Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Two
...
Craig ran for the destroyed building on realising what Honey meant, shifting as he did so and using Earthstone's rock form to move through the rubble as carefully as possible.
"Warren? Layla?" Ry called, even as he joined the others to dig.
Ethan melted down and spilled into the rubble, reforming in a few seconds when the intense heat became too much for his powered form to take, and returning to the relative safety of the grass. "Where's the basement? Did they fall down into that?"
"Robin! Clear this, quick," the seer called out, struggling in Connor's arms to get down.
As soon as he was on his feet, the seer ran over the rubble nimbly, apparently ignorant of the pain and intense heat. He stopped at a certain spot, looking around for markers from his vision, then nodded firmly. "Here. Be careful."
Robin licked their lips nervously, their mouth dry and palms sweaty, and nodded. "All right, move back," they said.
The seer nodded, almost bouncing around to get back to Connor, scrambling up his body until he was seated firmly on his shoulders so he could be higher and see clearer. "Ready! Quick!"
Robin was careful of the rubble and damage as they started to lift the ground beneath them. Justina muttered something about ants in the background, but Robin ignored her, and continued to lift the earth slowly so she wouldn't accidentally crush Warren and Layla. If they weren't crushed already, that is.
"Almost there. Good, good," the seer called, watching as the section of land began to rise up past the rubble, black mounds of dirt and burnt objects on it.
"Wait, stop there!" Honey said suddenly, looking at Craig. "Lift them out?"
"Where are they?" Craig asked with a frown.
"That black... bubble thing," Honey said. "Careful, it's brittle."
Nodding, Craig stepped onto the site carefully, reaching over to pick up the black bubble thing with a giant rocky hand. It was feather-light in his hand, was somehow both sticky and brittle, and he had no idea how both Warren and Layla could fit in something that small.
As he set it down on the grass, everyone crowded around to watch. Craig shifted back to his normal body, but that still didn't make the bubble that much bigger. The bubble burst into bloom, flowers falling to the ground to reveal Warren and Layla curled up together tightly, both naked. Layla opened her eyes and Warren groaned softly in pain.
"Holy shit, you're alive. Oh, thank fuck. I thought... Never mind what I thought. You're alive!" Craig said, hugging whoever was closest to him since he couldn't hug Layla and Warren. It turned out to be Pat, who just grinned and hugged him back.
Layla smiled, her everything aching and bruised. "I told you: I always have my plants."
"That's great to hear, I'm extremely glad you're both alive. Can you debrief us and tell us what actually happened in there?" Connor asked, shaking his head.
"Can we get clothes first?" Warren asked.
"We'll have to leave the explanations until we're home. Matron lived longer than anyone wanted and it was long enough to cause trouble. Nigel, get those kids out of here!" Honey called.
The doors swung shut - Pat knew Nigel could close his own damn doors! - and the car flew up into the air, disappearing in a second.
"Can anyone else hear that noise?" Justina asked, frowning as she looked around. "It sounds like a - "
"Helicopter and it's military grade. Honey, we have to go," Connor said, trying to stress the importance of them not being there when that thing came into view. It would have guns the likes of which not even superpowers could stop.
"I know."
"I can't carry this many people at once," Ethan said, looking to the group - now including Pat, the frog squad, and the seer.
"I thought you said you had no limitations at full power?" Ry asked, even as Craig made clothes for Layla and Warren.
"There are still physical limitations. If I carry more than a certain number of people, my limbs swell and my blood doesn't flow properly. It could kill me and I don't know what would happen to everyone if they died inside me."
"Are you still carrying random stuff around? Doesn't that stop blood from flowing, too?" Grant asked curiously.
"They're smaller objects. Fully grown humans take up more space."
"What are you carrying at the moment?" Pat asked. "There could be something that helps."
"Ingredients for C4, blender, muesli bars and puddings, Mad Science textbook."
"All the important things," Connor said dryly.
"Why are you still carrying the blender?" Warren asked.
"I didn't know if we'd get caught out here or not, so I wanted to be prepared."
