Wirths laughs hysterically.
Wirths: Ah… I love when a plan comes together.
Chagrin examines her situation.
Chagrin: Well, now this is quite the promiscuous scene you have me in.
Wirths: Don’t even start; I’ve already had an ear full from your other self.
Chagrin: Unlike her, though, I’d be pleased if this was as perverted as it seems.
Wirths: Hm… if my information is correct, you were created from Saige’s shame. Thus, that should be your most dominant personality trait, but you seem to have none.
Chagrin: All I am is a disembodied personality; I have nothing to be ashamed of. Hardly anyone knows my name, so it’s much more fun to make Saige feel shame.
Wirths: I see… unlike any of Adam Hayze’s personalities, you seem completely fine with not having your own body. You possess the same disdain for your host, though. That’s clear.
Chagrin: Why would I want my own body? Life is made to be painful, humiliating, and embarrassing; it’s much more fun to be a spectator to someone else experiencing that tragedy. So I consider my existence as a piece of Saige’s consciousness a blessing. But, of course, being trapped inside the wretched cage she locked me in hasn't been much fun these last few years.
Wirths smiles.
Wirths: You are absolutely fascinating. I never expected this to be your personality.
Chagrin: Thank you, doctor.
Wirths: Now then, let’s cut to the chase. What do you know about the serum that brought you into this world?
Chagrin: Nothing. Much like ordinary humans, my consciousness developed slowly until, one day, my first memory was created. Without access to Saige’s memories, I’d have no idea what brought me into this world.
Wirths: *sighs* That’s not what I hoped to hear.
Chagrin: Well, I’m sorry. I wish I knew more.
Wirths: I assume the answer is no, but is there a way to rid you from Saige’s mind?
Chagrin: Not that I know of.
Wirths rubs his temples.
Wirths: *sighs* All that effort just to go to the drawing board and find a solution from scratch.
Scarlett appears on Wirths’ laptop screen.
Scarlett: Dr. Wirths?
Wirths: Hm? Yes, my Queen?
Scarlett: I’m afraid that your prototype serum has failed. Ricky is dead.
Wirths: What?! How?!
Scarlett: He was blown to bits, that’s how.
Wirths: *frustrated grunt* The lack of regenerative capabilities is costly…
Scarlett: Yes, it is. You have a lot of work to do. But that’s for later. How is your experiment progressing?
Wirths: It’s complete, and unfortunately, it’s a failure.
Scarlett: That seems to be a trend with you.
Wirths: Indeed it is.
Scarlett: Finish up and return to the control room.
Wirths: Yes, my Queen.
Scarlett ends the call.
Chagrin: I’m surprised someone as intelligent as you would her to talk to you like that.
Wirths: She can speak however she wants. I don’t care; I’ll do as I like.
Chagrin: Bold attitude to have towards your boss.
Wirths: She isn’t going to find a scientist that could replace me any time soon. She wants her serum, and I’m her best shot at getting it.
Chagrin: Oh, this is a nice setup for you. You can experiment without any restrictions, and nobody can tell you otherwise, well, except the heroes.
Wirths: Yes, and once this siege fails, that won’t be a problem.
Wirths walks over to his desk and opens the drawer, revealing a gun.
Chagrin: So, what motivates you to work on a project like this? If you don’t care for the Vampire Queen, I can’t imagine you feel much better about her vision.
Wirths: I don’t care about her backstory; hell, I don’t even give a damn about what I’m turning people into. All that matters to me is that I can recreate the most fantastic invention mankind has ever seen: the quirk serum.
Chagrin: Really? It’s that important to you?
Wirths: Of course, I never thought that giving people quirks was scientifically possible… yet Dr. Kelsey Moore did it… over a decade ago. Then she had the audacity to destroy the serum and all of her research before we even knew it existed. Something so beautiful… and I never got to witness it firsthand.
Wirths is silent for a few moments.
Wirths: Anyway, this was fun, but since you have nothing I want, it’s time for me to dispose of you.
Wirths picks up his gun, loads it, and walks toward Chagrin.
Wirths: Any last words?
Chagrin: Hm… maybe I have some valuable information for you.
Wirths: And what would that be?
Chagrin: What happens when you use your serum on someone who’s taken Dr. Moore’s version?
Wirths stares at Chagrin and then smiles.
Wirths: Let’s put it to the test.
