When The Worst Comes To The Worst
Blizzard felt the blade slowly cut into his throat. Soon it would be all over. He'd never bother the GGs again.
And he'd never see Alex again…
He put her out of his mind. This was for the best.
Then –
"Hi, there, brother. Watcha doing?"
Blizzard stopped. Blaze was sitting on a rooftop a few feet away from him.
"None of your business."
"Oh, come on, it's everything to do with me. I'm your brother. If you're gonna kill yourself, I want to watch."
"Get lost."
"Why're you killing yourself, anyway? I mean, what's the big deal? You broke up with your girl. No one cares. I don't. She don't. The GGs don't. Mum and Dad don't. No one cares about you. You're a freak, ice boy."
"And you're not?"
"Nope. I am perfect in every respect."
Blizzard snorted. "Even though I've been misled my whole life, I can see you're nowhere near perfect."
"You're just jealous," Blaze said, smirking. "Of my perfection."
"If perfection involves being a stuck-up psycho, then I'm definitely not jealous."
"Take that back, brother." The humour left Blaze's voice. "Or I'll melt you like a Popsicle."
"Many have tried. And failed."
"Well, I think it's time we break that cycle. Goodbye."
Blaze carelessly threw a firebomb at the pillar. It exploded, and Blizzard began to fall.
Beat and Tab raced through the back streets of Shibuya, past smashed shops and shattered skyscrapers, heading for the garage. Every sound seemed to indicate chase, but the streets were empty.
"So you're telling me that the only way we can get back is if the time machine you used to come here is still intact."
"Yup."
"And if it isn't we're stuck here."
"Well, no. I'll have to rebuild it," Tab said. "Don't worry. At least we've got the heart now."
They reached the remains of the garage. Tab stepped inside and opened up the trapdoor that led down to the tunnels.
They were dark and shadowy, lit occasionally by the surviving lights. In places they'd caved in completely.
"This way." Tab turned the corner, then stopped.
"What is it?"
"Uh – Beat – I don't think you should see this."
"What is it?"
Tab turned away.
Beat walked forward. There was a crumpled figure lying on the floor. He swallowed. The girl was badly burnt, but he could recognise her.
"Gum?" he whispered.
He thought she was dead. Then she moaned, and as he dropped down next to her, she opened her eyes.
"Beat…I thought…I thought he killed you…"
"No." He gripped her uninjured hand. "I'm here, it's okay."
"I'm not going to survive…" Gum said, her voice very quiet. "I've been here for ages…"
"You are gonna survive, you are, you have to," Beat said, wishing his words would help her. "You'll be okay, you know you will."
"No…it's all right, Beat. I just wanted to see you…I couldn't bear it when I thought you were dead…Listen, I've been horrible to you sometimes and I'm sorry, I just want to say…I love you…I really do…"
Beat stared down at her, at the one surviving eye, at the scarred, raw skin. He could feel tears stinging his one good eye.
"I love you too," he replied, hearing his voice go husky. "I always have."
Gum's mouth formed a painful, restricted smile. Her hand tightened on his. "Just hold onto me until…until I go."
"Please don't."
Gum sighed. Her chest rose as she inhaled, fell as she exhaled – and then didn't rise again.
Beat stared down at her. Her eye was blank.
"Gum?" he whispered.
"Come on," Tab said from behind him.
"She's dead…" Beat looked at the hand he was still holding.
"I know she is. There's nothing we can do now, okay? Let's just get out of here."
"She was your friend!" Beat shouted. "You knew her since kindergarten, for pete's sake! What's wrong with you?"
Tab stormed over and grabbed the front of Beat's shirt. "Listen," he said through gritted teeth, "I saw all of you die. Every single GG. I saw Cube and Slate get ripped apart. I saw Shackler blow himself up trying to kill Kell. I found Piranha hanging from the ceiling of her room after Garam snuffed it. You think I don't care? You think I don't lie there every night back in your present thinking I should've died myself, or saved them somehow? You think I don't feel like shit because I lived and they died? Don't you try tell me I've got something wrong with me because I'm sick of getting hurt."
He let go of Beat and walked into the room where the time machine had been.
"Tab?" Beat followed him. "Tab, I'm sorry."