"For what, a pop quiz?" Craig asked.
"Um, everyone? The bad guys' helicopter is coming. We need to not be here. Honey, seer kid, a little help?" Ry asked.
Honey and the seer looked at each other, sorting through hundreds of visions in a matter of seconds.
"The blender," they chorused.
"What?"
Ethan reformed the blender, not exactly knowing why, then looked to the two.
"Melt everyone into the blender, then melt the blender down."
"Oh. Of course! They'll take less space that way," Ethan said, nodding. "Ready?"
Ethan melted everyone one by one into the blender, glad it was the larger style, and then added the blender to his arm. Relieved when nothing bloated or stopped pumping blood, Ethan stepped close to Craig.
"Welcome to C&E airways. This is your captain speaking. Stay in your assigned seats while we're in midair and do not unfasten your - oh, shit," Craig said, teleporting himself and Ethan back to the US just as a helicopter came over the hill and into view.
...
"Nigel is in the parking garage under the building. He needs your help."
Ida was startled by Ellie's sudden presence but hurried to follow after her.
Had the children arrived back? Were they all injured? Who the hell was Nigel?
Ellie was talking to a Bluetooth device in her ear, reassuring Nigel and ensuring he didn't drive into the building itself. Or the elevator, apparently.
"We're coming down in the elevator right now. Meet us there, okay?"
Ellie helps the elevator door open as Ida jogged the last metre to get inside.
"What's going on, Ellie? Who's Nigel?"
"Pat's car. Nigel has all of the kids they rescued. Craig should be teleporting back shortly. We need to get a GPS for that kid," Ellie mused as the elevator descended to the parking garage.
"You... named your car Nigel?"
Ellie frowned. "No, of course not. Nigel chose his own name. He's a self-driving car with AI and, as Pat likes to say, sarcasm instead of a sunroof."
Ida blinked, still trying to work out a car naming itself, even as the elevator doors opened. A shiny sleek limousine was waiting there, all of the doors open, but all Ida could see was the bald heads of children and blood staining the mattress they were lying on. Her eyes widened and she rushed forward, trying to mentally take stock of what was required and what had happened.
"Hello there, sweethearts. Can you tell me what happened to you?" Ida asked, glancing into the car and seeing tens of children.
She knew that they all had to be different ages since there were varying heights, but without knowing more about them, it was easier to refer to them all as children for now. They were lying down peacefully and she truly hoped they were all still alive. Was that child breathing?
"They have been tortured. Their collars had wires embedded in their brains to control them from an unknown source. I tried to track the location but lost the signal over the Pacific Ocean. Terrence disconnected the wires. Adam removed and destroyed the collars, but they will require skin grafts and counselling and possibly tetanus shots. Not in that order."
"Nigel, I presume?"
"Yes, Dr. Spattle."
"What do you need, Ida? I'll get it, no matter what."
"I need stretchers and someone who can lift these kids without injuring their necks further. I need to examine them in the hospital room individually," Ida determined.
Ellie nodded. "Security One, Security Two, parking garage. Now."
"We'd be there already if you hadn't run off," Security One replied.
"Not the time, Sport."
The elevator doors closed and Ida smiled at the children, all watching her with wide eyes. The girl closest to the door had milky white eyes and Ida knew she was blind, but also couldn't help but feel like she was watching, too.
"Okay, everyone. I'm a doctor. You can call me Ida. I'm going to be looking at your necks and checking your blood and bodies to make sure you haven't been hurt or damaged some way internally that I can't see with my own two eyes. Are you all okay with this?"
There was a soft murmur of agreement from the children, as though they were expecting this, but Ida determined to ask each one individually. They could agree in a group but be terrified on their own. The last thing she wanted to do was traumatise them further.
The elevator doors opened and the two large security guards walked out, One ducking his head to do so. They both stopped short on seeing the limousine filled with children.
"Sport, George, follow Dr. Spattle's orders as though they were my own."
"Of course, Ellie," Sport, Security One, said.
"What do you need, Dr. Spattle?" George, Security Two, asked.