Saige awakens inside the recesses of her mind.
Saige: *groans* Oh no!
Saige shoots up and looks around.
Saige: No! No! No! No!
Saige falls to her knees, her face is red, and tears are forming in her eyes.
Saige: Well… there goes my life… Chagrin is going to everything in her power to ruin it. I’ll never be able to show my face around any of them again… I guess I could always go back to U.A. West…
Saige notices ahead of her are a ton of floating glass panels.
Saige: Huh?
She gets up and starts walking toward them. She looks into one.
Saige: They’re… memories…
“ Saige transforms the sniper into a rapier.
Saige: ¡Te pillaré! [I’ll get you!]
Lilith: サイゲ！ 一人で入らないでください! [Saige! Don’t go in alone!]
Saige tries to slash Daniele with the rapier.
Daniele: Aw… is someone mad?
Saige: *grunts*
Daniele catches the blade between her fingers.
Saige: ¡Que demonios! [What the hell!]
Daniele slugs Saige in the stomach, knocking her to her knees.
Saige: *groans*
Daniele: 15 seconds. “ - Chapter 113
Saige: *sighs* Of course… they’re embarrassing memories. This must be Chagrin’s torture material.
Saige stares into the memory panel for a long time.
Saige: *frustrated grunt*
Saige punches the panel and smashes it.
Saige: I HATE YOU!
Aarow and Verity arrive in the hallway they initially fell from. All of the blast doors are up now.
Aarow: Looks like they left us behind.
Verity: I have to imagine it wasn’t their choice.
Aarow: Whatever, it all worked out. Let’s see if we can catch up.
Aarow goes to start walking down the hallway, but Verity blocks him.
Aarow: Huh? What’s wrong?
Verity: You’ll only be in this form for about 20 more minutes, maybe less. After you defuse, Wes will return to near death, and Aaron will not be in good shape either. So we cannot progress further into this facility. We have to return to the surface.
Aarow: Oh, come on! I can work with 20 minutes! We can’t go back now! We’ve hardly done anything!
Verity: You killed one of the Vampire Queen’s goons and allowed the stronger heroes to progress. That’s more than enough. You cannot jeopardize the lives of Wes and Aaron for the sake of your ego.
Aarow: *sighs* I hate it when you’re right...
Verity: I’m aware.
Aarow: Man… it grinds my gears that the others will be trudging forward without me, but you’re right… I can’t risk their lives.
Verity: Good, then let’s go. We’re not far from the entrance.
Aarow: Right.
Terus holsters one of her pistols.
Terus: Alright, girl, get rid of the minefield.
Ash: Okay, I will.
A few seconds pass.
Ash: It’s done.
Terus: Really? Let’s see about that.
Terus snaps her fingers.
Terus: Hm.
Terus shoots Ash. However, instead of a bullet, her pistol fires an energy burst that collides with Ash’s torso, slamming her into the wall and sending vibrations throughout her body.
Ash: *groans*
Justus: Ash!
Terus: Do you think I’m stupid? Now, drop the minefield before you make me really angry.
Ash: Fine…
Ash dispels her minefield.
Terus: Good, now start walking.
Justus helps Ash up, and the two walk into the hallway at gunpoint.
Terus: Keep going; I’ll tell you when to stop.
Justus: What were all of those newspapers? I saw myself, but there were others. Who are they?
Terus: They’re our brothers and sisters.
Justus: There are that many?
Terus: Yeah, our good ole dad couldn’t keep it in his pants.
Ash: But in that article, he said there were no others besides Justus. So was he lying?
Terus: What do you think, Sherlock?
Justus: Perhaps he didn’t know of your existence. He only knew about me because my mother tried to get child support payments out of him.
Terus: Oh, trust me, he knew.
Justus: How can you be so sure?
Terus: I know for sure he has at least five kids, us included. All with five different mothers, our ages span from 15 to 18, when Colossus was ages 21 through 24. A.k.a. the golden years of his fame and reign as the most famous and influential hero there ever was. He probably had a different girl every night. Maybe you were the only one he knew about specifically, but deep in his heart, he had to have known there were potentially scores more.
Justus: *under his breath* Father…
Terus: Alright, stop.
Ash and Justus stop; there is a large door on their left.
Terus: Let’s head inside.
Ash and Justus open the door, leading to a massive empty room.
