Author's Note: Been waiting for this chapter for a while! Let me know what you think! Apologies for the evil clown. He's really run amuck and it's been awful. Never letting him in another one of my stories again.

Warnings: blood and torture all because of a stupid, evil clown

Thirty minutes earlier:

Kelly was exhausted, but so relieved to have good news to pass on. "Jennifer, hey. They finally found James."

"They did! Oh, wonderful! How is he? Is he hurt? Was he tied up, too?"

"Yes, but I haven't heard any details, just that he's unconscious and might be in shock."

"Haven't you seen him yet?"

"No, we're on our way now. This building is enormous and Moon's goons left guards unconscious all over the place. Nobody is where they should be." Far down the hall, she could see the storage room wide open ahead. From inside, there came a distant shout of alarm. The guards' radio equipment gave an abrupt signal and then several voices were talking at once over the receiver. The guard beside her pulled out his radio to listen, his eyes registering shock.

"What is it?" Kelly asked him.

"More guards are down and apparently these guys cut through the outside wall of the Mall to escape. That...should have been impossible," the guard said.

"Kelly?" Jennifer said from Kelly's phone.

The guard shook his head when Kelly asked more questions, so she found herself running to Sec Storage Six for the answers. Hastily, she updated Kendall's mom. "I'm nearly there. Hang on."

The enormous storage room was lit up bright. Inside, guards moved quickly, checking all the shelves and storage areas while several more were unconscious on the ground. Ropes dangled from one of the higher beams, but if it was James who had been tied there, there was no sign of him now.

"Where is James?" Kelly called out to the guards scattered around the room. A few shrugged at her. She stepped past the medical equipment scattered messily across the floor and the unconscious guards and noticed an area at the far wall where a clump of guards had gathered.

"Kelly?" Jennifer asked loudly on the phone, but Kelly couldn't answer. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the wall ahead with a jagged-edged, eight-feet-wide hole in it. Whatever equipment they had used cut through several layers of building materials : plywood and brick and mortar and metal siding. It looked impossible, like a cartoon come to life. Guards were taking measurements and pictures and talking on their radios while Kelly could see past them to the deepening twilight over the parking lot outside.

"Where's James?" Kelly snapped again and no one answered. "If someone doesn't tell me what happened right now I am going to call the newspaper and explain exactly how crappy the security is at the Mall of America!"

Finally one guard stepped forward. "Calm down, ma'am. About half an hour ago, a medevac helicopter took off from the parking lot. We now think James may have been on board with some of Moon's attack force. We should have more answers when she wakes up." He gestured to the left of the doorway.

Kelly had to push through a few guards to see who he meant. There was another guard unconscious on the ground, no surprise there. But actually...the blonde-haired girl seemed somehow...familiar. "Do you know who she is," she asked the guard who had spoken up.

"We've never seen her before. Her tag seems to be legit, but it's likely she works for Moon."

When Kendall woke up, he'd lost six hours to dead sleep and what he'd groggily hoped was just a dream wasn't: James was really missing. At least the other part of his dream had come true as well: both Logan and Carlos were at the hospital, safe, and settled in his room. It was a little crowded with three large hospital beds, but from what Kendall could remember from the late night hours, his mom had been slightly hysterical and adamant that her boys all needed to be together. And the hospital had caved.

When Carlos had arrived, he was given medicine that settled his stomach and was put on an IV drip to rehydrate him. He hadn't thrown up in hours, but neither had he been fully awake yet. It was about five thirty in the morning and his IV bag was empty. From here, he looked asleep and quite normal. But Kendall knew that one of his ankles had been wrapped because the jerk tying him up had bent his foot to the side when he strapped it in. Other than that, Carlos hadn't suffered damage from the ropes the way Kendall and Logan had. Kendall's skin had scattered bruises from the ropes and raw patches, especially at his wrists where they'd been lashed to the beam.

Logan had come in semi-conscious and also with one bum ankle in a boot from a bad sprain. Both of his wrists were damaged extensively because of the scrapes and lacerations he had suffered from hanging by his wrists. The stress put on his right wrist had broken the scaphoid bone, or something like that. Kendall's mom knew the rest.

Honestly, this was probably the tenth time Kendall had gone over the list of their injuries and it was not helping. Listing them off made him crazy, made him want to go find Moon and hurt him enough so that he couldn't even talk with that stupid accent.