"I need these children to be carried to the hospital room without moving or damaging their necks further."
George nodded and took a small square off his utility belt, pressing the button. The case flipped open, a spring noise sounding, and a fabric stretcher was in his hands a second later. "C'mon, Sport," he said, prompting One to move.
Setting the stretcher down, George and Sport worked to gently lift the first child out of the car and onto the stretcher.
"I'll open the boot so you can get the rest at the correct angle."
"Thanks, Nigel."
Sport and George lifted the stretcher and walked to the elevator carefully. Ida wanted to follow them but also didn't want to leave this many children behind.
Ellie put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "I'll stay. You go with them and look after the kids."
Grateful, Ida nodded and hurried into the elevator after the two security guards.
A small crowd met them at the exit, curious about what had Ida and Ellie running around. Ida ignored them all, keeping her attention on the blind girl. She frowned when she flinched at the sound and people around them.
"We need this floor cleared. We can't have a parade waiting for every child," Ida said firmly.
"We'll clear the floor on the way back," Sport promised, focusing on carrying the stretcher with George for now.
"Everyone, move!" the girl cried out, a blast of light making the crowd around them stagger back, spots in their eyes. "Sorry! I'm sorry."
"No, you're all right, sweetheart. We'll make sure they stay away. They won't be permanently blinded, will they, Indigo?" Ida asked, knowing exactly who the girl was with a power like that.
"No, it was the lowest setting; like a camera flash. Or so I've been told," Indigo added.
"All right. Thank you. We're almost there and we'll start seeing what they've done to you, okay? I'll fix everything I can," Ida promised.
"I know. Number 081 told us. Some of the kids are still scared though. The scientists claimed they were doctors. They'll lose their shit if you wear a white coat."
"Who is Number 081?" Ida asked, making a mental note to dye her coat as soon as possible.
"Seer. Well, he is now. He could only see in dreams first, and then in reflections and water, but the scientists made him see all the time. Just like Hourglass."
Sport and George had barely seemed to notice the conversation but as they came to the hospital room and Ida opened the door, Sport looked down at Indigo. "What do you mean the scientists made him see all the time?"
She smiled, as though she could feel his gaze, but that wasn't as disconcerting as her response. "They're scientists and we're their experiments, Mr. Sport. Or are you Mr. George?"
"Sport."
"Oh, good. You should let the others know when you get them. They'll relax more if they know your names," Indigo said.
"You didn't know any of the scientists' names?" George asked, sounding disappointed, and like Sport, was probably contemplating finding these so-called scientists and ripping their spines out through their throats.
"Numbers only. They're dead now, anyway. Matron and the wardens, too, if Number 081 is correct. He usually is."
"All right, set Indigo down and get the rest. Quickly and without others interrupting, if you can," Ida said, already moving through the room to organise the equipment and items she would need.
"Yes, Dr. Spattle."
George and Sport grabbed the stretcher and headed back through the building to the parking garage. The vine waterfall had been moved from the wall to hang from the ceiling and block anyone from getting in their way. Sport just hoped the building's security had had enough sense to lock the front doors as well. Deciding to focus on his mission for now, Sport figured he'd check in with the security detail once all of the children were with Ida in the hospital.
...
"I don't want to see a blender ever again; that was horrible! You could've taken the blades out first!"
Ethan had collapsed onto one of the armchairs and barely seemed to register Najair's words.
Zach, however, rolled his eyes at the pink-haired frog. "That's the part that kept the blender together, Naj. If the blades weren't in there, then we'd probably still be in Ethan and bloated out," he said.
Najair held up a finger and opened and closed his mouth. "That's not the point. They were sharp and I'm too tiny to be dodging hundreds of sharp blades."
"It was three blades, Naj, and you were on top of me. Shut up and help us find Pat's Mam," Maleah said, grabbing his hand and tugging Najair over to where Pat was trying to get through the large vine wall.