Terus: This is the room you’re going to die in.
Terus’ voice echoes throughout the room.
Justus: (I see…)
Ivy enters.
Terus: Hey, good timing.
Justus: (It’s her…)
Ash: You…
Ivy: The Queen said you needed some assistance?
Terus: Yeah, I’ve got an extra one here. Mind taking her to the dungeon with the other one?
Ash: Huh?!
Ivy: Fine.
Justus: What do you mean by “other one?”
Terus: Let’s just say we like to have as much leverage as possible.
Ivy points her palm at Ash.
Ivy: Push.
Ivy uses her gravitational blast to slam Ash into a wall, knocking her unconscious.
Justus: Ash!
Ivy walks over to Ash and hoists her body over her shoulder. Then, she starts walking to the exit.
Ivy: Good luck.
Terus: Heh, I don’t need it.
Ivy: By the way, I’d recommend taking his shield before you start.
Ivy leaves.
Justus: Where is she taking Ash?
Terus: Does it really matter? Now, hand me the shield.
Justus: *grunts* Fine.
Justus gives Terus his shield, and she attaches it to her arm.
Terus: Good, then let’s get started!
Terus raises her hand in the air, and black fog begins to emit from it.
Justus: No! Don’t!
Terus: Too late!
The black fog forms into a Soulvania trapping Terus and Justus inside.
Justus: Do you have any idea of what you’ve just done? Now one of us has to die!
Terus: That’s the point, dumbass.
Justus: But- but we’re-
Terus: Siblings? Have you not realized yet that I want to kill you for that exact reason.
Justus: What?
Terus: You’re the only one he ever acknowledged… the one he treated like his own. The rest of us are nothing to him, but you were his favorite, his pupil, and you’re his successor. You have what I always wanted… and I’M GOING TO TAKE IT FROM YOU!
Justus: You’re trying to steal my life?
Terus: No, I’m going to end it. If I can’t have the life I always wanted… no one can.
Terus fires an energy blast from her pistol into Justus’ chest, sending him flying back. Painful vibrations course throughout his entire body and the echoes from the room cause his ears to ring.
Justus: AHHH!
Terus: Did you like that?
Justus: What is your quirk…?
Terus: I can manipulate vibrations and turn them into a weapon. These guns I wield are called Mecha-Sonic Pistols; they allow me to turn the vibrations of a gun firing into a sonic burst that hits like a ton of bricks. Upon impact, the vibrations course through your body and attack your internal organs. Allowing me to kill you from the inside out.
Justus slowly gets to his feet.
Justus: I see… that’s quite a powerful ability.
Terus: Yup, and we’re inside a room where every sound echoes, which means I can make even the most minute vibrations…
Terus snaps her fingers; the sound waves bounce off the waves and launch themselves at Justus’ ear.
Terus: Into a deadly weapon.
Justus: AHHHH!
Justus falls to his knees, dizzy from the sounds attacking his inner ear.
Justus: *pained grunts*
Terus: Your inner ear is essential for balance, so if I pierce that with continuous sound attacks, you won’t be able to walk, let alone fight.
Justus: (This is bad… she’s only performed two simple attacks, and I’m already struggling!)
Terus holsters her pistol.
Terus: And the best part is that while my vibrations kill you from the inside, I can kill you on the outside.
Terus uppercuts Justus and punches him twice in the stomach before spin-kicking him into the ground.
Justus: *groans* You’re pretty strong...
Terus: I’ve waited a long time for this… my chance to finally kill you.
Justus: I didn’t even know you existed…
Terus: That’s the worst part!
Terus kicks Justus in the balls.
Justus: AHHHH!
Terus laughs.
Terus: What’s wrong, brother? I thought you would be more of a challenge.
Justus: Why… Why are you doing this?
Terus: I already told you why!
Justus: I know… but we’re still siblings. How can you be so willing to kill someone you share blood with?
Terus: How was Colossus so willing to abandon so many people he shared blood with?
Justus: Those aren’t one and the same.
Terus: You’re right; the bond between a parent and child should be far more important than the one between siblings.
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Justus: That’s not what I meant!
Terus: The only thing that makes us related is that we both have the same worthless piece of garbage for a father!
Justus: He wasn’t worthless, he made mistakes, but he was a good man!
Terus: See? That’s why I want to kill you! Because he cared enough to make you think that!
