Chapter One Hundred and Ninety Three
...
"You're sure you can trust this intel, Fisher?" Mia asked, clutching the grab handle tightly as he sped out of the police headquarters' parking lot.
"Yes, I'm sure," Alan ground out, face grim as he remembered the message he'd received from Hourglass herself only five minutes ago. It spoke of villains escaping the Maxville Super Penitentiary and chaos descending on Maxville. He careened around one corner, veering sharply on the next with the car's wheels coming off the road.
"Careful! I'm too young to die!" Mia yelped as Fisher flattened his foot on the accelerator, the car speeding up and landmarks disappearing in a blur.
"No one's too young to die, kid. Uh, Mia," he added, remembering his partner's name for once.
Fisher glanced over to see Mia praying under her breath, her knuckles tight around the grab handle, and slowed down by a few kilometres. As Hourglass had predicted, white-clothed escaped prisoners were already powered up and civilians were running or hiding.
"Oh, shit, she was right. I've got my cuffs, but how do we get close enough? The Commander and Jetstream are in Chicago," Mia said, hands trembling as she checked that her power-repressing cuffs were on her belt.
"I've got a bag of auto-release nets in the trunk; it'll work against some of 'em. Radio the station, tell 'em to bring out the super-riot gear. I'll get those citizens to safety," Fisher said, parking in the middle of the street and running out towards the citizens before Mia could protest or react.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit. Oh, if I die, I'll be so pissed," Mia groaned, getting out of the car and hurrying to grab the bag Fisher had mentioned. She'd barely slung it over her shoulder before a long-stretched arm wrapped around the car, crushing the lights and the alarm fading with a sad sound.
Lash grinned at the wide-eyed terror in the police officer's eyes. "Come on, then! What're you waiting for?" he asked, an evil laugh echoing.
...
"What do you think's better: red roses or red azaleas?" Guard One called to his colleague.
"For fuck's sakes, if I have to hear about your date one more time, I will strangle you with your own lanyard," Guard Two groaned.
"It's not about that date, it's about my next date. Red flowers are romantic, obviously, but azaleas are for success. Four's been trying to get that promotion, so it shows I'm listening, y'know?"
"Unless One and Two die or retire, Four's not getting any sort of promotion."
"Yeah, I know; she's working on that... I could do a bouquet with both," Guard One mused.
"Oi, look alive, we've got a bus incoming. Uh, multiple buses. Have you heard anything about prisoners arriving?" Guard Two asked.
"The Super Bureau arrived earlier, and that's it for today's guest list. Prisoners are meant to arrive tomorrow; d'you think they sent them early?" Guard One asked, looking between the days.
"Maybe; I'll see what paperwork they've got."
The first bus pulled up and they both waited for the doors to open as they usually did. It took a moment, and some muffled cursing in Spanish by the driver, but then the door swung open.
"Morning. Where's Benny?" Guard Two asked, surprised to see a different driver.
"Knocked out by the super flu," Lorcan replied, Guard Two wincing in sympathy.
"That sucks; the super flu is hell on citizens."
Lorcan agreed with a nod. "I have paperwork," he said, grabbing the clipboard by his seat and holding it out, forcing his hand to stay steady.
"Great, thanks. Benny always forgets his, causes a mess every damn time. So, any plans once you drop this lot off?" Guard Two asked, flicking through the paperwork.
"Food and rest before I go back to Maxville," Lorcan replied.
Guard Two paused. "Food and rest? Geez, you're really sticking it to the bosses, hey?" GT said with a grin.
"Yeah," Lorcan said, hoping he didn't sound as confused as he felt, and glanced over at Sport when GT's returned to the paperwork. Sport gave a minute shrug; he had no idea what the guard meant by it either.
"All right, it all looks to be in order, go through to the next gate and I'll radio ahead."
"Thanks," Lorcan said, waiting impatiently for the guard to get off the bus. The second he did, he closed the door behind him and pressed his foot on the accelerator.
"Remove your foot this instant," Nigel said, irate after driving clunky buses that didn't even have basic Bluetooth connectivity. He missed his sleek limousine even if it was currently filled with small infants and the Spinner Sisters.
"Sorry, Nigel. How's Mal doing back there? She was nervous - wait, why are the buses stopping?" Lorcan asked urgently.
"That paperwork was meant to cover all of you," Sport said, ducking his head to look through the back window to the other buses.
They're checking the buses. It's routine, calm down and keep driving, Donny's voice sounded in Lorcan's head.
