Chapter 23
Izmir, Turkey. Kubra's last surviving headquarters
The sun had set. The sky bled in crimson as darkness was right around the corner. Blue was disappearing fast, and Piper's heartbeat quickened in anticipation.
The headquarters was a brick, four-story tall building, dome roof, with a row of narrow windows facing east and west. With a large central hall in the middle, it was reported to have three underground levels that offered temporary shelters, storage rooms and confinements. Howard's plan was simple: break in, kill Kubra, and release the prisoners.
Litchfield had gathered about thirty members for the mission. During the past week, they had had some help from the police, carefully evacuating civilians out of the neighborhood, having cops dressed and acted as locals instead. But the risky work remained a big challenge for the superheroes. Howard knew that he couldn't lose this fight, or his people would lose everything.
The sky was now pitch black.
Piper turned to look at Alex. Her girlfriend had recovered well. Her eyes were clear, and her strength had returned. The headache still persisted at times, but it was more than Piper had hoped for. "Are you ready?" Piper asked.
Green gaze shifted to Piper, and a smile broke on Alex's lips. She leaned it and kissed the blonde. The warmth of her breaths momentarily took Piper to another world. Piper pressed in, but Alex pulled back, smirking. "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Piper frowned, but all of a sudden, thunders rumbled, roaring fiercely in the sky. Piper bent lower, arms raised over her head. Thunder bolts struck down at the thick, concrete gates of the building. Even from the distance, Piper could feel the heat on her skin. She pressed her hands against her ears as Alex continued to strike at the barriers. The whole sky was flashed with stark, white light, so dangerously bright that Piper had to shut her eyes. Pebbles began to shower upon the ground. The gates finally cracked and crumbled. After about a dozen hits, Piper lost count of how many strikes Alex had delivered. It was only until half of the left gate fell apart that darkness consumed the sky again, and everything became quiet.
Piper opened her eyes and saw Alex slightly swaying on her feet. "Alex, are you all right?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Her heart was already in her throat.
"I… I'm ok. Don't worry." Alex found her steady ground, and offered a tired smile in reassurance.
The ground shook, and Piper turned to look behind her. Howard, in his giant form, came out from behind the adjacent building and ran towards the broken gate. He kicked at the concrete chunks, removing them out of the way. Gunshots began to blast from inside of the headquarters. Howard quickly moved away from the gate's outlet, using the headquarters wall as a shield from the bullets.
Lorna ran up to the large hole of the gate, blasting balls of fire into the building. "Eat this, you piece of shit!"
Screams erupted as the fire burned the fighters nearest to the gates. Gunshots madly intensified, the sounds of shells falling to the ground echoing like a heavy rain.
"Be careful!" Howard grabbed Lorna out of the way before the tiny woman would get shot. He leaned back against the wall, howling at his backup. "Bennett, now!"
Bennett sneaked towards the outlet and tossed a grenade into the building. He then ran to escape the area, but a hand grabbed his collar and threw him down against one of the massive, concrete blocks that had fallen from the gate. The blast went off inside the building, and Bennett squeezed his eyes shut. His ears were ringing from the impact, his head hurt. He opened his eyes again, choking for air. Smoke eventually faded, revealing a smaller man in black attire standing above him. It took Bennett a moment to realize what was going on, or who his attacker was.
Bennett froze. "Humps? What the fuck?" he muttered. Humphrey was an ex-cop in Bennett's unit. They used to hang out after their shifts. He never knew of Humphrey's supernatural powers, but then, Bennett kept it secret from his colleagues as well.
Bennett's thoughts became disoriented, jarring, to say the least. Humphrey had been repeatedly smashing Bennett's face with a brick. It took him a moment before he regained his composure and kicked Humphrey off. He sprung up, and, with his super strength, pinned Humphrey down to the ground. However, his attacker simply vanished. Blood bathed his face, Bennett looked around in panic. There was Humphrey attacking other Litchfield members some distance away, while another Humphrey was grabbing Piper's arms, trying to pull her away from Alex.
Piper turned and sent her attacker at the nearest wall, but he also vanished the moment his body was about to hit the hard surface. Piper looked on in bewilderment. "Alex… Al, did you see that!?"