Terus punches Justus’ shield, sending vibrations all throughout it. She then transforms the vibrations into sound waves that pierce Justus’ ears.
Justus: AHHHHHHHH!
Terus laughs.
Terus: You know how they say blood is thicker than water? Well, hatred is thicker than both.
Justus’ ears start to bleed.
Justus: (I’ve gotta figure out a way around these sound attacks and fast!)
Exciton looks over his shoulder at the rest of his group.
Lust: Is something wrong?
Exciton: No, I’m just making sure everyone is keeping up.
Lust: You don’t like this, right? Having so many heroes you need to keep an eye on?
Exciton: Yeah… I hate having a job where I can’t trust my teammates. Those two are good at following directions, right?
Lust: Of course, they’re very talented. The last thing they want to do is jeopardize this mission.
Exciton: Alright… I’ll take your word for it.
Hayze’s vampire bite starts to burn more.
Hayze: (Damn… what is this? It hasn’t burnt this much since-)
Scarlett: (Don’t say a word.)
Hayze: Huh!
Blair: What is it, Hayze?
Scarlett: (Tell her everything is alright.)
Hayze: (Why should I?)
Scarlett: (Do the names Alexis and Ash mean anything to you?)
Hayze’s eyes widen.
Hayze: It’s nothing. I just felt a chill.
Blair: Okay…
Hayze: (What have you done to them?!)
Scarlett: (Lag behind your group by a few steps.)
Hayze does as he’s told. Then, a piece of paper falls from the ceiling into his hands. It’s the photograph of Alexis in the cell.
Hayze: (What?!)
Scarlett: (She has about 5 hours until she’s completely underwater, but with the push of a button, I can make that 5 minutes. The same goes for Ash.)
Hayze: (What do you want?)
Scarlett: (I’ll lead you to where they are under one condition.)
Hayze: (And that is?)
Scarlett: (You and your girlfriend go alone without altering Exciton or Lust.)
Hayze: (I can’t do that.)
Scarlett: (Then I guess your friends can’t live any longer.)
Hayze gulps.
Hayze: (Fine.)
Scarlett: (In two minutes, you’ll pass by a red door. Go through it with Blair.)
Hayze: (Okay.)
As the group passes by the red door, Hayze places his hand over Blair’s mouth and pulls her through it.
Blair: *muffled* Hayze!
Hayze: *whispering* Be quiet.
Blair: Huh?
Hayze lets go of Blair.
Blair: What’s going on?
Hayze shows Blair the picture of Alexis.
Blair: What?! Where did you get that?!
Hayze: The Vampire Queen gave it to me.
Blair: Wh- when?
Hayze: A few minutes ago, this bite gave her a telepathic connection to me. She told me she’s got Alexis and Ash, and if you and I didn’t enter this doorway without the others, they would die.
Blair: Jesus…
The room is empty, with an elevator on the opposite wall.
Blair: So this is almost guaranteed to be a trap, right?
Hayze: Pretty much, yeah.
Blair: Great…
Hayze: She said it would lead us to Alexis and Ash, so let’s hope she at least kept her word on that.
As Hayze and Blair enter the elevator and begin descending, Scarlett smiles and watches from the control room.
Scarlett: Good, Now Exciton and Lust have no one left to help them, and Terus’ fight is underway.
Scarlett zooms in on Vulcan’s group, Walker and Fatal, and Silver and Sydney.
Scarlett: I’ll have my subordinates clean up the rest, and then that will leave the Top 10 for me. Everything is going according to plan… well, except for one thing. Where is Dr. Wirths?!
Wirths prepares the four syringes with Project V inside them.
Wirths: Now then, this is going to hurt a lot.
Chagrin: Aren’t you supposed to tell me the opposite?
Wirths: No, I don’t think that’s right…
Chagrin laughs.
Chagrin: Well, I’m ready, Doctor.
Wirths: Oh good, because I was going to start anyway.
Wirths grabs the four syringes and approaches Chagrin.
Wirths: You’re probably going to die.
Chagrin: I know, but you were going to kill me anyway, so at least I can be helpful to you.
Wirths: Right, then let’s-
Chagrin: Just one second though.
Wirths: Hm?
Chagrin pulls her hand out of one of the metal boxes, creates a pistol, and fires a bullet into Wirths’ chest.
