There was a brief moment of silence before Kel gave a small nod, "I... I guess... so, just to understand; Poppy, you're still a virgin?". Poppy nodded, "Yes... we... pleased each other; had releases... but no; we never went all the way. We both remain virgins for now.".
She then took a deep breath, "I don't plan on that being the case for long if we get out of here... I wanted you to know, and I'll let the others know too, but... I'm a woman now, Mama... and I can decide if I want to give myself to Waylon.".
Kel exhaled, seeming to think for a moment before looking at Poppy, "So, just plainly sleeping together and acting in case if Ranbir is insistent for tomorrow and the next day after tomorrow?".
Poppy nodded, "Yeah.", and Kel gave a small, proud smile, "You keep surprising me with how wise you are, and now it's fitting you physically as much as mentally...If Ranbir is insistent on keeping you two in here, I'll tell your mother and the others the truth tomorrow night in case. I will tell them for now that you two are unharmed.".
Poppy and Waylon looked at each other, and then glanced at Kel, as Poppy gave a small, relieved smile, "Thanks, Mama...You really actually searched through the temple, and no one saw you?".
Kel grinned, "Turns out the shadows and dimming my astral form, and being quiet helped out...I found Dorji's room...along with Talia and Ra's rooms...You have no idea how mad I am at them, but being this far from your mother, turns out I couldn't touch anyone besides our family, probably because of our close bond, and they didn't even sense me either. I also searched through the basement, and they haven't lied at all...They really got their bodies in the cooler pantry, Thomas, Caroline, and Jane...Caroline is looking like pregnant again, Waylon...And Thomas, his heart is all stitched up. I'm going to have so much to tell your mother...".
"Wait, the basement? Are there boilers and all to keep the temple warm and all?", Poppy asked urgently, and Kel nodded, "Yeah...Why?".
Waylon recognized the look on his girlfriend's face, "You now know what to make into a plan.", and Poppy nodded, "Yes, but I need Bruce's help with this...Is the Lazurus Pit close to the basement?".
Kel replied, "Sure is...Still gives me shivers...", and Poppy grinned, "We need to make homemade grenades on the boilers, and if after the resurrection of Dad, Caroline and Jane is working, you hulk out, and get some of that boiling liquid, crashing through the wall into the basement, and you splash the liquid into the grenades, and then together with the boilers, it turns into a whole bomb for the whole temple to be destroyed into oblivion, killing all those assassins, Talia, Ra, while we get all of our family to the platform elevator or up through one of the rooms you saw with a window, and escape, and whoosh, we're heading down the pass and get a plane home free!".
Waylon looked amazed, thinking it through, "That sounds like it would work...", and Poppy smiled, "Thank you...", before Kel replied, "Er, two things there...One, what if the shifts of men see the homemade grenades while checking on the basement? And second, we don't still know how Ra and Talia want me and Martha, mainly me, to be out and be their weapon?".
"I'll admit... I haven't worked out all the details of that idea but it's the best way I can see of us putting an end to all this. Very violent, I admit... would be great to simply just wipe everyone's mind as we escape but... if we don't destroy Ra and Talia and their whole organization, they'll just keep coming after us. We'll never have peace.", Poppy admitted. She knew the deaths would weigh on her consciousness, but it was a decision that had to be made if the family wanted to continue to live.
Waylon sighed, "I know...But Poppy, we aren't killers outright...It will be the grenades and such to kill them...Yes, it was a human idea, but those people...they aren't human...sure, they follow honor and death, but they are killers outright...For fuck's sake, Talia killed her own father, and he came back...It's like it'd be a repeating thing...And she and the men kidnapped us, treated us as prisoners...and this...And you heard Ra, they have done all of this for decades, centuries...And...and...I couldn't want all of us to be hunted...especially if we think we are free, and...the future of Jane, Bruce and his future love, and our future children would be tarnished with fear and skepticism, even when we teach them to be brave, to be loved, and all...".
Poppy exhaled sharply as she thought of that too...She couldn't dare want Jane, her and Waylon's future children, and any other children to grow up in a world with the League of Assassins around.
Kel spoke softly, "If your mother is right here, right now, she would say that choices are made with sacrifices on the paved way to heaven or hell...And honestly, we're practically in hell as far as it comes...So?", looking at her daughter to affirm her idea so Kel can return to Bruce to start on the grenades and such in secret, and telling the plan as much to the others including Martha.
"If there's no other way... then that'll be how we do it... bring this whole place down on top of them, burying them for the rest of time...", Poppy nodded as she took a deep breath. "Of course, can't really get started with the plan if we don't have exactly what we could need.".
