snapped or lashed out at her. But despite all of that, she didn't retaliate back. Despite how much he kept his walls up and pulled away, she never laid a hand on him out of ill intent.
She was never violent with him.
So, he supposed that had to count for something...
Because she hadn't truly seen him at his worst...
John felt a jab of pain stab at his temple as the once potent thoughts grew distant, falling out of his grasp.
He could feel his strength slipping away once more, his mind beginning to grow foggy and clouded with confusion.
Things drifted away from him like boats on a shallow current as John felt his subconscious grow hazy. He was once again pulled back into the endless void as he waited for whatever was effecting him to finally wear off, that endless undercurrent of fear dragging him deeper into the terrifying abyss of void.
.
.
.
Sunlight burst through the crisp morning air where a thick frost had settled over the grass, leaving the world in a crystalline sheen.
Despite the stress from the past few days, Leilah woke up that morning with a clear mind and with some of the weight cleared from her shoulders.
She didn't realize how much she had been trying to hold up on her own, how much his meeting had been weighing her down if things hadn't gone right.
She honestly wasn't expecting something good to happen considering everything as of late.
But despite her fears, her talk with Vaughn went nowhere near as bad as she thought it would've.
..............
Leilah stood at the door of the side room in the apartment building.
While the location wasn't ideal, she hoped the ex-headmaster wouldn't mind given the circumstances.
The building was only three floors the third one being completely vacant save for a few guest rooms that had been switched over into bedrooms.
For the lavender haired woman, the place had been perfect to house her research and hide when she needed to be hidden.
Kayden was living right across the hallway.
He used to have a small student flat of his own but when Leilah had offered for him to stay at the apartment building, it really was an offer he couldn't refuse. He could have access to any food, appliances or whatnot and save up what he made working under Leilah.
For a college student with loans to pay off, it was like Christmas in July.
So long as he kept an eye on the place, he could do as he wished.
But apparently, that had now transitioned over into watching over a confused headmaster who was wanted for arson and several murder charges he didn't commit as well as supposed ties to a criminal organization.
Yeah, that was one hell of a story.
While Leilah had gotten the basics from the news, Kayden had filled in the rest, saying how his brother had frantically called them about an injured patient he had who was about to be taken in by the authorities under false charges.
The young man and his brother didn't always see eye to eye, but when it came to helping others, that's what they agreed on the most.
Kayden had only just heard back from Kiel, the doctor couldn't make an appearance quite yet, trying to avoid the authorities and the last thing he wanted was to lead them straight to their hide out.
Leilah had been slightly alarmed at the fact that Kayden had brought back someone without notifying her first, but after hearing of who exactly he brought back, the lavender haired woman had seen this as an opportunity of sorts.
Which is where she sat right now as the man in question eyed her from where he sat on an opposite chair across from her in the small living room.
Leilah had thought ahead and had offered him a beverage with tea being what he seemed to prefer. After she had poured the drink into two cups and handed him a mug of his own, they sat in silence for a minute or so, Leilah letting her drink cool off as she nervously drummed her fingers against her knees.
She wasn't necessarily scared of the man, but she was worried about how this talk would go.
It could either make or break all of her plans and if she had any hope of finally making some leeway in them, she needed his help and support.
He adjusted his cracked glasses along his nose, gently pushing them up as he tared at her. Leilah adjusted in her seat slightly before Vaughn, to her surprise, spoke up, finally breaking the heavy silence that had settled.
"I take it you're the woman Kayden has mentioned?" He raised an eyebrow as he gently sipped the cup of tea he had been offered.
Leilah nodded, sitting up a little straighter. "Yes. I'm Leilah sir. Leilah Clemonte."
An eyebrow rose up in surprise as he watched her like a hawk.
'Ah,' Leilah thought. 'He must recognize the last name.'
He placed down his mug, clearing his throat as the expected question left his lips. "By any chance, you wouldn't happen to be related to a girl named Seraphina, would you?"
The young woman gave a tense smile, staring down at her own mug of chamomile. "Yes. She's actually my sister."
She took a quick sip before setting the mug down. "It's part of the reason I wanted to talk to you today. I...I need your help."
Leilah slowly eased into the her story.
She was originally a researcher for a company called 'Zeta-Sci' which was very similar to NXGen in terms of trifling with abilities.
But while Zeta-Sci was their public name, they had an undercover group known as 'Spectre' as named after the late superhero.