Behind them, the elevator doors opened, Sport and George bringing the last two children through. They'd been cowering at the back of the car together, one curled around the other protectively. Nothing Ellie, Sport, nor George could say could get them on a stretcher individually. As a result, they were both being carried on the same stretcher, one glowering and looking as tough as someone malnourished could look, while the other looked out at the world with wide eyes.
"George, where's Mam?" Pat asked.
"In the garage with Nigel. This is the last of the kids," George said.
"One more," Connor said, the seer clinging to his hip. He looked from the seer to George and Sport, then did a double-take. "Sport?"
"What the hell are you doing here, Gramps?"
"I could say the same about you, Sport."
"We've gotta keep going, Gramps. Come on if you can keep up," Sport said, grinning as he continued with George and the stretcher down to Ida's hospital room.
"Uh, what's going on? Do you have a sibling who's had a really tall son?" Craig asked Ry, wrapping around his shoulders while Jewel and Grant fussed over Beau and a cut he'd received from broken glass.
"No. Gramps was Papa's call sign in the Special Forces," Ry said.
Craig snorted. "Why?"
"He's the oldest out of their platoon. One guy called him Gramps, so he called them all versions of 'kid,' y'know, sport, champ, killer, that kinda thing. It was more original than the hundredth Scout, Daredevil, Maverick, or Alpha, so they kept them."
"Aww, I want to be called Daredevil," Craig said with a pout.
"Can you make an antiseptic for Beau's cut, babe? He says he's fine, but if he gets gangrene and needs to lose a hand, you know who to blame," Jewel said, kissing Craig's cheek.
"I'm going to help Ma. Robin, you coming?" Adam asked.
"Yeah. Do you think Dr. Spattle will let me administer any injections?"
"Is that something to be excited about?"
"Yes, duh. I've been practising with oranges."
Adam was silent for a moment. "I'm not eating any fruit you hand out."
Robin snorted. "Yeah, whatever. C'mon, before the elevator closes."
"You 'kay, Terrence?" Justina asked, seeing him staring at his hands, and wincing at the blood that covered them. "I'll get you some antibacterial wipes, 'kay?"
Terrence nodded, wanting to bury his head in his hands but far too aware of the blood, and the smell was already swarming in his senses, and he felt queasy. "Hurry."
"You did good, Terrence."
Looking up to see Honey there, he smiled wanly. "Thanks. Is it over yet?"
Honey glanced between the elevator leading to the garage to the one leading to the hospital. "Not by a long shot."
"Shit."
"You going to reform Lay and Warren yet, Eth?" Zach asked, frowning.
Ethan looked around, frowning when he realised he had left them in the blender. Reforming the blender took more effort than it should have, and he inhaled and exhaled before tipping Layla and Warren out of the blender carefully.
Honey's eyes widened as she realised what was about to happen, turning a second late as Ethan reformed them.
Layla and Warren were standing for a heartbeat before they both collapsed. The elevator doors closed behind the stretcher, Connor's eyes wide as he saw what had happened, the seer still clinging to his leg to stop him from trying to open the doors.
"Oh, shit. They were more bruise than skin," George hissed.
"Catch me up, Gramps?" Sport asked.
"It's a long story. I've got to get back up there. Ry can't lift them on his own, and - "
"They'll be downstairs before us," the seer said.
"Aw, I should've stayed out there. I could've helped," Robin muttered.
"Shoulda coulda woulda. You can help the two kids here," Adam pointed out.
Robin smiled at the two children on the stretcher. "Hey, there. I'm Robin."
The fierce child glared and growled, a sound low in their throat.
"Okay, no touchy. I get it," Robin said, holding up their hands in a gesture of peace.
The child had a split second of confusion on their face, then moved so they were blocking the child behind them protectively.
"Maybe they heard your comment about stabbing oranges with needles," Adam snickered.
"Oh, shut up."
The elevator doors opened and George and Sport carried the stretcher to the hospital room, past a pile of rubble and a hole in the ceiling that hadn't been there before.
Ida was arguing with the group of teenagers, looking ready to ban all of them from her room.
