I'm back!…again. Oh, hell, why not? So, I'm going to torture Derek a little, but don't hate me! I swear I won't kill him, maim him or permanently injure him in a way that will affect his hotness.

Disclaimer: I don't own Darkest Powers anymore than I like rap music. Sorry to all you Eminem lovers out there, but BLEH! But I own the Dags. So, if you steal my characters, may the evil Plot Bunny erase your hard drive. MUAHAHAHAHAA! I'm not insane…

Seconds after the contents of the needle were injected, Derek felt it. The burning. It ran through the veins in his arm, setting them on fire. He barely held back a scream, waiting for the pain to ebb. But it didn't. As the minutes flew by, he knew the inferno raging in his blood wouldn't stop. In fact, it got worse. It spread throughout his body like a wildfire. His muscles tightened as he tried to stop himself from showing his pain. He wanted nothing more than to scream and cry like a child, but he wouldn't show weakness. No pain for them to laugh at.

He was gasping for air after ten minutes. The burning had ebbed slightly. Derek wouldn't admit it, but he was terrified. He kept his face blank, but his eyes said everything. Chelsea smiled and he knew she wasn't human. Humanity had left her the second her mother died. No, Derek thought. She was never human. She's… he quickly, painfully scented the air. His eyes widened in shock. She's hosting a demon! He began to convulse. Then he realized, it was his muscles that were jerking, not him. The pain made him scream. Just once, until he clenched his jaw shut and blocked out the pain.

Derek listened the ooh's and aah's as they heard the wild power behind that scream. Some actually yelped and took a step back. Then their courage grew as his audience grew closer. They poked and prodded him without mercy. "As you can see, the subject's muscles are straining to change. I'm convinced the only reason he's lasted this long is because of the tampering we've done with his genetics. It's brothers died during this test, but he seems to be doing remarkably well. He even has the strength to try and fight it!"

The man laughed at Derek's struggles. "Professor Stephens, could we possibly see his muscles changing?" Mitchell. It had to be. But at this, the students began pleading for the professor to let them see the change beneath his skin. Stephens sighed, "Oh, very well class. A little blood loss never hurt anybody."

The student's started cheering as he picked up a scalpel.

Derek started twisting violently, knowing what was happening. NOW he was scared. Two students came and held him down. Stephens brought the scalpel down, and cut deeply into his arm. Derek gasped, swallowing the bile that was rising in his throat.

The class gathered round, waiting. Seconds later, his muscles began changing as Derek fought to remain conscious. But it was a losing battle. Another wave of pain swiftly knocked him out. He could still feel the burning.

xxX Kit's POV Xxx

Kit got into the van and drove. He didn't know where or for how long, he just drove. Derek's echoing scream was etched in his mind. He would hear it for as long as he lived. But Kit wasn't one to mope around waiting for help. He took matters into his own hands. Simon needs me, he thought. And I need to find Derek. To do that, he needed patience and a tracking spell. It might not work half the time, but it was his quickest option.

With this in mind, Kit drove back to Andrew's. He would need his help, even though he was reluctant to admit it. He wouldn't let Simon try such an advanced spell, not when his power wasn't strong enough. It could kill him. But so could not knowing what was happening to Derek.

He slammed the van door in his haste to get started. Andrew ran to meet him. "I've kept an eye on that video feed. You just missed," he faltered, then tried again. "You missed the worst part."

Kit honestly couldn't think of anything worse than being used as a guinea pig for an tested killer, but he knew he had to hear it. What they do to Derek, they'll feel a thousand times over, he thought darkly. He may not know it, but Derek had patched up an empty space in his heart. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it stopped the flood of emotion from drowning him.

xxX Flashback(kind of) Xxx

Since his wife had left him, he'd been missing a part of himself that hadn't even come close to healing before he found Derek. Sure, he'd dated other women and even tried adopting once, but that had never come close to Evangeline. Simon couldn't remember his mother, for which he was thankful. After finding out her husband was a sorcerer, and that her son most likely was, too, she snapped. After three miscarriages, she couldn't take anymore.

But Derek had almost healed that shredded part of his heart. His carefree innocence, even after what the world had thrown at him, had been astonishing. Simon became almost as protective of Derek as Derek was of Simon. Almost. Derek constantly reminded Simon of his diabetes when he smelled that his blood sugar was to low. Simon had constantly complained that Derek acted like his mother.

Kit owed him the world for that. If it meant choosing between his boys and himself, he would choose his boys in a heartbeat. Derek had saved him. Now it was time to save Derek.

Andrew led him to the counter and rewound the video. He had saved it because he knew Kit had to see it. He had forbade Simon to go anywhere near the laptop in case he decided to torture himself with the video.

Kit sat and watched in dumb horror as the students gathered near his son. There was no sound, but he watched as Derek's eyes widened in pain as the scientist gashed his arm to the bone. His horror turned to anger as he watched the woman and what seemed to be her brother laughing at Derek's pain.

Neither of them realized that Simon had crept downstairs and was watching the video, only this time there was nothing on his face but anger. He no longer felt sick as he watched the man hurt his brother. No, this time he was pissed. No one hurt his brother. Derek was to strong to let anyone cause him pain. But now, for once in his life, Simon had to save him, and he wasn't about to let his protector die. No, Simon would help find Derek whether dad liked it or not.