Let us all take a moment to celebrate my one year anniversary of joining this site. I seriously have no idea where I'd be without it. If anyone following this story has also been with me since the beginning, then I will also clap for you. :)

Anyway, have fun reading this chapter.

Dedicated to: BelletheWickedWitch, JessyRae, and the Guest.


CHAPTER 7
Jade's POV

"No, no, Cat. Tori's a Kinecter. Not a Predicter," I corrected calmly. Cat continued to let out the word "Predicter" over and over while pointing to Tori.

"Erm, no, I'm a Kinecter," Tori said awkwardly. "Look." She lifted the half-eaten sandwich off of its plate on the table and let it fall back, the contents of it spilling apart. "But are you a Predicter?"

"Yes," I replied, putting the word in her mouth.

"Wait…is this Cat? The Cat that you told me about a while ago that had the visions that told her we were going to take Archelaus down?" Tori was in complete awe and she looked like a total idiot right now.

"Okay, kid, enough with the questions," I snapped when Cat started shaking. Awkwardly, I patted her head with my good hand, the bad one still hanging by my side.

"What happened to your hand?" Tori took notice immediately.

"Feel free to leave whenever you want," I growled, hiding it behind my back. "Seeing as the door is no longer there, you don't even need a key. Just walk right out as you please."

"I don't want to leave."

"Hi, Cat," Trina said in a soft voice I had never heard before, waving at her. "I'm Trina, and as this is my stupid little sister Tori."

"Why are you all so mean to me?" Tori whined, shoving Trina against the couch.

"Silly girl," Trina chuckled. "You're such a baby, Tori."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Hey!" I shouted, interrupting the annoying banter. "What the heck are you guys here for anyway? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm actually really busy right now." Cat pressed her face into my side.

"I was just here to yell at you for letting my sister go out alone," Trina admitted brashly, shrugging her shoulders. "And then I was going to ask you guys if you wanted to go bowling with me and Robbie."

"Bowling?" Beck asked skeptically, but I could tell that he was smiling.

"Uh-huh."

"The answers are Tori's not entirely my responsibility, and no."

"Predicter," Cat whimpered, pointing again at Tori.

"She's a Kinecter," I reminded her gently, but the girl was stubborn. In the frustration, I took it out on myself by re-breaking the two of my fingers and rolling my eyes and wincing. "And do I need to ask you guys again?"

"Predicter!" Cat exclaimed.

Confused and annoyed, I scratched my temple, blowing air through my lips. "You know, maybe we should just take you to the hospital, Cat," Beck suggested. "I'll call the doctor—" Upon hearing the word 'doctor,' Cat sprung away from me, crouching on the down and covering her eyes and the back of her neck.

"God Beck, look what you did," I snarled.

Tori knelt down and tried to uncurl Cat from her tight ball. Beck stepped over them to me, his hand latching on to my shoulder and leaning close to my ear.

"Let me read her mind," he whispered. "Maybe we can get some answers that way."

"That's kind of a violation," I responded, "and you don't know what she's been through. It might agitate her a lot more if you try."

"No, no, I can handle it. Hey, Cat!" Beck called out. The girl's head snapped up and he made eye contact, immediately collapsing to the floor, groaning.

"You idiot. What did you see?"

"Archelaus," he panted. Cat blinked apologetically, shrugging as Tori helped her up before sitting down on the couch. "Archelaus Patterstone was just standing there and laughing at me."

"Serves you right."

"I…I don't think Cat was really thinking about him," Beck continued, becoming increasingly worried. "He did something to her and now I can't get into her head."

"Let's bring her to André," I suggested. "He keeps calling himself a 'doctor.' Maybe it's about time we actually get to see him do his thing."

"Fine."


ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ


Beck managed to get Trina to 'leave,' although she ended up going out to find Robbie and would meet us at the lab. Tori was persistent and wanted to help with us, so I didn't argue anymore with her, saying that if Cat went berserk, I couldn't be held accountable for anything.

I offered to help Cat take a shower, since she was covered in grime and grease, but as soon as I asked her to remove some of her clothes, she sprinted towards the locked door and slid to the floor, swatting me away viciously and knocking my head against the sink.

Dazed, I decided that if she didn't want it, she didn't need it. She gestured that she wasn't in any pain, and the sooner we got to André's, the better. Beck fit the door back in place, although we'd need to get a new one later.

We took all the back alleys possible, wanting to stay away from the large crowds. Tori bounced along in the front, excited to be part of the action. Cat hid between Beck and me, insisting on touching the both of us. She had her back against my hip, the rest of her body embracing my boyfriend. I'm glad we weren't in the complete public, because we might look like a young married couple with their extremely old, almost-like-she-was-the-same-age-as-her-parents adopted daughter.

Tori knocked on the door and our dark-skinned friend answered immediately.

"Ah, I've been expecting you lot. Trina and Robbie are already here." André dragged us through the dark passage into his main lab room. Sure enough, the friend-zoned pair were waiting, looking eager to catch another glimpse of Cat.