He relayed the message aloud but the bus didn't move.
"Miss Maleah is back there; I refuse to leave her behind," Nigel said firmly.
"You'll be endangering her if they realise something's wrong because we're not moving!"
Nigel seemed to take an age to consider Lorcan's response but then the bus lurched and slowly began to move towards the next gate. Lorcan was sure he could get out and walk faster, but at least they were moving. The second bus with Najair started at a crawling pace after GT had stepped off. Lorcan held his breath, hoping Maleah and Kiara would be all right.
"Key didn't fall asleep, did she?"
"I woke her on our arrival at the forcefield," Nigel replied.
"And she's awake now?"
"Yes," Nigel replied shortly, falling silent as Kiara's bus was boarded.
Lorcan was almost at the second gate and felt far more nervous for this than the first one. This was where their plan all hinged on getting through, as they didn't have the proper paperwork for the second gate. He felt his leg jiggling nervously and forced the motion to stop. Lorcan held his breath, slowly exhaled, then opened the door as the bus slowed to a gentle stop.
"Morning, how's things, Ben- oh, you're not Benny. Is he driving a different bus?" the second gate's guard asked curiously.
"Sick with the super flu," Lorcan replied.
"Ooh, damn. I'll check up on him later, poor bloke's gonna feel that tomorrow."
"Yeah. Can you open the gate so we don't get squished in?" Lorcan asked, nodding ahead to the closed gate.
The guard frowned, looking between Lorcan and the gate, then back to Lorcan. The frown deepened and Lorcan felt like he was missing something important. "Where are your glasses?" the guard asked.
It's a fake gate! Drive!
Lorcan pressed his foot to the accelerator, hoping Nigel would get the idea. The guard leapt for the open door and Sport attempted to kick them back out again.
"Nigel! It's fake; drive!" Lorcan snapped when the bus didn't move.
"Miss Maleah's bus is stuck behind the first gate," Nigel informed them.
"I'll get it," Terrence called, the first gate immediately starting to respond to his power and slowly creaking open. As soon as there was a millimetre of clearance, Maleah's bus tore through the gate and headed for the second, their own bus flying through right as Sport and Lorcan threw the guard out.
"I think that guard just broke their back. Fuck."
"We're fine, keep driving. Backup plan B... Uh, make that C," Layla called as the guard stood up, seemingly unworried by their broken spine, and ran after them.
"I've got this one," Jewel said firmly, leaning out of the bus door with a jewelled spear in hand. She threw the spear with a firm grip, though the guard batted it away like it was nothing.
"Plan D or E?" Craig called.
"Still on C; Gemstone got him," Layla replied, nodding to where jewelled crystals were enveloping the guard's body, rooting the jewelled statue in place half a second later.
"The brakes are no longer responding. Please hold on, we are making an emergency stop inside the building."
Layla started to make a plant, something that was big enough to cushion the bus from its inevitable impact against the super giant building, while also trying to calculate just how fast they were going compared to the plant size she'd need to slow them down.
Plants grew in front of her, the bus slamming into each one, slowing down far too slowly in her mind, larger plants growing and vines shooting up from the ground behind to try to stop their momentum. Jewel helped her, throwing jewelled blocks beneath the tyres to slow the bus down without blowing a tyre on top of it. Craig shifted to Wendy's form and leaned out the door beneath Jewel, using blasts of air to try to push the bus back and stop its collision with the front of the building. The bus practically came apart, splattered in green matter as the plants destroyed the wheels and engine in an attempt to make the bus stop. It finally worked, the bus stopping right on the edge of the steps.
"Let's not do that again," Lorcan groaned, clutching the steering wheel. He let go, shaking out his arms and trying to get feeling back into his hands again.
No one had a chance to respond as Warren's bus flew past, literally on fire. Several people were screaming inside of it as the bus connected with the building's wall and continued straight through, the wheels leaving tracks of flames behind it.
"They're fine. Let's go in," Layla said.
"What about the others?" Jewel asked, turning to see Maleah's bus going around in circles, seemingly herding the guards in a whirlwind of sand and wind, while Kiara was attempting to manually steer her bus away from the building unsuccessfully.
A gunshot rang out and there was a splatter of red blood on Kiara's bus. Lorcan's eyes widened and he ran forward for the bus, Craig holding him back so he wouldn't be next.
