Loki stepped out of the taxi and stepped to the gate of the facility. His energy was a precious commodity, so he hadn't teleported because he didn't exactly know where he was going. Instead, he'd chosen to arrive like a "normal" mortal. In a taxi.
He lifted his chin, put on his acting face, and banged on a wall. "Let me in, petty humans! I demand to speak to the founder of this institute! Demetri Avril. I know you're in there!"
The guard at the gate peeked out of the small station and looked Loki over. Oh, no. Another rogue patient, come back to demand blood in revenge for the damaging effects of the testing. Great. These were always lovely to deal with. The guard was a large, dark man. All muscle, all force, and used to dealing with both mental patients and rogue soldiers.
As a warning, he raised his taser gun and pointed it at Loki. "Sir, I need you to calm down. You can speak to him, but first... let me get your name. Are you a patient here? Or were you? We apologize for any... inconveniences... you may have had with the experimentation. Those are just side effects. Mr. Avril can't help your mental state. Just let me know who you are and what business you have here, and we'll get you some help."
Loki chuckled at the puny mortal's attempt to threaten him. He leveled his gaze at the soldier. "Tell him it is in regards to his missing telepath. And mention that I am not a patient man. The longer he takes to see me, the less chance he will ever see her again."
The guard swallowed hard and pulled at the walkie-talkie mounted to his shoulder. "Yeah, this is Gate 1. We've got a... bit of a situation out here. Um... boss has company."
"What sort of company?" a voice asked over the radio.
"Man says he's the one who kidnapped Ms. Barnett. Doesn't look too happy, either. You think it's the guy boss was expecting?"
"Let me check."
With that, the guard was left in silence. He swallowed again and gave a nervous chuckle.
/
Demetri stood in one of his research labs, helping his mother with their new gloves and trying to perfect the product. He had a white pair on his hands. "I don't care if you can pass them through fire and ice. I want these things to pass through lava without so much as a stain. It want them to go through liquid nitrogen without becoming stiff. Try harder. If we can do this, imagine what else we can create. Whole suits of armor! Astronaut suits! Firemen's garb! Come on, people!"
Just as he turned for the door, a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Mr. Avril, the man you warned us of is here. What should the guard outside do?"
Demetri gave a long sigh. He knew this day would come, he just wasn't expecting it so soon. "Tell him to personally escort him to my office. Meanwhile, I want every floor and room locked down. No one gets in or out for any reason. No more blood has to be spilled than what is absolutely necessary. You have your orders."
"Yes, sir."
The speaker cut off and Demetri gripped his staff. "SID," he continued, "Record this. Upon my death, Dr. Sara Avril is the new owner of Avril Corporation."
"Demetri, what are you doing?" Dr. Sara asked as she walked toward her son. "What is happening? Who is that man outside?"
"Don't worry, Mama. I'll protect you and the rest of our company." He walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, Mama. Goodbye." Before his mother could protest, Demetri pulled away from her and quickly went out the door, letting it lock behind him.
Dr. Sara flew to the door and pulled on it, trying to open it. "SIDNES, I command you to open this door!"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Sara," the computerized voice replied. "I cannot. Not without Master Demetri's orders to do so. You will be safe here."
"But what about my son?!" she shrieked. "My son!"
Demetri could hear her screams as he walked down the hall. He tried his best to ignore them as he stepped into an elevator. He rode up a few floors and stepped out into a lobby. Demetri quickly crossed the room, opened a door, walked down a hallway, and went into his office. He sat behind his desk and slowly exhaled.
This was it. Show time.
/
Kitania stopped in front of a storefront labeled "Rachmaninoff Instrumentals" and clasped her hands together like a three-year-old who had just been handed a bag of candy. She glanced to the side to make sure Drake was keeping up. The waiting was excruciating. She waited until he was a few steps away, then flung the door open and strutted in.
A tall, dark-haired man raised his arms in welcome and dashed around the counter. "Kitania!"
"Sergei!" Kitania ran into his arms and allowed him to sweep her off her feet in a giant hug.
He set her down and kissed each of her cheeks tenderly. "I've missed you. You don't come in for so long, I worry."
"I know. How's Petrova?"
"Much better. Thank you for asking. Where have you been?"
"Sorry I didn't tell you where I was. I didn't really know myself." Kitania avoided the question and glanced left, to the piano in the window, but didn't ask anything yet. She would introduce people first. That was how it should go, right? Socially? Oh, who cared, she couldn't wait. "Sergei, Drake. Drake, Sergei." A short pause. "Is that the new Bechstein? Can I play it?"
"You know when you play my business increases hundred fold," Sergei motioned to it. "Be my guest."
Drake forced a smile and nodded to the tall man. "It's nice to meet you." His voice was quiet. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone. His heart hurt too much to make small talk.
With a shrug, Drake shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way over to the violins, still thinking of Paige. As he stared at the beautiful crafted wood, he reflected on everything the shadow had told him.
Paige was sleeping with her captor. No. She would never. She loved Drake. She had said so herself. So many times. He had spent so much time with her, so much effort. He had done everything in his power to love her. How could she be sleeping with another man? No. The shadow had to be wrong.
