Potential TW - vague mentions of rape. No descriptions.

"Please, Penny, you can't let him hurt Betty -" I plead desperately, trying to yank my arms free from the chair. "Betty didn't do anything wrong! Please you can't - I thought -"

"Shut up," the woman snaps, sending me a sharp glare. "Cruncher, get me an emergency kit."

"Don't tell me what to do," the man growls back at her. "Get it yourself -"

"- I don't know where it is, you idiot, so unless you want to explain to Penelope Blossom how you let her prisoner die, I suggest you go and get it!"

"Bitch." Cruncher spits on the floor by Penny's foot before storming out of the room, the heavy door slamming closed behind him.

"Penny -"

"Listen, kid," she interrupts me with a harsh whisper, storming over to my chair. "Watch how you talk to me, alright? If you blow my cover, we're all dead, alright? Got it?"

"O-okay," I stammer, brow furrowing. The pain and panic are making it incredibly hard to think straight. "But Betty - You have to -"

Penny grabs my chin roughly, nails digging into my skin. I force my mouth shut, looking up at her with wide eyes. "This is important, Jughead! You talk to me like I'm just another Scorpion - If you let on that you trust me, they'll get suspicious, and they kill me, right? And If they kill me, then there's no one to get your ass out of here. I die, you die. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I reply softly. "But -"

I'm cut off as Cruncher storms back into the room, tossing the emergency kit on the ground next to me before returning to his previous position by the wall.

'What were you two talking about in here?' He asks, eying Penny suspiciously. My chest tightens, but I do my best to remain calm.

"Just getting the brat to shut up," Penny sneers, jerking my head to the side as she lets go of my chin.

"Screw you," I scoff. I don't know exactly why I said it - she's supposed to be on my side, after all. But she also hasn't told me anything about the plan, or what happened to Betty, or anything, really.

Penny lets out a cold laugh, shaking her head as she slips on a pair of medical gloves from the kit. "I'd be careful who you insult around here, Jughead," she says, peeling the fabric of my blood soaked jeans away from the wound. I hiss loudly as it pulls against my skin, quickly looking away. There's the snip of scissors as she cuts off a large section of the material. I glance down in time to see it drop into the pool of blood that has collected beneath me.

My breath catches at the sight. Somehow I missed it before, too intent on stopping Venom. I've never seen that much of my own blood. The thought makes my stomach churn. I'm having a hard time looking away.

"The more you run your mouth," Penny continues, slipping a long, thick black strip around my thigh above the wound. I'm not prepared for the flare of pain as she pulls the tourniquet harshly. A mix between a shout and a cry is ripped from my throat as the action reignites the already horrible pain, making my whole body jolt and vision go white.

"The worse things will be for you."

I vaguely process that she has continued to bandage over the wound, and that Cruncher is saying something, but they are drowned out by a loud ringing in my ears..

"Don't hurt..." I feel my head fall forward against my chest. The room grows blotchy and my brain feels like mush. "Betty..."

And then I don't feel anything at all.

My eyes crack open slowly, and even that takes a lot of effort. A soft whimper rises in my chest as my gaze focuses on my blood-soaked leg. I vaguely process that my cheek is stinging, but I'm not sure why.

That question is quickly answered as a harsh slap jolts my head to the side, making everything swim around me.

I lift my eyes up to see Venom towering above me, but keep my head down; it feels like too much effort right now.

"You've been out for a while, Jughead," the man sneers down at me. "You missed all the excitement."

I don't know what he's talking about, and my confusion must be clear because Cruncher interjects, grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling my head up to look at him. "It's too bad - I was really hoping you'd be there to watch the fun. She gave up fighting faster than I thought she would. Think she even started to enjoy it."

The man chuckles as my eyes grow wide, clearly entertained by the growing panic on my face. He wasn't saying - They didn't -

"She made the best sounds -"

"BASTARD!" I scream, throwing all my weight against the ropes in an attempt to get my hands on him. "I'll kill you! I swear to God I'll kill all of you!"