But to find Moon, Kendall had to first get out of this stupid hospital and second, find out where James was. And sure, he had a plan, but it involved a lot of waiting. And it was driving him crazy.

Around midnight, his mom had said that Gustavo called to say Kelly was resting and that he had taken up where she'd left off. Apparently he had moved himself into the captain's office of the Super Security Building in the Mall of America and refused to leave until he knew everything and understood exactly how Moon's circus act had bested the guards, kidnapped the boys and finally taken off with James. And Kendall hoped Gustavo had raised holy hell about it all night long. Someone needed to since Kendall was stuck here, still waiting.

All that was going to change as soon as Carlos woke up. Or Logan, maybe. But Kendall was betting on Carlos to wake up first and be in a better place for subterfuge.

As Kendall brooded farther into the morning, trying not to worry, trying not to list off his friends' injuries, he half-listened to the quiet nighttime sounds of the hospital giving way to the low clamor of morning rounds and visitors and energetic morning nurses.

Finally, at around 6:30, Logan's eyes started to flicker. Kendall raised his bed up higher, and hit the button to call a nurse. When the peppy blonde named Nina came in, he asked her to help him into the chair beside Logan. His mom would have been a better choice, sure, but she and Katie had gone home to rest after wearing themselves out with worry. Getting into the chair wasn't exactly comfortable, but Kendall waved off the nurse's suggestion of a pain pill. He needed to be awake and ready to go at any time.

When Logan finally woke, Kendall was there, leaning forward and putting a hand on his arm. "Hey buddy. You okay?"

Logan's eyes were slow to focus on his friend and he looked confused. His gaze wandered from Kendall to his own hands in shock, taking in one wrist in a cast and the other wrapped in gauze and bandages. "What..." he whispered.

"Do you remember what happened?" Kendall asked softly, watching, pained, as the memory surfaced and Logan started talking.

"The Mall of America? We - got slimed with purple goo that...did it glow?" Kendall nodded at him with the ghost of a smile. "It glowed and we got shot with those darts and then... then I woke up stuck in an elevator shaft. Where were you guys? I was all alone in there, in the dark."

Kendall watched him fight back tears, pain spearing him in the heart. "I know, buddy. I'm sorry. We were all taken to different rooms in the building and all tied up. No one...no one had it easy, believe me. All of us were alone." Logan looked horrified and for the first time, he looked Kendall over with urgency.

"Kendall...are you okay? Oh god...was it bad?"

"I'm okay now."

"I'm so sorry! I'm here talking about myself when I should be asking about Carlos and James. Are they okay? I see Carlos needed a bed. Is he hurt?"

"Carlos has a sprained ankle and was allergic to the knockout drug they gave us, so he threw up a lot and got dehydrated. But he's fine now, and it kept them from tying him all the way up."

"And James?" Logan looked around the room again, looking unsettled. "I guess he probably broke through the ropes himself and is just about to walk in and make fun of us for being wimps and needing hospital beds, right?" Kendall grimaced and found that he couldn't even look Logan in the eyes as they widened in fear. "Kendall? Kendall...where is he?"

"We don't know."

"What do you mean?" Logan snapped. "He was right there with the rest of us. You said they tied all of us up. Where was he tied up?"

"Security Storage Six - "

"And he's not there anymore? Sit me up, Kendall. This stupid bed!"

Kendall did as he asked, easily finding the button and helping his distressed friend. "Logan, calm down. You need to stay calm - "

"What the hell are you talking about?" Logan said, agitated. "James is missing and you want me to stay calm?"

"Do you really think yelling about it is going to help?" Kendall snapped back.

"Of course not! But - "

"Guys?" came a groggy voice from the other bed. "What's going on?"

Kendall glared at Logan for waking Carlos up and Logan glared right back, trying to cross his arms but unable to because of his cast. He angrily tossed out. "Oh, nothing. James is missing and Kendall thinks I should stay calm."

"I do not!"

"You just said that literally two seconds ago!"

"Because you're in a hospital bed and you're hurt," Kendall said, jumping to his feet and putting a hand on the bed to keep himself balanced. "That's why I want you to stay calm!"

"What?" Carlos said, his voice painfully scratchy. "Why is - ow - why does my throat hurt so much?"

