Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen
...
Victor blinked his way awake, his vision blurry and his eyes stinging. The roof above him was unfamiliar and he frowned in confusion, wondering where he was. Victor soon discovered that trying to sit up was a bad idea and he collapsed back onto the mattress, struggling to breathe as his body ached all over.
His breaths came in shallow gasps as he remembered what Cara and Greta had done to him. He couldn't remember what had happened after Cara had lifted the axe. Victor assumed that he'd passed out due to fear and exhaustion.
What had happened next? Had he lost a limb and just didn't know it yet? Was his brain playing tricks on him, telling him he was in one piece when he was really missing a hand or arm or leg? Phantom limb was real, but Victor didn't know how to know if he was experiencing it or not. Was he really wiggling his toes or did he just believe that he was? Maybe he was still asleep -
"Victor?"
Connor's voice made Victor hyperventilate even more. He was definitely still asleep. Connor didn't know he was kidnapped, so he couldn't be here - wherever here was - and maybe that meant he'd lost a limb, too. He couldn't hold both of the twins at once if he'd lost an arm. Would prosthetics be strong enough to hold a growing and squirming infant, let alone two?
"Victor, darling, you need to breathe. You're safe now, I promise," Connor said, his face appearing above Victor's.
"Connor?"
"Yes. That's right, darling. I'm right here," he said, squeezing his hand gently.
Connor blurred above him and Victor closed his eyes tightly, tears slipping from the corners.
"Am... Am I missing anything?" Victor asked, too afraid to touch and check, not when he couldn't trust his own mind. Part of him still didn't believe that Connor was really here.
"No, darling. You're all here and in one piece. Honey made sure of it," Connor said. "She drove her van right into Cara and Greta."
His response startled a laugh out of Victor, the sound raspy and the feeling rattling in his chest. "Ow, fuck."
"Now, now, darling. Don't get me worked up with your swearing. I'm barely holding on as it is. I want to hold you and hide you from the world," Connor murmured, brushing Victor's hair back from his forehead.
Victor smiled briefly. Even his mind couldn't predict the things Connor said, so he had to be real, surely.
"I'll have to give a statement to the police, won't I?" he asked.
"That's what you're worried about? Darling, you were electrocuted within an inch of your life."
"I know. I just... I want to get out of here and see the twins. Cara... she threatened to hurt them; Greta did hurt them."
Connor's hazel eyes darkened, the expression on his face would have made anyone else flinch back in fear. "She hurt them?"
"Pinched them so hard they cried. I know it's silly but - "
"It's not silly at all, darling. That old bitch put a hand on your babies and deserves what she's getting."
Victor frowned at his words. He knew his mind and knew that if he was hallucinating or asleep, then Greta and Cara would be imprisoned, not... whatever Connor was referring to. "What's going on? Connor, where am I?"
"You're at the Hive, Victor. You don't have to worry about police or statements. Ida looked after you once we rescued you and brought you here. The kids," Connor trailed off and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "they're not heroes, Victor. After this, I can't blame them. I want to go in there and take a shot at Cara and Greta myself."
"Take a shot?" Victor echoed in confusion.
"Jewel is jewelifying Cara slowly; Grant is smashing her with a sledgehammer in surprisingly small increments. Greta... well, Warren has been waiting a long time to get to her, apparently. It's probably best that you don't know what's happening to her right now," Connor admitted.
"They're here?"
Connor nodded. "They originally meant to kidnap Craig, but Cara took you instead. I know we should have taken them to the police, but I couldn't do it, darling. Greta would have posted bail and come after you or him again. Cara has money stashed away for the twins, so she would have used that to get out as well.
"I couldn't live with myself if I let them go into the system, only for the system to fail us. I can't see you hurt by them again, darling. You deserve so much more in life," Connor added gently, cupping Victor's face and stroking his cheek.
Victor was quiet for a long moment, considering all of the responses he could give. Suddenly, Connor's questions about villains made a hell of a lot more sense. "Can you help me sit up, please?"
"Of course," Connor replied, gently manoeuvring Victor until he was in a seated position, a pillow behind him.
Victor closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing until the pain subsided. Opening his eyes, he looked around the room and saw brand new hospital machinery, walls covered in plastic sheeting, and a chair made from a tree trunk beside his bed. The room itself smelled like a mix of tea tree oil and vinegar, with a hint of rubbing alcohol beneath the scents.
