3rd Person POV
Everybody held their breath as she stood up. To everyone's surprise, she takes a step towards Dr. Bellum and Boris, who had been slowly moving towards her, grabs her and pulls her violently towards them. Shadowsan was the first to react and run towards them. Vlad had pulled out a Crackle Rod and was shooting in his direction to delay him. The rest of the team quickly joined him in trying to get closer. With a last ditch effort Boris had pulled Carmen back to Bellum and she closed the glass door half a second before Team Red arrived. Quickly pulling out a syringe, she stuck it into Carmen's neck in front of the helpless looks of her former team. Injecting the product, the last thing Carmen saw was Gray's eyes, not understanding why she had abandoned him before everything went black.
Carmen POV
Everything around me was hazy. I could feel myself slowly regaining control of my body but I couldn't open my eyes or even make a sound. I hear a conversation above me. A voice that I know and that always makes me shiver with its lack of humanity, especially towards me. Even when she's in a good mood I feel like she's talking to me like I'm a wounded little animal being prepared to be beaten again.
"I'll set up the standard protocol when we get back. It's best to avoid playing with fire and remove this meeting from her mind." What meeting ? The one with my family ?! But didn't they organise that ? Another voice with a strong accent is heard, Coach's.
"And how will you explain her arm ?"
"I'm not saying delete everything, just the events after the alarm went off. We'll explain her blackout with a second panic attack."
"That might work. What surprises me personally is why did she come to us when she could have escaped with Shadowsan ?" the haughty and refined voice of Countess Cleo came in quickly followed by another cold and manipulative one belonging to Professor Maelstrom.
"I think that Black Sheep was not thinking clearly and thought it was some kind of test on our part. Her survival instinct made her come to Dr. Bellum as we taught her. Thus, she associated Team Red with failure and therefore pain."
"That actually makes some sense. We're arriving, I suggest we continue this conversation once we land, especially as the girl seems to be coming to herself."
Forcing myself to open my eyes, I try to move my hands but notice that they are bound, as are my feet. I am gagged and the chain from my collar is wrapped around the leg of a table. I panic a little, but the Doctor calms me down instantly.
"We're landing Black Sheep, so hold still. I'd hate to have to sedate you for your bad behaviour, as well as wasting our time."
I feel the plane land and quickly someone pulls the chain off the table and I am thrown onto Boris' shoulder. He gets off the plane and Bellum walks beside him, her head just a little above mine. She doesn't even give me a glance and I shiver in the freezing wind. Once inside, Bellum walks away towards a corridor that I know leads to the Faculty Room. She quickly turns to give her instructions to the Cleaners.
"Restrain her in my laboratory. Then you can remove her gag, I'll have a couple of questions for her."
Vlad nods and heads off in the opposite direction with Boris, who is still carrying me. Arriving in one of the laboratories, they place me on the table in the middle and remove the handcuffs. They remotely lock the restraints on the table and secure my head with a strap, limiting me to my peripheral vision. They remove the cloth from my mouth and then I hear a door close and I am left alone. The hum of machinery in the background accompanies my thoughts as I reflect on the conversation I overheard earlier. The Countess seemed surprised that I was obeying Dr. Bellum instead of escaping with Shadowsan. But Shadowsan is... Anyway, why should she look surprised that I don't run to my father figure ? Unless... But that's not possible, I saw them die before my eyes! Yet Dr. Bellum has already created a mind control machine and with the Professor, they would be able to force me to believe them about their deaths. A small spark seems to ignite in me. My team is probably alive ! I may not have caused their deaths ! And for the first time in months, I feel hopeful again. I don't care if I stay here, as long as they are safe. That thought seems to have lifted a weight off my shoulders. The Faculty musn't know that I know, or they'll take it away from me too. I hear a door open and someone busy behind me.
"Know that we are satisfied of you little lamb. You could have escaped but you willingly came to me, proving that our classes were a success." A smiling Dr. Bellum comes over me and places a scalpel and a small metal plate on the tray to my right. I start to panic as I remember that she was going to operate my arm without anaesthetic. When she notices my agitation, she lets out a small laugh as she pulls a lock of hair away from my face.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of your arm once you're unconscious. Maelstrom had a much better idea to punish you for the phone. And then you've kind of made up for it lately."
"Please, can I ask you a question Doctor?" I ask softly deciding to play innocent. She frowns, her smile disappearing for a moment before returning.
"Try. If I can, I'll answer you."
"What did you mean I could have escaped ?"