Silence. Then Tab said, "Oh, god…Beat, you do not want to come in."
"Why? What's in there?" Beat's heart sank.
"Just don't come in."
"I've got to, seeing as how the time machine's in there." He walked through the door – and stopped.
"Shit," he muttered.
Beat saw himself lying there, riddled with bullet holes. Potts lay next to him. Both of them were dead.
For a moment the world rocked and he thought he'd keel over. Then he blinked and turned away. That wasn't him.
"Let's just forget we saw this, okay?" he said.
"You should be privileged," Tab said. He'd gone pale. "You're probably the one person who'll get to see themselves dead." He was studying a rather battered-looking time machine that lay in the corner.
"That got you into our time? It's pathetic!"
"Sorry. It's been through a lot. Onishima probably shot it after I left."
"Will it still work?"
"Should do. If I can fix it. Of course, there is the very, very low risk that we'll end up lost in the circuits of time forever with no way to get back."
"Oh. Great. How low?" Beat tried not to look at the two bodies on the floor. It was bad enough seeing someone exactly identical to him, but seeing them with their chest ripped open took the biscuit.
"Not that high. Probably not enough to get us killed."
"Then let's go."
And with that he and Tab began to try and fix up the time machine.
"Well, well, well, lookee what we got here."
Kell paced around like an army drill sergeant inspecting her troops. Mew shrank back against the wall. She glanced nervously at Gamma, who had been put several feet away from her. Yo-Yo was the same distance away from her the other side.
"Now, Mew…" Kell stepped closer to her. Mew remembered how shattered Gum had looked when she'd returned, and pressed her lips together to stop herself crying.
"I know we haven't seen eye to eye lately." Bionic fingers stroked Mew's hair. "But I really want to help you, you know. I'm thinking of giving you a makeover. Remember, I would have given you one before if lover boy here hadn't interfered…" For a moment her voice was snarling.
"You know, you could look like a prom queen. One of those prom queens who are victims in slasher movies."
Mew couldn't speak. She knew if she did she'd start screaming.
"What's the matter, honey? Aren't you going to say thank you?"
"Leave her alone!" both guys yelled.
"What, you're gonna stop me? Let's start with a little scar to remember me by…one to go with the other."
Gamma and Yo-Yo both rushed at Kell and each grabbed an arm, but she shook them off like they were nothing. Then she turned back to Mew.
Kell raised a finger. The claw slid out of it, the sharp edge catching the light. Mew gritted her teeth as it slid into her face. She felt blood start to run down her skin.
"You bitch! You miserable evil bitch!" Yo-Yo yelled.
"Ohhh, have I struck a nerve?" Kell said. She turned on Yo-Yo, who tried to back away without making it look obvious.
"What's the matter, Yo-Yo? Scared that Mew mightn't have realised what you think? If she hasn't she's even ditzier than I thought."
Yo-Yo turned pale. Mew pressed a hand to the stinging cut, and wondered what Kell meant. Surely Yo-Yo didn't…really love her?
"Go on, Yo-Yo, tell her. She obviously hasn't figured it out."
Yo-Yo swallowed. "I – I don't…"
"You don't what? Don't love her? Well, that's funny. I'm sure if I left my mark on her again we'd get a different answer."
She moved towards Mew purposefully.
"Wait –" Yo-Yo's voice resonated in the silent room. "Okay. All right, I'll do it. Mew – I…I love you. I always have."
Mew felt her mouth drop open. "Yo-Yo – I – I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Yo-Yo stood there, gazing at the ground, not looking at her.
"What, don't you reciprocate?" Kell laughed. "That means, don't you return his love, as I know you have trouble with lots of syllables."
"Yo-Yo, I love Gamma…" Mew realised she was crying. "I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but I can't. I'm so sorry…"
Yo-Yo shrugged, but he still wouldn't look at her.
"Aww, ain't dat cute. Almost Romeo and Juliet. Only Juliet can't stand the sight of Romeo and has gone off with Paris instead."
"That's not true!" shouted Mew. "It's not that I can't stand the sight of him, I just don't love him!"
"That's what they all say. I'm sure if we roughed you up, though, Gamma would be too handsome for you, and Yo-Yo would be your only option."