Layla looked up at the building and saw an open window, previously hidden in photos by the exterior panelling. "Gemstone, if you'd be so kind?"
"Got it," Jewel said with a nod, pressing a hand to the side of the building. Jewelled gemstones built up towards the open window, unbeknownst to the shooter, and there was a harsh cry of surprise cut short as they ended the same way as the guard.
Kiara's bus slowed to a gentle stop beside them, blocking the fiery hole Warren's bus had made, and the door opened to reveal Ethan in a blood-stained white prisoner's uniform, holding the black box that had contained Nigel's AI. "I fixed the bus. Maleah said she's fine; she'll keep the guards busy until we're all successfully inside."
Kiara was calling out in frantic Spanish from the middle of the bus. Layla picked up enough words to realise that Robin had been shot and Kiara was desperately trying to follow their instructions to stitch their shoulder while the bus had been careening wildly.
"Quake, you okay?" Layla called.
"I'll survive; go get Grant!" Robin called, obviously telling several people on the bus as well as Layla.
"Well, you heard them: let's go get Grant."
"Donny, anything on the inside?" Craig called even as Ethan melted a few people to take them past the bus and into the building carefully.
Building's a Rubik's cube, Donny replied, his voice sounding woozy from Maleah's bus.
"Wait, what?" Craig asked.
Stand on a glowing spot when the lights flash orange, red is moving. Green is static. Poison, move!
Layla moved into the bus doorway in the same instant another bullet embedded in the path where she'd been standing a second ago. She looked at the bullet, cracked concrete, and let out a soft exhale as she realised that could have been her skull. She sent a silent thanks back to Merge, then cracked her neck, grit her teeth and sent out vines to gather at the bottom of the building.
Craig's eyes widened and he grabbed Jewel, melting them both, and moving inside quickly. Kiara wiped a bloodied hand off on her outfit, Robin letting out a groan of pain as they moved to sit up.
"Stay down," Layla said firmly, her eyes glowing green.
The vines started to creep up the building, throwing open every panel and breaking every window. There were gurgling noises as people choked, soft gasps as they were strangled, and some outright yelling as others were thrown out of the broken windows. As the bodies crashed against the ground, the dirt opened beneath them and swallowed them whole.
"Thanks, Quake. You good now?"
"Better, the brand's taking most of the pain. I'm good to go," Robin said with a firm nod.
"Someone's gotta get Maleah out of there," Kiara said.
"As well as the rest of the bus group; Donny's critical for this," Layla said, all three of them stepping out of the bus to watch Maleah's bus, still doing doughnuts and keeping the guards contained.
"Not to mention we need at least one working bus to get the fuck out of here. Don't use all the petrol!" Robin called.
"There's a parking lot full of cars. We can use the cars or syphon the petrol," Layla said.
"Good point. All right, I'll bring them in, you two go inside and help," Robin said with a firm and determined nod.
"Promise they'll be safe, Quake," Kiara said, her voice trembling as she looked out to where her sister was likely keeping the others in the bus calm and probably reassuring Nigel as well.
"I promise, Donatello. Go, Leonardo and Raphael need you, too."
"Joder. Fine, I'm going. Just scream and I'll come back, okay?" (Fuck.)
Robin nodded, focusing on the inner ground where the guards were standing and one was attempting to make a run from the circling bus. "Oh, no, you don't."
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Robin kicked off their prison slippers, stepped off the concrete and onto the dirt surrounding them. They concentrated on the individual particles of sand and rock, dirt and earth beneath their toes and feet, and in one fell swoop, pulled the inner circle down six feet, dragging the guards down with it. Pushing the bus up out of the grooves the wheels had made took a second longer, and Robin watched as the bus careened towards them and the building. Even from this distance, they could hear the exclamations and cheers of their friends, Maleah standing in the front window and giving a broad grin and thumbs up to Robin.
We're almost there, Quake, thanks for the assist; Fire, duck! Leonardo, wait, no, it's red! Donny cried out.
His cry was echoed by another gunshot, and Robin looked up at the building, but there were no vines moving or sounds from the internal windows. Looking at the bus, Robin saw blood blooming red across Maleah's front. In the distance, Robin saw a thin tendril of smoke; they'd forgotten about the perimeter guards.
As that realisation struck, Robin threw up a towering barrier around the building, blocking out the perimeter guards from getting closer or shooting anyone else.
The bus picked up speed, skidding to a stop even as the door opened right in front of Robin.
"Help her! Please!" Nigel's voice was breaking from the speaker.