"Well, do you remember seeing Shadowsan, Crackle, and the two redheads who served as your friends ?" I wanted to shake my head, thinking I was unable to speak, before I remembered that this one was strapped down.
"Yes, Doctor."
"You said it was an illusion, but it wasn't." Her answer only reinforced an idea I'd been clinging to but more as a hope than a truth. I don't know which is worse. That my family is alive and I'm aware that I'll never see them again, or to continue living in ignorance.
"Y-You made me believe..."
"Honestly Black Sheep, did you really expect us not to manipulate you at some point ? We needed to destroy any hope in you so that you would be more inclined to obey us. And did you think I didn't know you were listening to us on the jet ?"
"Why are you telling me all this ?"
"Because you won't have any memory of this conversation anyway. Nor of the previous events. This is the surest way to ensure that you will continue as before, or even better, as I will take the opportunity to remove certain aspects of your personality that we find... disturbing. You can say goodbye to your boldness and rebellious spirit because when you wake up these two traits will have been replaced by fear and a willingness to conform to our expectations. I will also remove from you any notion of what can be considered normal. You will henceforth live with the standard we impose upon you."
"No, please..." I'm cut off as she shoves the gag back into my mouth and giggles at my frightened look.
"No need to beg, the decision has already been made for you. Now relax my dear, normally it won't hurt." She puts her device over my eyes, bringing me into total darkness before a dazzling green light blinds me and the electricity from it makes me pass out.
Carmen's cell (Dungeon)
Maelstrom POV
I enter her cell and realise that she is still asleep, but we need her now. According to Bellum, the procedure was a success, but with Black Sheep, nothing is ever certain. If everything has gone as planned, we'll be able to rest a little because the threat she posed will have been completely neutralized. I bend down and shake her. She wakes up with a start and jerks back when she sees me facing her. I frown at her reaction, perhaps she is a little too fearful now. She quickly kneels down.
"I apologise Professor. I was surprised and I shouldn't have."
I notice that she is clenching her right fist while glancing at her left arm. It is bandaged and stretched downwards with a cloth tied around her torso to keep it in that position. Despite my desire to punish her for her behaviour, I tell myself that doing so now would only make the situation worse, besides, one is already scheduled in a short while.
"How's your arm ?
"A little sore after a sudden movement but otherwise tolerable." She murmurs not wanting to sound like she's complaining. Good, she's learning to stay in her place on her own, and even though her face remains neutral, her voice betrays her fear that I'm punishing her. Her condition only makes my smirk bigger. After all the trouble she has caused us and our efforts to break her, the result is beyond all our expectations. She is trembling and I see her holding back from asking me a question. I have my own idea of what it is.
"As for your arm, you won't have the use of it for another three weeks to a month, but Dr. Bellum will explain that much better than I can. Before you can get out of the dungeon, I need to have a little chat with you." She tenses slightly and panics slightly. This promises to be interesting. "For now you are free to speak as you feel, as long as you remain respectful to us. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Good girl." I pat her on the head and she flinches as I raise my hand and turn away slightly thinking I'm going to hit her. "What's the last thing you remember ?"
Her eyebrows furrow as she thinks. Perfect, her mind seems confused. "Take your time dear. I wouldn't want another attack to happen."
"I... Spinckik and Flytrap took me back to Dr. Bellum after beating me up. She tied me to the table and told me that... that..." She takes her head in her right hand, obviously in pain. I inject her with a painkiller to help her calm down and watch her slowly subside. Usually I would have left her in this state but we are a little pressed for time and I need to know if the erasure has indeed worked.
"Thank you, Professor."
"Continue, Black Sheep."
"Dr. Bellum had me strapped to the table and informed me of my arm injury. Some time after she left, an alarm sounded in the building and... nothing. I-I'm sorry, I don't remember what happened next." She looks so pitiful and weak. Nothing like the girl we picked up six months ago.
"Don't worry, I'd be surprised if you remembered what happened next. Long story short, let's say ACME attacked Dr. Bellum's lab, hence the alarm you heard. As Bellum and the Cleaners came to get you to leave, you had another panic attack. Much more violent than the first. She managed to sedate you and bring you back at the cost of a few guards."
"I-I have no memory of it..." Now that I'm sure she has no memory of her encounter with the traitors, it's time for her punishment. We are going to teach ACME and Team Red a valuable lesson. Smiling, I move behind Black Sheep. I take a blindfold from my pocket and tie it around the girl's eyes, leaving the surprise intact. She raises her hand to touch the blindfold so I gently shock her. This jolt isn't powerful enough to really hurt her, it serves more as a reminder of the rights we have over her. If we decide to deprive her of her sight, she has to get used to it. She lets out a small cry and lowers her hand.