Kendall stalked over to Carlos' bed, aware that he was being ridiculous but needing to move away from Logan before he got angrier. "Hey buddy, I'm sorry for waking you. Those darts had a drug in them that you're allergic to and you spent a good deal of time throwing up." He handed him the water beside his bed in a sippy cup.

Carlos' eyes went wide as he took a drink. "Oh right! I did. And then I threw up all over that clown on purpose."

"Clown?" Logan asked.

"You saw the clown?" Kendall asked, his mouth dry.

"Yeah, he was there when they were tying me up. And he was really nasty, so when I got sick, I aimed at him."

"Good job, buddy," Kendall said. "I wish I could say the same."

"Kendall?" Carlos turned his worried eyes on his friend full force. "Was I dreaming or did you say that James is missing?"

Logan and Kendall exchanged a helpless look. "He is," Kendall said around the sudden lump in his throat. "But I have a plan to find out where and we're going to go get him. I've just been waiting for you to wake up."

"You didn't tell me that," Logan snapped.

"I didn't have time to before you started accusing me of things. Besides, Carlos is better at distracting people."

Carlos nodded. "I am."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Kendall forced himself to not snap back at Logan. "Katie found out that one of Moon's goons was hospitalized here - one floor down."

"Wow," Carlos whispered.

"How did she find that out," Logan asked.

"She heard someone informing our guard at the door and then went down to check it out. There's an armed guard outside the guy's door. All I need is a way in."

Carlos' eyes narrowed. "Then you got it. Right after you help me to the bathroom."

Carlos was as good as his word. His staged "accident" in the hallway was so convincing the guard didn't even hesitate to go help him. Meanwhile, Kendall ducked inside the door, not even sure himself whether his friend had actually done himself more damage. But then he focused on the guy in the bed, apparently one of Moon's goons. The guy was in his twenties, tattooed all over, practically dripping black eye-makeup but instead of looking tough, he seemed scared out of his mind.

Kendall stalked closer. "So I see you know who I am."

"Yeah...so I know. So what?" the guys swallowed convulsively.

"Were you one of the assholes who tied me up? Is that how you get your kicks?"

He looked away. "No, I didn't tie you up. I was tying up your friend when he started getting sick. Anton didn't like getting sprayed with chunks all over his precious coat. So he took out his blade and started to go for the kid. I stopped him and I got this." He lifted his left arm, bandaged all the way from his shoulder down to his wrist.

Kendall felt a confusing storm of emotions, but shoved it all aside. "Where's Moon's hideout?"

"Kid, you don't want to go there for revenge, trust me. It's not worth it."

"Yeah, I know that but he has one of my friends."

"He does? Oh shit...is it the tall, pretty one?"

Kendall swallowed and nodded.

The guy's eyes went wide. "Look, you tell the cops I'll cooperate. I'm Spencer Holgren, just a carny who got mixed up with some messed-up whackos. Okay? You tell them that. I'd never met Anton before this and I never want to see him again. He's batshit crazy. The things I've seen." Spencer was visibly shaking now. "You need to get your friend out of there. Okay? Moon's place is in Savage, right outside Bloomington. It's huge place, like, it has its own helicopter pad and landing strip. It's, like, a freakin' castle. Tell the police I'll help them find it. But you...don't wait for them to get there. Don't. Wait. Okay?"

Kendall found himself nodding, his heart in his throat, even as he listened to the guy's instructions for how to get inside the mansion.

Logan didn't have much time to think after Kendall and Carlos left. Something was bothering him, but Nurse Nina came in and found him awake and busied herself checking an unnecessarily long list of stats even though he could tell her that he was fine. Then she called in the Nurse Practitioner to check his wrist wound to see if it was healing all right.

Logan was glad none of his friends were here for that part. It hurt so badly for them to unwrap it that he sobbed into his casted wrist. Once it was undressed he could see why: every inch of it was bruised and puffy and scraped and raw. They were worried about it getting infected, so Nina cleaned it with something that stung, put a salve on it and wrapped it again.

By the time she was done, Logan was wiped out and his wrist throbbed angrily. When Nina offered pain medicine he took it without a second thought. Slowly, the pain receded and Logan dozed a little bit.

At some point, Kendall and Carlos came barreling in, talking loudly enough to wake the dead. "We know where Moon is! Logan?" They seemed to be moving and talking way too fast, tossing out words like helicopter and clown and James.

Logan blinked at them sleepily. "So wait - we know where James is?"