"Ma, what's going on?" Adam asked, ducking under Earthstone's large arm - Craig was holding Layla and Warren as gently as he could, and that explained the giant hole in the floor - to stand between his friends and mother.
"They're trying to demand I see Layla and Warren first. I can't put them ahead of these children. Their internal damage is... not good," Ida said, glancing at an x-ray nearby.
From what Adam could see at first glance, a child's ribs had been broken in several places. He turned and glared at his friends. "Shut up for a minute!"
They fell silent, Craig looking ready to argue the moment a minute was over.
Around them, the room was silent, and Adam looked from his friends to the children on the beds. They were splayed on their beds, as though waiting to be chained up, and were utterly silent. He'd broken his arm once and the pain had made him scream and cry for hours. These kids had a range of injuries, including broken damn ribs, and weren't making a sound.
"Where's Eth?"
"Upstairs with Zach. Teleporting screwed with him. I can do it," Craig offered. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, handing Layla and Warren to Ry and Connor carefully before changing to Ethan's form.
"Melt Lay and Warren. They weren't in pain while melted, right? So they'll be better staying that way while Ma works on the kids. They're who we went to save, they have a shitton of injuries we can't see, so they take priority for now."
"Good idea. Thanks, Ace," Honey said.
"I've got labelled jars they can be kept in; no one wants them in a jug of water," Ida added, Honey shuddering.
Craig melted Layla into a jar, then melted Warren into his own jar, scrawling their names on the labels and setting them in a prominent spot before looking around at the children they had saved. "How can we help, Dr. S?"
Ida looked at them - some bruised and all exhausted, but all determined - and nodded. "Introduce yourself to a child, make sure they acknowledge you. Most of them have numbers rather than names. Add their name or number to the label in front of their bed. If there's any medical issues they know of, write them on the chart. Include their power and what was done to them by these... scientists. You're sure they're dead?" Ida asked fiercely.
"Connor killed them and the building crushed their bodies. They're dead."
"Did you check their pulse? You'd be amazed what people can survive."
Honey faltered and frowned. "Shit. I'll check."
Ida nodded and returned her attention to her patients.
...
When Ethan finally came back to himself and was aware of his surroundings once more, he found himself staring at a wall of vines. He blinked at the sight and looked around, a giant hole in the ground and only Zach with him.
"Hey, welcome back. You okay?" Zach asked, kissing his cheek.
Ethan considered the question for a long moment and eventually nodded. "Teleporting is not a pleasant sensation. I would prefer not to do it again, but I understand the necessity. I just needed time to remember what being in a human shape felt like, rather than spaghetti."
"Being in the blender inside of you didn't make the sensation spaghetti-bad. I felt more like fettuccine: flat and stretched," Zach mused.
"I'm glad I could help in some way. Now, will you tell me what was going on at the orphanage? Why were you so quiet and withdrawn?"
Zach sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Dad threatened to dump me and Heidi at one of those super orphanages any time we misbehaved or were too noisy or he was in a shitty mood. I just kept thinking that I could've been one of those kids and I couldn't get out of my own head. I'm sorry."
Ethan took Zach's hands and squeezed, moving to hug him firmly. "You don't have to apologise for that, Zach. Want to go somewhere and talk about it more?"
Zach shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe later. I want to go check on those kids. The others haven't come back yet. I thought they'd be back faster, since there's a giant hole in the floor," he mused.
"Craig?" Ethan asked.
Zach nodded. "Craig. Curt heard the noise and has already got plans to repair it, but in a design way."
"Repairs, but make it fashion?" Ethan asked, a grin twitching at his lips.
It took a moment for his words to sink in, then Zach laughed heartily, curling an arm around Ethan to hug him. "Super Jesus, I love you."
"Love you, too," Ethan said, hugging Zach in return, and mentally planning how he could kill Mr. Brighton.
...
"All right, they're all dead. Scientist One was decapitated by a fire-proof filing cabinet that wasn't actually as fire-proof as it was advertised."
"Honey, is this really necessary?" Ida asked. She wasn't squeamish about gore since her job cured that fast enough, but Ida was concerned about the children around her.