"I can easily find what you're looking for.", Kel told her. "Getting it to you and Bruce would be another story, of course.". Poppy nodded, "Best to hide the individual parts in our bathrooms until the night before Halloween, probably a couple of hours apart between me and Bruce to pretend in using the bathrooms.".
Waylon replied, "Sounds about right until if Ranbir is keeping us, and then it's really more care in here than in the bathrooms.", and Poppy replied, "We'll have to take what we can get, Wally.".
Waylon nodded, and Kel replied, "Right. Waylon, you protect my daughter if they come in the middle of the night when you are caught unaware, is that clear?", and Waylon looked at her firmly with a growl, "No one touches my female.".
Kel, seeing the fierce look in Waylon's eyes, nodded, "Good. Better get back down to the others before they get too worried or my time limit's up.", before patting Poppy's hair and kissed her forehead, "And I thought I had a few more years to see our little girl grow up...I won't stop you from making your choices. I love you, Poppy, my sweet pup, or I guess, yearling.".
Poppy smiled softly, "I will always be your pup, Mama...I love you, Mama. I really promise we will hold out until we get home, even if it will be hard for Wally, he loves me more than anything...".
"If you so much as do anything more, Waylon...", Kel warned sharply. "I won't.", Waylon quickly answered before she nodded. Even after all that talking, he still was deathly afraid.
Kel then left the room in a running, flying sort of way, passing through the door and such, and Waylon gave out a deep, relieved exhale as Poppy giggled, "You're a scary, tough guy when you go all Croc, but you're terrified of my mama...", kissing his cheek.
"Can't help it...She's an alpha compared to me.", Waylon replied, and Poppy smiled, "Can't really argue with that...Come on, let's go back to sleep.", snuggling into his side again, and Waylon smiled, kissing her on the lips, "Yes, ma'am...", ignoring his Croc instincts, even if he can feel her body against his side, he's not aroused much to his relief, holding her close, protecting her from the cold and whatever's out there, with the blanket covering them mostly.
Kel told Martha and the others that Poppy and Waylon are unharmed, with Poppy having gone through a new stage of change, and talked with Bruce of the plan which he agreed to, willing to share the guilt with Poppy, even if he knew it would be the grenades and the explosions of the boilers that would kill off the League of Assassins, it's something minor compared to saving their future, their lives, and their family.
The new day approached, and earlier in the middle of the night, Waylon changed back to human, with the drug over, and after breakfast was delivered through part of the slab, they ate, talking and waiting for something to drop with the other shoe, as they knew the reward part couldn't last forever
Yet they were still leery of the cameras and such as they are still naked, and they then heard the other moving wall revealing a portable bathroom, and so Poppy, with the blanket protecting her, went into the bathroom, as Waylon laid under the sheets, watching both the door and the bathroom with both eyes, and then vice versa a few minutes later.
Poppy then heard the wall shut over the portable bathroom, and heard Waylon's shout, "Poppy!", hammering with his hands, as Poppy then saw the door open, with Ranbir looking at her with some female assassins near him, "Check her.", with an order, with the women going in.
Poppy widened her eyes as she realized she's going to be checked for the breaking of her womanhood, by strangers, by killers, and she screamed like hell, "Wally!", as she knew that she's cornered, unable to do her gymnastics, mortified to be naked.
More vicious hammering, and then a moment later, a blood-chilling roar came, with the wall breaking open, and before anyone knew it, Waylon had slashed and injured the female assassins while bleeding with barely deep cuts, snarling, "NO ONE TOUCHES MY FEMALE!", guarding over Poppy, keeping an eye on the still standing, injured female assassins, panting, not noticing a tranquilizer dart again in his neck until too late.
He fell with a thud as Poppy cried out in horror and tears, "Wally!", keeping the blanket around herself as she shook Waylon's shoulder, and Ranbir replied, "Don't worry, he's only out for 20 minutes as of this new dosage...But that calls for punishment...hmmm, this certainly would be humiliation and betrayal...Ooh, I know. So, unless you don't want your dear Waylon to be chained up and muzzled like a monster, you better come quietly.".
Poppy gulped, "W-Where am I going?", and Ranbir replied, "Why, back sweet home to Waylon's cell together, like the lovebirds you are. Yes, I can see the looks on your family's faces...Marched in, naked, having the evidence of being taken by a wild Croc...Don't you know that bestiality is taboo?".
Poppy seethed at him, furious at the insult veiled in the last comment as Waylon wasn't a beast or wild, and took a deep breath, fighting back tears, whispering, "If I behave, I promise I'll let your women check on me tomorrow, if you let me calm Waylon down...He'll be too pissed off at you, Ranbir, he clearly is still in mating mode. Don't you know that crocodiles have a mating season for a month?".