Robin stepped into the bus with their heart in their throat as they tried to determine the damage. Letting their hand hover above Maleah's chest and the still-spreading blood, Robin licked their lips and tried to determine where the bullet was or if it had passed through her body.
"I've called Molten but he got rearranged to the back of the building with Poison. Carbon's sending out a copy with Poe," Donny said. "You'll be needed inside soon, too, Quake."
Robin heard a rush of wings and from the corner of their eyes, saw a black dart of feathers flying out from the gap between the bus and the hole in the building. Corvin landed, sweaty and panting, and cupping a poison frog in his hands, the same familiar colour as Craig's red hair.
Craig jumped out of his palms and reformed in the same instant, eyes wide as he saw Maleah. "Fuck. Quake, can you - "
"I can't do anything. Moving the bullet's too dangerous; I think it's gone into her lung or very close to it. Her power's trying to heal her, but it's bad with the bullet still in there, lung or otherwise."
"Fuck."
Maleah breathed shallow breaths, smiling up at them. "It's okay. Is... Nigel, are you okay?"
"I am... not okay, Miss Maleah. You are hurt," Nigel replied.
"It doesn't hurt. The brand's helping," Maleah said, shifting and hissing through the sudden burst of pain.
"Melt her down. Ida will have to look at her when we get back. I can't do anything and I'd risk infection even if I could," Robin admitted. "You'll be all right, Mal. Ida will know what to do, she will, okay?"
Maleah gave a brief nod, clutching Robin's arm. "Michelangelo."
"Yeah, Michelangelo, you'll be fine. Cee's gonna melt you down, just like we did with Fire and Poison, okay? You'll be fine," Robin said, hoping they weren't lying.
Craig winced and formed a jar from his arm. "All right, deep breath, Michelangelo. There you go, doing good," he soothed, carefully melting Maleah down and adding her melted form into the jar. "Fucking hell, what a start, hey? I'll carry Mal - "
"Keep Miss Mal... Michelangelo with me. I will guard her with my life. Please," Nigel added, voice crackling.
"You sure?" Craig asked, looking from the black box to Robin for confirmation.
"Put her jar in the cup holder, Cee. If anyone comes near you, Nigel, you drive the fuck into the building if you have to escape. You protect her with every byte you've got, understood?" Robin said fiercely.
"I promise," Nigel replied.
"And try to keep the bus safe; we're running low on escape vehicles," Craig said, looking at the hole created by Warren's fiery bus.
"I will try," Nigel said, not sounding as certain as he did for Maleah's safety.
"Come on, Quake; Jewel and I got separated. I think I've found Grant," Craig 2.0 added, swallowing hard.
"Wait, you said I was needed inside. What happened?"
Craig and Corvin both looked at each other with a wince.
"It's Leonardo. I'll guide you. You're good to drop, Cee-two, or go cause chaos," Corvin said with a firm nod.
Craig 2.0 grinned. "Chaos sounds fucking good to me."
As Robin stood to follow Corvin, they shuddered visibly, both Craig and Corvin looking at them in concern. Ignoring their looks, Robin spun around on the ball of their foot and looked out at the giant wall they'd created. Light was flashing behind one section of the wall, a familiar light thanks to Mad Science.
"Ray gun," Corvin said, Robin nodding in agreement.
"They might... oh, fuck, that hurts. They might get through," Robin said, jolting back as another blast hit their wall.
Corvin stepped forward and shifted, flying into the air.
"Shit, Poe's gonna be a sitting duck out there. Guess it's a different kinda chaos for now," Craig 2.0 said, running forward and shifting into a larger bird of prey - and therefore a larger target - as Corvin darted for the wall.
Robin sank to the ground, concentrating firmly on the wall, keeping it together particle by particle while their friends risked their lives in the air above.
...
"It's your third infraction, Tyrone. Why don't you actually do what they say for once and stop hitting on every woman in the station?" Monty snapped at his partner.
Tyrone grinned, wolfish and unbothered. "I've flirted with hundreds of women; the fact that only three of them have complained means I'm doing something right. They love the attention, Monty, and - "
Monty was contemplating whether it was worth the suspension if he tased his partner when his phone rang. "Yes, Chief?"
"What are you two doing? Get out there! Every single villain's escaped the Penitentiary and every single police officer is needed to stop them! The city's under attack!"