"This is Miss Cat Valentine," Beck announced, gesturing to the smaller girl. I saw Robbie's eyes grow wide when he set sight on her, and then he started blushing furiously when she noticed him. "She's a Predicter and not in great shape right now, so if you don't mind, Doctor André, would you take a look over her?"

"You're the Archelaus survivor, then?" André immediately took up a professional posture, walking over and offering his hand to Cat. Cat remained motionless; I was afraid she had forgotten how to respond in a situation like this. Hesitantly, she held out her own hand and he grasped it gently, pumping it up and down a few times. "It's an honor to meet you."

Cat nodded, looking over his head at Robbie. She pointed at the Dimensioner and then glanced up at me.

"That's Robbie," I informed her.

Robbie ran his hand across his face, taking off his glasses and wiping them on the hem of his shirt like he was embarrassed. I snickered, already getting the sense that his relationship with Trina was going to end real quick.

"We're all friends here, but if you don't feel comfortable with so many people Cat, then we can have them step outside," Beck said, putting his hand on her shoulder. Cat shrugged; she didn't mind. It was amazing how brave she was being right now. I had so many questions for her, but seeing that she wasn't talking, hopefully André could figure out the reason behind it.

"Okay, Miss…Valentine, was it? Please come over here and hop up on this table." André patted the steel furniture and Cat went with Beck towards it. I remained a little way back; Trina, Robbie and Tori stood by the door.

Beck lifted Cat onto it, remaining by her side as André rolled up his sleeves and cracked his neck.

"Are you in any pain right now, Cat?" André asked.

Cat shrugged, but reached behind her, tapping the back of her neck, right above where her spine connected. André nodded, saying, "Do you mind if I…" She obliged, gathering up the hair in her left hand and pulling it upwards into a makeshift ponytail while André maneuvered so he could get a closer look.

"You've got a bit of a lump here. Bit by any insects recently?" André observed, his fingers skimming over her skin. Cat shook her head, pressing her lips together almost uneasily. I felt my body growing hot with overprotective-ness and took a step forward.

"Maybe if I do some sort of scan I'll be able to identify what it is," André mused. "Okay. Before we do that, anything else?" Cat once again touched her neck. "Yes, I'll be sure to check that. But is there any other part of you that hurts? No? Okay. Let me grab my wand."

André disappeared from the room as I walked over to Beck and Cat. Judging from my boyfriend's expression and stance, he was growing extremely concerned; I didn't blame him. I wanted to know what was wrong with our best friend too.

Robbie had inched over stealthily, letting his curiosity and lust get the better of him. Now he was only a few yards away from us. Trina was bored, playing games on her PearPhone and Tori was sitting on the floor, her head in her hands and scrunching up her face in an awkwardly cute smile.

Dr. André appeared with a foot-long, three-inch thick wand in his hand.

"What is that?"

"A metal detector wand," he replied.

"Um…"

"It's safe. I'm getting the feeling that she's got a chip inside of her, and they're almost always made out of a type of metal. I'll run this thing over her and if it gets set off, then I'm right, and we can go for a more serious approach. Geez, Beck, did you really think I was going to have an x-ray machine in here or something?" André explained rationally.

"You're supposed to be a doctor!"

"Moving on!" André shouted, throwing his hands up. "Cat, can you lie on your back, please? I need to strap you—"

She was off the table and out of his reach before he had even finished his sentence. Robbie spun on his heel, slipping before his arms could catch her waist. I snagged her legs, bringing us to the floor and placing a hand over her stomach and shoulders.

Cat fought violently, banging her head against my chest. I could've sworn the breath was knocked out of me with an odd, dull clang, and when her forehead popped under my chin, I almost blacked out.

It was like her skull was reinforced with metal. Or was it…?

Beck and Robbie rushed forward to hold her tightly and place her back on the table. There was a bruise fading underneath my fingers as I prodded my jaw. "Make sure you scan her head too," I mumbled as Cat was comforted by my friends into a calmer state.

"Cat, I'm just going to wave this wand over your body and see if you've got any of the metal chips I think you have," André clarified. "It's not going to hurt at all, okay?" Cat nodded slowly, pulling Beck towards her and holding his hand. A stab of jealousy rushed through me; what did I have to be jealous about? She was my friend too and would never try and take something that wasn't hers.

Robbie was growing agitated watching them prepare, and suddenly he dimensioned, going God knows where. Trina rubbed her eyes and said she wanted some fresh air, and Tori went after her.

Finally Beck managed to lie Cat down on her back, and she was trembling as André brought the staff over her face. He pushed the button as she shut her eyes, and a shrill beeping, indicating that metal had indeed been found, cut into the air.

Swallowing hard, he continued sweeping towards her legs, the gadget going quiet once more. "Can you flip over, please?" Cat rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in her arms.

As soon as the wand was over Cat's neck, it started beeping wildly. I could see André tensing up as he brought it lower and lower down her back, the noise continuous and never-ending as it traveled the full length of her spine.

"How…?" Beck asked, astonished and appalled.

When it reached her waist, the wand shut off again. André dropped the object to his side, unable to comprehend the horror which we had witnessed. Cat had metal implants in her skull, neck, back…

"What exactly happened to you?"


See you all around next time, yes? ;D