Connor watched and waited patiently, remembering his own experience and recovery. He'd spent days crying, weeks paranoid, and months in pain. Victor looked bright-eyed and alert, but he could be in shock or denial. Connor promised himself that he would look after Victor, through the good and bad days that were sure to come.
"Is Craig all right?" Victor asked.
"He's worried about you. Keeps going between here and Cara's room. I'm pretty sure she lost a leg because of him," Connor mused.
"Can I see him?"
"Of course. The room's only closed off to keep them all out. It's apparently very difficult to sterilise rooms made from dirt and wood," Connor added with a grin. "If Ida hadn't told them to stay out, they'd probably be camping here and waiting for you to wake up."
Victor didn't really know what to say to that. He felt like he hardly knew half of the kids, so for them to feel so worried about him was confusing. Perhaps they were worried about Craig, and him as a result of Craig's emotions?
"I'll go get Craig. I'll be right back, darling," Connor said, looking hesitant to leave.
Victor concentrated on his breathing as Connor left the room. His mind was a whirl of emotions and thoughts, and Victor couldn't hope to separate them or concentrate long enough to deal with the mess. He needed to know that Craig was alive and well, then he could sleep as peacefully as his pain allowed.
Craig must have flown or used super-speed because Victor had barely decided on that before Craig was in the room. He looked at Victor warily, swallowing hard like he was expecting rejection or a hand to the face.
Victor wasn't entirely sure why and frowned at Craig. "Are you okay?"
Craig laughed, bitter and brittle. "I should be asking you that. You were just tortured, then you wake up and find about... all this," he said, gesturing to the room around them.
"You're worried because I know you're a villain," Victor realised.
"Uh. Yeah, of course!"
"I don't care about that, Craig. You're a villain now, you could be a hero later. Tastes change," he said with a grin at Craig's surprised laugh. "I know you're a good person, so that's enough for me."
Craig looked relieved at Victor's words, but he could see that he didn't believe them completely.
"You wouldn't kidnap someone for money by threatening their children, would you?" Victor asked.
"Of course not - "
"And you wouldn't torture someone without waiting for your ransom demands to be met, would you?"
"No, I... they did what?" Craig asked, his expression changing from indignant to one of pure anger.
"They called Mother for a ransom. She agreed to pay, and they tortured me anyway. Cara... she wanted custody of Elijah and Elliot."
"Break her fucking arm before jewelling her," Craig's amplified voice echoed through the Hive.
Connor put a hand on Craig's shoulder gently. "Let him rest now. Go back to the others. Check and make sure you didn't wake Ida with that voice amplification," he added, sympathetic to Craig's wince.
Ida had threatened all of them if they woke her before 10am, as she'd had a ten-hour shift and the adrenaline of healing and worrying over her family had exhausted her. Connor doubted even Boomer's shout would have woken Ida from the dead sleep he'd seen her in earlier, but he didn't want to risk her wrath.
"I'll send Ace down with your painkillers. Ida brought the good stuff. So did Honey, which is probably more worrying," Craig said, patting Victor's hand gently.
"I was tortured and I don't even get a hug?" Victor teased.
He could see that Craig needed more physical contact than a hand pat would allow, so he held his breath in anticipation of the pain of a hug, hoping Craig wouldn't notice. He hugged Craig back as firmly as his strength and pain allowed.
"I'm so sorry, Victor. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Ever," Craig added in a fierce whisper.
Unsure what to really say to that, Victor let out his breath as Craig stood up again. "Break a leg."
Craig snorted. "We already broke both of them. I think Jewel's going to turn the pieces into necklaces and rings."
Utterly speechless this time, Victor just watched as Craig left the room to find Ace and check on Ida. "Connor? Who's Ace?" he asked once Craig was long gone.
"Adam's nickname; Craig made it up, which is probably the only reason why he answers to it," Connor added with a grin. His grin faded as he looked at Victor again. "You're taking this remarkably well, darling."
"The villains or torture?" Victor asked, seeing that Connor was worried about him.
His worry looked like a brownish colour. Sort of like dirt, like the worry of a person who might be dead and buried - and not necessarily in that order - before they could see their child again. Victor shook his head at that, probably adding to Connor's worry. Emotions didn't have colours. It was just the lighting.
"Darling?"
