Author's Note: Hi! It's been a while, yeah? I was poked about this story a little bit ago and it finally kicked up the inspiration to edit another chapter. It's been forever, sorry guys! *hides* There is much more written for this, though, and I am going to try and get the rest of the chapters edited and posted. :)

Broken Heroes
by starlitpurple

Chapter 3

The moment the men had let him stand on his full weight, he was grateful they had hold of him. He absolutely ached, his body just felt so stiff. Surprisingly, they waited until he stopped leaning half his weight on them, and only moved when he was able to shift his weight without toppling over.

They went through the doors he'd been staring at ever since he'd awoke, and then turned down a brightly lit hallway. He was hoping to find out where Kaede was being held, hoping to get a layout of the place, but ended up disappointed. There were no doors this way, only an elevator at the end of the curved hallway in the same curve of the cells on the floor above he'd seen from inside of the examination room.

He stumbled a bit as they shuffled into the small elevator, but their strong grips on him kept him upright. The elevator itself had no floor buttons on the wall. Instead it had a camera in the corner, and what must have been a mic somewhere, cause one of them said, "High security cell block, level 2," and the doors slid closed.

The doors opened again to the same brightness of the hallway below. They walked about a half circle around what he would swear was the exact same hallway, if not for the doors lining one side every fifteen feet or so, before stopping in front of one. There was a loud buzz, and then the door slid to the side. He was quickly shuffled into the cell and walked over to the bed. The men waited until he was sitting to release him and leave. It was really more of a courtesy than he could have asked of them, since he was a prisoner and they were armed guards just doing their jobs.

The cell door slid back into place with another loud buzz, blocking out the brightness of the hallway light and plunging him into the dimness of his new cell. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. The only light coming in was from the examination room below them.

The cell itself was cramped. The only solid wall was the one the door was on, the other three were all made of thick glass. Or something akin to glass, anyway. There was probably something special about it if it were made to keep high security risk NEXT prisoners. He didn't really want to think about it.

Aligning the solid wall were a crude toilet and shower, the glass wall dividing his shower from the mirroring shower in the neighboring cell was sandblasted, and there was a small divider between the toilet and shower spout. There was what looked to be a mostly see-thru privacy curtain pushed to the side. If he hadn't been so sore from the past few days-week, he amended silently to himself-he would have gotten up to see, but he was simply too worn out and exhausted. Even entertaining the idea of a shower, which he very dearly wanted right now, made him want to curl up in a ball. Honestly, he wasn't sure he could stand long enough to get himself even halfway clean.

The bed was caddycorner to the shower, up against the wall, the head of the bed against the curved wall at the back of his cell, the one overlooking the exam room below. From here he had a clear view of the chair he'd been shackled into just five minutes before. He could also see most of his fellow comrades, which were all watching him with various degrees of worry.

The coms either didn't work between the cells, or they were off right now, which would make talking pointless. The glass distorted everything past the two cells bordering either side of his own, but the ones directly across from him were clearer, if harder to see in the dim lighting.

He caught Bunny's eye as the other crossed to sit on his own bed, directly on the other side of the glass from his own. His partner's room was a mirror image to his, with his facilities in the far corner bordering the next cell over. It seemed all the cells were set up this way.

Are you alright?, he mouthed at him.

He gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, fighting the way his eyes were drooping.

Bunny stared for a long moment, looking him over thoroughly before meeting his gaze once more. Kotetsu got caught up in a yawn so intense it made his body shudder and his eyes water. When his vision cleared, Bunny nodded toward his bed and mouthed, Get some rest.

The truth was, he didn't want to move, but he didn't want to sleep either. There were so many pieces of the puzzle missing. So many unanswered questions. What had happened after he blacked out from the blast that had taken out the H-01? How had things spiralled so out of hand that they'd all been taken prisoner? Most of all, he wanted to know what Maverick's purpose was in doing all of this, and more specifically, why he had abducted Kaede along with them.

Movement caught his eye and he looked up to find Bunny giving him his best stern look.

He chuckled, holding a hand out placatingly, and reached behind him to feel for the top edge of the sheet. "Okay, okay," he said aloud, knowing Bunny would read his lips, "I'll get some sleep."

His fingers found the top of the sheet, and he tugged it down to where he was sitting sideways on the mattress. He sighed loud and long, then pushed himself to his feet. He moved the sheets a little further back and then all but collapsed into them. They were thin and stiff, and smelled like bleach, but the thin mattress was surprisingly more comfortable than the hard examination chair he'd been on since waking up.

He curled onto his side, facing Bunny's cell and let his eyes slide closed.