Wirths: AHHH! What the hell!
Wirths falls to the ground in pain, holding his wound.
Chagrin: Thanks for giving me some extra time, hun.
Wirths: *groans* How- how did you- Huh?!
Wirths notices Chagrin broke her own wrist to slip her hand out of the restraint.
Wirths: Y- you didn’t?! You don’t look like you’re in pain at all!
Chagrin: Oh, I am, but it’s not my wrist, so I can work through it.
Chagrin changes the pistol into a key and opens her other restraints.
Wirths: You indeed are magnificent.
Chagrin: Thank you, now, will you be a lamb and tell me where you keep your morphine around here.
Wirths: It’s in the cabinet over there…
Chagrin: Sweet, thank you.
Wirths crawls toward his desk while Chagrin opens the cabinet and injects herself with morphine.
Chagrin: Ah… much better. Now to slip into something more comfortable.
Wirths reaches his desk and grabs his stapler and ruler.
Wirths: I’ll tell you where the costume is if you agree to spare my life.
Chagrin: That’s not what I was talking about.
Chagrin strips naked.
Wirths: I see… even when you’re in control, you still want to torture your other self.
Chagrin: Who needs modesty when you’ve got a smoking hot body that doesn’t belong to you?
Wirths bites down on the ruler and starts stapling his wound shut.
Wirths: *muffled* AHHH!
Chagrin: And the more shame Saige feels, the stronger I become.
Wirths spits the ruler out and slowly gets to his feet.
Wirths: I could spend my entire life studying you.
Chagrin: Well, that’s good news because you’ve only got a couple of minutes left of it.
Wirths: Oh, so you’re going to kill me, eh?
Chagrin: Of course, now that I’m in control, I can bring shame to others besides Saige. And what better way for the life of a genius mad scientist to end than begging for mercy from a naked female sociopath.
Wirths: *nasal grunt* Then let’s cut to the chase.
Wirths holds his hand in the air and creates a Soulvania, trapping them inside.
Chagrin: Aw, thank you.
Wirths: For what?
Chagrin: Now you have nowhere to run.
Wirths laughs.
Wirths: I hope you understand that this won’t be easy for you.
Chagrin: And why is that?
Wirths: My quirk is unusual but powerful.
Chagrin: What can you add numbers fast or poor chemicals into a beaker quickly?
Wirths also strips naked.
Wirths: No.
Chagrin laughs.
Chagrin: What, does your quirk make you have a small-
Wirths bursts towards Chagrin with extreme speed and kicks her in the stomach, slamming her into the Soulvania wall.
Chagrin: Ego…
Wirths: My quirk is called Essential Aerodynamics; the motion of the air around my body is perfect, allowing me to move at extreme speeds.
Chagrin: But you have to be naked, right?
Wirths: Of course, clothing would cause drag and make me much slower.
Chagrin: Well, I suppose we can fight like Olympians then.
Chagrin stands up.
Wirths: What could you do to counter my speed?
Chagrin creates a fan and turns it on.
Chagrin: I have my ideas.
Hayze and Blair’s elevator stops, and the door opens to a large empty room with two massive screens.
Blair: Well, this isn’t promising.
Hayze: No… it doesn’t…
The screens turn on. It’s a video feed of Alexis and Ash. Alexis’ cell is half full of water, while Ash is still unconscious in her cell with no water.
Hayze: Alexis!
Blair: Ash!
Hayze: (Where are they?! Tell me now!)
Scarlett: (Come now, Hayze, I told them I’d lead you to them, I didn’t say I’d release them.)
Hayze: (Don’t play games with me!)
Scarlett: (I’m not. As long as you follow my directions, I’ll release them to you.)
Hayze: She says she’ll let them go if we listen to what she says.
Blair: Well, we don’t have any other choice.
Hayze: (What do you want?)
Scarlett: (Remove your wristband and throw it aside.)
Hayze does as he’s told.
Scarlett: (Good, now listen, you will fight two of my men. If either of you uses your quirk for even one second, I’ll increase the water output by 500%. They’ll die in 5 minutes.)
Hayze: (Okay.)
Scarlett: (If you defeat both of them, I’ll stop the water and reveal their location to you, understand?)
Hayze: (I do.)
Blair: What did she say?
Hayze: We’re going to fight two of her goons. If we win, she’ll free Alexis and Ash.