"I'm all right, Connor. Well, I'm in a lot of pain, but I can't say I regret knowing that neither of those women will survive the... uh, day? Night? They threatened and hurt my children, Connor. They were going to kidnap Craig, and with his power, they probably would've kept torturing him until he died. Greta didn't want money, she wanted to hurt Layla and Warren. Cara wanted to hurt Craig to get to me."
"I'm not judging you, darling. Honestly, if you weren't awake right now, I'd probably be helping them take Cara apart. I... I've told you how I can be intense, correct? That intensity doubles when those I love are hurt."
Victor blinked. "You love me?"
Connor froze like a deer in headlights. "I... uh, I... I've been thinking about it for weeks, but I always thought it was too soon. I only regret that I didn't tell you sooner so you wouldn't think it was a result of this. It really isn't, I do love you, and you don't have to say it back or even feel it yet because love is different for everyone - "
"Connor," Victor said, stopping his anxious rant. "Say it again. Properly, this time, If you please," he added with a cheeky grin.
Connor smiled at his teasing tone, despite Victor's rough voice from screaming through hours of torture and the damage to his body from the electricity. Even now, he was still thinking of those around him first and comforting them. "I love you, Victor."
His love was a soft pink, tender and anxious. It would grow to a deeper red or fade away, depending on the love that was returned, Victor knew that instinctively. He wondered just what the drugs did to him to make him see these things, especially so clearly. Even when he was in court, he hadn't seen colours like this, had simply known which jurors were on his side or his opposition's. Now, however, no matter if it was a result of the torture, the drugs still in his system, or a product of his own imagination, Victor knew Connor's words for the truth.
Victor smiled at Connor. "I can see that."
Adam knocked on the panel beside the doorway, holding up a clear plastic bag full of pill bottles. "Do you want the good stuff or the great stuff?"
...
Fisher was quiet as he drove towards the Hive. Mia had the book of road maps sitting on her lap, neither of them really trusting the GPS but not discussing it.
As she directed Fisher through Maxville, Mia tried not to flinch at the trees on the side of the road. The night shift was messing with her mind and she couldn't help but believe Fisher's theories, especially with the storm still in the clouds overhead and the town eerily quiet. "Turn right here."
"You've got the list of the friends, kid?" Fisher asked as he followed Mia's instruction.
"Yeah; why?"
"Read the names and basic descriptions for me. I forget names easily," Fisher admitted.
Mia wondered if that was why he still called her 'kid' but didn't want to ask. Comparing the road ahead to the map, Mia saw that the Hive was along the road and they just needed to keep going straight. Taking the file, she started to read the names and descriptions of Layla and Warren's friends.
"Okay, that'll do. We're here; we can meet the rest in person," Fisher said, turning into the parking area.
Closing the file and setting aside the book, Mia looked out to the Hive. A warm glow could be seen between the trees and she followed Fisher towards it, the path lit by solar lights.
"What the hell?" Fisher muttered.
"What's wrong?" Mia asked, brushing a branch away from her shoulder.
"The trees are moving."
"What?" Mia said, disbelief turning to concern as the tree branch swayed back, closer to her collarbone than her shoulder.
"Get off!" Fisher snapped, pushing the tree branches away and trying to move forward.
He made it two steps before he was stopped again.
The sound of footsteps caught both Mia and Fisher's attention and they stopped struggling, wondering who was coming to meet them.
Mia swallowed hard. Was she going to be caught in the forest for the rest of her life? Was the forest going to burn down around her, her body caught in the trees?
"Would both of you calm down? You're not going to die. That dance card's already full tonight," a male voice said.
A teenager stepped out into the light, the trees backing away from Mia and Fisher at his touch. "They wouldn't do anything if you weren't here to harm us. Prison counts as harm, especially with supers," he added, looking at Fisher intently.
"Who are you?" Fisher asked, not recognising him from Mia's descriptions.
Those two kids had too many friends, he thought to himself in annoyance.
The kid laughed. "We're planning on making a hell of a lot more friends, old man. As many as it takes," he added, the words softer, as though talking to himself.
"Why?" Mia asked.
The teen blinked and looked at her in surprise. "For change, of course. Two people can't do much, two hundred can," he said with a shrug.
"Let us through," Fisher said, frustrated and probably tired, just like Mia was.
He didn't even move a step before the trees were blocking his way again.
"You asked me who I was, and I didn't introduce myself," the teen said, sounding apologetic without saying the words. "I'm Merge."
"Merge? None of the kids were named that," Mia said, adding to Fisher's confusion.