"Don't you dare touch her!" Gamma yelled.
"Look, Gamma. You stopped me doing this to that wailing brat once. You don't have your fancy weapons this time. And you won't even have a good pair of legs soon."
"No – don't – leave him alone –" Mew rushed forward to protect Gamma, but Kell caught her wrist and flung her back.
"Time to say goodbye to Mr Left Leg…" Kell moved quickly. There was a crack. Gamma crumpled onto the floor.
"Stop it!" Mew shouted.
"Aah, does Mew care for her knight in Noise Tank armour? Well, soon he won't care for you, pretty girl."
Kell grabbed Mew by the hair. Mew screamed. She saw the claws fly down towards her face. She heard Yo-Yo cry out. Then there was nothing but pain.
Blizzard and Blaze raced around Shibuya-cho, blasting at each other with fire and ice.
"What's the matter, brother?" Blaze laughed as he dodged a large icy spike. "Scared to hurt me? You're a chicken! A frozen chicken! You belong in a supermarket! Whereas I am a tiger! A tiger that shoots fireballs!"
Blizzard was beginning to get the feeling that his brother wasn't quite all there. He quickly threw an icicle at a fireball heading towards him, and both were extinguished.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" Blaze yelled.
Blizzard fought, but his mind wasn't totally on the battle. He was worried about Alex. What had happened to her? Was she okay?
Suddenly he noticed they'd fought their way into Kogane-cho, above the factory. Blizzard turned and jumped onto the telephone wires, grinding along them. Blaze set fire to the telephone wires.
"Shit!" Blizzard fell into the factory yard, his feet cutting trails through the dusty ground. Blaze began to run round the long way to climb into the yard.
Suddenly Blizzard heard a girl scream from inside the factory.
It seemed to come from behind one of the grimy windows. Quickly he crept over, and rubbed the dirt off the glass.
When he looked in, he beheld a horrific sight.
His mother – Kell – was standing over Mew. Blood speckled her claws. Mew lay in a small heap, bloodstained palms to her face. Gamma was in the corner, one leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Yo-Yo was flung back against the wall, clutching his bleeding nose.
Before he could watch any longer, he felt sudden heat as a fireball exploded near his foot.
Blaze was standing there, pointing two fingers at Blizzard's head.
"Blaze, wait! Mum…"
"Shut up!"
BANG.
Another fireball exploded on the wall of the factory. Luckily it didn't catch light.
Blizzard leapt forward and tackled his brother, slamming him to the ground. He raised a fist to punch.
Wait.
If Mew, Gamma and Yo-Yo were there, wouldn't the others be too? Alex…
Blizzard leapt up and began skating out of the yard. He had to see if there were any other GGs around. Warn them.
"Hey, you're not getting out of this that easily!" Blaze yelled. He fired, and a fireball exploded at Blizzard's heels.
"Oh, go away!" Blizzard turned, and shot an ice beam at his brother's feet.
"Hey, what the – you can't do that! Get back here, you scummy wimp!"
Blaze writhed in fury as his feet froze to the ground. Blizzard smirked. "Catch you later, bro."
Then he dashed out of the yard, and back to Shibuya-cho.
Tab looked up as he heard dragging footsteps above them. The door was unlocked, and three rudies were flung back into the cell. Tab saw blood spatter onto the floor.
Piranha made her way over to the three groaning figures. "Tab?" She sounded horrified.
"Yeah?"
Piranha lowered her voice. "Have you got that mobile lab you said you'd got?"
"Yep. Why?"
"You're gonna need it. You're really gonna need it."
Cube gazed out of the window, leaning against Combo's coffin.
Her life seemed to have dwindled to this endless waiting. If only something would happen.
Tab had said they'd be back in seconds, and they hadn't been. Where were they? Why weren't they here?
She heard someone yelling, far away, "Wooooooooooooah!"
There was a thump.
"All right, we're back! We're back, we're back, we're back!"
"What time is it?"
"Half an hour since we left."
"Hmm. Maybe we should have come back a few days ago."
"Well, then we'd have no use for this heart, would we?"
Cube's heart soared. They had the heart!