Blair: That doesn’t seem too bad.
Hayze: Well, there’s a catch. We can’t use our quirks; if we do, Alexis and Ash will die in minutes.
Blair: Oh… great. It’s okay, though. We can handle two simple grunts, right?
Voice: You sure can’t, hot stuff.
Blair’s eyes widen.
Blair: Th- that voice.
A figure emerges from the shadows. He has slicked-back blonde hair, a muscular physique, and a face mask covering his nose and mouth; he’s carrying a heavy-looking duffle bag.
Blair: Don’t tell me…
Hayze: Do you know this guy?
Figure: Oh, Blair and I are very well acquainted.
Blair gulps.
Blair: Hello, Chad.
Chad: Hi Blair, it’s nice to see you.
Hayze: Wait… is this the Chad that you-
“ Blair: … When I was really young, I had zero control over my quirk… I melted my bed three or four times before my parents eventually decided to get me a chromium bed and kevlar sheets. As a result, I got bullied at school. All the boys loved pushing me around because they knew I couldn’t do anything except get mad. But that all changed by middle school. I learned how to use my quirk, and nobody messed with me anymore after I burnt my initials into the most popular boy in my class’s face.
Wes: Jesus Christ! What did he do?
Blair: His quirk was called oculography; he could burn images from his mind onto photographic film. He “accidentally” walked into the girls changing room one day and saw me in my underwear… needless to say, that image got around the school in two days… “ - Chapter 75.
Blair: Yeah... I could remember that douchey tone anywhere.
Chad: Oh, Blair, don’t talk like that; you and I were so close.
Blair: You ruined my social life and made me develop major body insecurities!
Chad: Body insecurities, eh? Oh, is it because your boobs never came in?
Blair: *frustrated grunt*
Chad: It’s okay, though. You’re rocking that bodysuit. In fact…
Chad pulls out a photo paper and places it against his forehead. A second later, he removes the paper. It now contains a picture of Blair standing where she is.
Hayze: He’s like a living camera.
Blair: Hey! Tear that up!
Chad: Tear it up? Are you kidding me? It’s going in the collection.
Blair: C- collection?
Chad reaches into his duffle bag and pulls out a photo album with the letters “BM4” on the front. He opens it and inserts the image on one of the pages.
Blair: Wh- what is that?
Chad: Oh, it’s my Blair book.
Blair: What do you mean… Blair book?
Chad: See for yourself.
Chad shows them a page of the book. It contains multiple images of Blair. The photos were clearly taken without her knowledge based on the angles, and she’s never looking at the camera. One is of Blair eating lunch at U.A. with Alexis and Eve, another has Blair walking to school with Karma, and he has one of Blair crying at the Sports Festival.
Hayze: What the fuck...
Blair: Wh- wh- where did you get all of those?
Chad: I took them silly. You always look so adorable.
Blair starts nervously caressing her hair.
Blair: Y- you’ve been stalking me…
Chad: For about three years now.
Blair starts shaking.
Chad: Of all the pictures I’ve taken of you, the first one will always be my favorite.
Chad flips to the first page of the album. It has just a single picture on it, the one of Blair in her underwear in middle school. The photo’s edges are worn, and the image has faded slightly.
Blair: You still have that?!
Chad: Of course, it’s the moment that changed my life forever.
Blair: Look! I’m sorry for what I did to you! I was angry and embarrassed. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I-
Chad: Why are you apologizing?
Blair: Huh? Were… were you not stalking me because you’re a serial killer that wants revenge?
Chad laughs loudly.
Hayze: (This guy is creeping me out…)
Chad: Blair! How could you suggest that?! I didn’t take all these photos because I wanted to kill you.
Blair: Oh… well, that’s good-
Chad: It’s because I love you.
Hayze and Blair are silent.
Blair: Wh- what?
Chad: Blair, you engraving your initials into my face changed my life for the better. When I moved schools, all my friends who liked me for my popularity and appearance abandoned me. I had to make new friends relying upon my personality. It was challenging, and I definitely didn’t see it as a good thing at the time, but when I finally made friends that weren’t grossed out by my deformity, I knew they were the best friends I would ever have. Since I couldn’t join any sports teams because my teammates bullied me relentlessly after my emasculation at your hands. I focused on my studies and became the top student in my class by my sophomore year of high school. My life was better, and it all stemmed from meeting you. However, there was one problem, with your initials engraved on my face, I knew I could only ever date girls with the same initials as you. That’s when I began my hobby.
