I apologize for the delay between chapters. I no longer have regular access to a computer, so updates will be slightly erratic. In the meantime, our little story is about to take a dark turn that even Buddy didn't see coming. Is Viral tied more closely into his past than he realizes, and what does that mean for the fate of our two little heroes?

"Your raison d'etre, dear Syndrome, is your work. What would Pine industries be without its amazingly gifted owner?" Viral strode back and forth in front of a cell. His singular audience sat on a bench within it. Buddy Pine leaned against the cell wall with a scowl, hands in his pockets and disinterested in conversation. Instead of listening, his mind continually ran over the reel of his last words with Violet. You know I can't bail you out of something this stupid! She was right about one thing at least; this whole situation really was stupid. "A shell of a company, that's what it would be. You know it as well as I do."

"You're monolouging, Viral." Buddy yawned, leaning further into the wall.

"Oh, how faux pas." The man replied, pausing his step. "Shall I get straight to the point, then?"

"If you'd be so kind." The red-head allowed himself a very fake smile.

"Kein Problem, Herr. You have something that I want. Or rather, she does." Viral flipped out a picture of Lily that had been recently taken. Buddy didn't want to think about how long this freak had been following he and his family around for. The idea that this might just be Mirage's elaborate idea of a joke crossed his mind as well for a moment. Viral, of all people! "It hasn't been quite completed yet, unfortunately. There was a little nick in production when they realized that you were missing."

"C'est la vie, then." Buddy rolled his eyes. The notion had a double meaning. Once for the fact that he was caught in a cage with an idiot (as once happened before), and the other for the fact that Violet now had the right to say 'I told you so' after he was broken out by whomever was sent. Viral didn't seem to be entirely displeased by the lack of progress in his conversation. It was much like his former friend to turn a cold shoulder to anybody he didn't care for. He'd become overconfident, however. Frighteningly so. There sat a guy in nothing but some expensive shoes, and Viral who could easily kill him, yet Buddy still had the nerve to put his nose up.

"How much value do you put on your life, Syndrome?" Viral asked pleasantly, unperturbed by the former villain's attitude, at least outwardly. Several small spiders tinkered their way into the red-head's cell, climbing up on his bench to sit. Buddy plucked one of them up before it could scamper away, examining the outward workings of it. By the time he'd looked up again, Viral was pressed against the bars, head tilted slightly to the left and looking far too much like a Cheshire cat.

"Not enough that I wouldn't shoot myself before I'd let you kill me."

"Damnit, I told him! Why can't he ever just listen! He never listens, Mom! What kind of - for being a genius you sure are a damn idiot!" Violet paced around the PSA office arguing with herself while Helen sat back with her two kids and watched in fascination. They couldn't decide if she was worried sick or just angry as hell. Only moments ago Mirage had filled them in on the basic details; a friend in the bad guy industry had recalled the meeting and informed her that Buddy had been snatched. She was in a far cubicle now researching not only the validity of the claim, but the identity of the captor.

"I'm surprised that nobody would try to kidnap a billionaire sooner." Lily shrugged to herself. Violet had to take in a breath to ignore the comment. She didn't want to think about something like this happening twice! She was concerned about her daughter's lack of feeling towards the situation, but it seemed as though Dakota was making up for the both of them. He'd seen this coming! He'd felt it! Why hadn't he told anybody sooner?

"Violet, you might want to sit down for this." Mirage had re-appeared in the room with a frown. The distressed wife did as she was told, but as suddenly as she'd been angry, she now looked like the beautiful woman was going to tell her the worst. Someone had killed him. Mirage took a seat in a chair not far from the crowd and shuffled some papers in her lap.

"It would seem as though Buddy is being held by a former co-worker of ours, somewhere downtown. His name is Viral," Violet let out the breath she'd been holding. Mirage didn't seem any less calmed by this reaction. She continued, slowly. "Unfortunately, he's a little - how should I say it - unstable. There had been a plan before Kronos. He and Syndrome had spent a considerable amount of time on it, but a difference in opinion led Viral by the wayside, and Syndrome and I finished the work on our own. It's a longer story than that, but." The stunning woman dropped off, making the assumption that Violet wasn't exactly interested in a history lesson at this particular point in time.

"Syndrome. I've heard that name before." Dakota muttered. "The old lady was mentioning something about it. That guy killed a lot of people. What does he have to do with anything?" Helen, Mirage and Violet exchanged glances. Lily looked at Dakota, then back at her mother. The suspicion was evident on her little face. She'd already made the connection. The raven-haired woman shook her head, taking another breath. How to say this without making it sound like a horribly cheesy star wars spoof? Thankfully she didn't have to say anything at all. "Wait... no way! Not Dad! That's impossible!"

"Unfortunately not." Mirage gave him an apathetic glance. Dakota looked between the group, hoping that someone would jump out and scream 'April Fools'.

"But how! Why!"

"There's no easy way to explain it, Kota." Violet sighed. "For every good person, there's a not-so-good one."

