Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Steve moaned and buried his face in his pillow, putting another one over his head for good measure. But no matter what he did, the ticking of the metronome still rang in his ears.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Steve finally gave up, getting up from the couch and stumbling into the kitchen for a snack. He had been working all night to figure out everything he could about the metronome: researching for hours in the Warehouse library, achieves and database. And he had found nothing.
Granted, it was only one night of research, but already Steve was beginning to panic. He had to figure out a way to sever the bond between himself and Claudia before anything bad happened to her. Already he was worried - probably out of his mind with worry - considering he was hearing the metronome, as if it were right next to him, when it was safe with the Regents at...wherever the Regents kept their artifacts.
Steve looked at the sandwich he had made, his appetite disappearing. He pushed it away. Worry was taking over him - he was going to get as stressed as Artie always was. Steve took a few deep breaths - he needed to meditate. It would calm him down enough to shove a snack down his throat and take a 10 minute nap before he went back to the Warehouse.
He was lucky that Leena's B&B was empty: Leena was shopping, and Myka and Artie had left for a mission, as well as Claudia and Pete. Steve couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the fact that Claudia was on another mission with Pete. Granted, he had asked to be left at the B&B, but he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. He had thought that Claudia would have been paired up with Artie, for old time's sake. But Artie kept sticking Pete and Claudia together. It frustrated Steve. Claudia was his partner, not Pete's.
Steve shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs, taking deep breaths. It took longer than normal, but eventually Steve's mind went completely blank. For the first time in days, Steve felt peace. No worry, no anxiety, just calm, wonderful -
Wham.
He was ripped out of his thoughts when the front door slammed open. Steve gave a huff of anger, but kept his eyes closed. He'd wait until Claudia or Pete or Artie to come in and start jabbering away until he gave up completely on his mediation.
After a few seconds, Steve didn't hear anything but footsteps. He relaxed slightly. Either Leena or Myka was home, and they'd give him some space. Even Claudia (when she wasn't around Pete or Artie) wasn't half bad about being quiet when he was meditating.
Steve had just begun to hope that nobody was going to disturb him when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He sighed and opened his eyes, turning around. Pete was playing a practical joke, or Artie was furious because he had misplaced an artifact during inventory.
Except that the face that was looking down at Steve wasn't Pete or Artie or anyone he knew. But it wasn't the unknown face that made Steve start to panic - it was what he saw in the face.
There was a fanatic quality, an insanity that was shining in the eyes of the man who had clamped his hand down on Steve's shoulder. He looked like a man whose entire dreams had come true - in the sickest, most disturbing way.
"I have been waiting a long time for you." The man said, staring into Steve's eyes.
Not a lie.
It was the only thing that popped into Steve's head as he twisted his arm to get out of the man's grip. He finally got free and stumbled backwards into the coffee table. He slammed his legs against it, wincing when he felt the pain.
Claudia's feeling that too. What if her legs gave out when she was chasing a suspect, or if a suspect's chasing her? What did you do to her?
The panic that had been building in Steve for the past days suddenly exploded and Steve ran from the living room.
Have to get upstairs. Gun. Tesla. Get them.
He flew up the stairs, tripping over them and catching himself on the edges of the steps. He finally made it upstairs and ran down the hallway, nearly past his room. He stopped himself and flung open his door.
Gun. Tesla.
Only to see five people in his room, sitting at his bed, his desk, as if everything were perfectly normal.
Steve looked to the stairs, but the fanatic man was coming up them, along with many others. Steve stumbled backwards and into a door. He felt the door handle jab into the small of his back. He blindly reached for it and opened it, falling into the room. He slammed the door shut and put his weight behind it. He could feel people banging on the door, the door handle twisting. He struggled to keep everyone out.
He looked at where he was. Claudia's room. He hadn't been in there since she had brought him back to life.
The shock made him go limp, and the door flew open. Before Steve could even register anything, an arm wound it's way around his neck, holding him in a headlock. His wrists were thrust behind his back and cuffed - he could feel the cool metal biting into his skin. A rag was shoved into his mouth, muffling his yells of shock.
Somebody help me. Please, anyone.
"What do we do with him now?"
"Put him in the trunk. No chloroform, not yet. We don't know how he reacts to it."
PLEASE!
At his inward scream, something seemed to snap in Steve's mind. It felt like it was being ripped apart, and Steve felt something give way. His mind couldn't deal with the pain anymore, and darkness took over.