Cruncher and Venom laugh loudly and without shame as they watch me, which only fuels the fire in my chest. I don't care that my ribs are burning, or that my wrists are bleeding from where I've rubbed them raw against the rope. I don't even care that my leg is throbbing like it's about to fall off.

All I care about is that these sick men laid their hands on Betty - They violated her and now she's all alone and I can't do a damn thing about it. It's somehow so much worse than what I had imagined and I can't just sit here when she needs my help!

"You sick son of a bitch! I'm going to make you pay for it, you hear me?" I'm seething, straining as far out of the chair as I can, eyes fixed on Cruncher. "I'll -"

"But you told us to, Jughead," Venom cuts in, resting a calm hand on my shoulder. His grip tightens as I try to knock it away. "You knew the rules, and you told me to stop anyway. You knew what was going to happen."

"Shut up!" I shout furiously. "I would never tell you to do that! That's not what happened!"

"What? You're saying you didn't tell me to stop?"

"I -" My chest constricts. "You know that's not what I meant -"

"I was very clear, Jughead," Venom replies coolly, a look of mock pity on his face. "You couldn't take the pain, so you chose for Betty to take it instead."

"NO -"

"Oh, the look on her face when we told her," Venom continues, shaking his head as if remembering something very sad. "She couldn't believe it at first - kept saying we were liars. But by the time we were done, you could see how betrayed and broken she was."

"You're lying," I accuse, but I'm not sure I believe it, myself.

"I'm not in a position where I have to lie about anything, Jughead," the man reminds me smugly.

He's right. A little voice says in my mind. I want to snap back a retort, to catch him in a lie, but I don't have anything. "You're just trying to screw with me," I reply weakly, forcing myself to meet his eyes with as much determination as I can muster.

"And again, I don't have to lie to do that," Venom chuckles, finally removing his hand from my shoulder. "Now, onto more important things -"

"I want to see Betty," I demand, straightening in my chair.

Cruncher laughs at the request. "Trust me, she doesn't want to see you right now."

I'm about to start screaming at him again when Venom cuts in. "Don't test my patience, Jughead," he warns coldly. "Or I'll go right back to your bitch. What will she think of you when I tell her you didn't even make it a minute before you gave up again?"

My lips press into a tight line as I force myself to swallow thickly. Curses and threats won't convince them to let me see Betty. The only thing I can do for her now is to take as much pain myself so she doesn't have to.

A satisfied smirk pulls at Venom's lips. "Good - now we can get back to the fun part." He gestures to Cruncher, who walks up and puts something in the leader's hand.

I let my eyes close briefly as I watch Venom pull the black ski mask over his head. I want to cry, but instead take a deep breath before opening my eyes again, meeting the man's gaze with as much defiance as I can.

"I thought my dad already confessed?" I ask, a bit encouraged by the sass in my tone. I'm not down yet. "What is this for?" I nod to the mask and then to Cruncher, who has pulled out a phone.

"He did," Venom replies causally. "But FP has always been an impulsive bastard. This is a reminder for him to follow through."

"But if he's been arrested, the cops will have his phone. You'd be sending this directly to the police."

Venom laughs at my comment, making some of my confidence falter. "You think I'm an idiot, don't you, kid?" I open my mouth to respond, but am cut off. "Oh, and before you run your mouth like last time - if you try to give away any information, we'll go and film our message with Betty, instead. Understand?"

I nod, before quickly adding "Yes. I understand."

"Good. Start filming, Cruncher." Venom walks behind my chair, smacking his hands down on my shoulders. I can't help but flinch.

"Hello Kevin - " My eyes widen as Venom begins to speak, locking onto the light of the phone camera. My breath begins to hitch as the man continues. "Veronica...Archie -"

"No -" I protest, looking back to plead with Venom to stop. "I thought -"

A rough slap turns my face back to the camera, while the other moves from my shoulder to rest threateningly around my throat.

Oh god, this can't be happening. My friends can't see me like this. It will be bad enough for them to hear that I'm dead, but this is too much. I can't let them see this.

Venom's hand tightens around my neck, as if he can sense what I'm thinking.

"This message is a warning for you all. I know you are all involved by now, even though Betty received explicit orders to keep between herself and FP. As it is, a reminder is clearly needed."