"I'm thinking of using it as my super name. It's kind of vague and doesn't really say what I can do, but I like it for exactly that reason."
"What can you do?" Fisher asked, trying to sound gruff and coming across as wary.
Merge smiled. "Read minds, bring up memories, and change your thoughts or memories. It's difficult to find a word that encompasses all of that," he said with a shrug.
Mia couldn't help but wonder if they were going to get out of this alive. In the low light from the Hive, she could see Merge smile.
"Don't worry, Detective Mia Jordan, you'll live. Both of you will," he said, as though he was being generous in his offer. "You just won't remember the... hmm... last two days. It's shocking how fast the flu can take a toll on your body, isn't it?"
Mia only had time to frown before her body ached, her nose clogged, her mind fogged, and exhaustion swiftly took its toll on her body. In front of her, Fisher swayed on his feet. As she dropped to her knees, her body too weak to stay upright, Mia wondered if this meant she didn't have to go through another box and a half of cold cases on her desk.
Donny waited until both Detectives were unconscious on the ground before calling for Adam to get Craig. They had one hell of a mess to clean up.
...
Craig looked at the two unconscious cops in the back of the car, then over to Donny in the driver's seat. "I didn't know you could drive."
"I don't like to drive, but that doesn't mean I can't," Donny replied. "Keep your attention on the road, would you? I'm still trying to wipe Fisher without destroying his psyche. You need to warn me of any dangers on the road."
"Why's he taking so long? You already finished Ms. Mia, yeah?"
"He has more layers, now shut up."
Craig mimed zipping his lips and concentrated on the road ahead. Behind them, his original form was helping Grant and Jewel slowly destroy Cara.
Silence reigned for several minutes and Craig glanced over when the tension leaked from Donny's shoulders. "You good, dude?"
"Yeah. Got the last layer; he won't be a problem anymore."
"And if he is, he'll be sleeping with the fishes," Craig said with a heavy accent, breaking out into peals of laughter as Donny rolled his eyes at him.
"Super Jesus save me," he muttered, concentrating on the road again as he followed Adam's directions to Mia's unit.
"You sure this is the right place? I've seen shoeboxes bigger than this. No lie, Connor's got seriously big feet."
"I'm sure it's the right place; it's what Adam sent me. Check with him if you're not sure."
Craig winced. "Too late; I already stopped time. We've got, like, ten minutes to get her upstairs."
"For fu... you couldn't have waited until I opened the goddamn door?" Donny muttered, hurrying to get out of the car as Craig bulked up his arms and lifted the Detective out of the back seat.
"Her neighbour's watching," Craig said, nodding to a lit window with a frozen face peering out into the darkness.
"I could've got them on the way back."
"Just hurry up, dude," Craig said over his shoulder, heading up to the apartment block and waiting for Donny to open the front door.
Donny jogged after him, opening the door and narrowly avoiding hitting a cat that was sitting by the entrance. Moving the cat carefully, the creature warm and unnaturally still under his hands, Donny opened the door wide so Craig could walk inside. He flew them up to the Detective's room, Donny opened the door and turned on the light.
"It's the opposite of the Tardis: smaller on the inside," Craig muttered, stepping into the apartment that barely fit a bed, the mattress encroaching on the kitchenette.
"For the amount she pays in rent, I would have expected something bigger than this," Donny admitted, frowning.
"You want to dress her in pyjamas or do the tissues?"
"Can't we just leave her collapsed in her clothes?" Donny asked. "It's creepy."
"You removed memories from her mind; that's creepy."
"Can't you just do it super fast?"
"Are we actually having a moral dilemma over this? I'm actively killing my own sister right now and this is what trips our moral sensors?"
Donny snorted. "That's different. Besides, we have standards. We're villains, not creeps."
"Okay. I'll do it. You do the tissues."
Donny nodded, found a box of tissues, and started scattering them around the apartment in various states of use. It took barely two minutes for most of the apartment to be covered, and he opened the cough syrup and nasal decongestion spray that they'd bought. Emptying some of the syrup down the sink and spraying the decongestant into a few tissues to help add believability, Donny set the bottles on the kitchen counter. Detective Mia was in her pyjamas by the time he'd finished, and Craig was waiting at the door.
"Good to go?" Craig asked, looking around the room once more.
"Yeah. You're changing Fisher too, y'know."