Alex pulled Piper down behind a concrete block. Bullets whizzed past them. "He's a multiplier. He can be at several places at the same time. We have to catch his original body. That's the only way to get the guy," Alex said, peering over her shoulder. She watched their Litchfield friends climbing through the cracked gate as several more explosions went off.
Piper ducked down as a bullet hit the barrier close to her head. "A multi what!? How many of him are there then!?" she hissed.
Alex squint in the dark. "Seven? Nine? It depends on his strength at that moment."
"What? How am I going to identify the real him?" Piper groaned.
Another explosion hit the ground, and Alex raised her arms over her head. Her back pressed against the wall, she slid lower to the ground. "You don't. You just have to keep trying, and hope you hit the jackpot." At Piper's cold stare, Alex shrugged. "He's gotta be near to generate his bodies. At least, he's around, right?"
Piper shook her head in disbelief. "Seriously, Al—" Out of the blue, a plane of heated energy swiped through the air, radiating in a circular wave, pushing everything out of its way. Piper was thrown from her spot as the wave pushed both the block and Alex in other direction.
What the fuck was that? Ouch.
Lying on her stomach, Piper eventually looked up, blowing dirt from her mouth. In the dark, she could see the block had rolled several feet away, but there was no sign of Alex. Her chest tightened with worries when she saw no movement around the debris.
"Alex...? Alex!" Piper pushed herself up and began to run towards the concrete chunk, but Humphrey appeared out of nowhere, standing in her way. She skidded to a halt, startled. He had that small smirk on his face, which she had quickly grown to detest.
Fuck.
Alex opened her eyes, dazed. She was sprawled next to the heavy, concrete block that had swept her through the yard. Fortunately, it didn't fall upon her, but guaranteed quite a few nasty bruises and cuts.
"Look who's back. Vause, the traitor. Fucking nerve."
Alex had lost her glasses, but she definitely recalled the voice. It was Sankey, an energy wave emitter. The rugged, blonde-haired woman was one of the recruiters. She joined the faction a year after Alex. They were never close, but not unfriendly. Sankey's blind faith in Kubra had never sat well with Alex.
Sitting up, Alex wiped some blood off her lips with the back of her hand. She wanted to get back to Piper now, and she hated the distractions.
"You destroyed our homes, our people, our spirit! How—" Sankey fidgeted, her lips trembling. "How could you? Fuck, no, you won't get away this time. Not a chance I'd let that happen. I'm gonna kill you with my own hands!" Sankey threw her hands forwards, an energy wave emitted from her fingertips.
Alex blasted a bolt of lightning in retaliation, and their forces clashed. Both Alex and Sankey were thrown off their feet by the destructive impact. But Alex got up faster.
On her knees, Sankey covered her eyes with both hands, momentarily blinded by the white light. "Fuck! Fuck! I'm gonna kill you, Vause! I'm gonna kill you!"
Alex's hands balled up into blue electric currents, readying for another strike, but series of gunshots erupted. She ducked down behind the nearest concrete block. She looked over her shoulder and saw Stella with a MP5K, firing in her direction. Oh, shit.
"Come out, Vause! You can't hide from me!" Stella shouted.
It's on, bitch. Alex inwardly growled. A bolt of blue light whipped through the air towards the tattooed woman. Stella instantly slipped down into the ground.
Alex grumbled. She looked around, trying to spot where Stella went. The answer soon appeared as gunshots raged behind her. Alex leapt from the spot, barely escaping the shower of bullets. At once, a gigantic bolt of lightning climbed down from the sky, striking down where the shooter was.
"No!" Sankey yelled in horror. She emitted another wave, pushing Stella out of the way of the deadly strike.
The machine gun fell off Stella's grasp as she unceremoniously tumbled along the ground.
At once, Alex turned and struck at Sankey, taking the blonde off-guard. Hot, blue currents entered Sankey's eyes and mouth, her whole body convulsing uncontrollably. Her powers engulfed Sankey's body, driving the woman down to her knees. Sankey was already dead. For certain.
"Sankey!" Stella ran towards them, pulling out a pocket knife.
