Chapter Six:

Party-Crasher

Joan

"I swear to God, Alec, I'm gonna rip your lungs out of your eye sockets for that!" I yelled at him.

Cole arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that physically impossible?"

"Why don't we give it a try?" I grinned. "C'mon, Cole! Lemme go already!"

Cole ignored me. "Well, Eleven? Happy now?"

"That bitch broke my sniper rifle!" Alec cried. "I won't be happy 'til she's dead!"

"At least your love for that stupid sniper rifle hasn't changed…" I muttered.

Alec glared at me. "Stop talking like you know me, Conduit!"

"I think I liked you better stupid," I continued. "At least you didn't tie me to a table and poke me full o' needles when you were stupid."

"Shut-up!" Alec held a combat knife up to my throat. "Say one more thing, and I'll slice your neck from ear to ear!"

I smiled. "Will you, Alec? Must feel great to take advantage of a person when they're tied down. Makes you feel strong, right?"

Before Alec could draw the blade across my throat, Cole grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Remember what Two said? We need her alive!"

"This bitch is annoying!" Alec exclaimed. "Why her? Why not one of those kids?"

Kids? My eyes widened in horror, something that Cole and Alec noticed.

Alec grinned. "Didn't you know, Conduit? As soon as we had confirmation that you left New Marias, we took those two Conduit brats, those two old ladies, that stupid woman, and that idiot man!"

I tried to hide my anger by smirking at them. "Oh yeah? Well, that 'stupid woman' happens to be your wife, Alec, and my half-sister." I looked at Cole. "I guess Lucy got away with Gabby. Soon as you get home, your wife is gonna friggin' murder you. Death by waterguns, right?"

Our lovely "conversation" was held for the next few minutes, allowing me to take in where I was. It smelt like hospital, and looked like crap, so it was obviously a secret lab… with bloodstains. Seriously, I hadn't seen that many bloodstains on the roof, floor and walls since Cole and I had explored the former First Sons base in Empire City, where I learned that Kessler was my dad and Dana was my half-sister. Oh, the memories…

And I was strapped to a table. They'd poked me full of needles that had this strange green stuff in it that prohibited me from using my powers. You'd think that they'd be better hosts…

The door suddenly opened and Connor walked in, his eyes set and grave. As usual, I guess.

"Our guest is comfortable?" he asked.

"About as comfortable as I can be in a strange place where people don't like Conduits, but somehow have them fighting for them," I answered.

Everyone ignored me. "She is," Cole told Connor. "What news?"

"The rest of the Conduits and potentials have gone into hiding," Connor said. "But that's fine; we only need this one."

"Sorry, I'm married. And since you kinda owe me for finishing your English paper the one time, I suggest you let me go." I narrowed my eyes. "And everyone here, or I swear to God I'll beat you to death with your own skull!"

A few men in white labcoats walked in and started to grab all sorts of interesting tools. I use the word, "interesting" very loosely, by the way.

Connor smiled slightly. "Get it done. We want her ready by the time the sun rises."

One of the men nodded, and so Connor, Alec and Cole left the room.

"Hit me with your best shot," I muttered so that the men in white would hear me.

One seemed to smile from under his mask. "I think I'm going to enjoy this," he said.

Lance

My head was still hurting from getting knocked out… again. It had been my fifth attempt to get us outta the stupid underground base, but nothing was working. I groaned in pain and watched as Cole, Alec and that Connor guy walked past the cells they'd put us in. I didn't understand why Cole and Alec were working with those guys now, but I was gonna find out!

I felt a tiny hand on mine, and looked down to see my daughter. Kayce was rubbing her puffy red eyes as she held my hand. I could tell she was scared, but she was trying to hide it, like her mother did all the time.

"Daddy," she whispered, "I wanna go home."

I picked her up and held her in my arms. "I know, Kay. I know. Just hold on a little longer, okay? Daddy's gonna get us outta here."

I was forming a plan in my mind as we sat in the corner of the cell when I heard the screams. Full of pain and agony, and only one room over from our cell; the one that Connor, Cole and Alec had previously left only a few minutes ago. The terrifying thing was that I knew who was screaming.

And so did Kayce.

Her eyes widened in horror, and then she started to cry. "Mommy!" she yelled. "Mommy!"

It was taking all I had not to yell for my wife, but I knew I had to keep quiet. I needed to be strong for Kayce, so that we both wouldn't melt in sadness. Kayce finally stopped screaming, and I held her even closer. What were they doing to Joan?

I heard voices coming from the room. A voice I didn't recognize, followed by Joan's.

"Had enough yet?" a man asked.

I heard my wife trying to hide the pain in her voice. "I'm just getting started, you son of a bitch."

I heard laughter, and then screaming again. Connor, a few agonizing hours later, strode by our cell and opened it. He looked to his two friends, who I'd learned were called "Three" and "Five".

"Take the girl," he ordered them.

Kayce held onto me just as tight as I was holding onto her. "You're not taking my daughter!" I yelled.

The two men looked at each other and laughed, then took another step forward. However, they halted in their tracks as a voice rang through the cell.

"I'll take this," a man in an expensive suit, with black, thinning hair and a hard, experienced face said. "We still have some personal issues to work out, don't we Lance?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. I was staring at a ghost.

Joan

Sweat was falling from my forehead as the pain reached an unbearable level. I was a fighter, but I couldn't fight against something that I couldn't physically hurt.

"I think that's good for now," said a voice from the door.

The doctors backed-off as he came in, flanked by Connor, Three and Five. I glared at the man in the expensive suit, but my eyes quickly widened when I saw who Connor was carrying.

"K-Kayce…" I muttered.

The man in the suit smiled. "Oh, you know her?"

"She's my daughter!" I growled. "How dare you?"

"I'm giving you a choice, Mrs. Grey," the man said as he pressed his fingers together. "Submit to me, or let your daughter take over."

My eyes widened. "You bastard! She's a kid!"

"All the better to deceive my opponents with," he said. "You see, I'm planning to run for Presidency. With the upcoming election, I need allies, and I have more enemies than usual. I figure that getting most of the Conduits in the world can convince the regular people that I'm the right choice."

"So that's why you brainwashed them!"

He smiled. "I was in the army a few years ago. Being in a different country showed me just how ruthless everything was. So, when I returned to the United States, I made a name for myself and became the Senator of Texas." He took Kayce from Connor's arms. "I was nearly killed by a roadside bomb, and everyone believed I was dead, despite the fact that they never found my body."

The story, somehow, seemed familiar to me. The Senator held Kayce out to me. She looked terrified, but if it was because of the Senator or because of how much pain I looked like I was in, I couldn't tell.

"I was there thirteen years ago," the Senator continued. "I was there beside Kessler before I left for the war. I watched you grow, and that's why I knew you had to be my lucky number Thirteen. You were a masterpiece."

"You were a First Son?" I asked, my eyes locking with Kayce's.

"I was," he said. "And now, your choice, Joan. Are you going to submit, or am I going to have to force Kayce to do it?"

I didn't hesitate. "I will! Just… don't hurt Kayce."

The Senator smiled. "I knew you'd see reason." He handed Kayce back to Connor, and he left the room with his friends. The Senator grabbed my face and studied me. "Hm… I always thought that Lance would find a woman to put him in his place. That boy always needed a good hit or two every once-in-a-while."

I glared at him and managed to get my face out of his grip. "How do you know Lance?" I demanded.

"I don't just know Lance," he said to me. "I'm his father, and you're my daughter-in-law." The Senator, Kyle Grey, smiled. "The world works in many strange ways, does it not?"