"Guys, guys!" She got to her feet and ran down to the time machine. Beat and Tab stood in front of it. She leapt forward and wrapped her arms round them. "You got it! You got the heart!"
"Uh…yeah….Cube…we got it…now stop squeezing our necks!"
Cube let them go. "Sorry. Woah – Beat, nice eye! What happened?"
"Kell happened."
"Oh." For a moment a shadow passed over her thoughts. "Come on, put the heart in! Come on!"
"Cool it." Tab followed her back up to the operating theatre. "There's still a lot that could go wrong."
"Combo! Combo, can you hear me?"
"Yo, kid…" Combo opened his eyes to see Cube looking down at him. He felt slightly different. Heavier.
"Guys, I had this totally whacked-out dream…Neo-Onishima blew me up cos I jumped in front of a rocket he fired at Cube…and then the Tabs fixed me up, I guess…I mean, my whole arm must have been blown up."
He held up an arm. Then he looked at it closely.
"Arrrrrrgh! What the hell happened to my arm?"
"You just said what happened to it," Cube said.
"It's like, a giant claw. Blades and everything. This is the sort of thing Kell plays with!"
Combo realised his face felt sort of numb. He tapped it, and heard with dread a metallic clinking sound.
"This feels totally weird…"
"Here." Future Tab held up a large mirror.
"Oh," Combo said at last, staring at the huge, metallic cyborg facing him. "This sucks."
"No, it doesn't," Cube said. "You're alive." She hugged him. "That does not suck. You're very lucky, you know that…most people who get blown up by a rocket do not get a second chance."
"Yeah, I suppose. It does feel weird though…" He raised the arm, and blades sprang out of it. Cube leapt back. "Combo, don't point that thing at me."
"Sorry."
"Combo…" Cube sighed. "I never got to say thanks. For saving my life."
He hugged her. "Oh, come on. It's all in a day's work for us big, strong silent types."
Suddenly Blizzard burst through the door.
"Guysguysit'stotally terribleKell'scaughtthemandshe'storturingthemandMew'sbleedingtodeathandGamma'sgotabrokenlegandYo-Yo'sbeenpunchedandthey'reallgonnadieandit'shorrible–andwhatthehellhappenedtoyourarm – andwhatarewegoingtoDO?"
Blizzard's head landed on the table as he ran out of breath.
"Would you mind running that by us again, only at about a quarter of the speed?" Beat said.
"Okay. Basically, my mum seems to have captured everyone else."
"Hmm. We'd better check this." Beat took out his mobile and dialled Garam's number.
"Hello, this is Garam, totally being captured by Kell, man. How may I help you?"
"Garam, are you kidding?"
"Nope. We're all trapped in the factory, man, and she's like totally being a bitch – hah, what else is new? She's sliced Mew up pretty bad. Tab's trying to fix her up. Gamma got a broken leg. And Yo-Yo's got a broken jaw, man, still, at least he's not talking any more."
Beat swallowed. "Has she done anything to Gum?"
Garam sighed. "Uhhh…you're totally not gonna like this, man…she's like, man, you know…"
"No, I don't know. Get to the point."
"Like, man, she's joined the flock along with Cube, if you know what I mean. Man."
Beat felt his mouth drop open. "She's what?"
The others were looking at him now.
"Would you like me to repeat it?"
"No. Okay, where is Kell at the moment?"
"She's got Slate in the main Poison Jam HQ, you know, the room to the right of the main factory area. She's taking us in there one at a time. It's all a bit dismal, man."
"Right. Don't worry, we'll get you out of there."
"That'd be cool. We'll see you in – uh – three – uh – two – whenever you can get here, because I can't take it any more!"
"Okay, don't panic."
"Right. I'm signing off now in case the evil one comes back unexpectedly, okay?"
Click, and he was gone.
"Well, what did he say?"
"I am totally gonna kill her," Beat said. He could hear his own voice, sounding oddly calm. "Right. She's got them and she's holding them in the Kogane factory area –"
"I could've told you that," Blizzard muttered.
"Anyway, we got to get in there and rescue them!"
"Fair enough," Cube said. "Except for the fact that Kell will kill us all and Neo-Onishima's still racketing around somewhere."