Alex withdrew her powers from Sankey, letting the blonde fall face first onto the ground. She spun around, grabbing Stella's wrist and pushing the blade away just in time. Their arms locked, and Stella realized the grave mistake. She tried to slip into the ground again, but managed only a waist-deep. Blue currents travelled from Alex's hands down along Stella's arms, locking them together like chains. Stella screamed at the top of her lungs as blue fire scorched her body.
It took only a second. A moment. An intake of breath.
Open your eyes, Alex... Alex…
Alex didn't know how long her mind had spaced out. Her own lightning had momentarily blinded her. But when she fully regained her vision again, she saw Stella flopped on the ground, face down, both arms splayed out at unnatural angles. The lower half of the woman's body was still stuck in the earth.
Piper turned around again and again. It was a vicious dance, the one she couldn't win. Every time she thought that she had a hold on Humphrey, or was about to strike him down with her powers, he vanished. Sometimes, there were three of him. Sometimes, four or five. Her neck and arms were bruised as they tried to drag her away. Her head and body hurt as they tried to hit her into submission. She fought back just as relentlessly. Blindly. Her left eye swollen from a cut, it was becoming harder and harder for her to differentiate the many bodies of Humphrey from the objects around her. She kept sending cars, concrete blocks, and phone booths away. She wasn't even sure if she had hurt anyone in the process. All she could think of at the moment was how to not get caught. She couldn't afford to become a liability. Thunder rumbled, and she knew that Alex was still near. She needed to find Alex.
Her determination was raging, but her knees gave in. Piper slumped down on the ground, out of breath. Her energy was much spent, although not wisely, and she hadn't even entered the gates.
When the dust settled, Humphrey walked up to her, stopping just a few feet away. He, too, was out of breath, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His eyes darkened. His fists clenched. "Let's not kid ourselves. You can't win this," he said, his voice slightly shaken.
Piper tried to breathe as deeply as she could. Grunting, she wiped the blood from her left brow, which was dripping down to her eye. She looked up at him, and was surprised that he even looked sympathetic. He was taking a pity on her. Fuck, no. The last thing Piper wanted was sympathy from her enemy. Not when the love of her life was in danger. Not when people were dying around her. Not when she was proven weak—so weak that she couldn't even look at herself.
Humphrey took one step closer to her, extending a hand out. "Now, you have to come with m—"
Crack.
The sound came so subtly that Piper almost missed it. But she felt it. She felt it in her hands. She felt the air bend at her will. Humphrey slid to his knees before falling flat on his face. His body motionless, his neck and shoulders were at odd positions. His eyes were still open, staring blankly into nothingness.
Piper glanced down at her own hands. She could still feel his warm skin underneath her invisible, desperate grasp. She could still feel his bones breaking in her livid grip. She had found the right Humphrey. How reckless he was to stand before her in his real form. But, perhaps, he was out of powers as well. At any rate, she had killed, and it felt as if by her bare hands.
'Once you killed, you could never take it back. Never.' Alex's words echoed in her mind.
Piper sat down on the ground. Blue eyes were wide, her gaze flickered in the dark. She then buried her face in her palms, her body rocking back and forth. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Just a moment ago, she could still feel his pulse. He hadn't even turned cold yet, but her heart did. That murderous moment kept playing over and over again. She kept smashing the objects again and again. The nightmare was playing on loop, and she didn't know how to stop it.
"…Pipes. Pipes!"
Piper heard the call of her name. Over and over. But it took her a long moment before any of it could register in her mind. She looked up again, her face in a pair of warm, bleeding palms. Alex was kneeling in front of her, her face stained with blood and dirt. Green eyes were wide, searching and worrying.
Tears brimmed Piper's eyes. She angrily shook her head. "No. No, please, don't look—"
"It's ok." Alex pulled her in an embrace, ignoring Humphrey's body.
Her hands clinging onto Alex's jacket, Piper silently stared at the dead man. Cold sweat in her palms. The air barely in her lungs. The blood in her eyes. It felt so surreal. Nightmarish. "Don't look, Alex. Don't—"
"I'm here. I'm with you now. It's going to be ok, Pipes. It's ok."
Alex tightened her embrace, and only then that Piper began to calm down. She pressed harder into Alex, freely resting her weight against the taller frame. Her face buried at Alex's neck. She could feel the hand gently rubbing the back of her head, the long fingers running through her blonde locks. Explosions continued, and gunshots blasted through the night, but it felt so numbed around her.
