"Madam Knight?"
"What is it, underling?" Morgen turned around to face the minion who dared to approach her.
"One of our early detection warnings was activated. The ninja are making their approach from the west. They are about twenty minutes out."
"Well, it's about time. It's been six weeks since I last saw them. Was my son with them?"
"I do not know."
"Well, find out and report back to me."
"Yes, ma'am." The underling ran off before Morgan decided to "motivate" him.
Morgen walked to the room where her machine was. Karlof was busy working on it. The guard who was watching him perked up when she entered the room.
"Tell me this is ready," Morgen demanded.
"Karlof still working on it."
"You have exactly five minutes to make it work. When the five minutes are up, take him to his cell. And prepare for battle. We have some long overdue guests coming." Morgan stormed out of the room and went down the hall. She stopped at one of the cells and unlocked the door.
"Wakey, wakey. Time to get going." Morgen opened the cell door and stepped inside. Libby sat up.
"What's going on?" Libby asked. It had been weeks since Morgen had bothered to make sure Libby was still alive.
"It's time for the show. Places, everyone!" Morgen dragged Libby back to the machine and hooked her up.
"No! Please!"
"Time for a test. Just as soon as our guests arrive." Morgen rubbed her hands in anticipation.
"Please, don't do this," Libby pleaded.
"Do you think I'm kind? Merciful? Compassionate? I'm not one of the ninja. The same ninja who would never dare leave a defenseless person behind. Something I can use to my advantage. Now, let's see if Karlof managed to fix my machine." Morgen started the warm-up process. Libby whimpered when it started to hum. They could soon hear the sound yelling and metal clanging against metal in the hallway.
"They made great time. No matter. Time to extract your powers." Morgen pushed some buttons and watched as electricity started shooting through Libby, causing her to scream. She arched her back in pain, losing control of her own body. Morgen slowly increased the power.
The ninja burst into the room and quickly surveyed the scene.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Morgen said calmly.
"Your reign of terror is over, Morgen," Lloyd said, stepping closer to Morgen with his swords drawn.
"You can stop me, or save her. It's your choice." She smiled at them.
"Jay, Nya, figure out how to turn off the machine. Everyone else, with me,"
Morgen pulled out a Taser and turned it on. She pointed it at the ninja as she increased power to the machine, making Libby scream louder.
"Let's see how you like that shocking feeling," Jay said as he shot lightning at Morgen. She stumbled away from the control panel and dropped the Taser, allowing Nya to swoop in and shut the machine off. Libby went limp on the table.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, Morgen. But we're not letting you do this to anyone else," Lloyd said.
"Where are our parents?" Kai demanded, his fists on fire.
"… Lightning? He… You… You lied to me!" Morgen grabbed the Taser and ran towards Libby. Right before she got to the unconscious woman, she was knocked sideways by a wall of solid rock.
"Enough," Skylor said. She slowly lowered her arm, bringing it back towards her body, ready to attack Morgen again.
"What? How?" Morgan glared at the redhead.
"Cole never had a chance at recovering, but he lived long enough to transfer his powers to me. And I'm going to use them to bring you in." Skylor used her powers to bend the ground around Morgen, causing her to sink into a hole. As she climbed out, everyone surrounded her, weapons pointed at her. Morgen screamed as she looked around.
"It's over, Morgen," Kai said.
"It's never over." She rushed Lloyd, pinning his arm behind his back. She pulled out a dagger she had hidden somewhere on her body and held it against his throat.
"Morgen Pamela Knight!"
Everyone turned to see Hermes standing in the doorway looking very cross. Lloyd took advantage of the distraction to free himself from her grasp.
"Dad?"
"What do you think you're doing? Where have you been for all these years? And why is Libby strapped to that table?" Hermes stormed over to her and took her keys from her pocket.
"Dad, I can explain."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Lightning Rod, free your mom." Hermes tossed the keys to Jay, who stared at Hermes with his mouth agape. Everyone else also stared in confusion.
"That's… Huh?" Lloyd asked.
"You never met his mom?" Hermes looked at the confused expressions on everyone's faces.
"We have… And that's not her," Kai said.
"Jay's mother's name is Edna Walker," Zane said.
"I don't know any Edna Walker, but there is no denying that he is Libby Gordon's kid. I knew he was her kid the moment I saw him."
"Uh…" Jay had no clue what to say, especially since he hadn't actually told any of his friends he was adopted. His parents didn't know that he knew he was adopted.
"Morgen, start talking." Hermes dragged his daughter into the hallway, away from prying ears.
"Dad, I… I had no choice. Lou, I told you what he did to me! How he treated me, it was awful! I lost my baby because of him!" Morgen started crying fake tears.
"Uh-huh… I ran into him a few weeks ago. He had a lot to say about you, and what happened to your son. Care to try again?" Hermes crossed his arms and glared at her.
"Uh, he… He's lying! You can't believe a word he says! He killed my baby!"
"Then why is your baby now twenty and in a coma?"
"He… He cheated on me! He got someone else pregnant, and…" Morgen could tell her father didn't believe her. She looked at the ground, unable to answer his question.
"I know your tell, Morgen. Probably why you never actually told me what Lou supposedly did to you and let me find out from your mother. Let's try a different question. How many people do you have locked up in this cave system?"
"Um… I…"
"Are they all my old teammates?"
"… Most of them."
"Why?"
"I… I did it for you! You told me how they stabbed you in the back and refused to give you a second chance! They had to pay for what they did!"
"That is not even close to what happened. Last chance, Morgen. Tell me the truth."
Morgen again refused to look at her father. She thought about running away, but he grabbed her and wrapped her in a hug. She started crying for real and crumbled to the floor. He lowered her down, stroking her hair.
"It's okay, baby girl. We'll get through this. Your mother and I still love you. We'll get you some help," Hermes whispered. Morgen continued to cry. His heart broke some when Lloyd came into the hallway and insisted on putting cuffs on her, but he knew she needed them.
The ninja came out. Jay and Kai were supporting a barely conscious Libby. She was trying to tell them about another prisoner, but her words were too mumbled to be understood. Hermes and Morgen followed everyone down the hall. Before long, they came to a cell. Lloyd unlocked the door and went inside.
"Hermes? Do you know who this is?"
Hermes made his way into the cell and looked at the old man, asleep on the bed.
"Ice?"