Two hours and twenty minutes earlier:

Penny Lane had done the unthinkable: abandoned her first year of training with MI-6 to jet off to the States. Why? She shifted uncomfortably in front of the mirror but looked herself dead in the eye. Blond-headed for this mission, hair pulled back in a ponytail. dressed in jean shorts and a tie-dyed Boyfriend shirt, she looked like any other American teenager. But she was far from it.

Aloof, talented, kickass: those were words she would use to describe herself before she had met Big Time Rush and, more to the point, James Diamond. Her initial judgment of him as a talentless, arrogant party boy had given way once she spent more time around him. After Moon had been incarcerated and the boys were able to spend time relaxing and sightseeing in London, James had shown himself to be sweet, caring and protective...and ridiculously hot.

How many times during that week did she tell herself that he was only pretending to be interested, that he was only after one thing, or that he must have dozens of girls waiting on him back home? But. James was goofy and adventurous and lived in the moment like few people she'd ever known. Around him, she became different, a happier and freer version of herself, definitely not what she would call aloof.

When the week was over, he'd flown back across the world and gotten on with his life. He had texted her a few times and they Zoomed twice before she started training, where no cell phones were allowed. In MI-6, regretfully, there was no time for romance. Penny managed to mostly put James out of her mind by keeping busy and by reassuring herself that a special computer program she had a friend setup was running through American news websites, coded to trigger an alarm if certain buzz words surfaced.

Thus, when Moon had sent a flood of rats through a Big Time Rush concert, she was alerted. Penny knew what it meant: James was in danger and so were his best friends. There wasn't a question as to whether or not American law enforcement could stop Atticus Moon. With billions of pounds and a vast array of contacts at his disposal, he could buy his way anywhere and do anything he wanted. He should never have been allowed to set foot outside that prison.

That was why Penny had left training, flown to Minnesota, recharged with a few hours of sleep, dressed incognito and would soon be headed for the Mall of America, where she would finally see James again. A fleeting smile touched her lips. But unlike every other James fangirl, she was on a serious mission: to save his band and his life.

"I will not let Moon destroy Big Time Rush."

After taking an Uber to the Mall of America, Penny stowed her tote bag in a locker and tucked the key into her pocket. Looking around, she saw there were a lot of guards here, and even more undercover. It was a relief to see that the Americans had taken the threat of Atticus Moon seriously. At the pretzel shop, she asked for a large pretzel and a Coke using very specific words. The young man who took her order stared at her moment before nodding and heading to the back. When he handed her the items minutes later, she could feel a thin metal tag nestled inside the pretzel bag.

"Thanks," she told him in her northern American accent.

She sat at a table with some other Big Time Rush fans who were carrying signs and were very open to making new friends. Penny's disguise and her accent somehow fooled all of them. At the table, she was the only James girl, but that pleased her. Carlos, Kendall and Logan were dears and deserved their own fans, too. She just wished she had thought to bring a sign to hold up for James - you know, to blend in better.

When it was nearing time for the boys to perform, the whole group moved in a loud, excited bunch to the stage area in a large atrium. Penny found herself in the center of the crowd, shocked at the amount of fans here in the middle of the day in the center of the mall. She identified a lot of security in the crowd and around on the balconies, so she was able to relax her guard. A little.

By the time the boys had arrived to perform, the crowd was electric. Penny was caught up in the excitement and in awe of the amazing energy Big Time Rush generated themselves. The boys were...amazing. If she hadn't already fallen for James a little, hearing him sing No Idea would have turned her down that path, anyway. The whole song, all of the boys' voices...it was magic and over far too soon.

Afterwards, she hung around with her new friends and got some cookies before joining in the hour-long line to get autographs. Wouldn't it be funny to see James try to figure out how he knew her? She had to giggle at his face when Kendall seemed to get the best of him in a discussion they were having at the autograph table. The eyeroll James gave was very expressive.

And then she realized she had been lulled into a false sense of security - everyone had. Someone had tampered with the strip of lights over the boys' heads and filled it with...something that splattered everywhere in a gush of horrifying purple. Penny was ready to fight, ready to jump in and defend the boys, but... from purple goo?