"Yes! Moon's ex-circus guy just ratted him out!" Carlos said. "And we know where to go now: just outside Bloomington to a place called Savage."

"How...appropo. And he's got James?"

Kendall nodded, too tense to say anymore.

"Wait, wait, wait. I know you guys are like, in super-hyper-speed mo, but we can't just go waltzing up there to Moon's hideout. They have guns and darts with stuff in it that Carlos is allergic to and probably more rats." Logan shuddered. "...hate rats."

"We've done this before," Carlos pointed out, "and we did fine, remember?"

"No, no, no. See? You're aren't thinking, Carlos. Last time we had really cool toys that shot rays and things, and we weren't alone. Because. Admit it, we know nothing about infiltrating an enemy's lair and rescuing people, even if we really, really, really want to be able to do it. I mean, Kendall, come on...we need help."

"Did someone say you needed help?" In the doorway stood a somewhat embarrassed but beautiful blonde British secret agent in a familiar black guard uniform. "I do happen to know a lot about infiltrating secure hideouts."

Kendall was shocked, but he managed to say, "Penny Lane?"

She smiled at him softly. "I heard Moon was out for revenge so I came to stop him. I haven't done a very good job so far. If it hadn't been for Catgirl, I'd have been no help at all."

The boys exchanged puzzled looks. Logan's brow furrowed as he repeated, "Catgirl...?"

"I don't know who that is. But you'll help us rescue James, right?" Carlos asked.

"Of course! After all, it's partly my fault that he was taken again." Penny quickly filled them in on how she helped free him but then lost him in the same half hour to an infuriating clown. "Moon's goons escaped in the MedEvac helicopter, only they left one behind and took James and an EMT instead."

"'s ssso eeevil," Logan stated slowly. Kendall stared at his friend, eyebrows raised.

"It's good news, actually," Penny quickly explained. "James needed medical help and it means they want to keep him alive. Anton the clown is our biggest worry. We need to get James away from him as soon as possible. I apologize. I would have been here sooner, but I had to convince the Mall of America security team that I was actually MI-6. Well, sort of. I'm in training."

Kendall nodded. "I'm ready to go now."

"Me, too," Carlos said staunchly, hobbling forward on his booted foot.

"Meee three, but...IIIII don't know how much help I'll be," Logan admitted, his eyes looking unfocused again.

"Logan," Carlos snapped, "we have to get James away from Anton the clown before bad things happen!"

"I knooow that but I just took pain meds and I'm woooozy, okay?" Logan said loudly. "But 'm fine. Jus' poin' me in the righ' direction occas...occa-shun-a...once or twice. Okay? Or shake me awake and remind me what we're doing and why we're doing it. 'S all."

"We're doing it for James," Kendall snapped.

"Yes! For James. Righ'. See? You know. Because I can't. 's important, I know. I jus' can' keep things up here," Logan gestured to his head. "Because sleep. And druuuuugs. So...jus' help me up. 'll be fine."

The other three exchanged glances and watched him sag back against the cushions, eyes half-lidded already. They left him in bed, snoring lightly, with a note for Kendall's mom lying on the bed.

The note read,

Be back soon with James. Tell the cops to interview the guy in room 223. He has some information on Moon and we may need back-up. Logan, you know why we left you. See you soon.

love, Kendall and Carlos

James woke by degrees, slowly and painfully. His head throbbed and every part of him felt bruised and sore. Opening his eyes was completely out of the question. What the hell did he do to himself? Was it...a hockey accident?

His head was so empty. Why couldn't he remember anything?

Concentrating all of his energy, James forced his eyes open, hoping to catch a clue, and blinked several times in shock. "No way," James whispered in a rough voice. Man, he was thirsty. "Moon has a dungeon and I'm in it."

Overhead, the dark stone ceiling had to be at least fifty feet high, shadowed and dirty and cobwebby. There was probably gross stuff falling from it on him right now. A whine escaped him at the thought.

A flicker of memory came to him, of someone waking him up in the night and taking him to the bathroom and getting him water. James had been helpless and exhausted, needing a lot of help to do those simple things. He didn't even remember returning to bed, but he did remember a voice, a kind one. Had it been a dream?

There was no way of knowing. Maybe that helpful person was still here somewhere. James eyed the door across the room - the one that was now opening slowly and creakily. Wait -

Alarmed, James tried to sit up but fell back immediately. Waves of pain rolled from his head and shoulders back down to his legs and out to his arms. His head was now throbbing. What the hell?