Craig winced. "I'm going super fast for him, too. No one told me nakedness was going to be involved tonight. Not even the people I want naked, ugh." Donny laughed at that, Craig grinning at the sound. "I knew I'd get ya. Haul ass, time's about to start again," he said, lifting Donny once the door was locked behind them, and flying them back out of the apartment block to Wendy's car.
"We'll have to go to the precinct to clear up their notes and computer files. The people are more delicate; I'll do them while you get Adam to help with the computers," Donny said as he drove towards Fisher's apartment.
In the apartment building behind them, a cat meowed loudly as it walked into a wall.
...
Fisher woke up, immediately wishing that he hadn't. He hadn't been sick for... well, far too long, and he loathed the feeling of weakness and vulnerability now just as much as he had the last time and every time before. He remembered calling Chief to let him know that he wouldn't be in, Chief muttering about how they didn't need villains when half the precinct was out with the flu.
Figuring the stay in hospital had probably infected him, the painkillers probably making his immune system weak as well, Fisher groaned and looked over to his digital clock.
"Two-thirty? Fuck," he groaned, forcing himself to sit up slowing, his head aching.
Standing up took a full minute, Fisher's legs unsteady and the room spinning around him. Inhaling and exhaling with a cough, Fisher forced himself to breathe for a few more minutes before pulling on his power for the first time since the last time he was sick. He had things to do and cases to solve, and Fisher would be damned before he let Tyrone and Monty anywhere near his work again.
His power as a phoenix-like super not only allowed him to die and be reborn, but he also had the ability to heal. Fisher had discovered early in his life that the power only healed himself, no matter what he did or tried. The thought brought back a memory of his first mother, her pale and pallid face as sickness took her life, Fisher crying over her body for hours before he could bring himself to leave. He dismissed the memory, the pain in his chest not lessened despite the lifetimes since her death, breathed as deep as his constricted lungs allowed, and pulled on his power.
His body glowed as his power burned away the sickness. Once it was done, Fisher took in a deep breath, only to be racked by a chesty cough. His power had never failed him before, and a flu should be simple enough to burn away.
Frowning in confusion, Fisher made his way over to his desk. He held onto the edge of the desk as he rummaged through the mess of paper and books, a pencil rolling off the table to be forever lost. Finding what he was looking for, Fisher opened his diary and looked at the last entry he'd written. He rarely used the thing since he had one at work, but Fisher tended to write his own ideas and thoughts at random times when he wasn't at work near his diary there. The last entry was only a few weeks ago.
September 13th. Peace - super? Bettendorf - accomplice or mastermind?
Fisher re-read the entry twice, even taking a moment to determine that it was his own writing.
Who the fuck were Peace and Bettendorf?
...
While the precinct cameras were looping, Adam checked the computers and Craig's work for a third time. He confirmed that the police system was completely clear of any mention of Layla Bettendorf, Layla Williams, or Warren Peace. He added his own code in the background to ensure he always had a way into the system in the future.
"You're sure it's done? We can't have anything with their names, not even personal files," Donny said.
"I'm telling you, dude, it's all wiped. Hell, I even removed Greta's application to withdraw Layla as her next of kin," Adam said.
"Ooh! Dibs on telling the old bag," Craig!Tyrone called.
"You sure you got all of the paper files? I can't do shit with that from here," Adam said.
"Yeah, it's all cleared. A few daily planners and notebooks are missing pages, but they won't notice," Donny said.
"I'd just like to point out that Donny's mind flu is fucking terrifying; he took out half the precinct with a look!" Craig!Monty said in awe.
"It was more than a look and you know it," Donny said, rolling his eyes.
"It's still terrifying."
"If you're both done, would you get back here already? Ma's finished with Victor and gone to sleep; we need to discuss important shit with her in the morning," Adam said.
"Yeah, we'll be there soon. Donny even got people over telephone lines. Anyone else we need to call?" Craig!Monty asked.
"Your counterparts," Donny replied, nodding to Monty and Tyrone.
"I'll call them on the way to the Hive while you drive," Craig offered, heading out to the car with Donny before shifting back.
"Thanks. I'll be dead tired by the time we get back," Donny said, groaning and rubbing his eyes. "You need to start working with my power more. I'll start training you at the after school training."
"Cool," Craig said, grinning and unlocking his phone to call the real Monty.
...
Craig laughed abruptly, stilling Jewel and Grant's handiwork.
"You okay, babe?" Jewel asked.