She kept checking their perimeters, watching and waiting for someone to make another move, but no one was attacking. There were still guards all around them and she couldn't get James' attention, or any of the other boys. Kendall started to rage in a shocking way while James turtled up inside his shirt and Logan edged closer to outright panic. Penny decided it was time to shed her disguise and become part of the boys' security detail.

She gave James one more lingering look as he got a body hug from Carlos, then turned to go. She would be no use to him like this. After jogging lightly to the locker room and grabbing her bag, she found a bathroom and changed into her all-black guard gear.

The pretzel operative had given her a metal tag that she slipped into her left wristband. Her gear and this tag would identify her as one of the Mall's Elite Security Guards to the electronic security systems controlling the doors and elevators. The guards were already out in force, encouraging the patrons to leave before they started an invasive, mall-wide security sweep for Moon's goons. The mall would be losing a lot of money today.

Penny saw a lot of worried BTR fans, her new friends among them, shepherded to the doors, not even sure the boys were okay. "I'll protect them," she promised under her breath, and headed to the door that was the nearest to the atrium. The boys should have gone through this one. She tugged her jaunty black beret down over one eye. No reason to be unfashionable even as a security guard in a Mall.

The guard at the door gave her a second glance, but her wrist band did the job and he opened the door.

"How far ahead are they?"

"Doubt you can catch 'em," the guard said lazily. "They probably five minutes ahead."

"We'll see about that," Penny said under her breath.

But she had underestimated the labyrinth of corridors, elevators and rooms making up the secured part of the mall. The GPS system map on her wrist band showed blueprints and highlighted guards with a dot, but there was no way of knowing which guards were with the boys. Finally, she decided to follow the largest concentration of them to the third floor, using an MI-6 issued security skeleton passkey as well her wristband to take the necessary elevator.

By the time she arrived near the panic rooms, the attack was over. Unconscious guards were being wheeled off on gurneys and the boys were M.I.A. She managed to stay hidden while intercepting several communications between the guards and the Security Station that was in charge right now.

In a nutshell, they didn't know where the boys were. Bitterly disappointed to be too late, Penny switched her GPS blueprint map to show heat signatures. Even though they didn't have GPS tags, the boys' heat signatures would show up. The only problem was that so did everyone else's. As a last resort, Penny tried calling James' cell phone but there was no answer. If she was on an MI-6 mission, she could call in to get James' phone traced, but here she was on her own. On a hunch, she studied the GPS map again, looking this time for heat signatures in isolation.

Interesting. There was someone in the stairwell nearest to her, two floors up and moving slowly down. Guards wouldn't move like that. Moon's accomplices would sneak, or one of the boys if he had escaped. So she would definitely try the stairwell.

Penny switched off her blueprint map and pulled out her stun gun. She placed her chipped wrist by the reader and it unlocked the door. Carefully, she turned the knob and eased it open, her gun aimed at the cement stairwell. The light from the ceiling several floors up gave the area an eerie half-light. No one was in sight.

Penny paused, listening. How had the person moved out of sight that quickly? It must not be one of the boys. She eased her way up the stairs, glad her training made her silent and extra sneaky. There was movement in her peripheral vision just before something went -

SHHHHUNKT!

There was a red dart in her neck, a knockout dart that probably had the capability to keep her drugged for...at least...

She toppled on the cement steps, collecting bruises like Royal Family china. As the darkness took over, her final thought was that her father would be so disappointed; she'd forgotten to check her perimeter...again.

Kendall did not want to wake up. That loud groaning in his ear was so irritating. Who was making that sound? Then awareness crept in and pain with it and he realized that sound was coming from him. He groaned again as the ache in his back dug in full force and his whole body shook with tension.

Thinking was nearly impossible, but he fought to understand where he was and why he was in so much pain. There was a metal girder underneath him. He was holding on to it because ropes held his hands and forearms to the metal and if he didn't lift his head, his face rested on the cold metal. But the rest of his body was hitched high, his back arched and tied in place. He could barely make out that there were ropes holding his thighs, his knees and his feet.

It made no sense. Why would someone -

Trying to pull his feet down sent a new, excruciating wave of pain through his back and it was all he could do to hang on, losing all sense of space and time to agony.