Monty's eyes widened and he dropped the phone, running for the bullpen's window. Smoke curled up in the distance, and he could see civilians running down the street. "Shit. C'mon, Tyrone."
"Yes, sir. We'll get the super-riot gear," Tyrone said with a nod, hanging up the phone and hurrying after Monty.
Monty had a horrible thought that he could still tase Tyrone and blame it on the villains. Pushing the thought away fiercely, he ignored the crowd waiting at the elevators and ran for the stairs to get down to the armoury.
Monty had barely clipped on the power rejection cuffs before the police station's door was blown off its hinges, a car skidding through the foyer on its side, and an evil laugh echoing.
The laugh sent a chill up Monty's spine; he recognised that laugh, and worse, the cuffs he'd put on would have no use against the super; shifters weren't repelled like straight superpowers were. Tentacles reached into the station, Ocky following the same path as the car.
"Well, well, what do we have here? I thought I smelled bacon!"
Oh, shit.
...
"The brakes are no longer responding. Please hold on, we are making an emergency stop inside the building," Nigel informed the second bus.
"The fuck we are. Everyone get to the back!" Warren said, moving to the front and practically shoving Buddy and Najair behind him.
Corvin flew back, Ryuu kept Heidi with him, and Champ stood like a shield in front of them.
"No one move!" Warren warned, lighting his hands up and throwing them at the front of the bus, hot enough to melt through the interior shell, the fireguard, and straight into the engine itself.
"I could've just shorted the power!" Heidi yelled from the back.
"You should've said that sooner!"
"Where's the fuel tank on this bus?" Buddy asked suddenly, eyeing the fire blazing at the front, and glancing around to where they were all standing: right by the fuel tank.
There was a lot of screaming and clambering as they all tried to get to the front of the bus and away from the potential explosion.
"If I die wearing a prison guard's outfit, I'm haunting you!" Najair snapped.
Through the flames, Warren saw Layla's bus come to a stop mere millimetres from the front of the building, and breathed a sigh of relief. At the end of the bus, the fuel tank exploded and propelled them through the wall and directly into the building itself, the smoking husk of the bus screeching to a stop in front of the elevators.
"Go, before they realise what's happened," Warren said, kicking open the door and ushering everyone off the bus.
"C'mon, Bolt. Want to see how fast we can get the elevator moving?"
"Buddy, no," several people called from behind him.
"Not while we're in it. If you have enough momentum, it could fly above the building," Buddy said brightly.
Heidi looked at the elevator doors, tilting her head as she considered his words. "When we're done, I'll try it."
"Awesome."
Heidi grabbed a flathead screwdriver off her utility belt - gifted by Anita, who claimed stabbing someone in order to survive was justified and she'd pray for her daughter to be absolved if it did come to that - and prised open the elevator's call button panel.
"What are you doing?" Champ asked curiously.
Heidi had her back to him and didn't hear the question over the sound of a gunshot firing from outside.
"Who was it? War- Fire, what happened?" Ryuu asked, looking from Warren to the bus approaching the hole their bus had made.
Alarms were sounding a few floors up, the sound louder when Buddy opened the door to the staircase curiously.
"Quake got hit. Shoulder only, they'll be all right," Warren said firmly.
"Yeah, who needs a shoulder?" Najair asked with a hesitant laugh.
Najair jumped when Ethan suddenly formed in front of them all. Honey and Connor were standing with him in a moment, Connor immediately moving to check on Ryuu.
Building's a Rubik's cube, Donny said in their minds, sounding dizzy.
They all looked at each other in confusion.
Stand on a glowing spot when the lights flash orange, red is moving. Green is static. Poison, move! Donny said, right as a second gunshot rang in the air.
"Molten - " Warren said, but Ethan had already melted and headed out of the building.
He returned a few excruciatingly long seconds later with Terrence and Sport. "She's safe," Ethan added, nodding to the bus blocking the building, and Warren could see her red hair for himself.
As Ethan melted again and continued to silently work until most of the people from the first three buses were all gathered, Warren realised that Zach was on the fourth bus and Ethan was probably beside himself with worry. All of the whirling feelings from his friends didn't help his own worry, and he forced himself to breathe through it all. Layla was all right, and apart from Robin's shoulder, they were all okay for the moment. They had to use this time so they wouldn't lose whatever element of surprise they still held with the cameras down thanks to Terrence and the elevators under Heidi's control. With those done, Terrence and Heidi worked together to short out the power to the rest of the building, ensuring everything would only work under their command.