"Sorry, Professor."
"Don't even think about taking it off. Stand up." I grab her upper right arm and help her up without falling (being hard to do alone with an unusable arm). I walk out of the room while guiding Black Sheep through the corridors.
At the same time, Faculty Room
3rd Person POV
The other three members of the Faculty had planned a call with the Red Team and therefore by extension ACME. On the big screen, Shadowsan, the siblings and Graham were visible. All of them with a disappointed or sad face (except for Shadowsan and his neutral face). The three women all wore a similar face, filled with anger. Cleo was the first to speak.
"Given that you already know the consequences your actions will have on Black Sheep, I think it would be best if we had a conversation with your 'helpers'. Don't you think ?" The word 'helpers' being said sarcastically. The frame expands, Chase, Julia and Chief are now visible and each of them are studying the three professors. The Countess continues, "Due to our traitors, you know our names. The least you can do is to introduce yourselves in turn."
Chief squints and Julia understands that they will find out eventually anyway, being in possession of leverage. "I'm Agent Argent and you should already know my colleague, Agent Devineaux." she says the last part in a voice indicating it wasn't a real question.
"How could I forget, sugar... But your boss seems dumb. Maybe we should use 'her' to get you to talk ?" Coach makes eye contact and sees Chef's dilemma and hatred as she replies, "You can call me Chief."
"Then I guess you're not going to apologize for messing up my lab."
"We would like to negotiate the return of our captured agent." Chief said icily, clearly not liking to negotiate with the enemy.
"Obviously you care more about an agent than the girl..." Coach starts but is interrupted by Graham.
"We're just not stupid. You'll never give us Carmen back voluntarily."
"For once you're right Crackle, but if you don't want Black Sheep to end up as one of my test subjects, stop cutting us off and control yourself !"
"And why would we agree to give her back to you ?" Coach asks amused.
"We will release one of your captured agents, the one of your choice." Chief continues, thinking to get the attention of the Faculty. By freeing the agent and implanting a discreet tracker, they can discover their HQs and get it over with once and for all. Coach snickers and flashes an evil smile that is never a good sign, Cleo maintains her posture and looks down on them. As for Bellum, she looks at them as if they've gone crazy and decides to speak up.
"Because you really think we care about a few caught agents ? We have dozens more."
"Then why did you want to have a call with us ?" Ivy asks puzzled.
"You obviously need to know what happens to those who dare to defy us, when for some it will serve as more of a reminder." Cleo's gaze moves to the three ACME agents, then to Team Red before finally focusing on Shadowsan.
"You plan to torture her again..." Shadowsan begins dangerously.
"Black Sheep ? Oh, no... We're already doing that daily, though she'll have her part to play in our plans. As for the agent... That's another story." Bellum duplicates the screen, allowing ACME and Team Red to also have a visual on another room. In this one, Carmen is kneeling at Maelstrom's feet, head down and blindfolded. Maelstrom is standing right next to her, on his phone where he has been following part of the conversation. Opposite them, agent Zari is gagged and tied to a chair. A few wounds seem to be visible on her face but nothing serious (especially so close to Carmen, who is covered in them) and she pulls at her restraints, hoping to get out.
"Carm !" Zack calls to her.
"You're tiring yourself out for nothing. Only Professor Maelstrom can hear you." Brunt replies."What's the point of all this spectacle ?" Chase asks worried about Carmen's condition and a tiny bit about his colleague.
"It's not a show, Agent Devineaux. It's a lesson in what happens if your agents get caught by ours in future operations. It would be better if you stayed back like our traitors should have learned six months ago." Doctor Bellum sneers. The entire faculty then turns their gaze to the other room, quickly followed by the Red Team and the ACME.
"Get up Black Sheep." Maelstrom orders and Carmen immediately stands up, standing straight as a pick. Even though she can't see him, she knows from his voice that Professor Maelstrom is standing right behind her.
"Extend your right arm forward." She obeys and Maelstrom puts a gun in her hand, while resting his own on top of it. He points her arm and thus the gun at Agent Zari's head, who had redoubled her panic and was pulling even harder. She certainly didn't want to die and even less at Sandiego's hand. Carmen, for her part, was also worried. She could have sworn she heard the sound of a struggle in front of her and now the Professor was giving her a gun !