"Not-so-good doesn't even begin to describe it, Mom! It's just.. it's evil!"

"I should've told both of you sooner, but-"

"It would've been nice to know that I was the spawn of the devil himself!" Dakota put his hands to his head, trying to take it all in. All those feelings, every time he'd had to convince himself that he was imagining things and that his second parent was perfectly harmless. He'd been right about it all along! Sure, Buddy had his moments, but until now Dakota had thought nothing of it. Just a crazy dad with a crazy job that would've made any normal person a little bit insane... but Syndrome? He'd killed a dozen supers and only God knew how many civilians without batting an eye. How had his sweet, wonderful mother ever fallen for such a sick and twisted bastard?

"Hey, wait a minute!" Violet interjected, amazed that such a horrible thing would come from her son's mouth. Lily on the other hand, didn't seem surprised or even upset. She was thoughtful, however. Why freak out about something that happened in the past? She interrupted Dakota's racing thoughts and saved Violet from a lecture.

"So, are you gonna save him, or let him rot in a dungeon over stuff that happened twenty years ago? He's still my dad too."

"What would you do?" Dakota asked her warily. Lily didn't respond, but the matter-of-fact look on her face gave him the answer he was looking for. Villain or not, he'd been as much a part of their lives as their mother. The moment was short-lived, as Violet had immediately gone off with Mirage to make some kind of plan for his release or escape. She had a lot to learn about this Viral fellow. Helen had accompanied them, leaving the two children to sit silently in the lobby. Lily had pulled out her laptop, typing away without much concern for the situation. Dakota broke the silence, his voice filled with worry.

"You're the most like him, Lil. Aren't you worried that you might.. you know."

"Turn into some psychopath and go on a killing rampage someday?" She didn't look up from her computer.

"Something like that."

"We create our own destinies. Where we're from doesn't dictate what we become. As far as being crazy, though, I'm already halfway there." She looked up from her laptop for long enough to smile at Dakota, but something wasn't quite right about it. The raven-haired boy convinced himself that he was just being paranoid after such an incredible family discovery. Lily was the picture of sanity as far as he was concerned. Sure, she had some dark ideas once in a while, but didn't everyone? Dakota sighed and sat by his sister's side, watching her work. Her experiment from the day before was almost finished.

"So, that boy of yours. Pretty impressive, is he not?" Viral sat on a bench across from Buddy's cell with a crossword puzzle in one hand and a pen in the other. The red-head couldn't help but wonder how the man was getting his information. Either way, he didn't respond. "What's another word for 'redundant'?"

"Moron."

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not it. At any rate, I've been watching him fairly closely. He's got a very unique power, you know. Very easily misused."

"Try 'superfluous'." Buddy sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Imagine that, right on the first try. You really are a genius, Syndrome." Viral smirked, writing in the word and turning his full attention on the man in the business suit. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking genuinely bored. "But I suppose I should really be putting your mind to better use." Right on queue, several large spiders appeared, crawling into the cell where Buddy was located. The largest picked him up and threw him hard against a wall in one fluid motion. Buddy was caught there, struggling fruitlessly. Viral unlocked and entered the cell, smiling.

"You enjoy torture, do you not? I imagine any who knew Syndrome well would recall some rather inhumane methods of taking information." Buddy pulled at the legs ever more, but it would do no good. He'd hardly had time to throw the villain a nasty look before he was forced to grit his teeth against an electric pulse that nearly took his breath away. "You want to get to the point, Syndrome, we'll get to the point. You tell me what I want to know, and I'll give you the honor of killing yourself. You don't talk, and you can die in a far less pleasant way."

"Let the games begin, then." Buddy collected his words, teeth still chattering from the initial shock. He'd done worse to himself while working on his omni-droids, how bad could this possibly get? Viral's amusement hadn't ceased at his former cohort's sass, however.

"A masochist, are we? You and the lady must've had all kinds of fun."

"More than you can say for yourse-!" He was cut off by another shock, twice as bad as the first. Buddy was left twitching against the wall after it finally subsided. After a third hit, his confidence was beginning to waver some. Sheer willpower kept him eye-to-eye with Viral, a refusal to be bested that the villain watched with morbid curiosity. There was a fire in those blue eyes, and for a moment he almost thought he saw the Syndrome he remembered from all those years ago.

"You're incredibly brave. Someone of your status should be." He hit the red-head with a fourth shock, finally causing him to shout from the pain of it all. "But now, it's time to play Q&A. The code to the room in your office. What is it?" Buddy could hardly make out the sound of Viral's voice by that time. He was fighting back the stars that were invading his sight, trying to set his thoughts straight. "We don't have all day, Syndrome!"

"Get fucked."

Oh, how far we have yet to go.

"How exactly do you plan to rescue someone you can't find, Violet?" Mirage muttered from behind her desk work. The tortured man's wife groaned, letting her head touch the desk. Mirage tried to ignore the splay of black hair all over her paperwork.

