Back at the Facility

"Are you okay? What happened?" Frostbloom crouched down, putting her hand at the back of Lightspeed's head to support him.

"Ugh, something hit my head." Lightspeed managed to mumbled out, the headache he was sporting felt like he smashed his head into a brick wall before he became a super. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, I didn't see. He could've been a super? Maybe a Gimmick?" Frostbloom scratched her chin.

"A s-small rock." Timebender stuttered, the hands in his clock head sped up. "I saw it. It suddenly a-appeared right in front of your face. Then the elevator moved up and it stayed in place, and..."

He turned to a hole on the floor. Lightspeed and Frostbloom followed his eyes, seeing the dark abyss of the elevator shaft. The hole was small, just the size of a small coin, but from the way the metal gave way it was almost certainly a power.

"He was a super? I thought Brainmatter said there were no supers?" Frostbloom muttered.

"I don't think h-he was." Timebender paused, remembering how his power felt different using on Calvin. "Maybe."

Sitting up, covered in vomit, Lightspeed took out a towel from his pocket and wiped himself off. "We can talk about it later. Right now we need to catch him."

The elevator dinged again, they got to the topmost floor. Luckily for them, it was an empty room that was presumably inside a wooden shack on the premises. The guards were nowhere to be seen, all having gone deeper in the facility.

"Let's go." Lightspeed got up, obvious annoyance in his eyes.

"B-but, aren't we supposed to r-rescue the children first?" Timebender reminded. "I-I think we should go down first."

"No, there's a rogue super that just escaped us. Might even be a new supervillain we don't know. We can't just leave him out there." He tried to step out but was stopped when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"I'm with the kid here, Lightspeed. Calvin can wait." She pulled him back in the elevator. "I know you're pissed, getting your ass handed to you by a rando, but we have priorities."

He didn't reply, Frostbloom knew he was weighing it out in his mind, with a heavy bias towards getting a hit back at Calvin. "What can he do anyway with that power? He can summon strong pebbles. That's it."

Lightspeed breathed deeply, taking a moment to calm down. He nodded in agreement, going to the controls and pressing the last button. "Children first."

"That's the mission." She grinned. "You have some vomit left on your cheek, by the way, right there."

The elevator dinged, closing once again as it started it's descent to the lowest level. Lightspeed grabbed another bigger towel from his pocket cleaned himself up the best he could, looking disgruntled as he wiped off bits and pieces of the weird looking vomit.

"Something's odd with the vomit." He noted, looking at the towel.

"What do you mean?"

"It's too green."

"If you want to do some vomit analysis or something, do it at your own time. I'd rather not even think about the word while we're in here." Frostbloom grimaced.

"But seriously, doesn't this green remind you of something?" He tried to push.

"Yeah, fucking vomit." She rolled her eyes. "By the way, what's up with what happened earlier, kid? He didn't do that slow-mo thing."

"No he did not. He vomited. Into my face." Lightspeed turned to glare at the clock head.

"N-no. I mean... I don't know. It's- m-my power doesn't do that." Timebender stared at his hands. "It's the first time that ever happened. It was like- he was forcefully washing away the paint every time I tried to leave a mark."

"What does that mean? Is that his ability?" Lightspeed asked.

"I don't think projectile vomiting is an ability." Frostbloom smirked. "Or, is it?"

"N-no. I don't know. I'll have to ask Mig- I mean, Brainmatter." He clenched his fist. "I didn't know that could happen. Even trying my power on stronger people didn't feel like this."

"Put a pin on it, we're here." Lightspeed spoke, looking at the floor number. "You two, to the side. I'll dash out as soon as possible, grab their attention. Then come out, freeze them, slow them, or make them vomit, whatever."

"Don't get shot." Frostbloom smirked at him.

"They'll have to try hard for that."

The elevator dinged, the mechanism in the walls whirred as they pulled the doors open. Lightspeed's figure blurred as the gap widened enough, and he disappeared from the middle of the elevator.

Frostbloom and Timebender waited for sounds of fighting to come out and support him. Gunshots, ringing metal, cracking skills, or explosions, none of those rang out. Just the ambience of a blaring alarm and the buzz of holograms.

"Coast is clear." Lightspeed called out to them.

"Really?" Frostbloom ran out, checking their corners and blind spots. "Weird. Why aren't they here?"

"M-maybe they ran away?"

"Why get their weapons then?" Lightspeed asked.

"Yeah. Typically goons are ordered to go protect their most precious stuff when heroes bust in. Happened all the time when we were still interns." Frostbloom said. "Where are the children?"

"Should be the hallway down there. Let's go."