Ethan worked on reforming all of the weapons and bags he'd brought, complete with Ex's C4 ingredients, boxes of spikebombs, and the various sharp and pointy weapons the Special Forces guys soon had sheathed to various places on their bodies. Three of the six elevators arrived at the same time thanks to Heidi, and they started to group together, piling into the elevators.
Honey ended up squished between Sport, Buddy, and Ex. Remi was standing somewhere behind them, and Adam was holding himself extremely still on the other side of the elevator, gloved hands curled around the elevator's rail as if he planned on using it to hit the first person that breathed on him.
Corvin flew into the next elevator, landing on Craig's head. Lorcan shifted and jumped onto Terrence's shoulders, Justina pouting about not being able to hold the poison dart frog herself, while Jewel took her offered sledgehammer from Craig as she joined them.
Najair shifted and jumped on Beau's shoulder, Ethan melted and slid over to Ryuu, Connor standing by his son and daring anyone to move him. Kid wished he'd brought a cuff for the incessant alarm ringing in his ears, even as he stepped into the elevator with Warren a step behind him.
"Thanks, Bolt," Warren said and signed as Heidi closed the doors and sent them up to their required floors express.
Champ looked out at the bus blocking the entry, hoping Killer was doing all right in the fourth bus.
...
Ivan waited around one corner as a police car flew past. When the coast was clear, he slipped from the shadows of this building to the next, and watched as Lady Peregrine flew overhead. He'd managed to take a duster jacket in the confusion caused by Lash and several of Penny's clones, had found a hat lost or discarded by a citizen lying on the road, and even found several phones scattered or abandoned. When people's lives were at risk, their phone certainly wasn't their highest priority.
Working out the device and then learning how to navigate the Internet took a few minutes, and Ivan put together the pieces of scraps of information, news stories, and acquisitions by certain individuals and prolific families. When it all made perfect and logical sense, Ivan left the borrowed phone on a nearby bench, held onto his hat, and ran across town to the Sanctuary building.
He waited across the street, hiding behind a dumpster in an alley, watching the front doors carefully. He'd seen a familiar shade of red hair and didn't want to be caught by Jetstream this close to freedom. It didn't take long for Jetstream to leave, flying out of the building and towards Chicago; the result of the Copper Bean disaster, no doubt. When Ivan was certain it was clear, he walked across the street, his hat lost to the breeze - Zephyr was a few blocks away; he'd recognise that laugh anywhere - and into the Sanctuary foyer.
Several people - adults and children with their hair growing back - were talking in the foyer, expressions of relief on their faces now that Jetstream was gone, which only cemented his theories in his mind. As they all glanced over at him, those expressions turned to wariness.
Ivan raised his hands in a gesture of peace or surrender, and slowly lowered to his knees. "I pledge my allegiance to Chaos," he said clearly, not entirely certain if his earlier pledge still stood when he hadn't had the vines and flames buried in his shoulder.
One by one, every adult and child turned their attention to one bald boy, a look of mischief and something deeper in his eyes. Ivan recognised that the bald boy had been through things that no child should ever go through, and seen things that no child should even see. Even far beyond what the other children around him had gone through and seen with their eyes older than their ages, this boy's eyes looked as though he'd seen even more than they could fathom. A seer; of course, it made perfect sense.
"Welcome to the Sanctuary, Ivan. Everyone, this is Ivan, the Incredible Genius. You're right on time," Zero said with a smile, even as the revolving door spun behind them.
Nina frowned, pausing in the foyer as she saw everyone gathered and someone kneeling with their hands in the air. She opened her mouth to ask what on earth was going on, but Zero's eyes rolled back to show the whites of his eyes, then his head tilted back entirely.
He was back to himself in a moment, blinking rapidly and his head straightened once more. "Your movie finished early as someone destroyed the power for that block, so you won't know the ending," Zero said in a rush of words.
"Thank you, Zero, I appreciate the warning," Nina said. The movie tickets were an alibi for herself and Warren - Adam had modified the cameras to show them going into the theatre, and she'd have to ask him to add them to the crowd escaping the building when he was back with the others - as she knew they'd be among the first interviewed when it came to light that Barron had escaped from prison. "Is everything all right here?" she asked, glancing from the kneeling person to the rest of the group.
Ivan recognised the woman's voice, put together the seer's warning, and smiled briefly. "I hope I'm not speaking out of turn when I say that everyone here is fine now that Jetstream has left the building. I'm all right, though I wouldn't mind standing. With your permission, Peacekeeper?"