"Yes, it is. Go on," one of the children said eagerly, others nodding in determination and anticipation.
Honey grinned. "Scientist Two bled out from a leg wound. They could have survived, but Matron's ugly clock crushed their spine. It was technically a blob of molten lead after Warren's blow out, so the end picture wasn't pretty."
"Scientist Two wasn't pretty to start off with," one child called, others snickering.
"Scientist Three's neck was broken, thank you, Connor," Honey said, Connor nodding sharply and ignoring Sport's curious expression.
"Scientist Four asphyxiated on smoke while trying to crawl out, but three broken fingers and a concussion stopped him.
"Scientist Five died from a stab wound via scalpel, and Scientist Six's skull was crushed. He didn't have a concussion like Four, but no one will miss him. Thanks to Connor again for those two."
"All right, you can stop now, Honey," Connor said, his voice rough.
She smiled and patted his arm. "You'll live, sweetie. Also, Vic's just arrived with Aunt Cinth; they're late, but ask why later."
Connor nodded but didn't leave. Ry had already cleaned and put a bandaid over the cut on his eyebrow, and nudged his father so he'd go. "I'm fine, Papa. I'll get Ida to look at it later. It's not a bad cut, I promise," Ry said. "Go see Victor and Hyacinth; they were probably late for a reason, right?"
Connor didn't know how he was going to look Victor in the eye after what he'd done, and didn't want to know what Victor would say or how he'd look at him when he found out. "I'm fine."
"Lie."
Several of the teenagers looked around and saw a child - Number 205 - glowering at Connor fiercely.
"You shouldn't lie."
Connor blinked at the certain tone and sighed. "Fine. I'm not fine. I don't like being called out on it, either."
Ry rolled his eyes. "No one believed you anyway, Papa. I promise I'm fine," he said, waiting for a beat for the young child to nod in agreement, "so you should go see Victor. I've got my phone, Ace'll make sure I hear your call no matter what, okay?"
"Done," Adam confirmed with a nod.
Connor knew when he was beaten, but that didn't lessen the sting of being beaten by what looked like a six-year-old and two teenagers. "Kuso."
By his side, the seer giggled. "The organisation was using us as experiments, but we were also being trained to be used by them as agents."
"Meaning?" Connor asked.
"We speak several languages, and Japanese is one of them."
"Oh, for fuck's sakes," Connor muttered.
"English is another."
Connor buried his head in his hands, Sport laughing at his misfortune, while Ry gave the seer a high five.
"Oh, good, you are down here. Did you know there's a giant hole in the foyer?" Victor asked, looking into the room and stopping short at the large number of children in white clothes. Well, one was in pink, but he doubted they had started the day wearing that. "Uh, what's going on?"
Connor took his hands off his face and breathed purposely for a few seconds, then turned and headed out of the room to guide Victor back to the elevators. "I'll explain when we're upstairs and comfortable, darling."
"Darling?" Sport mouthed to Ry, grinning.
"Does that explanation include a reason for why you're covered in blood?" Victor asked.
"Don't go to one of the white rooms!" Honey called after them. "Ah, shit. I'll be back soon, kids. Don't power up while I'm gone."
Several of the children looked disappointed at her instruction, but they settled back on their beds, and Ida returned to her job of checking their injuries.
Sport and George set the last two children on a bed, doubting that they'd go on individual beds. The children curled up together, one whispering in a low voice to the other.
"Oh, shit. Ellie's still in the parking garage," George muttered.
Sport winced. "Ellie, are you all right?"
"Of course I am; don't you think I would've called for you if I wasn't?" Ellie muttered, her eye roll obvious even by radio.
"You know that's not how this security thing works, Ellie," Sport said.
"We'll be right there, Ellie," George said, folding up the stretcher and clipping it back onto his utility belt.
George and Sport both hurried to return to their jobs, Sport making a mental note of the floor the elevator had stopped at so he could talk to Connor later.
...
End of the hundred and fifty second chapter
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it!