Beside her, Grant lifted his goggles and pushed his blonde hair back into a messy spike, looking over to Craig in concern.
"I'm fine. My other version just found out something fucking hilarious and I need to tell Greta. Wanna come?"
"Always, babe," Grant said with a wink.
Craig made an nggh sort of sound, his eyes glazing at the thought. "Super Jesus, I love Donny's power."
"I said it but I wasn't thinking anything?" Grant said, frowning.
Jewel laughed and kissed his cheek. "I was. C'mon, let's see what this hilarious thing is. I need a break if we're going to finish her tonight."
"Ace, take over for us?"
"Shit yes. I'll be right down. Don't open the floor again," Adam said, a warning in his tone.
"You said you would be here right away; you weren't, so I made you. I just helped you keep your promise!" Craig said innocently.
"Shut up," Adam said from the doorway, rolling his eyes at his best friend. "Go away already, you're stinking the room out."
"That's 'cause Jewel's naked under her jumpsuit."
"Love it when you tease us, babe," Grant said, kissing her cheek.
"I don't. Get out," Adam said, shaking his head at Grant's offered sledgehammer.
"Come on," Craig called, already in the hallway and heading to Greta's room. "Have fun, Ace!" he called over his shoulder.
Cara still had use of her eyes and mouth, though her throat had been jewelled so she could only make a scraping sort of noise any time she wanted to talk or scream. The scraping noise intensified when Adam's hands were coated with a thick layer of acid.
Adam looked at the woman who'd made his best friend's life a toxic hell since he'd first shifted as a child, and smiled. "I will."
"Oh, Greta! Hey, is she still conscious?" Craig asked, draping himself over Zach's shoulders and looking at the scene before them.
Greta was physically embedded in the wall itself, thick vines holding her in place and poisoning her. The effect of the poison was visible in her pale skin, laboured breathing even while unconscious, and the mix of vomit and other bodily fluids on the ground beneath her.
"Not yet. Another five seconds," Zach replied, nodding over to a large clock that Ethan had asked Terrence to build for him.
Terrence had basically created it, thrown it into the room, and escaped upstairs to the Hive and Adam's sanctuary, as far away from the blood and smell as he could get.
"Hmm, okay. I've got some great news. You'll love it," Craig said, grinning and kissing Zach's cheek with a smacking noise.
Warren withdrew the poison slowly, watching as the pain was replaced by anger in Greta's eyes. She was still blind thanks to Zach's handiwork, but the emotion was there nonetheless. He stepped back, stretched, and looked over to Craig and Zach, Ethan talking with Layla beside them. "What's your news?"
Craig grinned. "Wait, can she hear me? Okay, cool. Adam just finished going through the police system and removing your names from, like, everything. Including Greta's next of kin application. So when you're dead, Greta, that means that Layla gets all of your money!" he said gleefully.
Greta made a pained noise at his revelation, even worse than when the flames had hurt her earlier.
"Oh, that is fantastic! Thank you, Craig. Thank you, Adam!" Layla called.
"My fucking pleasure. How much of Cara do you want left?" Adam asked.
"Oh, at least enough to hurt. Jewel wants her heart, so don't fuck that up."
"Keep her throat, too. Elijah and Elliot like the sound; I'm going to record it as a lullaby for them," Grant said.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Jewel said, kissing him firmly.
"You're kissing again, aren't you?" Adam asked, turning off his speakers abruptly.
Craig grinned and kissed Warren's cheek. "This is the best back to school party ever."
Warren laughed. "I don't think I've ever had one of those parties, but my mother probably did," he mused.
"I think I'll donate the money to charity. Something for animals, perhaps, in my mother's name," Layla said, smiling when Greta made another pained sound.
"How much money are you getting? It can go to various charities," Ethan asked, already looking on his app to find Greta's accounts.
"Ooh, good idea, Eth!" Zach said. "There's those rainforest charities, too, yeah?"
Another pained groan.
"You're getting ten million, not including whatever is in off-shore accounts."
"Ten charities, a mill each?" Robin suggested.
"Could do twenty with half a million; I doubt they'd be upset," Warren suggested.
"If she has ten million here, then I'm sure there's even more in off-shore accounts. Twenty? Thirty? Fifty?" Layla asked, watching Greta's face carefully as she said each number, the old woman's face twisting at the latter number. "Fifty, huh? Don't worry, I'll look after it," she promised, smiling when Greta tried to scream at her.