"Hmm, I'll take your offer, but I hope you're wrong. With your Waylon different compared to a mundane crocodile, being humanoid in a way, it better be shorter with his mating frenzy..", Ranbir commented before nodding at one of the less injured women, to tie Poppy's hands while keeping her blanket secured around her, and with a snap of Ranbir's fingers, men came out of the shadows from the hallway and around the room, to lug Waylon out, mostly hiding his privates from sight as he was facing the floor, being dragged which Poppy is relieved for, as he didn't deserve to be out with his back facing the floor, but still, it was still some humiliation in a way as they were taken and marched down and around the temple, back to the prison room.
Poppy's mind thought was racing with things; obviously not as worried about her family, Kel probably quickly explained things. She knew what she said, but if she knew Martha, Alfred and Bruce, then Kel didn't last long with questions coming from them and just spilled things. If Ranbir's plan was to start getting the family to turn on each other, it wasn't going to work thanks to Kel which they still didn't realize was sneaking around right under their noses.
No, her mind was more worried about what Ranbir's enforcers were going to find out if they really checked on her; and what the punishment would come if they learned of the deception. She was now fairly confident that Ranbir would probably rape her if he learned the truth as a form of punishment. Probably make Martha and Kel watch it happen to try and break them...
Poppy knew that tomorrow was the last day before Halloween, and she is relieved that Ranbir accepted her offer of waiting until tomorrow, because of Waylon...They would have to act in Waylon's bathroom in sake for Waylon's mating frenzy to fool Ranbir and his enforcers, but if the punishment continues after this humiliation and betrayal, Poppy knew they have the means to automatically lock them out of the bathroom since there's no camera there, audio or visual, which means doing it in public in front of the family with that camera on the ceiling that Waylon talked about earlier.
They needed to find a way out... and now, no longer able to wait or the consequences would be terrible. Poppy couldn't bring herself to make their first time in such a position. She knew Waylon didn't want that either; after the pain they all went through since Caroline's death... it just felt like the universe was tossing one terrible pitch after another at points.
Poppy only can pray that Bruce got a start on making his half of the grenades and such if Kel found what she was looking for at times last night after talking with the others and resting within Martha's mind in between.
She knew Halloween was the way out, since they couldn't have time to get the bodies from the cooler before then, and such, and...even with the chance again to reunite with Thomas, and Caroline, it's..it's a tragedy just the same, even if they escape before Halloween, they would still be hunted by Ra and the others through the pass, especially when they know it way more personally than the family themselves, and they could get lost easily too, and if they got caught, the punishment would be even worse in a way, like Talia giving up her patience and raping Bruce, and be still forced to see what the plans for Martha and Kel is between the resurrection of their loved ones and all.
Her mind came back to the moment as they were now finally back in the cells room where Poppy finally saw Alfred, Martha and Bruce again, and they could see the new version of her clearly. She was just somewhat glad that she was able to have her hands free to cover herself as obviously, Bruce and Alfred wouldn't want to see her naked out of respect for her.
The others was concerned about the cuts on Waylon as he was dragged and thrown into his cell, with Poppy going in after him, after getting her ties off her hands, and sat on Waylon's cot bed, watching the crowd of assassins and Ranbir leaving the cells room, and then gave out a relieved sigh as she heard Waylon starting to wake up, with the drug again in effect to keep him stuck once again.
She looked at her mother across the way, and replied, "He went into protective mode...", moving her lips, and Martha widened her eyes, moving her lips, "I can hear you again!".
Poppy blinked, and replied, "I can't hear you...I guess you, Bruce and Alfred got lucky on good behavior...Excuse me, I have to get to the bathroom to find some ointment and towels for those cuts.", glancing to see that Bruce and Alfred appeared to have heard her too, but she can't, and so Waylon couldn't hear too of them, while they can hear him too, and then sighed, getting up, keeping her blanket tight around her, praying that there are clothes inside the bathroom, new sized ones for her and Waylon.
But unfortunately, turns out the punishment is in clear effect as there was no clothes, sadly, but luckily, she found the first aid stuff, and came back to Waylon who is rubbing his head, resting his hand on it, slowly coming to, muttering, "Damn it, they got me...again...".
"Mama must be proud at least...You protected me, Wally...But you are hurt...", Poppy replied wearily, and Waylon whipped his head over to see Poppy, "Poppy? Oh, gods...Please tell me that they didn't hurt you! When I heard you scream...Wait, why are you in here?".