"I see you're awake," said someone huskily from the door area, making James jerk in reaction.

He rolled his head to the side with great effort and saw that it was not a kind, helpful person in the doorway. It was a clown.

"Nope," James said, once again looking to the ceiling. "You're mixing your metaphors, Moon!" Logan would be proud that he remembered that word. "You can't have a dungeon like this and have a clown be the...the - "

"Jailer?" the clown suggested, walking uncomfortably closer.

"Exactly," James said in a mix of frustration and fear. He looked at the figure, taking in his long, striped red and white overalls, red ruffle collar and white face highlighted by black lips, sad black eye make-up and a red painted-on nose. His arms, however, were bare and hairy -why?"Clowns and dungeons do not go together. So...you should leave. Now."

A chuckle came from the door, from a large man wearing animal pelts and bits of metal around his shoulders, plus a loin cloth and a humongous, pretty awesome beard. The look on his face was not nice. But at least he - he looked like he belonged in the dungeon, not that it really made a difference.

The clown giggled and took two steps forward. James made another sound that was not quite a whimper and somehow found the strength to sit up."Please don't come any closer."

The clown paused. His white make-up was caked on but smeared off in places. His eyes were painted to look sad, but they shone with an evil gleam that made James shudder. A rope appeared from behind his back. "Or what?"

"Or...I'll probably scream?" James answered very honestly. "I might kick you. I've been through a lot and I'm tired and I just want to be asleep in my own bed." He paused because his voice had climbed up very high. "Is there...any chance this is just a bad dream?"

The clown chuckled and moved closer, his eyes roving up and down James' body. "Let's find out. If you're dreaming, this might not hurt at all."

Catgirl had spent a restless night trying to figure out whether it was better to stay with Moon and track his movements, or leave and protect Big Time Rush wherever they were. For the moment, she trusted they were all safe in the hospital far away from Moon and his circus crew of specialists. Plus, the super spy girl from England, Penny Lane, was now on their side. Surely that counted for something. Knowing that, Catgirl was able to catch a few hours of sleep before nerves got the best of her and forced her out of bed. Instincts screaming at her, she showered quickly, dressed in her usual catty attire and reached the breakfast area just after seven.

Only a few of the horrible circus crew were up and eating breakfast: Smitty the tattooed man was eating oatmeal with chocolate chips and he raised a spoon to her happily. Beside him sat the bearded lady, Rosie, who had what must be a dozen scrambled eggs in front of her, five pieces of toast and two glasses of orange juice. She was very dedicated to breakfast.

After getting herself some coffee and a biscuit, Catgirl paused to identify what it was that was bothering her. Oh. She turned to the circus folk.

"Where is Anton? I thought he was always up by now."

Smitty cracked up, snorting milk up his nose and spraying it all over the table. Rosie looked at him disdainfully. "I don't care where he is," she told Catgirl. "He put Spencer in the hospital."

"Spencer's at the hospital?" Catgirl felt a coldness spread in her gut.

"Anton cut him for being too nice to one of the kids," Rosie said while scooping up a forkful of eggs.

"So then why are you laughing?" Catgirl asked Smitty. "You know Anton could cut you up next."

Smitty covered his mouth to smother another laugh. "Naw, he's too busy in the dungeon. We brought him a new toy last night and it's about that time."

Catgirl couldn't speak for a few seconds. Her eyes wide, she put down her coffee and plate. "You brought someone back last night? From the Mall?"

Rosie stared at her. "Two someones. But one of them is already gone."

"That nurse dude was only here overnight," Smitty said, nodding enthusiastically. "But Anton kept the other one. It's one of them boys, the tall, pretty one."

Like a dream, no - like a nightmare, Catgirl found she couldn't move fast enough. James? No. That girl - Penny - was supposed to rescue him! How hard is it to untie someone?!

Catgirl ran to the wing that held the dungeon and moved down the stairs as quietly as possible, forcing her mind to deal with the facts: James was not safe and recovering. He was in the dungeon with Anton, where he was probably becoming acquainted with the clown's sick obsession with blades. Only one floor down and she could already hear screaming.

No...

Catgirl discovered that listening to James scream wasn't any better than listening to Kendall scream. It was, perhaps, worse, because James was talking to himself in-between, trying to imagine himself some place else, trying to ignore the pain and the person giving it to him while Anton, that bastard, was determined to make him pay attention and make it personal.