Lightspeed walked carefully, leading the two through the hallway with a vigilant eye. Something didn't smell right, and he didn't want to be caught in whatever smell that was. He was already smelling something rancid. It might have been the vomit.

He stopped at the intersection, double checking with his holowatch whether or not they were in the right hallway.

"It's... here." He muttered, anxiety in his voice as he read the writing on the wall.

"Laboratories? Are you sure?" Frostbloom asked. "Aren't we looking for hostages?"

"It's what the map says." Lightspeed confirmed. "Let's just find them first."

They walked towards the nearest room, opening the door with a gulp of trepidation and anxiety. The hinges creaked slightly as they opened, a green glow hit the faces of the three as the door gave way to present to them the room and it's contents. They stopped in shock, the dreaded thought earlier made fact.

They weren't hostages.

Five large pods filled with green liquid were lined up at the other end of the room. There was a chill in the air as they walked in, the alarm blaring behind them almost seemed muted to a silence as they heard the sound of liquid bubbling.

They walked closer, forgetting to scan the room for other people or traps with how much they were distracted by the literal human experiments in front of them.

"Oh my god." Frostbloom covered her mouth in shock.

"A-are t-they- hurk." Timebender turned away, running to a corner of the room.

Lightspeed paled, saying the only word that can describe what he was feeling. "Fuck."

The two heroes weren't tourists to blood and guts, it's always been part of the gig and they had been told that since the start. Even as interns, before getting to Rank 3, they were exposed to a multitude of injuries and maiming and even death while assisting their mentor.

But that was blood and battle. This was rot and decay.

Bone-thin, lifeless, rotting. The children floated in the unnatural liquid with no light in their eyes, connected to an unfeeling machine with wires and lightning.

Lightspeed blurred, dashing out of the room in an instant. The sound of doors being bashed open rang out from the hallway, yet it did nothing to break the two others in the room from their daze. He came back just as quick as he left, sporting an even deeper frown and darker look.

"Went to the other two labs, same thing inside. I assume it's the same with all the others in the hallway." He spoke darkly, clenching his fists. "Bastards."

Frostbloom breathed deeply, prying her eyes away from the children to look at him. She recognized the fury in his eyes. He was seeing red. "We need to report this to Destructo."

"We can get them on the way up." He answered, a growl in his voice.

There wasn't any reason not to, and she didn't object to it herself, she just nodded and reminded him. "Just don't kill."

"I'll try." He turned around and headed out the door.

Frostbloom turned and went to Timebender who was still crouched down. The clock doesn't give much away, but even she Lightspeed would've been able to tell that he was pretty shaken.

"You okay there, kid? We need to move." She crouched down next to him.

"A-are they..." He let his question hang, turning to Frostbloom.

"Yeah-" She nodded sorrowfully, "you're going to see things like this more often, it's just a part of the gig. Whichever side you go, there's always something."

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Do things l-like this h-happen a lot?" He spoke, almost in a whisper.

"Me and Lightspeed are also relatively new at this, so I can't say for certain. But, as far as I know, yes. Not like this exactly, but you'll see things that'll change you." She sighed, patting his back. "We can't do a lot for them, but it doesn't mean we can't do anything."

"W-what can we do?"

She stood up, cracking her neck before offering him a hand up. "We can beat the shit out of the fuckers that did this."

Timebender looked at her, glancing briefly at the people they were supposed to rescue. He balled his fist and then nodded, a glint of determination on his clock face.

They joined Lightspeed outside, who was reading from his holowatch. Seeing them come out, he put down his wrist and approached, a nod of understanding sent to the both of them.

"Where?" Frostbloom asked immediately.

"The armory is on the sixth level, but we don't know if they've hunkered down there, or they're protecting something more important someplace else." Lightspeed explained.

"Or they went back up to the cafeteria." She added. "Maybe rescued their friends."

"Why w-wouldn't they just escape?"

"Most people have loved ones and shit they're desperate enough to take jobs like this for." She explained. "So they're here via threats or a really good insurance policy. And I hope it's the former."

"Not important right now." He steered back the conversation. "Any suggestions?"

"Going up and clearing floors one by one would take too long," she says, "we can just go to the armory and then go clear them out from there."

"We'll have to climb six floors." He stared at her.

"I may not look like it but I still work out. I can handle just six floors." She tsked at him.

"You can barely handle six floors."

"W-why don't we just take the e-elevator?" Timebender suggested.

"They'll hear the ding and fill us full of holes." Frostbloom explained.

"Can't w-we take it to the floor below? Then climb f-from there?"

"Hm-", Lightspeed checked his holowatch, "seventh level is just recreation area."

"Not like they'll be playing foosball or billiards right now." Frosbloom chuckled.

"T-there still might be some guards p-patrolling?"