Kotetsu woke up abruptly, later, breathing hard; a cold sweat making his skin clammy. The images of his nightmares fading slowly from his mind. It took him a moment to orient himself.

He looked over his shoulder at Barnaby curled around a pillow, sleeping soundly in the cell next door. The same jumpsuit he was wearing hanging loose around his shoulders where some of the buttons had come undone. He'd been through so much already, lost nearly everyone he'd ever been close to, and turned into nothing more than a pawn to Maverick.

This was the real nightmare. Only it wasn't just his own, all of his comrades were being forced to actively participate in it.

He groaned and pressed his palms into his eyes, relishing a moment in the pressure there, then swiped a hand across his forehead, and slowly rolled into a sitting position, sliding his legs over the side of his bed. He felt the pull of his muscles, but the achiness and stiffness was much more muted than it had been the night before. He had wondered, briefly, before he'd fallen asleep, if he'd even be able to move when he woke up.

He rolled one shoulder, followed by the other, and then stretched his arms out in front of him, bringing them slowly above his head until his back popped.

He looked across the small cell at the little shower stall in the corner. He was really in need of a shower, and, someone must have kept him hydrated in his unconscious state, cause he really needed to use that toilet, too. Well, time to try out the facilities…

Curling his fingers around the edge of the bed, he hoisted himself up. His muscles protested a bit, but he could stay upright, which was good enough for now. He made his way over to the little toilet, a metal bowl that jutted out of the wall, then unzipped his jumpsuit low enough to pull himself out, and did his business.

And...huh, there was a tiny hand sink there beside the toilet. He'd completely missed that the night before.

Once he was finished, he stepped around the divider between the toilet and shower, and tugged the curtain across the rail. The curtain itself left little to the imagination and Kotetsu almost rethought this whole shower thing. Almost.

He tugged on the zipper of his jumpsuit, stepping out of it easily and setting it just outside the stall so it'd be within arms reach when he got out. He turned the knob and was surprised when the water turned hot after a few seconds. These were not amenities he expected being a prisoner being held against his will. He was pretty sure shower curtains weren't a thing either…

Attached to the inside of the little divider wall was a dispenser that read "shampoo" across the front.

He laughed out loud. "Man, you wouldn't know this was a prison." he said to himself.

His voice came out a little hoarse. Clearing his throat, he stepped back from the stream of water and turned the handle to the left. He cupped his hands under the water once it ran cold, and took several large gulps until he was sated.

He looked back at the dispenser and shook his head, testing his voice again. "This is nearing a Five Star Hotel."

He twisted the knob back to hot and turned around, leaning back into the stream and letting the comforting warmth sluice over his shoulders and down his back. Once he had wet his hair down, he turned to the side and used the fancy shampoo dispenser. He lathered it into his hair, enjoying the feeling of his nails on his scalp. He tilted his head back and let the water wash the soap away.

At least there was a bar of soap, no prison would be a proper prison without the obligatory bar of soap. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was looking for points for the prison thing or against it, anymore. This place was already getting to him.

When he'd finished, he reached around and grabbed a thin towel from the little shelf on the other side of the shower divider. There really wasn't much to it, but then again, he didn't know of many high security prisons that had personal showers either, so he couldn't really complain. He towelled himself off then rubbed it rapidly all over his head to help dry his hair.

To his surprise (and gratitude), he found a clean jumpsuit folded up neatly on the same shelf the towel was on. If his fingers hadn't skimmed them when he'd gotten the towel, he wouldn't even have noticed it there underneath the towel. Keeping his body behind the fogged curtain, he reached around and traded the now used towel for the clothing. He stepped into it, zipping it up just past his waist and then pushed the curtain aside. He stepped out so he'd have more room, and opted for tying the arms of the jumpsuit around his middle to hold the bottom half up.

In the cell next to his, Ivan was sitting in the floor doing leg stretches. He caught Kotetsu's look and waved solemnly at him. He mouthed something, but Kotetsu didn't quite catch it. He stepped closer to the wall that divided their rooms and shook his head.

"Sorry? I didn't get that." He didn't know why he was talking so loudly, it wasn't as if anyone would be able to hear him even if he were yelling at the top of his lungs.

Ivan must have understood him though. He held up a finger as he finished his stretch, and then pushed himself to his feet and moved closer. He pointed to Kotetsu's chest and mouthed, Are you feeling any better?

Oh. He put on a smile and nodded at him. Speaking slowly so he could read his lips, he said, "I'm feeling much better." There were so many things he wanted to ask, but these sound blocking walls were as annoying as they were confining. The quiet was almost claustrophobic.

As if hearing his thoughts, there was a staticky click, and then Maverick's voice was echoing through his room.