She said what they had been hoping to accomplish was a change in public perspective; like what vigilantes were trying to do only at a much faster rate. That how despite the gaping chasm that their society has created between ranks, they hoped to bridge together these people.
How you might ask?
By getting rid of potent high tiers.
Vaughns eyes had widened and the shocked man almost dropped his mug.
Leilah had to tell him that no, she didn't really agree with this method either. She didn't wish for anyone to live without an ability, much less be targeted by people they could normally fend off as an act of revenge.
But she had both little choice in what to do and the fact that there was this tiny, urging voice in her head that she agreed with. That if this is what it took to achieve peace and a sense of community for all, then so be it.
Obviously, that wasn't what it turned out to be.
Leilah had been up in charge of a large team to work on something new that had been code named 'Project Ravage.' It was one of their first experiments.
Apparently, 'Project Ravage' had been the code name for the ability disablers.
Vaughn of course went to the aid of Seraphina, saying how her own work had been used to harm and almost kill one of his students and almost got another three killed had her sisters kidnappers been so inclined.
Leilah had shut her eyes, nodding in agreement. She told the man how she was unaware they were using her research to target her sister, how she never meant for this to happen to her sister.
She continued on, saying how after they had apparently attacked Seraphina, that things went South very fast.
Because apparently, the ability disablers weren't Zeta-Sci's original idea.
Ability diablers didn't just appear over night. While Leilah had been tasked with developing the idea, she was never told who came up with it. only that it was a recent development from one of their higher department members.
It was odd but at the time, Leilah hadn't questioned it.
She wished she had though.
Because the idea for ability disablers had come from none other than NXGen.
Vaughn stared at her with wide eyes, his gaze holding a thousand questions that Leilah tried to answer.
She told him of how the higher ups had an operative sneak into NXGen and steal their equipment and research. Apparently what they came across was ground breaking. The higher ups sought to weaponize ability disablers under the guise of bringing all tiers together by bridging the divide that had been created.
But their ambitions caught up to them.
One day, they had been raided by the authorities, the armed officials breaking into the lab and placing every last one of them under arrest.
Since Leilah had been leading the very project that had compromised their safety, her superiors tried shifting the blame on her in an attempt to avoid punishment.
Unfortunately for them, the authorities saw right through the lies.
While they had suffered an unknown fate, Leilah had been given the option on what to do with her co-workers.
They gave her an ultimatum: either join them and work under their supervision or face a lifetime in jail for breaking into government owned property and stealing classified work.
And what could she do but say yes?
Her emerald eyes landed on the table. "I was afraid Vaughn...I was afraid if I said no, the people I had led, the people I worked with would all suffer. We both know the authorities aren't known for their kindness or mercy...I hope you can understand."
The ex-headmaster had slowly nodded, asking her to go on.
After Leilah had agreed, Zeta-Sci fell into the hands on NXGen as a overseeing company of sorts as legally, they could not merge the two companies together.
She thought she had done the right thing...but that was before she discovered the other side of the authorities.
With just a few weeks in, they had brought in a superhero. A dead superhero.
She went by the name of 'Mistress Emerald' though her civilian name was Arlene Canmore.
Arlene's ability was called 'Crystal Evoking' which allowed her to summon large shards of crystals from wherever she was standing and shoot them as projectiles. Due to her royal green hair making the summoned crystals the same vibrant shade as emeralds, she had been named by the public as such.
Yet there she was, bloody, clothes torn and burnt and laying on the exam table.
Leilah had been horrified and when she had asked what the young woman was doing here, the officers who brought her in said to check her aura paths and see if there was anything of use or interest to note over the next few days before they would prepare her for the funeral.
It was all so sudden. They had been given no warnings about this and the body had just been reported the night before.
Yet now she was with them, with people asking them to look over a body as if it was a lab experiment.
Leilah squeezed her eyes shut, the image still turning her blood to ice. "I was appalled...this young lady was laying there on my table, filled with bloody scratches and holes...and these people were asking us to experiment and look over her as if she hadn't just been murdered."
She looked down at her mug, her reflection staring back. "At first, I wondered how they managed to bring her in like this...surely, they wouldn't just bring in a random woman unless she had already disclosed she wanted her body donated to science. So, I dug through her medical history to see if she had signed off on having her body donated if she died...but there were no such forms. Not even a note or anything from the family. When I brought this up to the department head, he said to go ahead with what we were doing..."