Hayze: You mean stalking?
Chad: No, I’m collecting pictures to admire my potential suitors.
Chad pulls out three more photo albums labeled “BM1,” “BM3,” and “BM3.”
Chad: Brittany Martinez, Beth Malone, and Bridgette Molden. All of them were beautiful and more than worthy of dating me.
Hayze: *under his breath* Were?
Chad: But I knew deep in my heart there was only one “BM” for me… the girl that saved my life and made me into the man I am today… my Blair Maddox.
Blair takes a few steps back.
Chad: That’s when I started stalk- admiring you from afar. I knew you weren’t ready to see me again yet, but I couldn’t contain my love anymore.
Hayze: (He says that branding improved his life, but it’s clearly affected him psychologically, making him obsessed with the initials… and who they stand for.) What did you mean by “were” when talking about those other girls?
Chad: Oh well… after I decided Blair was my one true love… I knew I couldn’t have those girls sullying the beauty of Blair’s initials. So… they had some accidents.
Hayze: You fucking killed them, didn’t you?!
Chad: If you call accidentally pushing someone into a busy motorway murder.
Blair keeps taking steps back.
Hayze: How did you end up here, working for the Vampire Queen?!
Chad: Well, of course, after I was falsely arrested and imprisoned for the mysterious deaths of those three girls a few months ago. I thought my life was over. I’d never see my beautiful Blair again, but then the Vampire Queen gave me an offer, and I was willing to give anything up to tell Blair how much I love her. So here I am and don’t worry, Blair, once you agree to marry me, we can kill your friend here and live happily ever after.
Blair: STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAK!
Chad: Oh, but we must do one thing before I forget.
Blair: Huh?
Chad reaches into his bag and pulls out a branding stick with his initials.
Chad: Pick a cheek!
Hayze clenches his fists and grinds his teeth.
Hayze: IF YOU GO ANYWHERE NEAR HER BEAUTIFUL FACE, I’LL SHOVE THAT STICK SO FAR UP YOUR ASS. IT WILL COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!
Chad: Who are you?
For a brief second, Hayze’s eyes change to Khaos’.
Hayze: Your killer!
Hayze lunges at Chad.
Voice: Woah, slow down there, tiger.
Suddenly another figure bursts out of nowhere and intercepts Hayze, kicking him in the chest and standing him flying into a wall.
Hayze: *groans* What the hell…
Chad: Thanks for the help.
Voice: No problem, I’ll take him.
Hayze looks up to see Paul.
“ Hayze: You should give up… and try… to get away... before a hero shows up.
Paul: What are you talking about! You’re so exhausted that you can’t even make complete sentences. I’m in total control here!
Paul turns his fists into metal and kicks Hayze onto the ground.
Paul: Now I’m gonna smash your head into pink mist!
Suddenly Paul gets electrocuted.
Paul: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Paul falls to the ground unconscious. “ - Chapter 1
Paul: I’ve got a score to settle.
Hayze: You… What the hell?
Paul: Long time no see, kid.
Hayze: Let me guess… the Vampire Queen broke you out of prison so that you could get your revenge on me?
Paul cracks his knuckles and neck as his entire body turns to steel.
Paul: You hit the nail right on the head.
Paul starts beating the shit out of Hayze as Chad slowly walks toward Blair.
Chad: Now then, sweety, let’s discuss our future together.
Blair: Stay away from me!
Blair points her hand at Chad.
Chad: No, no, no, honey, remember, if you use your quirk, your friends die.
Blair: (Shit! That’s right!)
Chad: Now listen, there are many things I need to talk to you about.
Blair: Like what?!
Chad: Don’t think I didn’t catch you cheating on me!
Blair: Huh?
Chad glances at Hayze.
Chad: It’s okay, it’s okay, I forgive you. But we must dispose of that horrendous man.
Blair: You wouldn’t dare!
Chad: I know it will be hard for you to forget, but don’t worry. I know the number of a fantastic hypnotherapist, and she’ll make sure you never think about him ever again.
Blair grinds her teeth, seething with rage.
Chad: I know. I’m such a great boyfriend. I always have your best interest at heart.
Blair tackles Chad to the ground and starts choking him to death.