Of course she was going to put a stop to it, but there was one obstacle to deal with first. Baldy the dungeon guard took his sweet time before striding past her hiding spot, a stone alcove cloaked in shadow. The idiot was smiling as he listened to James' screams and totally deserved the roundhouse kick to the face that decked him. Somehow he wasn't completely knocked out so she took great joy in kicking him in the head while he was down.

She hesitated only briefly before ripping the keys from the man's...ew...loincloth. "Really, dude? Ever heard of a shower?"

The frustrating thing was that the door wasn't even locked, so she tossed the keys into the shadows down the hallway. Then she uncoiled her whip and opened the door.

There was a long familiar figure strapped to a bed and a horrible clown standing over him with a long, bloody razor blade. Wounds decorated James' torso and he looked desperately in her direction.

"Help? Please help. This clown is crazy," he said with a sob in his voice.

Anton looked down at James affectionately, the razor blade held where the boy could see it. "Poor boy. She's not going to help you. That's Moon's sidekick."

But James was still looking at her. "Please...he's - "

Catgirl unleashed her whip, smacking the razor blade out of Anton's hand. "Ex-sidekick. Leave him alone!"

"Oh my god. Oh my god...that is so hot," James whispered a bit deliriously.

Anton was staring at her now, without his usual wicked smile. "That hurt, you two-timing bitch."

"Aw, you can dish it out but you can't take it? That's kinda sad for a clown."

His reply was a sudden blade hurled in her direction lightning-fast. She jerked to the side, but it still thunked into her left shoulder, tearing a cry from her throat.

"No, don't." James cried out, trying to free himself so he could help or do something. His hands were stuck - tied tightly over his head.

"I can definitely dish it out, traitor," the clown sneered, pulling out another knife. "Where should I hit you next? The throat?"

Catgirl steeled herself and gripped the knife handle, jerking it out of her shoulder with a cry. Anton was rearing back, making his throw theatrical this time. Big mistake. She was quicker: the bloody knife left her hand and struck Anton in the heart with a satisfying THUNK. He stumbled back several steps and looked at his chest in horror.

"No...you...you can't." He looked up at her and then turned slowly to James, and his face twisted in hatred.

"Oh no," James whispered. "No. Go away, you horrible clown!" But Anton stumbled toward James and fell on him, gripping James' throat with all of his fading strength.

James couldn't breathe, and couldn't free his hands from over his head. He was trapped as Anton leered down, blood dripping off the knife in his chest, splattering James. Their eyes met and James saw the hatred there, the darkness that drove the clown. Anton was dying and all he wanted was to see the light fade from James' eyes.

Then a THUD sent Anton careening off to the side and Catgirl was there, her roundhouse kick having done the job again. James was too busy gasping for breath to say anything, and even after he calmed down, it was still another minute before he could force back the tears.

"Are you okay? Damn, Anton really did a number on you." Catgirl's voice was soft as she looked James over. His torso was littered with long slices oozing blood into his shirt. Since his skin and clothes were stained a faded purple on that side, it added a macabre maroon to the mix. While he recovered, she pulled out her own blade and started working on the rope securing his hands over his head. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"Me, too," James whispered breathlessly. "I hate clowns."

"Everyone hates Anton. Well, hated Anton. Damn, he got your leg, too?"

"I kicked him. He got angry," James said, his eyes lost in the memory.

Catgirl finally finished cutting through the thick rope and helped him bring his arms down. He seemed weak as a kitten. "Hey, are you okay?"

James blinked and fixed his bloodshot eyes on her again. "I don't know. I'm confused. Didn't he hit you with a blade?"

"Yeah, but that's what really good body armor is for," she said, smirking. "It didn't cut very deep. Not even as deep as you got cut."

"Really," James said doubtfully.

"I'll be fine. Now, let's get you out of here." She took his shoulder and helped him up slowly. "Look at me, rescuing a second band member. Moon's gonna' be so pissed."

"Wait - who did you rescue first?" James snapped, suddenly focused.

"Logan."

James turned to her, eyes wide. "Is he okay? Is he HERE? Oh my god - "

"No. James, calm down. He's at the hospital with the others."

"The others?"