"He was… His neck. I—I felt it. I fucking felt it—"
"Shh. It's gonna be ok, Pipes. You did what you had to do. You did the right thing."
Piper shut her eyes for a moment. She kept telling herself that it would be all right. She had to believe it. Everything was going to be all right as long as Alex was with her. Eventually, she pulled back. She frowned at the cuts on Alex's face. "Are you hurt, Alex? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Alex sucked in a breath, turning to look at the broken gate. There were occasional gunshots echoing from inside the building, but their Litchfield friends had already entered. "I'm going in. You don't have to follow, if you don't feel well."
Piper paused. "That's out of the question. I won't let you go in alone."
"I won't be alone. The others have already gone in. You wait here, all right? You could guard the entrance, and don't let anyone leave. It should be safer for you outside."
Piper hooked her fingers on Alex's collar, pulling her in. "I'm not leaving your side."
"Listen, I know the ways inside the headquarters better than any of us here. I'll be fine. You stay here. Watch the gates. Make sure that no one escapes."
"No! No, Alex, you can't make me—"
"Listen. Just… listen. Please." Alex cupped Piper's face with both hands, leaning in and kissing her. "I don't want to see you like this." She glanced at Humphrey, and shook her head. "Fuck. This was a bad idea. I was so stupid! Stupid and selfish. I shouldn't have let you come."
Piper clutched Alex's hands. "I want to be in it with you. I can do it. I can do this."
"But I can't." Alex rested her forehead against Piper's, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm so sorry, Pipes. I can't see you like this. Please, listen to me. Stay here. Wait for me. I'll come back for you."
Alex leaned in and kissed Piper's lips, her warmth momentarily calming the blonde down, holding them together. Alex then pulled away and walked up to the building.
Piper opened her eyes again, her fingers touching her lips, where Alex had been. She sat, watching her lover disappear behind the barriers. Her heart was weighted down by fears, her body shaken in the dark, cold night.
Alex passed the empty hallway of the first underground floor, the temporary shelters. Many residents were gone. Doors were left open. Garbage littered along the corridors. Some light bulbs mounted on the walls were broken, shards of glass on the floor. Considering the fights that were going on upstairs, Alex wasn't surprised that the shelter level had been abandoned. She wasn't complaining as it only made it easier for her. Quietly, she passed down to the storage level, and then the confinement level.
Moans, laughs and cries from the prisoners behind the locked, metal doors echoed through the long, narrow corridor. It was cold and damp down here. Alex shuddered as she walked through, peeking into each cell for a sign of her mother. She didn't want to imagine what her mother had gone through, being locked up in this godforsaken place. All other headquarters were destroyed, and there had been no sign of her mother. Izmir was her last bet, if her mother was, indeed, still alive.
From cell to cell, Alex blasted the locks on the doors open, letting the prisoners out. Soon, yelling and cursing filled the corridor as the prisoners stampeded out of their confinements. "Mom! Mom! It's me, Alex! Mom!" Alex shouted, struggling to walk against the flood of crazed, paranoid prisoners, who were trying to find their way up to the ground floor. "Mom! Where are you!?" Alex kept calling out for her mother. She pushed through until the hallway was empty, all prisoners gone. She kept looking, walking down the claustrophobic corridor. It was getting quiet in here that she could hear a pin drop. Nothing. There was nothing left.
"Mom! It's me! Mom, where are you!?"
"... help…"
Alex snapped. She instantly turned to the direction of the voice. The voice was coarse, calling out, pleading. Alex moved along the corridor until she found the cell in the farthest corner. She blasted the lock and slid the heavy door open. It wasn't the sight she had expected. The frail body on the floor. The messy, matted, sweaty hair. The dirt on the pale face and filthy, khaki jumpsuit. The bleeding arms and legs.
"Red," Alex breathed. The fire had died from the fierce, red-haired woman, leaving only the dull, defeated eyes.
The older woman glanced up from the floor. Her dried lips moved. "Hey, kid."
Alex gulped, momentarily stunned. All through her time in Litchfield, she had never witnessed Red in a miserable state like this. No matter what Red had put her through, she had never wished such humiliation upon this brave, ruthless woman. It was a shame in itself.
