Note 1: I think this one will require a bit of an explanation. This chapter actually exists in two versions - up until the point where the characters enter the alley, the versions are exactly the same. After that, the chapter splits up in two - the first part is this one that will be kept at the R-rating like the rest of the fic.
The chapter with the second part is uploaded on another page (sorciere.freeservers.com / alter41.html). *That* version will be rated NC-17 for graphic violence, disturbing subjects, and sexual situations. No, not explicit sex, but sexual situations. And no, I'm not kidding about that rating - it starts with disturbing and goes downhill from there.
Note that the versions will tell the *exact* same story, just from different points of view. After this, we will go back to one version again.
The reason for doing two versions? The graphic one is actually the first I wrote (and thus the longest), but I *do* realize that I have some younger and more sensitive people among my audience, and that they might not want to be dragged through the darker parts of my twisted head. So the NC-17 one is 'canon' while this one is for those who aren't used to real darkfic. Have fun *g*
Note 2: You may or may not like this plot development, but I felt it had to be there. To those who think I'm too hard on the Guardians, I'll more than make up for that later. I promise you that.
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To Ageless, for helping me come up with the idea for this chapter, to VivaGlam, for cheering me on, and to the readers and reviewers for sticking with me this far. This fic is already longer than I ever expected it to be, and we're nowhere near done yet O.o...
J.DeLuca: Yup, she agreed :) I think I owe her a favor or something to make up for *this* chapter *g*
WritingMoose: Not evil, just under some bad influence *g*. Hmm...maybe he can, maybe he can't - either way it will take a while before he's ready to experiment any further with his powers.
Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy
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Chapter Forty-One: Descend into Darkness
(NC-17 version: sorciere.freeservers.com / alter41.html)
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The diner was actually rather cozy. It was far from the best place Deirdre had ever been, but with the diner downstairs and the bar on the first floor, it *did* have a charm of its own.
"Do you come here often?" Deirdre asked curiously and took a sip of her cola.
Prue smiled, a bit wistfully.
"Used to...before I got caught by the cops. A lot of mutants in this area uses this diner as a meeting place," she explained.
"Oh..." Deirdre replied. "What about the police - don't they know about this place?"
Prue shrugged.
"Probably, yeah, but I guess they've got bigger fish to fry than harmless mutants who just want something to eat."
"Let's hope it remains that way," Deirdre said softly, and the subject was dropped.
* * *
"That's the place," Jhonen said and nodded towards a bar across the street.
The combined diner and bar Erik had guided them to was located between a nightclub and a large complex of apartments, both of which badly needed a paintjob. The area wasn't that bad, actually - certainly not high class by any standard, but not as bad as it could be. Badly lit, though, since most of the streetlights didn't work, but it didn't matter.
"The alley..." Laetitia said quietly, and motioned towards a dark alley between the bar and the nightclub - narrow, deep, and with no streetlights. It would be almost impossible to see anything in that alley from the street, and she knew it.
Blade nodded thoughtfully.
"Not a bad idea," he replied.
Jhonen frowned, feeling a bit confused, but decided not to ask. Whatever his teammates were planning, he'd probably find out soon enough. They'd parked the car nearby, a bit away from prying eyes, and then walked the rest of the way - that alone told Jhonen that they were up to *something*, but he had no idea what. He didn't want to ask Erik, either. First of all the concentration needed to control him would give Jhonen a headache, and secondly...these people were his new team. He was supposed to trust them, wasn't he?
"Nike? Do you think you can control both of them?" Blade asked, and Laetitia shook her head.
"No, only one of them. My head still hurts too much to concentrate on too many people at a time."
"Pick Deirdre, then," Blade decided. "Prue needs to touch the ground to use her power, right?" he asked, directed at Jhonen.
"Yeah, and she can only use them on the ground, not on walls," the boy supplied.
Blade nodded.
"Good. Shouldn't take much to keep her under control, then. Let's go."
* * *
The doors to the diner opened, letting in four people, but between the jukebox music, the food, the chatter, and the noise from the bar upstairs, no one really noticed the four new guests...least of all the two girls who were absorbed in their own conversation.
"There - in the corner," Jordane said quietly and motioned towards a booth a bit removed from the busiest parts of the diner.
The group split up, Blade and Jordane taking a small detour to approach the two Guardians from one side, while Jhonen and Laetitia continued towards the booth. Laetitia stopped just out of sight, and motioned for Jhonen to walk up to the duo.