"And don't forget Blaze," Blizzard said.
"They're risks we'll have to take." The fury was powering Beat now. "Cube, Combo, you go get the others out. Blizzard, you deal with Blaze. Tab, we're gonna handle Neo-Onishima."
"We are?"
"Yup. We're gonna take him downtown."
"Well. How've you been, Slate?" Kell rested a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, apart from being frozen for the night, your girlfriend's mental health being destroyed before your eyes, you and all your friends being captured, people being carved up left right and centre…how's life been treating you?"
"Fine," Slate answered carefully. He didn't want to leave himself open to attack.
"Are you certain? I mean, with a nose like that life can't be very easy. Do you wear a sign saying Concord coming through?"
"That's a very old joke."
"Anyway, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. Have you and Cube had sex?"
"And why would I tell you?"
"Well, I just thought you could use some pointers. I've got a hell of a lot more experience with her than you have. I can tell you exactly how to get her going. All you do is –"
Slate punched her.
"Aah, is wittle Swate jealous of me?" Kell smirked. "I guess that makes sense. Cube's okay to go with…though she does tend to act like she hates it. It's such a pity I don't have her here."
"You leave her alone."
"Oh, please. Hmm…" She looked him up and down, then ran a metallic finger down his chest. "I wonder what she'd say if I did you too?"
"Sorry, I don't screw Swiss Army Knives," Slate said.
Kell's face changed abruptly to fury. The blades shot out of her hands, and she slapped Slate round the face.
He felt them rip into his nose and jaw, and the force of the slap threw him across the room. Pressing his palms to the gashes across his face, he heard Kell spit out, "Listen, buddy, you may think you're Cube's knight in shining armour, but by the time I've finished with you you're gonna wish you'd never met her."
"I'm…not…scared of you…" Slate said, blood beginning to speckle his gloves.
"Funny. You should be."
Kell slammed her skate into Slate's stomach, sending him sprawling across the floor.
"GG-fucking cow…" It wasn't the best insult, but it was the first one he could come up with.
Kell picked him up by his jacket and punched him.
"What…can't face the fact you're a freak?" Slate said.
"You're one to talk, Nose man."
"Oh, that's so original. What's the problem, techno-girl, can't your search engine come up with anything better than that?"
Kell punched him again, her eye burning with rage. "Why'd you keep your mouth covered up?" she spat. "Got halitosis? Or did your teeth drop out? I'd expect anything of someone who looked like you."
"Same old, same old." Her insults hurt, but he knew he could hurt her worse. "The reason I keep my mouth covered is so that you won't try and shove your tongue down my throat. From the way you've been going on with the girls, I'd have thought you could at least use your feminine wiles. You know, instead of fucking a cop to get a cheap thrill? Oh – wait, you haven't got any feminine wiles, cos you're a cyborg."
Kell's eye turned a dull red. "Oh, you're gonna be sorry for saying that."
Her fist struck his jaw, and he heard a sickening crunch as it broke. He felt a tooth in his mouth along with blood, and he surreptitiously spat it out. The neck of his orange jacket was beginning to turn crimson as blood flowed over his chin.
"See ya, Slate. We'll finish this conversation later."
She dragged him out and flung him back into the pit.
"Piranha, it's your turn, sweetie."
The view was swimming in front of Slate's eyes. He vaguely registered Tab coming over towards him.
"Lights out, boy."
Slate felt a sharp needle in his arm, and then he dropped backwards into darkness.
"Garam? Garam, can you hear us?" Cube shook the mobile phone.
"Yo, this is Garam totally worried about Piranha, man…dude…woman. Bad, man. Totally been taken by Kell. I'm pretty scared. After what she did to Slate…"
He stopped.
"What did she do to Slate?" Cube heard her voice turn low with rage.
"Ah. I think I just goofed. Okay, if I was to tell you that – uh – Slate had his face cut to ribbons, a broken jaw, a tooth missing, and probably a broken nose, what would you say?"
"I'm gonna kill her."
"Good, because that's exactly what's happened."
"Okay. We're coming to bust you out of there."
"Okay."
Cube slammed down the phone. The fear had been eaten by her fury. "Right. I'm going out there and I'm going to rip that bitch's head off."