"Aren't you gonna come in and help me up?" Red was lying on the floor, her arms and legs laid limply. Her wounds seemed to have been neglected, and Alex could smell the foul odor of blood.
Alex brushed her nose as she entered the cell. She knelt beside Red, slipped her arms around her waist, pulling her up to a standing position, albeit with much difficulty. Red groaned in pain, weakly gripping Alex's arms. "Careful," Alex mumbled. When Red was steady on her feet, Alex put Red's arm over her shoulder, turning them both towards the door. But she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight by the cell's exit.
Diane was standing by the doorway. She looked extremely pale, her dark hair a sticky mess. Her usually vibrant, blue eyes were now jaded, bloodshot. She seemed to have lost many pounds during her incarceration. Her cheeks were so gaunt, her skin blotchy. Alex almost failed to recognize her mother.
Alex flinched when the metal door slid shut behind Diane. "Mom?"
The small window on the door was slid open, and Alex recognized the pair of dark eyes. "It's good to see you again, Vause."
"Kubra." Alex froze. This was the man who could steal her powers by just a glance. He could have killed her right now. At this moment.
Kubra's chuckle was heard echoing down the corridor. "You really are a terrible learner. You didn't learn from Fahri, and even killed your own mentor. You betrayed the hand that fed you. You are a disease."
"I'm here now. Do whatever you want with me, but please let her go. Please." Alex took a deep breath in, trying to calm her nerves down. But little did she succeed. She knew that she was unmatched to him.
"No matter how hard you tried to run, you still ended up here, walking into this cell on your own. Can't you see? You've failed everyone you love. No, I won't let Diane go. I will punish you. Your mother and your lover will pay for it like your friend did."
Piper. Alex's heart skipped. Fears flooded her chest.
"I have Chapman, and I will make you watch her die. Everyone you love will die, and I will make sure you will relive the moments in your mind until the day you die."
Alex's head reeled, her face ashen. When? How? She shouldn't have left Piper alone. She shouldn't have brought Piper here. She was selfish and reckless. It's all my fault!
Kubra smiled as he commanded, "Diane."
Tears welled up Diane's eyes as she watched her daughter. Then, carefully, she pulled out a knife from underneath her stained, khaki jumpsuit.
"I'm giving you a choice. Save yourself, or your mother. Goodbye, Vause. Because, after this, you will be forever lost, regardless of the outcome."
As soon as the last word slipped through Kubra's lips, Alex was chained to the spot by some dark spell. It was as though she had no control over her body at all. She could only watch as Diane walked up towards her, her hand that was grabbing the knife trembling. The bloodshot blue eyes stared at her, but she couldn't recognize the gaze. The kindness and confidence she usually saw in her mother's eyes were now replaced by fear and horror. Then the blue eyes turned darker and darker. It wasn't her mother, she realized. It was the same dark eyes that stared into her soul with rage, the feelings of hurt and betrayal.
Fahri. Alex felt cold sweat trickle down her back. She wanted to run, but her body disobeyed. Her mentor was furious. He had just found out that she had lied to him about Piper. He was going to tell Kubra. He was going to kill her to appease his master, that much she was certain. He would go after Piper next. He would recruit Piper and force her to do unpleasant, unforgivable things. Alex couldn't stand the idea. It terrified her. It would pain her, killing her alive.
Fahri must be stopped.
"What are you doing!? That's your mother, Vause!" Red burst out the moment the electric currents began to envelope Alex's fists.
Icy blue sheen had glossed over Alex's green eyes. Red knew what was happening. Alex was no longer in this cell. She was lost in the mind trap, manipulated by Kubra's powers. While Diane was unable to control her own body, she knew exactly what was going on.
Red watched as tears streamed down Diane's face. The poor woman unwillingly took the steps forward.
Panic rushed through Red. "Vause! Vause, wake up! Wake the hell up!"
"Alex." Diane's call came out as a pained plea. She lunged at her daughter, the knife raised high in the air.
"I... I have to… stop you." Muttering, Alex raised one hand, blue light intensifying.
"Vause! Don't!" Red pushed Alex away and leapt at Diane. She bit her bottom lip at the pain shooting through her body, willing herself to ignore it. She grabbed Diane's wrist and turned it around, plunging the tip of the blade into Diane's neck. It took only a split second—a blink of an eye.