Drake clenched his hand into a fist as he remembered when Bruileo nearly took advantage of Paige on the island. And that had only been a dream. Drake had promised her he would never allow anyone to do that to her again. He had promised her he would protect her. And now that creep had her and forced her to do who-knew-what.
He could feel the darkness rise up inside of him like a cold fury. Unrelenting rage and a need for revenge. He tried to breathe slowly, concentrating on his breaths, in an effort to control himself. In that moment, Drake vowed to do whatever was necessary to make sure Loki died as painful and horrible a death as the darkness of the universe could create.
Kitania took her place at the Bechstein and set her fingers to the keys. She stroked several lovingly, starting with middle C, then moved to strike the first chord of... something. She quickly scanned the room for Drake, just to make sure he was still around. She didn't think she could find her way back to Demetri's without him. He didn't look good. His fists were clenched, and he looked pale again.
She shook her head and watched him absentmindedly as her fingers hammered out Tchaikovsky's "None But The Lonely Heart". The lilting melody sailed through the air and out through cracks around the door and windows. Slow, then building to a crescendo as waves of emotion infiltrated her playing.
She didn't know why, but as she slowed her fingers to hold out the final notes and pressed her foot down to the petal to maintain the sound, Kitania desperately wished Drake would notice her. And not just for him to notice her quirks and make some obscure reference to this girl he supposedly loved. She wanted him to see her. Because Kitania was fast beginning to think he was the only one who could.
Drake turned when he heard Kitania begin to play. Her song was beautiful. Even with all her talent, Paige could never play a song quite so beautiful. He began to calm down as the music flowed through the air. Perhaps music could soothe the savage beast after all.
As the song continued, he made his way over to the piano and leaned against it, smiling. When she finished, he walked closer to her. "That was beautiful, Kit. Could I get an encore?"
He had called her Kit. He had nicknamed her. She'd never had a nickname before, and he had given her one. A sign of good will. Inwardly, Kitania freaked out. He'd all but admitted she was a friend, at least. She didn't think she'd really ever had a true friend. Outwardly, she shrugged. "I guess. Dunno what to play though. Suddenly, I'm drawing a blank."
"Play Katjusha!" Sergei called form his place behind the counter.
"Nobody asked you!" Kitania yelled back. "And you always want me to play Katjusha. Pick a new favorite."
"What is so wrong with Katjusha? Is a good song!"
"Whatever!" Kitania turned her attention to Drake. "What do you want me to play? I take song names, emotions, and vibes."
"Vibes?" Drake laughed. "That's a new one. Hm. What about Moonlight Sonata? That's always been one of my favorites." Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. "Hold that thought." He opened his phone and answered it.
"Master Drake, there's been a problem at the facility," the automated voice spoke over the phone. "You programmed me to contact you in case of any emergencies."
"It's fine, SID. What's happened? Is it Loki? Did he come for the rest of us?"
"I believe so, sir. I've already contacted the others and put them on alert. The facility is under lockdown. He's on his way to speak to Master Demetri."
"I'm on my way. Tell no one, not even De. I have unfinished business with Loki." Drake hung up his phone and growled low in his throat. He then turned to Kitania. "I'm sorry, we have to go. Demetri's in trouble and there may be injured people. You can help with your healing. Come on."
With that, Drake dashed out of the store and down the street, hoping Kitania would follow.
Kitania let the words sink in, tossed one last longing glance at the Bechstein, and headed for the door. "Sorry, Sergei! I'll be back... sometime... soon!" She raced after Drake, running to catch up with his long strides and skipping a few steps to stay in rhythm.
She tripped over a rough spot on the sidewalk and lurched forward, grabbing Drake's arm to steady herself. She let go immediately, pulled her sleeves down over her hands, and wrapped her arms around herself. She still had to skip steps to keep up with him.
"What happened?" She shook her head, corrected herself. "What is happening?"
Drake glanced back at Kitania and slowed his pace, but only slightly. "The man who kidnapped Paige has come back for the rest of us," he explained as he walked. "I'm not like you. I wasn't born with this power. My abilities were created in a laboratory. Demetri's lab. We all have the implants that give us powers. Paige, Demetri, myself... we all have amplifiers that magnify our brainwaves, giving us our abilities. De thinks Loki wants to use our powers to take over the human race. He kidnapped Paige first, now he's come for us. He's at the lab right now, going after De. We're going to stop him."
Drake stopped dead in his tracks and looked Kitania square in the eyes. "I'm going to stop him. If you want out, this is your one chance. You can turn around now and go back to your piano. Or, you can come with me and help. But, there's a chance you could get hurt. I don't want that. I'm tired of losing my friends to this madman. It's up to you, Kit."
Kitania stopped in her tracks and considered what he was offering. She could back out. Run away, like she always did. Or she could push on and follow the adventure. She smiled wickedly and tilted her head at an odd angle. "You couldn't talk me out of this if you tried. It's about time I helped someone other than myself." She finally fell into a comfortable stride next to him and shrugged a shoulder. "Besides, like you said, someone could be hurt. Far be it from me to deny them... medical assistance."
Drake grinned and continued walking. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."