Kihonne: Alright, I'm back with another chapter. But first, it's shoutout time!

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Dirtkid123: Well, he does have a job to do. He does have a boss to report to. And Graham's not Vivyanna's biggest fan. But you're right – getting with Sebastian wasn't a very good idea.

Labgirl2001: Considering the circumstances – a vision showing Vivyanna murder someone, her boyfriend being caught stealing military level explosives, then a restaurant that she frequents explodes – it wouldn't be all that farfetched for an initial reaction. At first, all they see is the destruction and Vivyanna in the middle of it. They wouldn't be looking for answers right off the bat, they'd be looking for a way to stop the destruction. And that would mean detaining the prime suspect. Getting down to the truth, and even recognizing that some things aren't adding up, would come later, after things have calmed down a little. I'm sorry you were disappointed with the chapter; I hope you like this one a bit more.

Cap. Kayla: I'm glad you liked the chapter. And I don't know how many chapters there'll be. Probably somewhere between 15 and 20 chapters.

Sodaluv8: I'm glad you liked it. As for Kate, she will have powers, but I'm just calling her a Special because there's no logical reason why her abilities would be bionic because of the lack of bionic army.

Candycanelila: It was necessary to him, I suppose. I wonder how Vivyanna will feel when she finds out.

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Kihonne: Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chase: Kihonne doesn't own lab rats. She only owns her OCs, this story, and anything else that you don't recognize.

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Chase's POV

WELKERVILLE, CALIFORNIA

I watched as Vivyanna paced around her prison cell, occasionally glaring at the one way mirror. She had no way of knowing I was here, but it was clear that she sensed another person's presence. She completely ignored the cot in the corner and the sink on the Eastern wall,

It had been about six hours since the explosion, and she was still furious with being captured. Not that I could blame her; being manhandled into a power-proof cell by armed agents wasn't my idea of a picnic either. Still, I figured that, after the long car ride to the government base in Welkerville and being in the cell for a few hours, she'd have calmed down a bit.

I watched her for a bit, analyzing her moves and her expression, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Once, it would have been easy, but now, not so much. Her shoulders were tense, her feet constantly moving. She was still in fight or flight mode, but with nowhere to go and no one to fight, it was doing her no good. She was clearly agitated, but the effects of the smoke inhalation had long since disappeared. Her arms were crossed, most likely to make her feel like she had some control of the situation, but her fingers were tapping her arms rapidly, showing her impatience.

I sighed, then grabbed a folder off the desk. I entered the room slowly, locking the door behind me. knowing how this would go at first, then entered the room. As expected, she froze the moment the door opened, eyes narrowing at me as I entered.

"Chase." She greeted me coldly, eyes ablaze with fury. I didn't answer her right away, instead sitting down on the cot, my elbows on my knees as I rested my head on my hands. I looked at her for a moment more before speaking.

"Talk to me." I said clearly, keeping all emotion out of it. She let out a frustrated sigh, clenching her fists.

"I didn't kill those people." She growled at me.

"I know." I agreed. She continued anyway.

"I'm serious, Chase. How could you ever think that I'd…wait, what?" She stared at me, suddenly processing what I said. I had to force myself not to smirk at the confused look on her face.

"I know you didn't kill those people." I repeated. She frowned.

"But earlier…you said…" She shook her head, confused.

"I know what I said. I should have analyzed the situation before jumping to conclusions." I admitted. "I didn't realize until after the car had left that there was no way you'd do something like that. But you're no murderer. I know that."

"Exactly." She growled, trying to appear as if she was still furious. But it was obvious that the anger was fading into annoyance and frustration.

"I'm sorry." I apologized sincerely. She nodded, then sat down on the cot, keeping about a foot of space between us.

"Wait. If you know I'm innocent, why am I still here?" She questioned. I sighed.

"There's a few reasons. For instance, I may believe you, but Special Agent Graham doesn't." I admitted. She let out an angry breath.

"Well, Graham can go die in a ditch for all I care." She muttered. I nearly smirked, having missed that kind of attitude in the group.

"Yeah, well, he's the one pulling the strings." I reminded her.

"Well, tell him to let me out. You're mission leader, after all." She frowned, then looked at me. "You are still mission leader, right?"

"Yes, but he won't listen to me." I replied. I looked at her imploringly. "Help me out here, Vivyanna. Give me something I can use in your defense."