"I don't know, but I can't just leave him out there!"

"He's a tough cookie, you aughta know that." Helen attempted to assure her daughter, but it wasn't really helping.

"A tough cookie that's only human, Mom."

"I wanna go too." Mirage and violet turned their heads toward Dakota who had finally gotten tired of waiting outside. He took a seat in an empty chair beside his mother. Lily trailed slightly behind, leaning in the cubicle entrance with her laptop under her arm.

"We don't even know where he is. Even so, you're not ready for something like this."

"I've been practicing for years!"

"That's the key word, Dakota. Practice." The young man was just about to shoot back at his mother, but a strange buzz on Mirage's computer screens caught all of their attention. The video slowly tuned in on exactly the person they were looking for. Both of them, actually. Violet gasped as Viral smiled at them. She was far more interested in her husband, however, who looked like he'd just been hit by a freight train. Was he even breathing? Even the typically emotionless Lily's face paled at the sight of him. She had to double her efforts to hold onto the laptop that had nearly slipped out of her fingers. This wasn't any ordinary kidnapping. This guy was for real.

"I hope I haven't interrupted anything, monsieur." He bowed his head lightly. "Syndrome and I have been playing a little game. Oh, don't worry, he's still alive." The man snapped his fingers, triggering another shock. The kids cringed and Violet shouted at the screen while their missing family member writhed in pain against the electricity, shouting every curse word he could think of. The torture subsided, leaving him gasping for air. Buddy took several long moments to regain his composure, spitting blood after a rather nasty tongue bite. Several choice words followed suit, to which Viral tisked lightly.

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't bother contacting you until I was finished with hubby here, but I'd like to request the presence of a certain young lady." Violet turned towards her daughter who looked like she might lose her footing at any moment. Suddenly the idea of being as smart as she was didn't seem so appealing. Dakota immediately moved to her side. Lily gulped, her voice suddenly very mouse-like.

"T-This is about the experiment, isn't it."

"You're a very bright little girl. Oh, don't look so frightened. It's hardly fitting on the face of a Pine. Unbeknownst to daddy here, my family was quite close to his not-so-alive relatives. Somewhat ironic that we should be such terrible enemies now, but that's a story for another day. Learning the unfortunate side effects of living a privileged life will have to wait." He had completely lost the group. Even the trembling girl could do little else but focus in on her father who appeared to be thrashing his mind for any memory of this bastard. He didn't spend a phenomenal amount of time on it, however.

"So if I give you my work, you'll let my dad go?" Lily blinked at the screen.

"That's exactly how it works, have you done this before?"

"Don't do it!" Buddy barked with such a fervor that it caused Lily to jump. Any further words from him were cut off by another shock and Viral turning to tisk him like a child who'd done wrong. The distraction had worked, however. Lily turned her eyes away from the screen, observing her mother and brother. They were just as lost as to what the appropriate thing to do was. Viral didn't seem like the type to play with and Violet wasn't sure how much more of that 'playful' torture Buddy could take.

"Now, now. I believe we've gone over this before, Syndrome. You aren't to speak unless you're first spoken to. Manners, my dear cohort." The shock had let up by the time Viral was at Buddy's side. The villain tapped his captive's head with a pen. "This is her decision, remember? Maybe if I'm feeling good, I'll let her kill you instead. If evil really does travel in the blood, she'll have no trouble at all with it."

"Screwing with kids must really get your rocks off."

"And you lead by an excellent example." Viral smirked, silencing the red-head. He turned back towards the screen, fingers steeped together. Lily had made up her mind. She tried to stand resolutely, but the flutter in her voice had ruined the effect. She ignored the look on Buddy's face. It was her decision.

"I'll do it."

"Good girl. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll expect you to have everything with you outside the Regan building. No tricks, darling. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your perfect little family, now would you?" Viral turned his eyes on Buddy, but the former villain's attention was entirely on the little girl and the rest of his family caught in the crossfire of a stupid grudge. It was only then that he'd noticed Mirage there as well. She'd been as still as a statue throughout the entire ordeal, and for a moment Buddy was surprised that Viral hadn't said anything to her. She'd been on the tail-end of their little spat, but still. Helen had been there as well, rightfully silent.

"Take a good, hard, look." Viral spoke to him. "This may very well be the last time you see any of them." Then the screen went blank, leaving the CEO in the dark. It took his eyes a moment to re-adjust to his surroundings, to see viral standing off on a far corner, then taking a seat on a bench. His green eyes almost appeared to glow in the darkness. When he spoke again, it was hardly above a whisper. "I would love nothing more than to see you left as alone as the day you should've died. Syndrome should have never existed, and I blame myself for the mistake of letting you see your tenth birthday."

"I suggest you pray to God that I don't find a way to kill you first." Buddy hissed. Viral chuckled quietly.

"I don't need to pray, Mr. Pine. You fail to realize that at this moment, I am God."