Note: This is cross posted on AO3 under the username Bella_Donna_poison. General warnings for this chapter: villain being manipulative and mild torture. Nothing too descriptive like past stories.
It wasn't always like this. She wasn't always in this dark room, struggling to breath. The cold aggravating the pressure in her lungs. Coughing, a shaking hand raised to cover her mouth. One hand still on the keyboard typing even as the footsteps outside the door paused.
The door squeaked loudly with a long shriek of hinges desperately in need of oil. A shadow fell over her and the girl hunched in on herself. Something cold and sharp twisted in her stomach, the sense of falling and cold prickles on her skin. Clenching her eyes tighly shut she stopped typing.
I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't - the thoughts were cut off by a hand in her hair yanking her head back. Whimpering softly, bright teal eyes landed on the man holding her hostage. Silver eyes meeting hers with nothing but contempt and malice.
"Now why my little spark have you not gotten me what I want yet?" The light spilling from the doorway behind him always hid this man in shadow. His features seeming sharper, eyes gleaming and the fingers pulling at her hair set fire to her scalp. Not literally of course, his quirk while not flashy was still powerful. Just not the variety most would find. The hand suddenly tightened, the pressure on her scalp increasing and she could feel some of the strands pulling harder. Promising blood shed.
"I..I...I am trying. Really-" She gasped loudly, tears wetting her eyes. Something hot and vicious filling her chest like liquid fire. "I'll get you re-results sir."
"I should hope so, Ally. I will not take anything less than the best." He pushed her head forward, releasing her hair. She gasped in relief as the low buzz left her skin, the sensation of a thousand ants crawling across her skin disappearing almost immediately.
Staring at the screen she looked at the data base in silence. It wasn't necessarily hard to get into the first firewall. It was almost too easy, but now that she was in, Ally, could see the mistake. It was a trap of sorts, the programs trying to lock onto her location and she was stuck in a sense. But that was ok, every site had a backdoor...this shouldn't be any different. After all, if she failed...well if she failed then she could finally be free. The thought was morbid and she tried to shake it off.
The screens before her going blurry again, face hot and that cold swooping in her stomach again. Failure meant death. Breathing softly, she focused again on the screens before her, typing as fast as she could while trying to fend off whatever was fighting her back. Gritting her teeth she kept at it, trying valiantly to ignore the blurry vision and something hot falling down her cheek.
X * X * X *
A flashing screen lit up the room as the attacker attempted to break in. A teacup was set down with a gentle click of china, paws tapping away on the keys as the creature fought back. It was an entertaining fight indeed. Most didn't ever make it past the first firewall, so to get in and try to steal information usually wasn't an issue. Nedzu hummed in interest.
"Curious, very curious indeed. Just who are you?" He murmured, beady eyes glittering as he typed out a message for the attacker.
N::Who are you? |
A:: I roam at night, am never seen, some believe in me and some people don't. What am I? |
N::...A ghost |
A::...correct. |
While Nedzu typed to the perpetrator he focused on tracking the location. Sadly the IP address was scrambled, he couldn't get a static lock on it. Which was most impressive, all things considered. A technological quirk perhaps? No trail was left, it was almost like...he chuckled at the irony. It was like a ghost was in the machine.
N::We'll just have to meet in person. :) |
Nedzu pushed a button and the firewalls kicked this "ghost", whoever they were, back out and with a flourish he patched the door they had managed to get in through. He was rather interested in meeting this person, whomever they were. Pressing the intercom he chirped cheerfully.
"Teachers to my office please."
X * X * X *
Her chest was tight, a cold sensation in her sternum that seemed to squeeze until she was breathless. heartbeat thumping in her ears alongside a distant roaring.
Oh...oh no.
Badump.
Badump.
Badump.
Badump.
Breath in. Breath out.
Ok so heroes seem to know what you did. No problem, no worries. She raised a hand to grip her shirt tight over her breast. They know and now she lost the entrance. Which meant she would have to find another way in. She looked up at the closed door with a panicked gaze.
Standing on wobbly legs, she nearly collapsed. A rushing sensation ran through her and her field of vision was temporarily filled with spots. When had her last meal been?
Days? Weeks? It was never consistent, only enough once in a very long while to keep her alive. But even then, she had slimmed down. The small pudginess she had always bemoaned about was long gone.