"But it's less likely."

"Great, it's a plan." Frostbloom clapped, "I can't wait to freeze some balls off."

They went back to the elevator, surprised that it was still on their floor. Lightspeed took out another towel and laid it over the mess on the elevator floor, as per Frostbloom's request, before they all entered.

He pressed the button and a ding rang out, then the cheery elevator music started annoying their ears.

"Timebender." Lightspeed called out while the elevator moved. "Have you ever used your power on yourself?"

"Yes. I-I make my perception f-faster when I need to d-do my reading f-for class." He admitted, turning a bit red.

"And there are no consequences?" His eyes widened.

"Not r-really? It just f-feels weird, not being able t-to move as fast as m-my brain." He muttered. "And mental fatigue s-still builds up normally."

"Hm-" he nodded, not saying anything more.

The elevator dinged. The three got into position again, the two on either side with Lightspeed right in front. Thankfully the floor was actually clear, not even a patrol or random staff.

"What are you doing?" Frostbloom asked, seeing Lightspeed press another button in the elevator.

"Distraction." He answered, walking out of the elevator. "Come on, we don't have much time."

They arrived at the main stairwell, entering it only to be surprised by the lack of any personnel guarding. Even when they climbed up to the sixth level, there wasn't anyone in the stairs.

"They might be just outside the door." Lightspeed whispered. "Wait for the signal."

"What s-signal?"

A ding rang out after Timebender asked the question. Lightspeed opened the door, immediately disappearing and appearing right next to the man who was distracted by the elevator arriving. One punch to the chin, and he was knocked out cold.

Frostbloom caught the man's body with a flower, muffling the impact with leaves.

Lightspeed peeked the corner before looking back at Frostbloom, sending a bunch of hand signals towards her. Timebender had no idea what they meant, but he did recognize him signaling that there were two guards in the hallway.

The girl nodded, smiling sweetly as she followed Lightspeed. They sneaked through the corridor, moving from behind benches and under tables, cover to cover. Another couple of dashes and punches to the temple, another two guards mercilessly knocked out.

They kept going, taking out one or two guards on the way until they arrived in the hallway where the armory was located at.

'This is too easy. Where's the rest? Lightspeed's eyes narrowed, turning to Frostbloom with a serious look. "This doesn't feel right. It's too empty."

"You think it's a trap?" Frostbloom peeked into the hallway.

"Maybe? I don't know. It just feels wrong."

"Maybe t-they're looking for us? That's w-why no one is here."

"Possibly." Lightspeed muttered. "Be alert, just in case."

They sneaked to the hallway, walking much more carefully this time in formation. There wasn't anything out of place, no shadows to hide in, no creases in the perfect image of normalcy. That didn't make it any better, as the three felt even more anxious now that there's nothing wrong.

'Voices.' Lightspeed signaled the two behind him to listen.

There was a buzz of conversation inside the armory, like a preschool classroom with children trying to stay quiet while having conversations with one another. He couldn't make out any of the words, being muffled by the door and other voices, but that did confirm one thing.

They were inside.

"Same thing as earlier. I dash in, you follow." He whispered to the two as they got in front of the door.

They got into position, Frostbloom and Timebender at the sides of the door. Lightspeed stood up, stretching his back as he grabbed the handle. He breathed out and pushed the door open. It didn't budge.

A whirring noise made him turn. Turrets started popping out of the ceiling, from both ends of the hallway, sandwiching them inside a kill box.

'Shit!' He cursed. "Turrets!"

Thinking quickly, he dashed beside Frostbloom and grabbed her by the waist. Doing the same to Timebender, he carried the both of them as bullets started flying. He dashed side to side in the hallway, trying to throw off the targeting system, before busting into a room beneath one of the turrets.

The door exploded inwards. He dashed to the side, out of sight of the turrets. He let his teammates go and the three stumbled to the ground, hitting some boxes as the rolled.

"Nice job." Frostbloom sent a thumbs up to the panting speedster. She blinked as she saw red on his shoulder. "You got shot?"

"Grazed. Not through bone, I don't think. Just a flesh wound." He turned to show Frostbloom.

"Hold still. I'll wrap that up." She took out a bandage from her pocket and got to work.

"I-It was a trap." Timebender shivered.

"Thank you, clocktain obvious." She smirked, looking towards Lightspeed for approval.

"It was." Lightspeed ignored her pun. "Block the door first, will you?"

Frostbloom, still bandaging his shoulder, waved her hand nonchalantly. Blue vines started covering the doorway, filling it completely with leaves, flowers, and frost.

"Thanks." He said, checking the bandage.

"That won't last." A bullet went through the vines as she spoke. "See?"