Logan was trying not to hyperventilate. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the way his body was swinging loosely in the air, the way the rope dug into his wrists and the way he felt so incredibly helpless. His entire body weight hung from his wrists. The rope was rough and scratchy and all of his efforts to get free had broken the skin. The walls were out of reach and there were no sharp objects within reach. Any movement made the pulling worse and made his wrists feel like the bones were going to give way.

So. His only job was to stay calm and not make it worse. Thinking of his friends helped some, but he couldn't help but worry. He really hoped James wasn't in the same position. His friend's heavier body weight could dislocate his wrists or even break the bones, depending on the amount of time he was suspended. James had been...shot with the dart right before him, so he assumed the taller boy had been taken as well. But maybe Kendall had managed to get away, or at least Carlos? Logan hoped with everything in him that they had found a way to the panic rooms. Because this...this was an increasingly painful nightmare.

It was stiflingly dark, only broken by the slight glow from his one arm and one leg that had been splashed with purple glowing goo. A simple strip of duct tape rendered him speechless. He couldn't get down. He couldn't break free and even if he could, it would be quite a drop. This was an elevator shaft, and those distant slivers of light down below were where doors closed together on each floor.

So far, the elevator remained unused, but with Logan's luck, it was only a matter of time before someone got in and hit the button for the top floor. That would be an agonizing way to die - being unintentionally crushed - and Logan wouldn't even be able to scream for help.

He managed to keep himself from panicking, barely, by sheer force of will. This was a simple form of torture, being helpless and in pain, but it was working: it was breaking him down. Logan felt tears start to seep from his eyes. He was going to die in here alone... because who would think to check an elevator shaft?

Kelly woke slowly, feeling nauseous but oddly comfortable. All around her were the urgent sounds of talking and people striding in and out of a large room; someone was barking orders and an annoying phone would ring over and over before finally being answered, "Station Five."

Finally her eyes registered the dark gray ceiling overhead and the fact that someone was sitting right by her side. "Gustavo?" she managed to croak out.

The large producer looked pale and rather unkempt as he turned wide eyes to her. "You're finally awake. How do you feel? Run over by a truck? A bulldozer?"

"A tank," she corrected him. "Why am I here? Where am I?"

"This is Security Station Five in the Mall of America's Super Secret Security building. Despite our best attempts to foil Moon's plans, he managed to attack and take down you, the boys and the entire security team in one go."

"Oh my god, I remember," Kelly said, sitting up so quickly that she reeled from it. "The boys? Where are they?"

"Here, let me help," Gustavo jumped forward to help her sit up, handing her a cup of water. She took it and drank gratefully, but watched him the whole time. "It's not good news, Kelly." He took the cup from her and set it down on the table. "The boys are just...gone. Of course it's only been...a few hours since the last guard went down."

"You mean the knockout darts got everyone?"

"Apparently Carlos was the last one standing, but since he's missing, the guards think he was shot, too." Gustavo's words sounded nonsensical, but Kelly could tell he was serious.

"So you're telling me that after everyone was knocked out, the boys were kidnapped?"

"Yes."

"But there are cameras all over in the Super Secret Security building. How could we not know where they were taken?"

Gustavo bent over and buried his face in his hands. "I have asked that question at the top of my lungs and all I keep getting is that the lights were out and so the videos didn't record anything. It's like they just vanished."

"But that makes no sense - "

She stopped when she heard running feet down the hallway and shortly later a breathless guard slid to a stop just inside the room, "They found one of the boys in Sec Storage Two - Kendall!"

"Is he...okay?" Kelly asked as she stood shakily.

"He's conscious, just very...well...," the guard replied. "Follow me."

"So he's still in the building?"

"Yes, but you understand it's a very large building."

The next few minutes were spent walking and listening to excuse after excuse. A few more guards jumped on the train and a few police officers, all talking over each other as they hastened to explain what had gone wrong and how they had finally located him. Kelly really didn't care now; she just wanted to find all her boys.

Finally, they were led inside a three story-high storage room. Racks held boxes up and down the wall and in a grid across the floor. An organized pulley system and ladders were there to allow the top shelves to be accessible. All of that was taken in at a glance, but their gazes were drawn straight to a still figure on the second tier, lit by several lights from different angles. It didn't even make sense that it was a person until they moved closer. Then the figure stirred and yelled in mindless pain and Kelly gasped.

"Kendall?"