"Good morning, Heroes. I trust you enjoyed your night of peaceful quiet? I thought I'd give you all some time to...reflect on things."

Kotetsu had turned away from Ivan toward the source of the sound, and located the speaker on the ceiling of his cell toward the back of the room.

"Reflect?" another voice, rough with sleep-Barnaby's, flooded into his room.

He was sitting on his bed, looking as though he'd just sat up. His hair was sticking up at odd angles all over his head. Had this been any other time, Kotetsu would make a comment on it. Maybe he'd save it for later. If they could still talk later. He watched as Barnaby stood, moving to the glass overlooking the room below.

"I've spent my whole life reflecting!"

"Woah, easy Bunny." Kotetsu stepped forward. He didn't know why he was trying to intervene, or if he even really wanted to, for that matter. But he figured spouting his anger probably wasn't the best approach in this situation.

Bunny turned to look at him, a mixture of surprise and worry crossing his features before the frown returned. He didn't say anything though, merely looked him over, eyes roaming over him thoroughly.

Kotetsu moved toward the back edge of his cell, beside his bed, and looked down into the room below. Maverick was there, looking up at them all with that stupid smarmy gloating grin on his face. He could hear background noise from the others' cells filtering in through the speaker, and it was something like music to his ears.

"Ah Kotetsu," Maverick called, turning around to look at him. "How are you feeling this morning?"

He couldn't help the glare he threw at him. "Well, I woke up and I was still here, so."

Maverick chuckled at that. Funny-hilarious really, since he wasn't trying to be funny. "You know, this doesn't have to be a bad thing. You're making it worse than it is. I'm just working to make the world a better place here, and you all are going to help me."

"Oh really?" Karina's voice interrupted. "Last time I checked, being held prisoner against your will and being forced to take part in something you're not interested in is kind of a bad thing!"

"Someone needs to get their priorities straightened. Just sayin'."

Kotetsu was getting impatient, and he really didn't want Bunny to get himself into more trouble, than...whatever Maverick had up his sleeve. He did seem to enjoy tormenting Bunny after all.

"You still haven't mentioned what you plan to do with us all here," he pointed out. "You said you convinced everyone we were the bad guys, which is a great cover story for you, but you've said nothing about any reason for keeping us here."

Kotetsu could see his eyebrows raise at him from here. "Oh but you know more than anyone else what's going on."

He saw Bunny turn to look at him once more out of the corner of his eye, and he met his gaze with a confused frown. "What are you talking about? I've been mostly out of it since I got here, how could I possibly know more than anyone else?"

Bunny looked up, and Kotetsu followed his gesture to the speaker located overhead in Bunny's own room. Oh.

"We couldn't hear anything that happened last night, Kotetsu," Bunny told him anyway. "The system was off."

Right. That's why it'd been so maddeningly quiet all night and this morning. But he hadn't known that it was down before Dr. Autumn and Mason had paid him a visit.

"Well," Kotetsu said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still trying to work out how fixing my Hundred Power is going to play into your favor."

He could hear the sounds of surprise coming from the others.

"Wait," he heard Antonio say, "so he's going to help you?"

Barnaby was squinting at him as if trying to work out some hard riddle he'd just given him. He turned back to Maverick below. "But, why? Surely you don't think you can force us to work for you."

Maverick busted up laughing once more. "Well of course I can do that, Barnaby. But you already know that. No," he said, turning slowly to look at them all. "I have other plans for you all. Don't worry too much Barnaby, you'll find out soon enough.

"For today though," he continued, stopping mid-turn to look up at Ivan. "I'll be needing you."

"What?" Ivan said, eyes widening as the door of his cell opened behind him.

There was a ruckus of protests from everyone, as two guards stepped into Ivan's room. He let them take him by the arms and was escorted out into the bright hallway.

"That will be all for today, Heroes," Maverick's voice pulled Kotetsu's attention back to the man below. "Have a good day!" He said in a mock cheerful voice.

Kotetsu wanted to punch the words right back into his mouth.

Moments later, the two guards were dragging Ivan into the room below. The mic in the chamber below must have been turned off, cause he couldn't hear anything happening down there, but he could still hear his comrades. He wondered if this is what they'd done when he was down there the night before. Maverick spoke to him for a few minutes, Ivan getting increasingly upset at whatever he was saying. Then Maverick was waving his hand and he was being forced into the examination chair.

Ivan looked absolutely terrified. And of course he would be. Kotetsu had been scared and he was a grown man. Ivan was barely out of school-he didn't deserve this. Kotetsu's hands balled into fists and he set them against the cool glass in front of him, watching what was happening below.

"Was this what it was like yesterday?"