"Who's turn is next?" Ethan asked, looking around the room.
"Mine."
"Heids, no. It's bad enough you're here; you can't do this, too."
"Can't?" Heidi snapped at her brother's words.
Zach sighed. "Not that you're not able to! Of course you can, it's just that you shouldn't."
"You can go get a shovel for that bullshit, Zach. Heidi's here and she's allowed to participate," Honey said from the doorway, daring anyone to disagree with her. "I'm next so don't do anything permanent, sweetheart."
Heidi smiled brightly and walked across the room, Greta already starting to twitch as she approached. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
...
Jewel concentrated carefully, trying not to be distracted by the sounds and noises behind her. After another minute, she stopped her power, turning and glaring at her boyfriends. "Would you two stop making out? I need to focus!"
Craig pulled away from Grant, his curls a mess and his lips kiss-swollen and red. Grant's lips were plump and his eyes were closed tightly, his pants tented between them.
"Sorry, Jewel. I can help you," Craig said, glancing between her and Grant who was still breathing heavily and trying to control himself.
"Yes, please. The shock's wearing off and her heart is going a million beats a minute. It's throwing the process off and taking even longer," Jewel said, turning to the open cavity in Cara's chest.
"You want me to calm her?"
"If you can, that would definitely help."
"Fuck. I'll be back later. Sorry, babe," Grant said, kissing Craig before slipping off the seat and leaving the room with an awkward gait.
"Aw, he's going to come without us," Craig said with an exaggerated pout.
"It's not the first time, babe. If she breaks the heart with an irregular rhythm before I finish jewelling it, I'll be so pissed. I've spent an hour on this already."
Craig looked at the cavity, past her exposed ribs, and saw a small section of Cara's heart jewelled in a deep red ruby. "It's beautiful, babe."
"Thanks! I'm going to get it whole and try to jewel the ribs, too. I think it would be a nice accent feature for Maxville Fashion Week."
Craig laughed into his fist. "Cara's always wanted to be part of MFW."
"I like helping make people's dreams come true," Jewel said with a grin.
Craig kissed her cheek. "You're my hero. Here, let me help calm her," he said, touching Cara's forehead and changing her emotions รก la Peacekeeper.
Cara's heart slowed to a regular beat, and Jewel thanked Craig before returning to her slow and precise work.
...
On Sunday evening Greta breathed her last breath, her body littered with burns and bruises, and more poison in her system than blood.
Layla watched as Greta died, wondering if she could push Heidi to revive her again.
"You okay, hippie?" Warren asked, wrapping blood-stained hands around her waist and kissing her cheek.
"Fine. Watching her die wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be," she admitted, shrugging.
"We can bring her back again?" Warren offered, a vine already circling on the ground beneath them.
"No, don't bother. Let's go stage her death so we can get her money and donate it all."
"All?" Ethan asked curiously.
"Well, whatever I technically inherit. The offshore money will go into the Hive," Layla clarified.
"Just checking," Ethan said with a grin. "I'll melt her down before her body starts to get rigor mortis."
"Let me take the poison out of her first; we want it to look natural," Layla said.
"I'll get the burns out then," Warren said, moving forward.
"Not much we can do for bruises, right?" Zach asked.
"Not really. I say we set her up with a heart attack and falling down the stairs. Heidi, can you do that even though she's already dead?" Layla asked.
Heidi considered Layla's question, looking at blue sparks of electricity on her fingertips, then nodded. "I can do it."
Wendy arrived in the doorway with Donny a few metres behind her. "You guys finished yet? Donny doesn't want to come in unless she's actually dead."
Heidi pressed a hand to Greta's chest, the old woman's body arching off the ground as electricity forced its way through her. Aiming for her heart, Heidi curled the electricity around Greta's arteries, blocking them and impersonating a heart attack. "Dead," she declared.
"It's all right, Donny. The witch is dead now," Wendy called, holding out a hand for him to join her.
"If you're doing some shitty early Halloween prank, I'll let you know that I can scream loud enough to burst eardrums," Donny said, standing beside his girlfriend and looking into the room warily.
"Ooh, awesome idea. Ida's got those fake skeletons at the hospital, right? We're totally making them move when people come trick or treating," Zach said to Heidi, grinning.
"We?"
"Okay, you. I'll make the lights in the pumpkins change colours."
Heidi grinned. "Cool."
"All right, all done. I made sure to keep the previous burns so it's not suspicious for the coroner," Warren said. "Is all the poison gone, hippie?"