Nina's eyes widened. "Jetstream was here?"
"You can stand, Ivan, it's fine. Jetstream left Chicago early to try to find Yichen's apartment. She'll be back next week. She's certain he's part of an anti-super group," Zero added.
Nina frowned. "Yichen doesn't live here, and he's certainly not part of an anti-super group. Darla wouldn't date him if he was."
"Jetstream doesn't know that," he replied, shrugging. "Would you mind showing Ivan to his apartment, please? Room 1605," Zero added, the elevator opening behind him.
"One day, I'll get used to seers knowing everything. Ivan, you're... oh, you're the Incredible Genius... " she trailed off, realising that he'd been imprisoned only half an hour ago.
He smiled, warm and gentle. "I am. I must admit, I didn't expect to see you again quite this soon, Peacekeeper."
"Call me Nina; I hung up my cape years ago. Apart from today," she added. "How did you get here so quickly?" Nina asked, hoping to redirect the conversation and curious despite herself, even as she followed Ivan into the elevator.
Zero blocked anyone else from entering the elevator, and waited until it had started to ascend before pressing the button to call the second elevator. "Sorry, they need time to talk."
"You're sure Jetstream won't be back until next week?" Gemma asked.
Zero nodded firmly. "Chicago and today's escape will keep her busy. Or housebound, if Baron Battle gets lucky."
"I'm more worried about Nina than Jetstream. The Incredible Genius was just released from prison; she'll be all right, won't she?" Ammie asked, looking up at the elevator.
"Oh, yes, she'll be fine. They're going to get married one day. No one's going to win Edith's bet on it, though."
"That's in the future, Zero. What about here and now?" Ammie asked.
"Here and now?" Zero echoed, frowning as he thought about it. "They're going to talk. A lot. Mostly about Nina's worries about Warren, and how Ivan coped in prison with limited reading materials. Ivan's not a seer, but he is super smart and perceptive. Nina's never met a man who knows himself and his own emotions as well as Ivan; he'll never accuse her of influencing his emotions like Barron did. Or any of her other dates over the years. She's going to be happy with him, and that starts today."
Feeling like she'd intruded on a private moment, Ammie just nodded and didn't ask anything else.
"Well, I'm closing up shop and going upstairs to worry until everyone gets back. Is everything set up for Ida?" Gemma asked, forcing herself not to ask how everything was going.
That was one of the prices they paid for knowing what was happening with the children and Special Forces team: they weren't allowed to ask questions. While part of her wished that Baby and Ex hadn't been quite so honest about what they were doing today, part of her was so utterly thankful that she knew what was happening this time around. She was going to stock up on soft pillows and fluffy blankets so Ex would be comfortable, and get a bath and comfort food ready for Baby to relax, and somehow keep herself occupied until they returned, whenever that would be.
"Ida's got three floors decked out and ready to go. We've got nurses on standby, though they're likely to be busy at the hospitals once that building collapses, so Robin and Alex will need to step in. Oh, and if you can handle the sight of blood, the second floor will need assistance."
"Who's... no, I know, no questions. I know," Ammie said, covering her mouth.
"Now, more importantly, who's going to teach us how to play poker?" Zero asked with a grin.
"What?" Enzo echoed, frowning.
Finnley stepped forward, tugging Phineas to stand beside her gently. "We want to learn, too. Please."
"Us too, please," the girl and boy added.
"I'll get the cards; Frank, you can bring up the snacks. Room 638 again?" Carlotta asked.
Zero smiled and nodded. "It'll give a great view of Maxville. We'll even get to see... oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Come along, quick," he called, stepping into the elevator right as the doors opened.
It was certainly one way to keep occupied, and Gemma grabbed Ammie's hand as she followed the seer and children inside.
...
Over the sound of his pounding heart, Grant heard the machine powering up.
An alarm started blaring and Grant wasn't sure if it was in his head or not until the machine whirred down, everything dark around his head. "Uh, hello? What's going on?"
"Stay there; a fire alarm's going off. It's probably Scientists Nine and Ten again, nothing to be concerned about," Scientist Eleven said brightly.
Pain blossomed on Grant's shoulder and he slowly unclenched his jaw as he realised with absolute certainty that Layla, Warren, and hopefully the others had arrived. He tried to think clearly, describing the building as a Rubik's cube and what the lights meant.
Got it, thanks. We're on our way, Donny's voice said, faint in his mind.