Bottom lip trembling, she staggered to the door and tested the handle. It didn't budge. Choking on a sob, she tried to pull within herself. She knew that her captor, whatever his name was, was keeping her here like this so she couldn't fight back. Too weak too...and yet. She pulled on the sense of things around her. The small flame of her quirk responding as wires and cables around her writhed like snakes. A thicker cable about the width of a pen slithered to her. Breathing through the nausea, she willed the cable to the slit under the door. The pressure in her throat growing as she focused on making the cable slide up the door to the knob.
The door clicked and swung inward, but not from her own doing. The light spilled in over her and she hissed from the brightness. The man, her captor, stood there.
"What have you done?" He asked in a soft silky smooth voice, if she didn't know him she would think he sounded kind. But that was the kicker wasn't it, he had got her because he seemed kind. Because he had seemed weak...because he needed saving. With a rush of vindictive stupidity, as that was this really was she realized belatedly, the girl spit in his face. Silver eyes closed, a hand coming up to wipe away the mess.
"Fine, I guess we'll have to see how willing you are with a bit of motivation. After all, even if you did alert someone, it'll take time for a response." In the low light she could still make out his gleaming teeth as he smiled.
Oh...oh no. She thought and staggered back, but not quickly enough it would seem. He moved his hand forward, barely laying his fingers upon her throat and immediately her world went into gray scale. The sensation of a thousand ants burying under her skin, of electricity running through her veins, of being flayed alive. It felt like eternity, writhing in agony. No, agony was not a strong enough word.
If felt like hours, but really was probably only minutes for the pain to subside. She was sticky and clammy, chest tight as she struggled to pull in breaths. She couldn't breath, gasping and hacking and coughing as she worked through the asthmatic episode.
A weight settled on her waist, the hand sitting on her thighs so she could not run. He grinned down at her and snagged her small hands, gripping them tight at the wrist. His unhinged grin seemed to widen as he gripped a slender finger.
"I will ask you again, what did you do?" She shook her head, blue eyes wide with panic.
"Sir, please no I didn't do anything. I managed to get through one firewall but they figured me out and I got booted." She gasped the words out, heart in her throat.
"Is that so? So you just got booted, didn't even try to get back in before trying to escape?" He began pushing her left index finger back, pain racing up her hand.
"No no no no no." She whimpered, shaking her head side to side. "Please sir, let me try again! Please!" A high pitched scream welled up in her throat rising in crescendo before dropping back down as a tidal wave of pain flooded her.
"After your lesson!" He hissed. A single finger breaking and skin crawling with ants as another scream was pulled from her throat.
Badump.
"One little piggy CRACK didn't listen."
Badump.
A finger snapping again, pain crashing through her with an intensity that preceded the earlier demonstrations. Darkness crawling into her senses.
"d..ag...?" She couldn't make out what he was saying over the roaring in her ears and the pain in her body, but she nodded anyways. The flood of ants and electricity was gone, the throbbing of her index finger the only pain left. Sobbing, she curled onto her side as the door slid closed and locked. Struggling to her feet, wobbling like a drunkard as she walked back to her desk. That was the last escape attempt. Ally didn't think she would survive another round. Falling into the chair in exhaustion she leaned onto her elbows and hid her face in her hands.
Ally found little sleep that night, waking multiple times as she checked the script on the computer that was still running. A simple script, but no less effective as she allowed it to break into the UA database. She wasn't even sure what the man wanted, he only said he wanted information on heroes. But nothing else, did he want quirks? Names? She thought back to the specific conversation.
"I want everything on those blasted heroes. Everything, all records. Enough to deal a real blow." Those had been his words. Did he want to blast numbers or something on the internet? Stats? She wasn't sure. However, she knew one thing for certain, she had to complete the task. A soft beep in her mind drew her attention to the computer. The single cord she had connected to the base of her skull pulsed with rings of blue. Eyes blinking open slowly, she pulled the cable from her skin, letting it heal over as she looked at the computer. There were records up. Tons. And another message waiting for her.
::Am I a mouse? A dog? A bear? I'm the Principal. I see you attempted to scramble your location again. Who are you? |
The system she was trying to download from started blinking rapidly. Showing she was about to be booted again as it froze. She sat back in her chair again, breaths hitching as the information downloading to the thumb drive froze.
::You won't find me. For what does a ghost do but disappear. If you wish to find me I give you this riddle. Monsters of villains, cities of flame, a hero killer slain. Of warehouses and cement rivers, decrepit home. You'll find me here, held in place. Haunting. |
With that the connection was booted.
"Please," She whispered. "Please find me."