"Professor, I..." she starts but Maelstrom grabs the back of her hair and pulls down, making her raise her head. She lets out a small cry of pain and Team Red watches helplessly, watching every move the two make.
"Shhh, my child. Trust me." he whispers to her (though his voice remains perfectly audible to all) and then releases his grip, making sure she keeps her head up.
"Now shoot..." he says softly, close to her ear. While removing her blindfold, he forces her to pull the trigger. Thus, Carmen helplessly witnesses the death of Agent Zari. Killed by her own hand. As Maesltrom retrieves the gun and releases Carmen, she falls to her knees on the ground. Her face is emotionless and she is shocked by her act. Blood has splattered on her face and chest, but she doesn't even notice it. Her gaze lingers on her right hand which is red. Red with Zari's blood. If Carmen thought that VILE couldn't take anything from her, she was very much mistaken. She saw red as a reassuring colour, one that made her feel safe. Red was power, freedom, rebellion. Red was her real family, her protection and her assurance that she would always be loved and respected. Now red was death, terror. The red was of loneliness and the consequences of obedience. Red used to be opposed to green, but now one merged into the other.
The ACME froze as the blow went off and the Red Team watched Carmen collapse. She who had never killed, who had left VILE to avoid it had just had that innocence taken away from her against her will and in the worst way. Player had looked away at the moment of the shooting, refusing to believe that her best friend, her sister, could have done this. The Faculty looks on in amusement at Carmen's shock. The last ounce of light that was in her has just been extinguished, only to become a shadow of its former self. They made her transgress her own values, the ones that made her run away from them. As everyone (minus the Faculty who had not left it) looks at the screen again, they see Maelstrom retrieve the gun and check the magazine. As he points the gun at the back of Carmen's head, the Team snaps out of their shock and looks at him in disbelief. Then he fires. Zack and Ivy scream for Carmen, Gray drops a tear and Shadowsan frowns. He senses that something is wrong. Indeed, the gun was out of ammunition and the shot was meant to scare the Red team. To make them understand that it would be easy for them to get rid of her for good. Carmen, on the other side, didn't even seem to notice the shot or she didn't care. She hasn't moved or made a sound since she fell to her knees, keeping her head firmly down on her right hand.
"Hopefully you'll make the right decision." Cleo finishes before finishing the call.
Once the call is over, Maelstrom puts his phone away and bends down to Carmen while calling her. With no answer, he grabs her shoulder and shakes her softly to try and get her to respond but nothing. It's as if her mind is turned off. Even the electricity doesn't reach her in this state. Sighing, he stands up and calls for a guard.
"Take her back to the dungeon and tell tech services to watch her cell continuously via the camera. I want to be kept informed of the exact moment she comes out of her shock."
A guard grabbed her right arm and forcibly lifted her up. He moves her forward without much difficulty. She doesn't take the initiative to walk on her own but doesn't offer any resistance either. As they were about to leave, Maesltrom gives the guard a final instruction.
"Also make sure that the blood on her is removed. We don't want the blood of an enemy on our possession."
A few hours later, Faculty Hall
The Faculty was meeting to plan their next moves when a guard rushed into the room. Everyone looks at him annoyed and confused at the interruption.
"You better have a good reason for interrupting one of our meetings in such a rude manner." Countess Cleo says curtly.
"It's the girl ! She..." He starts but stops, not knowing how to announce it clearly.
"What about the girl ? She's locked in her cell, I hope ?" Maesltrom's threatening voice makes the guard tremble.
"Yes, yes she is but..."
"Spit it out at the end." Brunt growls, not liking being interrupted in her work.
"She's losing a lot of blood and we can't intervene because only you can open the cell."
Before he had even finished his sentence, the entire Faculty had risen and moved quickly towards the exit (except for Cleo, who walked with a dignified and steady step). They don't care about Carmen, but if she's going to die, they'd rather it came from them. Arriving, Bellum unlocks the door and they enter. Far away in the darkest corner of the room, lying on the floor with a small pool of blood starting to form, was Carmen. Brunt turned her over and they saw her hand and right wrist completely skinless, with irregular scratches as if her skin had been scraped off again and again. The blood on the small rock held in her left hand makes it clear that she did this to herself (no one knows how given the pain she should be feeling in that arm). Bellum presses a cloth over the veins in her wrist, while taking her pulse with her other hand. Looking up at the rest of the faculty, her face remains inexpressive.