"Like what?" She questioned.

"Tell me what happened. Why you were there, what happened just before the explosion, after it. Anything that could be helpful."

Vivyanna thought about it for a long while. I knew she was going through her mind, trying to pick out details that would be helpful.

"I got a call at work, asking me to head there." She said, frowning as if something didn't make sense.

"Who called you?" I asked. She looked at me.

"Roxy." She admitted. I frowned.

"Roxy was with me all morning." I told her. "We were working on a job."

"It was her." Vivyanna insisted. "I'd know her voice anywhere."

"What did she say?" I asked, still confused. I was too, not sure who would have called. Perhaps someone with vocal manipulation? Bree had that ability once. Others could too.

"That we needed to talk, like ASAP. Something about Alex…" She looked at me. "He is alright, isn't he?"

"Of course." I assured her. "I don't know about that phone call, but I'll look into it. What happened next?"

"I went to the restaurant to meet her, but she didn't show. I was just about to leave when things went sideways." She replied simply.

"Tell me about the explosion." I instructed.

"It was a fair sized explosion." She replied thoughtfully. Explosions had always been her specialty. "I wouldn't say a big one, since it only took out the interior of the building and there were only…two casualties?"

"Five if you include the ones who died of their injuries." I corrected.

"Five casualties then. It came from the kitchen, so it couldn't have been one of the customers. Too big to be an accident. Likely a bomb of some sort." She told me. I bit my lip.

"No bomb casings have been found." I informed her. Her face fell.

"Um…then…damn it. It's probably a Special. But I had nothing to do with it." She looked at me. I nodded.

"I believe you." I assured her. "But, if not you, then who?"

"I don't know. I've never met another pyrokinetic Special before." She admitted. I frowned.

"Not even your boyfriend?" I inquired. She looked at me sharply.

"How did you know about…have you been watching me?" She demanded, sliding as far away from me as she could.

"No, Roxy saw you and him in the restaurant when she grabbed dinner with Leo the other night." I replied. "Believe me, we had no idea you were in Mission Creek to begin with."

"Then why were you there?" She questioned suspiciously. I sighed.

"We were on a mission." I told her. She frowned.

"Tracking down Specials?" She assumed, eyes narrowed. "Who?"

I sighed and pulled a picture out of the folder. It was a copy of the one taken at the military base, the one of the boy. I handed it to her. "Look familiar?"

She stared at it, forehead creased in confusion. "So you have a picture of Sebastian. What of it?"

"This photo was taken a few nights ago at a military base." I told her, frowning when she looked surprised. Was she faking it, or did she really not know what her new boy toy was up to? "Weapons were stolen by him and another girl."

"You're mistaken." She retorted after a moment, shoving the photo back in my hands. She got to her feet, walking to the other end of the room. She was clearly annoyed with me.

"I'm not." I replied. She spun around, glaring at me.

"Then you're lying. Or being lied." She snapped. "Sebastian wouldn't do that."

"Video evidence doesn't lie." I told her. She glared at me. "And I get that you're into him-"

"I love him." She corrected me. I stared at her. "Sebastian has been one of the only things I've ever really been able to count on, and I love him."

"Fine. You love him." I forced the words out. "But he's been caught stealing military-grade explosives with at least one other Special. And don't you dare tell me that he's not a Special, because we both know what he is."

"Who he is." Wow, she really liked correcting me today. "Not what."

"Does it matter?" I questioned.

"You're implying that because he's a Special, he's a thing, not a person." She replied stiffly. I sighed.

"We both know who he is." I gave in. "Happy?"

She smirked at me, furious. "Yep."

"We have proof that he's involved with this, if not leading it." I added. She rolled her eyes at me. "I just want to know what you know about it."

"What I know about it?" She questioned. "You're kidding, right? There's nothing to know about. Just a few false accusations from my jealous ex."

"Is that what you think this is?" I questioned. "God, you're so emotional at times."

"Well, that's not your problem anymore, is it?" She sneered. I sighed.

"There have rumors about a Special Rebellion, correct?" I asked, trying a different approach. She didn't answer, so I took her silence as a yes. "There have been multiple attacks on military bases in the past year, all of them in California. Most of them were within a one hour radius of Mission Creek. All the attacks were by Specials, either the same ones or those with similar abilities. A picture of your current boyfriend was taken at the scene of the last break in."