Grant almost let out a sob of relief on hearing his voice. After nearly a full week of sadistic torture, he was finally going to be rescued. He let his mind clear, focusing only on where he was relative to his cell, trying to gauge how far this cube was from the main entry after a third - or was it fourth? - turn of the Rubik's cube. He ensured to keep his power tucked in tight around him, the circle not increasing despite Eleven and Twelve's frustration and machinations, just in case they tried something else while he was trapped in this device. Even turned off, it was still intimidating, and he hoped like fuck he'd be rescued before it turned on again.
The fire alarm Eleven had said was nothing to worry about turned into a blaring alarm that Grant recognised all too well: the building was about to rearrange. He could imagine the colours in his head, timed perfectly each and every time: orange for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten seconds, then red for one, two, three, four, five seconds. Then the walls would shift and the floors would fracture, and the spots would go spinning back to the cells while the rooms changed and rotated between floors, everyone holding onto the closest railing while they waited the full minute it took for everything to be rearranged clearly.
He'd never been restrained and essentially blindfolded while this was happening, and Grant didn't enjoy a single moment of those seventy-five seconds, his stomach churning wildly as it was lifted or dropped or spun around 180 degrees entirely.
The pain in his shoulder increased suddenly, the fire burning hotter and vines sharper than anything he'd felt since being branded initially, and Grant let out a soft whimper of pain as the room slowed to a stop, the building rearranged around them.
"Uh, what's that?" Scientist Thirteen asked, sounding fearful and that worried Grant more than the pain he felt.
The machine still covered his head so he couldn't see what was going on, and he was still strapped into the chair so he couldn't move. Whatever had a scientist sounding fearful couldn't be a good thing, especially when he couldn't fight back, helpless and restrained.
M let out a cry of surprise, T's scream was cut off abruptly, and 368 cursed as he scrambled back away from something.
"What's going on?" Grant called out, struggling with his hands trapped against the armrests; not knowing what was happening was almost worse than being restrained like this.
He swore he heard a crackle of fire, and jumped as he felt prickly thorns against his skin. He tried to turn his head to look at his shoulder, tried to see if what he thought was happening was really happening, but his head was stuck. They'd branded him so he could touch the brand with his chin if he was tied up, but no one had thought about their head being restrained like this.
"Get this thing off me!" Grant called, hoping someone would listen and do as he said.
"I'll do it if those... things won't attack me!" 368 said.
"They're not mine, but I'll try," Grant replied, forcing himself to breathe, to calm his racing heart, to concentrate his power, and work on the vine and fire in his shoulder.
He knew his power would never be enough to stop Layla and Warren, not fully or completely like it would with anyone else, but maybe he could get them to recognise that 368 was trying to help him and they wouldn't attack in response.
"Okay, move quickly. Hurry," Grant said, his power concentrated wholly and fully on his shoulder.
He heard footsteps and hoped he wasn't wrong about 368 helping him, holding his breath as the footsteps stopped - were they closer or further away? Was 368 helping him or going to the door to escape? - and letting it out in a rush as a kitten was placed on his lap.
"I need both hands. If you hurt her, I'll kill you myself," Deimos said fiercely, even as he worked at the machine's hinges and buttons, unlocking and pulling and trying everything he could to get the device off Subject 809's head.
"She's safe with me," Grant promised.
"Wait, you're pulling it the wrong way. This slides over here," T said, moving around the vines and fiery rope carefully as she started to help 368 unlatch the machine.
"It's designed not to be undone until the actual... thing's finished," Thirteen said. "You can undo all of the outer aspects, but the part around his head won't come off until it's done."
"What? No, fuck that! Break it off if you have to!" Grant snapped.
"Here, let me undo your arms. We'll get the - oh, no," M said.
"Oh, no? Oh, no, what?"
"The power's been shut off, including the lights. We can't see anything," M replied.
"The fire's not giving off a lot of light," Thirteen added apologetically.
"I can fix that," Grant said, letting his power fade from the vines and fire.
The vines slid up his arm, over his shoulder, and up onto the machine surrounding his head. There were several cries of surprise as the fire wrapped around the machine as well.
"Uh, is that wise? You're not going to burn or squish your head, are you?" 368 asked in concern, scooping the kitten off his lap.
Grant swallowed hard. "I don't know."
...
End of the hundred and ninety-third chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it!
Author's note: yes, the four frogs named themselves after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.