Layla checked once more, her eyes green, then nodded. "All gone," she confirmed.
"I'll melt her down," Ethan said, moving to press a hand against Greta's rapidly cooling skin. "It's not working."
"What?" Warren said, eyes wide.
"Ethan, are you sure? Why wouldn't it work for her now that she's dead?" Layla asked in confusion.
"It could be restricted to organic matter."
"You had a blender in you for three weeks," Warren said, frowning.
"I can bury her in Eden," Robin offered.
Ethan grinned, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I was testing you; I can't always be around to carry dead bodies for you."
"I hate you right now," Warren groaned.
Ethan shrugged. "Worth it; we know how you respond to a dead body emergency now."
"Speaking of dead bodies, Cara's finally dead," Craig said, hanging off the door frame and grinning. "Jewel got her heart, rib cage, and eyes. They're beautiful in a creepy way. Adam's adding a layer of acid to one of the eyes to see what it looks like."
"Heh, see," Zach snorted.
Craig snickered. "Pun not intended, but I'll take it," he said, holding a hand up for a high-five.
Zach slapped his hand and held his arms out for a hug. "You 'kay? I know she wasn't a nice person, but she was still your sister."
Craig hugged Zach back tightly and shrugged awkwardly against his chest. "If she wasn't my sister, then I wouldn't have been friends with her. I didn't even like her, dude. The best thing she did was have Elliot and Elijah. The rest of it was abuse, jealousy, and hate. Even when we were kids, she was a total bitch. I'm not sorry and no regrets, I promise."
"We need to get a permanent therapist," Zach said. "C'mon, I made cookies."
"Better than any therapy," Craig said, pulling away with a broad grin. "What kind?"
"Triple choc, maple and pecan, and some extra fudgy chocolate abomination that tastes better than it looks."
"Stop worrying about the fashion show, Z. You'll kill it dead like Greta."
Ethan shook his arms slightly as Greta was added to his body in a melted form. "This is not pleasant. She's so... cold, it's not natural."
"And the blender was?" Robin asked, smirking.
Heidi laughed and took Robin's hand, leading them up to the Hive.
"We'll be up later. We'll clean up the blood."
"Do you think I can change her will to have a home burial? I really did want to add her to the fertiliser," Layla mused.
"If we can't, then I think we got enough blood out of her to help whatever plants you want."
"Oh, I was going to sell it. Greta would hate it even more that she was adding to the economy, not hoarding wealth."
Warren laughed and pulled Layla close to kiss her. "I love you so much."
"Hey, stop that. Where'd Craig go? I want to show him the eyeball," Adam said, grinning.
"Upstairs with the others. Zach made fancy cookies," Layla said, smiling.
"Aw, shit yes!"
"Wait, I want to see the eyeball," Warren said, pulling away from Layla.
Adam grinned and held out his hand, a sparkly green eyeball resting on his palm. "It's green because of my acid. The other one is pink."
"How is Jewel going to showcase it at the fashion show?" Layla asked curiously.
"The eyeballs are going to be on a velvet case, and the rib cage and heart will be standing in a glass case with the heart held in place with jewelled strings," Jewel said from behind Adam. "We had to cut the eyeball string thing off to keep the eyeball itself. Don't use your kitchen scissors again."
"I don't remember the technical term, but never call it an eyeball string again," Warren said, wincing.
"It's an optical nerve," Adam said, laughing.
"You left the scissors downstairs, right? I'd hate for someone to use them in the kitchen accidentally," Layla said.
"Yeah, they're still next to the rib cage. Where is everyone?" Jewel asked, realising that the room was empty behind them.
"Upstairs. Cookies," Warren replied.
"Oh, awesome. I'll go find Grant; see you up there."
Adam realised that Warren and Layla weren't making any attempt to follow, and pulled a face at them. "Go to your room. This was meant to be a safe space."
"I don't want to change it to a murder space; keeping it all in the same location is how people get caught. What? I read a lot of true crime and true super crime," Warren said when they both looked at him.
"I'm going. Do whatever. Don't tell me," Adam said, waving with his free hand and heading upstairs.
Layla turned to Warren, the door closing with a thick set of vines. "He has the best ideas."
Warren agreed wholeheartedly, kissing Layla with enough heat to warm both of them as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
...
End of the hundred and seventeenth chapter.
Thanks for reading; hope you liked it!
