Hey, Butterflies! I'm back with Chapter 23! I still honestly cannot believe that we are already twenty-three chapters into this. That just blows my mind. Anyways, here is Chapter 23: Proceed.
Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network.
Trigger Warning: Abuse alluded to.
The next day is even crazier than last night. Dr. Beeman and his team are still here in Eyrarbakki. They obviously want something- or someone, but what is it? Mom, although she is a wonderful and amazing person, isn't worth all this trouble, not in Dr. Beeman's mind anyway. No, they've got to be after a much bigger fish than Mom. They can't be after Zak since he is no longer Kur, he just has his powers, so I am honestly stumped.
Noticing my left eye is dry, I try to blink. Much to my surprise, I can't. Something's holding my eye open. So I reach for my eye in hopes of removing whatever is holding it open. At least, I attempt to reach up and removed the annoying object. I can't actually do that because my arms are strapped to a chair. Where am I? Better question, actually. How in the bloody hell did I get here?! When I went to sleep last night I was in the hostel, so how did I end up here without a) noticing or b) anyone else noticing? Then I notice something is holding my head in place so that I cannot move it. I'm forced to stare up at a- stars no. No, this is bad. This is very very bad. It's a laser of some kind, and it looks like the kind used in laser eye surgery. I think that I'm the person Dr. Beeman was after, or at least one of the people he was after. But why am I positioned for eye surgery? This doesn't add up, unless I'm missing a major detail here.
Nobody comes in the room for a long while, and my eye is now extremely dry. To make matters worse, I can't feel my lower body anymore from sitting in this uncomfortable position for so long. I really wish someone would come in, even if it's Dr. Beeman. Even Dr. Beeman beats sitting here alone while the suspense builds. Yet, nobody comes. I continue to sit there for an even longer while; I wish I could know how long I've been here, but there are no clocks in the room.
Some time later, the door the room opens, I do my best to look that way, but with limited mobility of my head, I can't see much. I see a lab coat and a gray coat was well. Okay, fate, when I said Dr. Beeman would be better than sitting in this room alone, I didn't mean send him in here! The two people come around to where I am able to see them. One is most definitely Dr. Beeman, but I don't recognize the other person, although based on the name on his lab coat, he is an Icelandic doctor working for Dr. Beeman. Dr. Beeman says something to the other doctor in what I presume to be Icelandic before the other doctor walks away, and Dr. Beeman leans in very close to my face.
"Hello, Ms. Van Rook. I do hope you're comfortable. This is will be relatively long procedure, so I want to ensure that you're settled before Dr. Johannson begins the procedure."
"Why am I here, exactly, Dr. Beeman?" I snarl.
"There appears to be something wrong with that green eye of yours, Ms. Van Rook. It appears to hold your magic. We're going to fix that and send you on your way." My hands tighten around the armrests that my arms are strapped to.
"This is low, even for you." Dr. Beeman laughs.
"Dearest, " he says sarcastically, "I live and work on a mountain. Everything is low for me." Then Dr. Beeman says to the other doctor, "Lean hana aftur." I guess that means something like "lean her back" because the chair starts to lean back after that. The other doctor puts something in my eye, and it goes numb. He does a few other things, but I try to dissociate and take my mind elsewhere. Eventually, the doctor starts typing in a machine, which I guess controls the laser. No one is coming to help me, not this time. I am going lose my powers here and now, and for what? Why does Dr. Beeman want my powers so badly? What is it about all this Kur stuff that makes him do these drastic and probably illegal things. Then it hits me. Mr. Scheef is working for Dr. Beeman, but Mr. Scheef is a lawyer, not a scientist. Is Mr. Scheef serving as legal aid for Dr. Beeman? Is what Dr. Beeman is doing legal? I close my right eye in defeat. Congrats, Dr. Beeman, you've finally won.
I wake up several hours after the surgery has ended. I haven't been able to look at my eye yet, for it's covered with an eye patch, but I'm not sure I want to see it. All the trouble I've been through throughout my life has gone to waste. I know I wished away my powers many times, but at the end of the day, I was grateful to have them. What am I supposed to do now? I'm useless to the Saturdays now, and according to Indigne, Mom is dead. I start crying, but without tears. For thirteen, almost fourteen, years my identity has been based off of what I- or rather my powers- could do for others. Now that they're gone, who am I? Suddenly, the door to the room I'm stuck in opens. It's Lindsey, so I turn my back to her.
"Bitch. I brought you a visitor. Have fun." Then Lindsey slams the door. I honestly preferred her as Lindsey Campbell over this Lindsey Beeman.
"Lily?" I turn around; it's Indigne. "Are you alright?" I nod, trying to keep from cracking. "I'm really sorry this happened."
"It's-" my voice breaks, "-it's not your fault, Ms. Albright. You didn't cause any of this." She sighs and shakes her head.
"But I did." Curious, I ask for details. She explains that she knew Mom pretty well actually since they used to be neighbors until Indigne moved across town to be closer to work. After Mom passed away, Indigne began looking very deeply into Mom's work. She discovered the Secret Scientists, and since then, Dr. Beeman and his team had been bothering her, demanding that she come with them and that she admit that she was Mom. That was partly why our presence had her slightly on edge but at the same time made her feel at ease. "I knew I could trust you because Miranda herself told me that she trusted you all to a fault." Tears well up in my eyes. I miss Mom so much, and I miss Dad so much too. I miss the little sibling I'm never going to get to know, and I miss the life I'll never get to have. "Iris, she loved you very much, and she left to protect you. You were such a treasure to her, and she wanted nothing more than to watch you grow up and succeed. She just felt that you would do better with the Saturdays as your guardians." I put my head in my hands and sob. What a day it's been for me. I feel someone push my hair back, kiss me on the top of the head, and say that they love me, but when I look up, there is no one there.
"I love you too."
That's the end of Chapter 23! What do you all think will happen now that Lily has lost her powers? What is up with Indigne and her previously lying about know Dr. Grey? Let me know what you all thought! Thank you all so much for reading! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! I love you all so much!