She rubbed her arms as her expression darkened. "So we did...and dammit I still feel awful for it. I wished I could've put a stop to all of it, but at the end of the day, there was still nothing I could do. But nothing was worse than seeing her wounds...dozens of burn marks, singed lacerations and part of her ear was missing...but when we flipped her over, that's when we saw the burn mark..."
The infamous logo of EMBER was scrawled across her back, branding her shoulder like war paint.
One of the lab techs had thrown up, disturbed by the gruesome sight.
Leilah couldn't blame her. Even she felt sick and disgusted that whoever this killer was, had most likely branded this woman while she was still alive...
Not to mention how honor-less it was to carve an insignia onto someone unwillingly as if they were just a sheet of paper, as if they weren't humans who could still feel pain.
The next three days had gone by in a haze and it was only then that Leilah began to question why people from a company like NXGen would want to have them poke and prod at dead superheroes.
Where did they even get the clearance to bring Arlene in?
How did they manage to get access to her body just less than 24 hours after her murder?
Why was she with them and not the forensics department?
Had they already looked at her body and found nothing?
Should the crime analysis department have looked at her first before bringing her to them?
It wasn't until she came across what appeared to be a broken finger nail in one of the wounds that she started to have her doubts that the forensics department even looked at her body at all.
Leilah ran a hand over her face. "It was at that moment I started getting extremely suspicious. It was confusing...why bring her straight to us and not the forensics department to be looked at first? Why just skip over that and risk having us screw up what would be vital evidence to a murder case?"
Vaughns eyebrows furrowed, already knowing first hand what she had uncovered as she said her next sentence.
"I realized it was because they had no plans on figuring out who the culprit was..."
If she had to bet, the higher ups were riding on them messing up any evidence left behind on the body or her clothes.
With the harsh chemicals they used and the lab testing they had done, it was safe to say any evidence that would've proven the identity of the killer or at least bring them closer to finding the culprit had been compromised by their lab work.
All save for one, tiny, broken hangnail.
It was all Leilah had but at the same time, she had neither the knowledge nor the experience on running the forensic equipment to get an idea as to who could've done this.
That's where Kayden came in.
Because while he was majoring in organic chemistry, he had the knowledge required to run the needed lab tests.
He was the youngest one in her lab unit but so far, the only one she could turn to. She couldn't risk this information getting out and having everything compromised.
Kayden however, had gone above and beyond what he was supposed to, getting multiple samples and even helping her try to narrow down any errors that the tests may have come across.
She was impressed by his work and dedication.
Needless to say, she trusted him and he was glad she did.
All they had to do was start lining up a list of suspects.
But then someone found the results...
A certain blonde haired higher up with honey eyes and a stare that could kill to be exact. And with the way she reacted and the fact that she was missing a sliver of her thumb nail, Leilah realized they didn't have to look far.
Because she knew without a doubt that she was staring at the face of Arlene's killer.
Leilah looked to Vaughn and took a shuddery breath as she continued. "After that, Valerie confiscated my findings. I made sure to keep Kayden out of this, but in an effort to keep me under lock and key, they sent me out of town for a 'business trip' to train some people across the country, saying it was because ZetaSci was opening up a new branch. While that part was true, it was also a way for them to cover up any trails I left behind and to avoid this information getting out. They kept a hawks eye on me the entire time I was there and when I wasn't in meetings, they made sure I was never left unattended."
Emerald eyes grew hard as she stared at the table before her. "But...it wasn't until I got back that I had found out just what exactly they had done..."
Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. "It's all my fault...if I had just been more careful, if I had actually been a good sibling and reached out to her sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened...but now look at what I've done...my own sister; targeted by the very people I work with and stripped of her ability by the very thing I helped to create..."
Vaughn had stared at her expression stern but understanding as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Leilah looked up at him as he spoke. "It's not all your fault Leilah. You couldn't have known."
The woman shook her head, wavy locks swishing back and forth as she looked away from the man. "I knew she was on their hit list Vaughn. The only thing preventing them from getting to her was me and with me out of the way, Valerie gave the others the freedom to do what they pleased...I wouldn't be surprised that if Sera's friends hadn't been there that night, she would be the next one laying on that table."
Leilah looked to him, her gaze growing serious. "Vaughn, I need your help. Seraphina, Darren, John; they're all in danger and I have no idea how to help them."