"So you say." She replied. "That photo could have been taken anywhere."

"It was taken at the base." I answered. She didn't answer. "Vivyanna, I don't think that you have anything to do with this. At least, I don't want to think that. But if you know anything, you need to tell me now so I can try and talk Graham out of-"

"Out of what?" She questioned. "Killing me?"

"Imprisoning you." I finished. She shook her head.

"I don't know anything. And neither does Sebastian." She added.

"Look, it's not your fault that you fell in with the wrong crowd." I began. "You made a bad choice in friends; I've done it."

"I've made a bad choice?" She laughed darkly. "Says the guy working for Graham."

"He's my boss, not my friend." I corrected automatically.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, pacing again.

"Sebastian-" I tried again, but she cut me off.

"You don't know anything about Sebastian." She snarled. I nodded.

"I know enough. He showed up in town around the same time the attacks and break-ins started, his name appears frequently on anti-Hunter forums-"

"I wonder why." She muttered. I frowned.

"Excuse me?" I asked. She sighed.

"Do you remember Mike Smith?" She questioned. I frowned, trying to remember why that name sounded familiar. She sighed. "The Special who could steal powers?"

"The one from four years ago?" I questioned, remembering that he was the last Special we were sent after. "What about him?"

"Sebastian's his son." She told me. That caught me off guard.

"You're dating the son of the guy you killed?" I questioned. She looked at me.

"It was an accident!" She snapped.

"Does Sebastian see it that way?" I questioned. She shut her mouth, biting her lip. "He doesn't know it was you, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. He knows it was Hunters though, and he's right. If it hadn't been for Hunters, none of that would have ever happened." She replied.

"You used to be one of us." I reminded her. She nodded.

"My greatest regret." She agreed. "Chase, working for Graham was the biggest mistake any of us could have ever made."

"Bitter, much?" I questioned. "We're doing a lot of good."

"And a lot of bad." She added. I frowned.

"And how do you propose that?" I questioned.

"The number of Specials killed, especially the innocent ones, for one." She replied.

"A, no Special is innocent." I reminded her. "And B, there haven't been many deaths. Maybe three in the past five years. Four at the most."

Vivyanna looked at me, eyes scanning my face. They were searching for something, but I wasn't sure what. Her eyebrows knitted together after a moment.

"You still don't know, do you?" She asked, her tone shocked.

"Don't know what?" I questioned suspiciously.

"You know all those Specials that are taken in to have their powers removed?" She asked, sitting down on the cot again. I nodded hesitantly. "Only about five percent of them are ever seen again. The rest just…disappear."

"I think you're exaggerating." I replied, rolling my eyes. She shook her head.

"When you're working for him, you don't notice so much. But when you're on the run, when you're hiding from people like Graham, you hear the stuff he's trying to hide." She told me.

"Which is?" I questioned. She shook her head.

"I don't know. There are too many theories to be sure. But what I do know is that Specials that are taken in by the Hunters tend to disappear."

"They go to jail." I insisted. She shook her head sadly.

"No, they don't." She insisted. I was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Rhyder's head popped in.

"Graham wants to speak with you." He told me. Vivyanna gave him a wary smile.

"Hey Rhyder." She greeted. His eyes flickered to her, then back to me.

"Well?" He questioned. I nodded.

"Give me a minute." I told him. He nodded and left. Vivyanna frowned.

"I take it that he thinks I had something to do with the explosion." She ventured. I shook my head, putting the photo back in the folder.

"No, it's not that." I looked at her, unsure of how much I was allowed to divulge. "He had a vision."

"What of?" She asked, worried.

"It's hard to explain." I replied, thinking of the last part of it. The part that involved Vivyanna. She nodded.

"Chase, please look into the disappearances." She implored.

"I will." I assured her. She looked at me.

"I'm serious. Before Graham decides that I need to 'have my powers removed'." She used air quotes, clearly concerned.

"It'll be fine." I assured her, not sure what to think. Four years ago, I had completely denied her accusations. But now…she wouldn't still be holding onto something like that if she didn't believe there was an ounce of truth in them. And if there was any truth to them, I was going to find out.

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Kihonne: Anyway, tell me what you guys think. Good, bad, in the middle? Anyway, the next chapter will be out on the 29th, so I'll see you all then.