"Not on your own, you're not! This is where Tabs, Inc, comes in to help!"
"Huh?"
"What would you say if I was to give you a suit to make you stronger, faster, better, etc etc?" Future Tab said.
"I would say I'm interested. What are you on about?"
"Well, you know Yo-Yo's armour, which he took off before he went out tagging for ease of movement and is probably now really wishing he's got…"
"Yes."
"I've been experimenting on it. It's now more or less like…um…a symbiote."
(A/N: Yes, yes from Spiderman, we know, we know. Please don't sue. PDS. Should that become a well-known acronym?)
"Go on."
"And if you were to put it on, it would at least give you a chance of kicking Kell's ass, rather than being turned into a messy stain on the wall."
"How long will it take for you to get it together?"
"Give me forty-five minutes and we're up and running."
"Now, what do we have here?"
Piranha glared at Kell with deep hatred. The burning desire to leap at her and smash her grinning face into the wall was growing every second.
"The Prodigal Love Shocker returns to the fold. Pity I missed you."
Coolly, Kell began filing her claws, with a metal file. "What's it like screwing the fish man?" she asked.
"None of your business."
"I'm just wondering. Is he all that's keeping you in the GGs? I would have thought with the Love Shockers' rep, you'd have been kicked out ages ago. I mean, you did run over Gum's sister. As we all found out in such a touching moment. Do you have any sandpaper, by the way?"
"What do you mean, Love Shockers' rep?" Piranha tried to ignore the mention of Gum's sister, whom she'd killed in a hit-and-run. "You're the one who got us that rep. Everyone knows that. Everyone hates you. So, I stay in the GGs. Besides, what's it to you, Mrs Robocop?"
"Aah, you jealous of the fact that I've got a man and you haven't? Cos we can't exactly call Garam a man. Most think of him as either a bug or a fish. Myself, I go for the bug view, because I can stamp on him easy. And I will."
"Leave him alone!" Piranha shouted. She knew she was acting just the way Kell wanted, but the thought of that bitch hurting Garam made her feel sick.
"Hey, did I strike a nerve? Really, I must watch where I'm hitting. I don't want to make any unnecessary moves. I want to hit a nerve every time."
She slid a metallic arm round Piranha's shoulders. "So, what's it like being the outcast GG? The odd one out. The one everyone hates. Because they do hate you, you know. It's totally obvious. And understandable. You're not only a Love Shocker, but a murderer. I think Gum was really upset."
"Shut up," Piranha snapped. She tried to move away, but Kell held her back.
"Don't do that, honey. Do you like your shoulder bones in these positions? One piece? Or would you prefer them in lots of little ones… like this?"
Kell's fingers gave one squeeze. There was a snap, and Piranha bit back a scream.
"Oops. My finger slipped. Now, you gonna try and move away?" She pushed Piranha down onto one of the oil drums, and sat on one next to her.
Piranha could feel her nerves fraying. She remembered what had happened to Gum, and tried not to shudder.
She felt Kell's robotic hand reach down her shirt and stroke her breast. "Get off me," she said, feeling herself tremble.
"Oh, don't worry, I won't go as far as I did with Gum or Cube. It wouldn't be half as satisfying. But I may as well get some fun out of you." Piranha felt the bottom of her stomach drop out.
"Get away from me," she said. "Get away."
"Make me." Kell kissed her.
"Okay!" Piranha twisted away from Kell and then punched her on the nose.
It was part of Kell's face not protected by metal plates, and it was vulnerable. Kell snarled as blood spattered her lips. She grabbed Piranha's shirt, and whispered, "Bad girl."
Then she punched her. Lights exploded in Piranha's vision as she flew across the room and hit the wall. She tried to sit up, but she felt too dizzy. With dread crawling over her, she heard Kell skate towards her.
"Oh, honestly." Kell kicked at the ground. "I wanted a bit of fun. But you're gonna be as easy to kill as the rest of the gang were."
Piranha leapt to her feet and slapped Kell, punched her, kicked her, feeling tears spill from her eyes, the anger blinding her to the pain her fists were receiving. She could dimly hear Kell laughing, stumbled as a metallic fist glanced off her jaw, then hands caught her wrists and pulled them behind her back.