Red panted hard, eyes wide. She slid down to the cold floor on top of Diane. Warm blood oozed out of the fatal wound, spilling onto her hands. Blue eyes stared up at her, shocked. Diane's lips moved, but no voice came out.
"Mom?"
Red shut her eyes for a moment before pushing herself away from Diane. She sat back down and looked up at Alex.
The icy blue had now disappeared from Alex's eyes. Tears welled up fast in the green pools. Alex walked up to her mother and knelt down beside her. She pressed a hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but blood just kept pouring out. "No… No, this can't be… No. No. No, this isn't real. This… No. No, it's a fucking trick. He's fucking with my head. He's fucking with my mind. This is not real—"
Red took a deep breath in. "Vause—"
"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up! You killed my mother!" Alex clenched her free hand, electric currents conjured up into a raging, blue fireball.
Red pressed her back against the wall, her chin up. "He tricked you into thinking she was your enemy! And he was going to make her kill you with that knife! He messed with both of you! Think, Vause! He has my powers! He wanted to turn us against each other!"
"You killed her! You killed her!" Alex roared, her face reddened.
"I had to do it in your place, because I know that if you struck her dead, you wouldn't be able to live with yourself! And your mother wouldn't be able to forgive herself, if she had killed you! Use your head, Vause. His joy is to watch us kill each other! He is a sick man! Now, you have to be strong. You have to fight him like you fought me before. You're here now. I know you can do it!"
"You—you killed... No… no, I killed her…" Tears slid down Alex's face. Blue light gradually vanished from her hand as she reached out and touched Diane's forehead. There was a long moment before she could speak another word. She bent lower, closer to her mother, her tears falling onto Diane's face. "I'm so sorry. I brought this on us. I failed you. I... Don't leave. Don't leave me, please," she pleaded.
Her head resting against the crook of Alex's arm, Diane glanced up at her daughter. The fears in her eyes were gone now. She weakly clutched Alex's hand that was on her throat. Her fingers traced along the back of her daughter's hand. She offered her only child a faint smile. No words needed to be said.
"I love you, too." Alex kissed her mother's forehead. When she pulled back, her mother's eyes had already closed. Diane looked peaceful as though she was just sleeping, safe in Alex's embrace. But the truth just tore at her heart. No one had ever been safe around her. She had lost almost everyone she had ever loved and cared for.
"Vause, we have to go," Red said. She had moved to stand next to Alex, softly putting one hand over Alex's shoulder.
But Alex found no comfort. She pulled her mother into a tight embrace, rocking on the floor. Tears just wouldn't stop falling.
Red tried to suppress her sigh. She had thought that she was looking her most vulnerable state, but it was nothing compared to how heartbroken Alex was at the moment. She had never expected to see Alex so broken like this. Tears threatened to fall when she thought of what she had done to Alex in the past. Perhaps, she could have done more to help her. Perhaps, if she had been kinder, they wouldn't have ended up here.
Alex and Red snapped when the window on the door was slid open. A man, presumably one of the men, who had been guarding Kubra's source of powers, was staring into the cell. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of Diane, and then he started to yell something at his friends.
Boom!
The door to the cell was blown open by the bolt of lightning, thrusting the man and crushing him against the wall, killing him instantly.
Alex rested her mother down and stalked out of the cell, electric currents licking along her fists and arms. Red was behind her, but was careful to keep some distance. Two more men ran down the corridor, and started firing at the captives. Alex discharged a screeching, deadly strike at them, literally frying them on the spot. Red had to stop and bent, momentarily shutting her eyes from the light, covering both ears with her hands.
Red opened her eyes again to see two, motionless bodies on the floor. Their eyes were still open. Their deaths had taken them by surprise. Red took a deep breath in and glanced up at Alex. Icy blue had glossed over Alex's eyes. Without another word, the lightning striker turned and walked up the stairs. The electric currents still ran along her arms, ready to strike at anyone—anything. From that moment, Red knew that Alex had abandoned all hope to leave this place. Kubra was right. Alex was forever lost in her own rage and grief.
A/N: I couldn't fit all in one chapter, so one more, I promise. Thanks for following this xoxo