She saw the mans eyes widen at the mention of the raven haired teen. But then his gaze turned into a thousand yard stare as he put together the pieces. He stood up so fast that he almost knocked over the tea mug. "You-! You...know where he is, don't you?!"
Leilah stood up as well. "Yes, but let me explain-!"
The man had activated his ability and held her in place, the change in gravity preventing her from moving at all. "Where. Is. He?"
Leilah sighed, knowing this was a possibility. She wasn't going to fight him. Not if she wanted his trust. "Vaughn, I need you to listen to me."
The man only narrowed his eyes as the slightest current of rage sparked in him. "And why should I listen to you now when your people were the ones who kidnapped him and are doing who knows what to the boy?! You may not be responsible for what happened to Seraphina, but if you knew this was going to happen to John, to the school, why didn't you say something sooner?! Why didn't you help us before they lit my office on fire and left me for dead?!"
Leilah looked at him, her gaze determined but slightly nervous. Not because of Vaughn, but because of the unknown. "Because I didn't know they were going to do this. I wasn't aware they were going to kidnap a student and even if I was, my hands are tied. They threatened to hurt Seraphina and Darren and the last thing I wanted was for them to suffer for my mistakes. I know this looks bad, but I'm on your side. I've been trying to help John however I can but I can't do much without someone getting hurt. It's why Kayden brought you here. Right now, you're the only person who can help us."
She saw the mans gaze waver as he looked away. Leilah pressed on. "Please...I need your help. I don't want to lose Darren or my sister to these people. But I'm not giving up on John."
Vaughn slowly looked back up at her his expression relaxing before the glow surrounding his eyes vanished and the pressure holding Leilah in place dissipated.
The man nodded. "Ok. Then what's your plan?"
..............
Leilah and Vaughn had spent the rest of the evening coming up with a battle plan of sorts, Kayden pitching in where he could.
They didn't have much at the moment, but it was certainly better than what Leilah had before.
For now, she would keep going to work as normal and tell Vaughn of what was going on with John, hopefully get a message or two out to him and let him know they were working on a plan.
In fact, that's what Leilah was planning on doing right now.
Leilah pulled into the parking lot, a stride in her step and confidence surging through her.
She had gone in to work at the lab, getting all of her tasks done, taking some time to check over some personal projects, helped out some of the other lab techs with different projects and checked in quickly with Kayden.
Right at lunch time, she skipped lunch and sped walked down to the holding cells in the research facility about 10 miles outside Wellston.
For once, she had hope that things were starting to get better, that there was at least a chance to fix things and everyone would be spared.
She had walked up to that door, for once, excited to tell John some good news for once. She didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing, but even now, this news was better than all the crap he's been going through lately. He needed something to hold onto, something to hope for.
Leilah had gotten a hold of the keys and had unlocked the door as she swung it open and stepped into the cell. "John? Hey, it's me-"
She froze, her gaze going wide and shocked.
Because the room was empty.
There were faint blood stains on the floor that looked relatively new and little shards of glass from something. Looking closer, she saw what appeared to be a broken needle tip and plunger and her heart leap up into her throat.
There was nothing else in the room save for the tattered, uniform jacket covered in copper stains of varying degrees.
Leilah stumbled forward, kneeling down and picking up the jacket as she frantically looked around, trying to see if John was still here, trying to see if there was another clue as to where he could be.
But she was the only one in that cell.
Leilah felt something akin to fear claw through her chest, her veins freezing with ice as panic began to come over her. "No..."
She quickly stood up and despite the protest from her ankles and the strain from her heels, she ran down the hallway to the interrogation room. Normally he wouldn't be here at this time but maybe he had just been left here.
She should've known that they wasn't the case.
Deep down she did know...she knew what had happened but denial had blinded her until she was staring right at the truth.
Because she shoved open the door and frantically slapped on the lights and unlike that day no less than ago, the metal chair and the table were vacant, the blood stained cuffs cracked wide open.
Just like the holding cell, the entire room was empty.
Leilah stood there, eyes wide and terror enveloping her as she stared ahead into the void of a room.
Her hand tightened around the abandoned jacket as the reality crashed down upon her shoulders.
He wasn't here...
He wasn't in his cell or in the room...
And if no one was raising the alarm, that meant he hadn't escaped...
He had been moved somewhere else...
John was gone...
Chapter 40: end.