The boy felt his determination weaken, but continued nonetheless. He would go through with this, no doubt about that.
"Is this seat taken?" Jhonen asked as he reached the table.
The two girls looked up, their eyes wide with recognition.
"Jhonen?!" Deirdre exclaimed, but as quickly as her surprise had come, it disappeared and left behind a healthy sense of caution. "What are you doing here?" she demanded with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Looking for you, actually," Jhonen replied quietly. "Hello, 'Dre."
Deirdre scrambled to her feet and hurried out of the booth, followed by Prue. She raised her hands slightly, ready to defend herself. Part of her knew that there was a real risk that the Shadow Alliance would be around somewhere, but another part of her still refused to think that about Jhonen - he had been a good friend, and a loyal teammate. He wouldn't turn on them like this.
"What do you mean?" Deirdre demanded, a bit harsher than she'd intended. She had to know, though - it never hurt to be on the safe side, especially not in situations like this.
"I thought the words were easy enough to understand," a new voice said.
Deirdre spun around, and found herself face-to-face with Laetitia. She raised her hands to blind the woman, but it was already too late. Before she could finish the motion, Laetitia had taken control of her mind, efficiently cutting off any chance to escape.
Prue took a step back and opened her mouth to call for help, but froze as she felt a strong arm around her waist, combined with the sharp edge of a knife against her side.
"You're staying right here," Blade said coldly, deliberately keeping his voice low.
Prue felt a rush of adrenaline and prepared to tear herself free of his grasp, but she'd barely formed the thought before the pressure on the knife increased just enough to pierce her skin.
"Don't even think about it, girl. You'll be dead before you can lift a finger," Blade warned quietly, but Prue didn't doubt the truth of his words.
"What do you want with us?" she asked, somehow managing to keep her voice steady.
The only reply she got was a cold smile from Laetitia, and Prue suppressed a shiver.
"Whatever you're planning, you won't get away it," she said quietly. "The others know we're here - someone will come for us."
Blade raised an eyebrow.
"Let them," he replied indifferently.
"Somebody will notice something is wrong," Prue said and felt the first hints of desperation enter her body. "You can't just drag us out of here - somebody will get suspicious."
Blade smirked.
"You really don't get it, do you? This is Chicago - nobody cares what happens to two little muties who run around downtown after midnight," he added with a touch of cruelty in his voice.
"You can't-" Prue started, but was interrupted by one of the waitresses.
"It everything all right?" the woman asked and sent the group a concerned look. "Your friend doesn't look too good," she added and nodded towards Deirdre.
Blade tightened his hold on Prue, silently warning her not to try anything, and Jordane smiled comfortingly at the waitress.
"Sure, she just had a bit too much to drink. We told her to stay away from the booze, but she didn't listen," she explained with a helpless shrug. "I don't even know how she got that drink," she continued, almost apologetically. "Someone must have bought it for her, I guess."
The waitress smiled, reassured by the words.
"Don't worry, hon, we all go through that at least once. Make her drink two glasses of water before she goes to bed, and the hangover will be a bit easier to handle."
Jordane grinned.
"I'll remember that," she said. "Thanks."
The waitress returned to her customers, and Blade removed a bit of pressure from the knife he held against Prue's side.
"As I said...nobody will care about you," he repeated. "Let's go," he ordered, and Prue had no choice but to do as she was told.
Laetitia whispered something in Deirdre's ear, and the girl nodded with a blank expression on her face, a clear sign that she was well under Laetitia's control. Deirdre took a step forward and headed out of the diner, guided by Laetitia. Blade sent Jordane a look, and the girl nodded and fell into line a few steps behind him and Prue, efficiently ruining any chance of escape.
Jhonen only hesitated for a second, then followed them outside.
* * *
Deirdre wanted to scream; to open her mouth and scream as loud as she could to alert someone - anyone - about the danger. But no matter how hard she tried, her body did not react. She could hear Nike's whispered order to walk out of the diner, could feel herself nod in reply and take a step forward, but no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't break free of Nike's powers. She was a prisoner in her own body, and she didn't like it one bit.
What hurt most wasn't Laetitia's control of her, though, but Jhonen's betrayal. She'd trusted him, damnit! They had been friends, teammates, and he'd turned on them just like that. And not only that - he'd led the Shadow Alliance to her and Prue when they would be most vulnerable. That hadn't been an accidental encounter - that had been cold, calculated betrayal.