Chad: *choking*
Blair: It took me YEARS to finally be confident in my body after what you did to me! You’re what made me start using violence as a defense mechanism! YOU RUINED MY LIFE, and now you have the audacity to show up again and tell me you’ve been stalking me for the last THREE YEARS! I HATE Y-
Chad reaches into his pocket and pulls out a taser. He stuns Blair off of him.
Blair: sadfjaskfsadfjasfsdaljflsadfl
Chad: Hm… well, I’m glad to hear that I shaped your life just as much as you shaped mine.
Blair: *frustrated grunt*
Paul throws Hayze against a wall. He looks over and sees Chad standing over Blair.
Hayze: Blair!
Paul grabs Hayze by the neck and hoists him in the air.
Paul: Listen here, punk, you’re why I got locked up! Your fight is with me, don’t worry about what that little psycho is doing with your girlfriend.
Hayze: *choking*
Hayze’s face starts to turn purple. Paul throws him against the ground.
Hayze: *groans* (I’ve gotta… help… Blair… but… this guy will stop me if I try…)
Scarlett: (You can help her.)
Hayze: (Huh?)
Scarlett: (You have the power to save her from Chad.)
Hayze: (You said... we couldn’t use... our quirks...)
Scarlett: (I said you couldn’t use YOUR quirks, I never said you couldn’t use mine.)
Hayze: (What are you-)
Hayze’s eyes widen.
Hayze: (You don’t mean…)
Scarlett: (If you use the power of Soulvania, you could force Chad to fight you and leave Blair alone.)
Hayze: (I already told you I’ll never use that evil power!)
Scarlett: (Okay… then enjoy watching the woman you love be tortured while Paul savagely beats you to death.)
Hayze: (You… YOU BITCH!)
Scarlett: (Good luck.)
Paul starts beating the shit out of Hayze again.
Hayze: (I’ve gotta save Blair, but I can’t use my quirk, or I’ll kill Ash and Alexis! And if I do nothing… we all die.)
Blair looks over at Hayze.
Blair: (Hayze can’t fight back against that guy without his quirk. I’ve gotta help, but I can’t use my quirk either, or else Ash and Alexis will die. What should I do?)
Ash wakes up and looks around.
Ash: Wh- where am I?
Alexis: Ash?
Ash: Alexis? Where are you?
Alexis: I’m in another cage! Are you alright?
Ash: I think so, wh- why do I hear running water?
Ash’s cage starts filling with water as well.
Ash: Oh… never mind.
Alexis: Yeah… mine’s a little more than half full. I assume they took your costume too?
Ash: Yeah, without it, all I can do is enter my astral form, but I can’t do that without drowning.
Alexis: Great, so we’re completely helpless.
Ash: Can you see what kind of room we’re in?
Alexis: Not until the water gets a lot higher, but it’s not like it matters. There’s no way we’re getting through that metal grate.
Ash: Then what can we do?
Alexis: Well, we have three options: drown, wait for help until we drown, or try to stop the water from rising.
Ash: I don’t like the sound of the first two options...
Alexis: Yeah, me neither, but without our equipment or quirks, there’s nothing we can do.
Ash: There’s gotta be something…
Alexis: Maybe, but we don’t have much time to figure it out.
Scarlett smiles while watching Ash, Alexis, Blair, Justus, and Hayze all struggle in their respective situations.
Scarlett: Slowly but surely, I’m whittling them down. The Top 10 should have never brought so many playthings for me. It’s like a delicacy. Speaking of which… who is next?
Scarlett zooms in on Silver and Sydney, Kevin and Tyson, and Walker and Fatal on three separate monitors.
Scarlett: Eeny meeny miny moe.
Scarlett lands on Silver and Sydney.
Scarlett: Oh, this one will be fun.
Scarlett clicks a button.
Scarlett: Ivy, send in “the big gun.”
Ivy: *through intercom* Which one?
Scarlett: The one that is only slightly insane.
Ivy: *intercom* Understood.
Ivy walks through the facility's hallways until she reaches a room; she opens the door. A man is sitting on a bed in the dark.
Ivy: It’s your turn.
Voice: You got me one of the ones I wanted, right?
Ivy: We got you both.
Voice: *nasal grunt* Good.
The man stands up, and water droplets hit the floor as he does.
Voice: I can’t wait to see her again.