"Piranha, you've got to watch that temper. You'll hurt yourself."
Piranha struggled, but Kell was gripping her arms tightly, and she was too powerful.
"Let go!" she screamed. "Let go!" She was still crying.
"Nuh-uh. You're not safe, honey."
Kell moved quickly. Piranha doubled over as Kell punched her in the stomach. She hung in the cyborg's grip, trying not to throw up.
"Now, let's take you back. I want to have a little chat with your boyfriend."
"No…" Piranha forced out the words. "No, please, not Garam, please, don't…"
Kell didn't answer this time, just laughed. Piranha closed her eyes as she was dragged out of the room, old misery mingling with new.
Garam watched the cell door intently, praying that Piranha would come back in one piece.
Tab was sitting at the back of the cell, an open briefcase next to him which was filled with various odd-looking surgical contraptions. He was leaning over Slate's face. Garam couldn't see what he was exactly doing, but he hoped it would work. He could see Slate's jacket, and it was covered in blood.
Mew was sitting nearby, touching her face and looking amazed, while Gamma, his leg splinted, held her hand. Yo-Yo was as far away from them both as he could get, and he wasn't looking at anyone.
Nor was Gum. She sat huddled in Data's jacket, staring at the bars across the passage to the sewers. She was crying, silently. Garam wished he could comfort her, but he couldn't think what to say. He'd never seen Gum this crushed before.
Suddenly he heard the rattling of the cell door opening again, and turned back to face it. Quickly, Tab moved to hide his equipment, Mew buried her face in Gamma's shoulder, and Gamma shifted position to conceal the splint on his leg.
Piranha stood there, Kell gripping her arms. She was in tears. Garam dashed over to her.
"Are you all right?" he said. "Did she –"
"No, I didn't." Kell let go of Piranha, and the GG literally fell into Garam's arms. "I hardly touched her."
Garam held his girlfriend, feeling her cry into his shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "Don't worry, it's okay…"
Kell laughed. "I wouldn't say that. Come on, fish boy, it's your turn."
Garam felt as though an icy hand had reached down his throat and scooped out his stomach. He felt Piranha tense next to him.
"Oh, well, nice to see the service round here's good," he said, trying not to sound scared. Gently, he let go of Piranha. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll be back."
"Don't be too sure," Kell said, and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the cell. He looked back, and saw Piranha fall to her knees, her sobs echoing around the factory.
"It's ready, Cube."
Cube walked into the lab, where Future Tab stood next to what looked like a rippling piece of silver cloth.
"Um – Tab – this looks like a rippling piece of silver cloth."
"I know that. That's the idea. Go on, touch it."
Cube did so, gingerly. It felt soft, yet incredibly solid.
Suddenly it began to flow over her, like a liquid. It covered her arms, her legs, her chest. Her vision became tinted as the liquid formed a visor over her eyes.
Then it stopped flowing, and she realised she was wearing armour.
"Woah. I can totally, like, see through things. Tab, what can this stuff do?"
"Your skates are rocket-powered…you have the strength of Combo's bionic arm…you have enough protection to defend you against Kell's weaponry…yep, you're one hard momma!"
"All right. Combo, let's go."
Cube leapt towards the wall and punched through it. "Yeah, I'm gonna get used to this."
Garam was flung back into the cell like a lifeless rag doll.
"Garam!" Piranha rushed over to him. In the half-light she couldn't make out exactly how badly injured he was, but she could see one of the lenses of his goggles had been smashed, and blood was pooling round his lips.
"And now for the piéce de resistance," Kell said. "Alex, walk this way."
There was a horrorstruck silence. Alex very slowly got up and began to walk. Shackler started to say something, then shut up.
"Kell, leave her alone," Piranha snapped.
"What, has Garam got competition?"
"Leave it out, Piranha." Alex spoke calmly, but they could all see that her fists were clenched so hard they had gone bone-white. "She'll get to me sooner or later. May as well get it over with now, huh?"
"Quite right," Kell said. She grabbed Alex's arm, and the Love Shocker flinched. "Say goodbye."