Deirdre sighed mentally. She couldn't even turn her head and see if Prue was still there - Nike's powers had taken control of her mind with chilling efficiency, and ruthlessly crushed all of Deirdre's attempts to fight back.
They walked into the dark alley, and out of the corner of her eye Deirdre saw Blade let go of Prue and give her a push to force her onwards. The older girl responded immediately, dropping to one knee and planting her hand on the ground. But before she had the chance to use her powers, Blade fired a shot into the ground in front of her, and Prue withdrew her hands with a shocked expression on her face.
"Don't try that again - a bullet is a lot faster than your powers," Blade said, almost tiredly, and Prue slowly got back on her feet while watching her captor with a wary look.
"A few more steps," Laetitia whispered, and again Deirdre felt her body move and walk a bit further into the alley, before turning around to face the others.
"What do you want with us?" Prue demanded.
Laetitia raised an eyebrow, and for a brief second Deirdre felt her control slip. Gathering all her strength she fought against the mental restrains, but the only result was a brief, vaguely amused look from Laetitia.
Don't try that again - we both know I'm the stronger of us, the Greek woman whispered in Deirdre's mind, and the girl sent her a hateful look. Laetitia pointedly ignored it and focused on Prue instead.
"Shouldn't that be obvious?" she asked and arched an eyebrow. "You and the rest of the Guardians attacked us completely unprovoked. We do not intend to let that pass."
"Unprovoked?!" Prue repeated disbelieving. "You people kidnapped Suzuka! We had every right to attack you!"
Don't provoke them, please don't provoke them, Deirdre pleaded mentally. She was well aware that their future wellbeing depended completely on Blade, and angering him would only serve to make their situation worse.
Laetitia merely snorted, though, and then sent Blade a questioningly look. The man's eyes narrowed and Deirdre felt a shiver run down her spine. Blade was obvious planning something, and whatever it was, it would definitely be bad news for the Guardians.
Finally the man moved, taking a step closer to Jordane and wrapped his arm around her waist with the intimacy of a lover.
"Let's kill one of them," he whispered, and even through the hollow music from the nightclub the words still managed to reach Deirdre's ears, burning themselves into her mind forever. "Pick one, my Queen."
NO! Deirdre wanted to scream, but found herself helpless. Let go of me, damnit! she cursed and struggled to get free of Laetitia's grasp, but the woman just sent her a cold smile.
No. And if I were you, I would pay attention - your life is on the line here, she replied with a touch of cruelty, and Deirdre realized that she was right. One look at Laetitia told clearer than words ever could that she wanted to get even, and that only blood would satisfy her thirst for revenge.
Deirdre wanted to run, to fight, to do *something* - anything - but could only watch horrified as Blade caressed Jordane's arms, waiting for her verdict.
"Prue...kill Prue," Jordane finally managed to say, and Blade stopped with the caressing movements.
NO!
Deirdre could only watch helplessly as Prue took a step back, her eyes wide with fear. Laetitia moved closer, eager to get the chance to get even with Ryan, and Blade smiled coldly.
"She's all yours, Nike. Take your revenge," he said, and let his hand rest lightly on Jordane's hips.
Deirdre saw Laetitia back Prue against the wall and was vaguely aware that Blade and Jordane were talking, but she ignored it - she had to get free, and it had to be now. She could feel Laetitia's control slip just a bit as the strain of having to control another person started to wear down her already reduced strength. She wouldn't get a better chance, and she knew it.
Slowly but steadily Deirdre began to gather her strength, trying not to alert Laetitia to her intentions. The woman didn't seem to sense anything, though - her attention was completely on Prue, who watched the Greek assassin with a fearful look on her face.
Just a little more...
Laetitia smirked and slowly, ever so slowly, drew the knife that hung in her belt. Her intentions were obvious, and Deirdre felt a rush of adrenaline course through the body, giving her the last bit of strength she needed.
One last, draining struggle, and she was free of Laetitia's control. Deirdre reacted immediately, raising her hands to blind the woman, but in her haste she'd forgotten one very important thing.
"No!"
Jhonen!
The sudden, desperate cry was the only warning Laetitia needed. She spun around and Deirdre felt a sharp pain as Laetitia kicked her, forcing her to the ground. She tried to get up, but Laetitia was already several steps ahead of her. Deirdre felt a sudden pain as Laetitia hit her in the temples with the handle of the knife-
-And then there was only darkness.
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