He didn't even realize he'd spoken the question aloud until Pao Lin's voice carried to his ears. "It's hard." He turned, looking through Ivan's cell to see her looking at him. "Watching while they do things to people you care about and not being able to do anything about it."

"Mmm," Keith put in, "even worse when you can't hear what's going on."

Karina and Nathan hummed in agreement.

"Are they really trying to fix your power?" Bunny asked. He hadn't taken his eyes off of what was happening below, but he had moved to his bed, leg curled under him. He turned his head in Kotetsu's direction, and Kotetsu sat and scooted up against the wall dividing their beds, turning so he could still see what they were doing with Ivan.

"Apparently," he replied. "They just did some kind of data gathering analysis scan thing of my abilities last night. She said she was going to need a few more runs of it before she'll be able to figure out how to go about fixing it."

"Can they really do that?" Antonio asked.

He shook his head and shrugged, looking back at the scene below. "I don't know."

Dr. Autumn and Mason were with Ivan now. Maverick had taken a spot off to the side. It looked like he was merely observing now.

Dr. Autumn was talking with Ivan now. She must have said something amusing, because Ivan smiled. She leaned back, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear. It was down today, Kotetsu noticed. It had been pulled into a pony the night before. She got up, stepping out of view momentarily, and came back holding the tablet and probe thing that she'd used on Kotetsu the night before.

Unlike the night before, though, Mason stood to the side. Which, come to think of it, made sense, actually. Ivan's ability wasn't a power enhanced one, so he wouldn't need to suppress him.

Moments later, Ivan's eyes were lit with the tell tale bright neon blue of all NEXT abilities, and then a perfect copy of Maverick himself was lying strapped into the chair. Kotetsu could faintly see the probe stuck into his forearm, leading into a little gadget device that the doctor's tablet was plugged into.

It didn't seem to take nearly as long as her analysis had on Kotetsu the night before-but then again, Ivan didn't have any issue of time with his ability. In fact, to his knowledge there wasn't anything wrong with his NEXT abilities. Why would they need to collect data on him?

Everyone else seemed as transfixed as he was on what was going on below them. No one had said anything since the doctor and her assistant had started.

Autumn was collecting her things now. She said something more to Ivan, and then all three of them looked over at Maverick. He said...something-it was really frustrating not being able to hear what was going on. Autumn seemed to protest to whatever it was, but at a raise of his eyebrows delivered with what was likely a threat, she relented, throwing Ivan a look, and then, surprisingly turning to look up at Kotetsu. Mason was looking at him, too.

Ivan was saying something to Maverick now, struggling a bit in his bonds. Whatever was about to happen, it apparently wasn't going to be good.

Maverick said something, then cocked his head upward at Kotetsu as well, that damn smirk on his face again.

His eyes widened and he shifted his gaze sideways to share a look with Bunny. Then smiled a little crazy. "Heh, they're probably about to drag me down there again."

"No," Karina said. "I don't think that's what this is about. It's-"

"Kaede!" Kotetsu all but growled when he saw his daughter being led in by Maverick's goons. He pounded on the glass, for all the good that did, and said, "Leave her alone, she's just a kid!"

Her eyes sought his as soon as she was able, and she said something to him, but he was too far away to be able to decipher what it was. Not to mention he was crap at lip reading. She was saying something to Maverick now, throwing occasional glances upward. Whatever it was, Maverick wasn't approving of it, and there was a note of finality that even Kotetsu felt as Maverick pointed at Ivan and laid out another threat or ultimatum.

She looked down to the side, her hands balled into fists, as Dr. Autumn came over. She reached up and pushed Kaede's hair over her shoulder, then knelt down and put a hand on Kaede's cheek. Kaede turned her head with it, and the red haired doctor started pressing buttons on the collar secured around her neck. Sneaking a glance at Mason, eyes lit up with his power, told him his suspicions were right.

They wanted Kaede to absorb someone's power.

Autumn finished whatever she was doing with the collar and rose to her feet.

The uniformed men standing behind Kaede shifted toward her, but she moved on her own, crossing the space to the examination chair. She looked at Ivan for a long moment, almost nervous, and then put a hand on his arm. He said something to her and she smiled fleetingly, saying something in return. And then she was being beckoned. She looked over her shoulder, then very quickly leaned over Ivan. Kotetsu wasn't sure what she'd done, but it'd only lasted a moment. Then she backed away and threw one last look up at Kotetsu, mouthing very plainly "I love you, Dad."

He put his hand to the glass, leaning in close. "I love you too, Kaede," he responded. Hoping she could see from there. Her smile was telling enough. There was a tiny nod as one of the guards put a hand on her shoulder to steer her out. ...Somehow Kotetsu knew it was meant for him.