"You're Jewel's father!?" He winced as his voice echoed sharply. Jason laughed, a cold, mirthless sound, and the man holding Clay's head aloft chuckled darkly.

"What were you expecting, some senile old man?" Jason barked, reaching out to grab Clay's arm. "Can a senile old man do this?" He dug his fingernails into the soft flesh, and Clay screamed as blood began to flow. Jason yanked out his bloody fingernails, blood pouring from the wounds. Jason' assistant held an open tube and when it was halfway full of blood handed it to a grinning Jason.

"You see," Jason said," I think there is something special about you and your friends, Clay. And this," he shook the tube," will be the key."

"We're not important," Clay persuaded. "We're just kids."

"Do unimportant kids fall out of the sky in a ball of light?"

Clay paled and Jason's grin grew wider. "Did you think no one would notice? You should be lucky it was I who observed your arrival and not someone more...unpleasant."

Clay thought that that was unlikely.

"I will discover the truth, Clay, and I will break you and friends, if necessary."

Clay stiffened. "If you hurt them…"

"Oh, they're fine. For now. But if you should happen to resist me...well, let's just say that not only your blood will stain my clean floors." He turned to walk away and Clay groped desperately for an edge.

"How would Jewel feel about this?" He questioned. "Or your wife? How would they feel about this?" Jason stopped and looked at him seriously, for once his smile gone.

"For the sake of science, I will do anything." Something cold pricked his neck, and the last thing he saw was the glint of light from Jason's glasses.

Breakbreakbreakbeakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbeakbfeakbfeakbfeakbfeakbfeakbre

Awareness came slowly. Pain flared from his body as he forced open an eye. His hands were still tied together but he was no longer in the same room. The blank gray walls seemed to close in on him, like a huge predator. He sat up and immediately felt dizzy. He groaned and rested his head in his hands.

"Clay." He spun around and saw his friends gazing worriedly at him, Starlight frowning in his direction, and at the forefront sat Jewel. Besides their disheveled hair and and wrinkled clothes they appeared to be unhurt.

But for how long?

"Oh my gosh, what did he do to you?!" Jewel rushed over and grabbed his sore arm. Pain flashed through his and he hissed. Dried blood ran down his arm in random shapes, crusty and stinking of iron. Jewel drew back, concerned. "Where else are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." He hissed through gritted teeth. And truly, besides his arm, he had no other physical wounds. But he still felt like he had fallen off a cliff. "Can you untie my hands please? I almost can't feel them."

As she unwound the rope he let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Clay." Tsunami said as he rubbed his wrists. "What's going on? Why are we here?" Clay recited everything, from when he had woken that morning-or yesterday morning?- to when he had met Jason.

"He said something about our blood being the key to something. That make any sense to you?"

Everyone shook their heads except Jewel, who paled. "I've heard my dad talking to someone when he thought I wasn't listing. They're planning on creating something new...and it will be big. I heard him mention something about blood donors and 'the first of its kind.'

Clay pondered. Why would Jason need them? More importantly, why was Jewel with them? Was this some kind of trick? His thoughts were interrupted by a clicking noise, and then the door opened.