"Okay. You have a lot of catching up to do." Catgirl said, turning away. "I'll tell you everything - "

"Now," James said, standing to grab her arm and gently pulling her around. "Camile, stop messing around." Then he grunted and released her, putting a hand on the burning wounds on his ribcage. Man, he hated that clown...

Catgirl tilted her head. "Who's Camile? I'm Catgirl."

"Okay, fine. Just tell me about Kendall and Carlos and Logan - "

"Okay!" She stopped and sighed. "Sit down before you pass out." He frowned and pouted, but finally leaned against the bed. "Good. The whole band was knocked out and tied up in various horrific positions. Moon was apparently trying to spell the word C-A-T-S and Kendall was the C. Logan was the A and you were the T. Carlos was the S but he didn't get all the way tied up because he got sick and started throwing up on Anton and some of the other circus freaks."

"He did? Way to go, buddy."

"Which is why Anton wasn't wearing his stupid clown jacket - not important. Kendall was the first to get untied and was sent to the hospital. Logan was next because I found him and got him down from the elevator shaft they put him in."

James looked shocked before a frown wiped that away. "Wait, I remember. You didn't untie me. You shot me with another dart!"

"I know. I'm sorry. That was before I switched sides, okay? Logan and Carlos are at the hospital with Kendall and they're probably all worried sick about you. Moon sent photos to Kendall of you, well, all four of you, strung up. Bastard. I need to find a way to end him permanently. Anyway, that's it. Now, we need to go." She moved toward the door.

"Camile - wait," James said, jumping up again and stumbling a bit. "You're not Catgirl. You can't just go around killing people. I mean, I know Anton was a sicko." He could feel blood seeping from his wounds into his hand as he moved. "But I think he's actually dead over there!"

She stopped, sending one more look at Anton to make sure he wasn't moving. The blood pool around him was sufficiently large. "Good," she said with no small satisfaction.

"Camile!"

"Look, whoever that is, it's not me," she said as she reached the door and turned around to watch him. "Can you walk any faster than that?"

"Probably not," he said as he moved closer. "But, Camile, it is you." He gently took her shoulders. "You always do this, remember? You're a method actress and you take parts and become the character and forget who you are in real life. But you're my friend and a nice person and I don't want you to get injured any worse or kill anyone else, even for me!"

His hazel eyes were captivatingly earnest and Catgirl felt the conviction of who she was...sort of slip.

Images jumbled in her mind. She saw a girl with medium brown curls who lived in a pink apartment complex with her father. There was a pool. There were four boys who were her downstairs neighbors and were...oh, in a band called Big Time Rush and one of them was...one of them was Logan!

James saw the exact moment that she remembered. Her brown eyes widened behind the mask and her posture changed. She started hyperventilating. "What have I done? Oh my god... I killed someone?" she shrieked.

James held his arms open and she fell into them, which, yeah, kinda' hurt so bad and he was probably getting blood on her which was gross...but what else could he do? They stood in the dungeon, ignoring the dead body and both trembling for very different reasons.

"It's okay, Camile," he whispered. "Everyone will understand. You saved my life. You were actually pretty badass and you know I don't say that lightly."

"You called me hot," she reminded him before pulling back to look at him, a glint in her teary eyes.

"I did," he agreed. "You're always hot, Camile, even when you aren't Catgirl. Although I bet Logan loved you in this outfit."

"He did," she said, giggling. "But I don't think he recognized me. I was too fast. You're sweet, James, but I think I have to stay Catgirl to get us out of this. Camile won't be able to do it. For one thing, Camile is secretly about to vomit at the sight of all this blood and someone still has to bandage you up."

James hated it, but she was probably right. He slumped against the wall and sighed. "I'm sorry. But if you weren't here, I'd probably give up. So thank you. It's just been...too much."

"I know. But we have to move, James. Moon's going to be tearing this place apart to find you. And some of the circus freaks will want revenge once they realize Anton is dead. I've studied the blueprints and I know where we can hide. There will be plenty of food and water and bandages there. We just have to get you there. So buckle up; let's go."

James recognized the switch in her voice, the note of command and ruthlessness that signaled she was Catgirl again. He really hoped he wasn't going to faint in front of her if he tried to walk. Unbidden, his gaze crept back to the fallen body of Anton the clown and the pool of blood surrounding him. There was no movement. With a shudder, James pushed himself off the wall and followed Catgirl, leaving a smear of blood behind.

A/N: Whew! Did anyone guess who Catgirl really was?