She left Gustavo and climbed the first ladder. It was a good thing heights didn't bother her, because that ladder went straight up the wall. A guard helped her on the beam that crossed to the girder in the center of the room. She decided not to go farther; there was no rail on the beam. How had they gotten Kendall up here? She was glad to see that he'd gone still again.

Not only was he high in the air, but he'd been tied in some barbaric attempt to bend him into a C-shape. His chest rested on a beam, tied into place with his hands tied down as well. Then his back was curved up and bent over, strung up to a perpendicular beam where his knees and feet were tied by long ropes to a higher beam. It was a position gymnasts often put themselves in, but they were super-flexible and this was in no way Kendall's choice. How long had he been like this?

The poor boy awakened again, shaking and sweating, crying out every so often in agony. "I can't...please?"

Kelly and Gustavo traded horrified glances from their different positions. "Kendall, we're here," Kelly called over to him, knowing he wouldn't answer. She just wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

Outside, sirens were screaming - ambulances on the way. But there was already help inside. A guy in scrubs with rappelling equipment was moving closer to Kendall from the left side. On the right, another officer in rappelling gear was lowering himself from the higher beam.

"I think we might need someone else," the officer said as he pulled on thick gloves.

"We're out of time," the EMT called over tersely, moving closer on the beam to Kendall.

"Yes, please hurry," Kelly said frantically. Kendall had gone silent, but his face was tight with pain. "How long has he been like this," she whispered, afraid to really know the answer.

Kendall shifted and cried out loudly but the EMT was there, carefully inspecting the ropes without touching, speaking his findings over a headset. After listening for a moment to the answer, he nodded. "Okay, Kendall, my name is Marco. I'm an EMT with experience in climbing and gear like this. You're in good hands. Just be patient and I'm going to cut you out, starting with your legs first to relieve some pressure."

"Hurry," Kendall begged.

"I will, I promise. Officer Greggs over there is going to steady you and make sure that you don't fall or get hurt any worse than you already are.."

"Absolutely," Greggs affirmed as he got into position. "You just try to relax."

Kendall gave a slightly hysterical laugh that died into a whimper.

"It's okay, sweetie," Kelly called over, "it's going to be over soon." She held a hand over her mouth as if it would stop the tears.

It was a tense moment as Marco started cutting, but in seconds, one of the ropes was released and Greggs eased Kendall's legs away from the top bar. As the deep bend in his back was released, Kendall started sobbing.

"Hurry!" Kelly said.

Marco cut two more ropes. Greggs pulled Kendall's legs away from the ropes, knelt and slowly laid Kendall down on the thick beam. He talked to him quietly as Marco began cutting the ropes around Kendall's torso. As soon as his arms were freed, they slid off the beam and Kendall lost consciousness.

Marco rested a hand on his back, holding him in place. "Poor kid. Whoever did this is one twisted son-of-a-bitch." He started checking Kendall's vitals as well as he could without moving the patient.

Officer Greggs agreed, "Looks like Atticus Moon has it in for these kids. One down, three to go."

Marco's face twisted. "Three are still missing? Damn."

Kelly forced herself to climb back down, knowing there was nothing else she could do.

Gustavo called up, "Is Kendall okay? Is he going to be alright?"

Marco answered him readily. "We'll get him down once the emergency stretcher gets here. His blood pressure is elevated but he's breathing fine. We'll have to check for spinal injuries, of course, but he seemed to be moving all of his extremities, so I'm hopeful."

"Oh god," Kelly said, feeling weak.

Gustavo put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "They'll get him to the hospital. His back is going to be strained. I guess tour is off for a while."

"Tour?" Kelly snapped and shoved him. "Who cares about tour? Right now, all I care about is these boys. I'm going to call Jennifer. She and Katie must be so worried."

Gustavo nodded. As Kelly turned away to call, he watched the still form of Kendall.

"Well, as long as he's hopeful," Gustavo muttered under his breath. Then there was the sound of running footsteps and a guard came sliding into the room.

"Gustavo? Are you Kelly?"

"Yes," Kelly put the phone to her chest and Gustavo stepped up beside her as they waited for the guard to catch his breath.

"We've found the second one. Come on."

A/N: Um...sorry for this story taking a dive for the serious so instantaneously! *smiles shakily* Moon and Catgirl make for a dangerous combination...