Then the door slammed behind them both.
Garam groaned.
"Are you all right?" Piranha said. She was crying again, she angrily realised. "Duh, of course you're not…I mean, are you in any danger of death?"
"No…no…but that's the last time I call Kell a low-down two-cent whore with the brains of a piece of dead fish crap. I don't recommend it…" He tried to sit up, but he couldn't muster the strength.
"Just get your rest, honey." Piranha held his hand. "We got the Tabster on the job."
"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm gonna do about Alex," Tab muttered. "Kell ain't gonna need to do no physical stuff. Alex is screwed up mentally as it is. And I'm no therapist."
Alex's head was aching with the effort of keeping calm.
When she'd last been at Kell's mercy, she'd told herself nothing bad was going to happen, nothing really bad, and that she wasn't really scared, and that she could handle it. She was trying that now, but she could feel that it wasn't working. The fear was trying to drown her. She wouldn't be able to keep above water for long.
They entered the Poison Jam HQ room. Kell slammed the door behind them both, then turned to face Alex. "Long time no see, sweetie."
"Mmm. Can't say I'm sorry." Alex batted the sentence back, trying to act like none of this fazed her at all.
"No…I know we had our differences."
A memory kicked its way into Alex's head. A lit match. A red-hot knife. Screaming in an empty building. And a voice murmuring, "I know you hate it, but you've just got to accept everyone has their differences."
"True," she said. Her voice quivered, once. She was beginning to feel slightly dizzy.
"You know what will happen to the others, don't you."
"You'll kill them," Alex said, surprised to hear anger in her voice.
"I will. And I'll love it. But you…well, we're pals, aren't we? I couldn't just snuff you out like a candle."
"Oh, really?"
"No…we could go back to the way we were before."
Alex felt a scream rise in her throat, and quickly swallowed it. I can't do this, she thought. I can't. I can't.
"I mean, sure, you've had fun with the GGs, but…well, fun's over now, isn't it?"
Alex closed her eyes, and remembered being dragged up stairs, a knife brushing her throat, falling onto bare boards, and someone saying, "Fun's over, sweetie. I'm leader now."
"Then why don't you just kill me?" she'd snapped.
"Because then I wouldn't be able to do this."
And then the pain.
She couldn't speak. She desperately tried to put up the walls, tried to lock down her feelings, but there were no walls. They'd crumbled. She was drowning.
She stumbled, and Kell caught her arm and twisted it. "Don't worry, you won't get to go out in the cold. I'll look after you."
Alex began to shiver, and couldn't stop. "No," she said, her voice hurting as she tried to keep it unruffled. "No, I don't want you to look after me. I don't want to be anywhere near you. I'd rather die with the others."
"Oh, don't worry, you will die," Kell said. "Just not right now."
"I presume that – that doesn't mean you're gonna let me walk out of here."
"You got that right. No, I'm gonna keep you alive a nice long time. Think of it. I could do it for years. That'd be payback. And you know why."
"I said I was sorry. You know I never meant it to happen."
"Like hell you did." For the first time real rage entered Kell's voice for a moment.
Alex reached back and felt the wall behind her. Leaning against it, she tried not to let herself imagine. Years. Years of agony.
"Yes." Kell laughed. "You remember, don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I can see it in your eyes. You're remembering everything."
"I'm not. I'm not."
Kell grabbed Alex's arm, stroked the rough scars on it. "You know how all these got here, don't you?"
Alex desperately tried to do something, anything, to stop the flashback that was creeping up on her. But it was no good. As she stared down at her arm, the sunlight falling on it changed to a dim streetlight, and the metallic hand holding her wrist changed back to flesh, and the flame of a match flickered in the darkness.
She blinked, frantically trying to bring herself back to the present, but nothing happened. She could smell the smoke of the match, feel the dust in the air every time she breathed in, hear outside the dim noises of the Shibuyan night.
I'm trapped, she thought. It was all a dream. I never got out.
Where was the factory? The sunlight? She rubbed her free hand across her eyes. Nothing changed. And now the match was coming down towards her skin, and she couldn't move, and –
And all the fear and horror she'd locked away burst out from behind her eyes, and she screamed and screamed and screamed.