"We don't need it to last." As he spoke, they heard a metal door slide open followed by the sound of orders being shouted. "We just need them to come out."

They heard boots moving around outside of the door, turrets whirring and guns cocking as the goons outside got into position.

"You three! Come out with your hands in the air!" One of the guards shouts. "Ow!"

"What are you talking about? Are we fucking cops now?"

"What? I'm winging it! It's not like they cover this in orientation!"

"Just shut up, let me handle this." The goon breathed in. "Oi! You three! Fucking come out of here or we'll bloody blow holes in every single one of ya that y'all be leaking like rust faucets!"

"You sounded like a B-movie henchman."

"Won't they kill us anyway if we come out?" Frostbloom smiled wryly. "So, what's the plan?"

"It's this." Lightspeed turned to the clock head. "Use your power on me."

"W-what?" He was taken aback.

"Use your power on me. Make my time perception faster for a couple of minutes."

"Why? It'll j-just make you process faster. You won't m-move fast-" He paused, realizing the plan.

"My power let's me move fast but doesn't make me react fast. That's why I can only dash straight." He explained.

"Are you sure about this? You don't know what'll happen."

"Well, it's either this or we go through a hallway full of guards wearing tinker tech armor, carrying guns that are probably tinker tech, and get pelted by bullets that are also most likely tinker tech- how did they even get this much tinker tech?"

"O-okay, here goes."

As Timebender touched his shoulder, Lightspeed felt the world suddenly slow down. The blaring alarms turned a few pitches lower and the holographic alerts started flickering with a buzz. Frostbloom's breathing slowed to a crawl, as did Timebender's movements.

'Weird.' He thought.

Trying to move was weird. It was like he was moving through a very thick patch of molasses, just without the feeling of anything actually slowing him down. Looking around was even weirder, as his eyes were just as slow as his body. The motion blur that is usually ignored by the brain can be seen clearly like a bad video camera. It was nauseating.

'Time to try it out.' He thought, pulling on his power ever-so-slightly.

His hand move, clenching as if unimpeded by the slowness. Then his arm. Then his legs. And eventually his entire body moved normally as he adjusted the power. A blurry aura surrounded him as he continued activating his power.

A slight wave of fatigue encroached his body. "I can't last long with this."

He jogged to the vines, tearing it open with ease, revealing the twenty-or-so guards aiming guns at him. He looked up first, seeing the turret start to whir at his appearance. Jumping up, he punched the turret, destroying it instantly.

'That was easy.' He thought, moving on to the guards.

Bullets started coming out of their guns. They were still fast, but dodging them was still a walk in the park, quite literally. One punch on the nose per guard, he broke through their black helmets with his knuckle dusters, making sure to only maim them and maybe cause slight brain damage.

It was almost laughable how easy it was that he was tempted to ask Destructo to recruit Timebender. The synergy between their powers was game breaking.

All guards punched, he moved on to the other turret at the end of the hallway that had been taking potshots at him this whole time.

'This is tinker tech too.' He thought, looking at the destroyed turret in his hand. It was the only possible reason it could keep up with him in this state. 'Where did they get all these?'

Suddenly, he heard the alarms pitch up. Time that had slowed to a crawl got back up and started walking at a normal pace. The sound of breaking helmets, cracking bones, and smashing machinery rang out all at once as the effects of his rampage took place.

"Oh, wow, ugh," he groaned as tiredness slammed on to him like a truck, his legs giving out from the fatigue. He crawled towards the wall to lean on it, facing towards the devastation he caused.

"Lightspeed?" Frostbloom called out to him from the room.

"Here." He answered, raising his tired hand.

"Woah." She gasp, coming out of the room to see the smashed faces and broken turrets. Quickly jogging to him with Timebender in tow, she offered a hand to get him up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired." He confessed, refusing her hand. "It was awesome."

"It looks awesome." She grinned, putting her arm around Timebender's shoulder. "Your power's amazing with him."

"T-thanks." He turned red at the compliment, glancing back at the down guards.

"I want to kidnap him." Lightspeed smirked, making Timebender freeze up.

"He's joking." She chuckled at the kid. "Are you?"

Lightbender didn't answer, getting his focus back. "You two go up and report back. There should be backup up there by now. I'll stay here to catch my breath."

"But I didn't get to freeze any balls."

"Do that in your own time. Right now, report."

"Fun killer." She rolled her eyes. "You don't want him to stay here? Just in case?"

"It's fine, I counted. That's twenty-nine guards. Added to the ones we beat up back at the third level, it makes forty-six." He reassured her. "Even if one of them gets up, or another guard comes, I can handle them. Now go."

The two used the elevator, going up and out of the facility to report.

----------------------------------------

"Did you know about this?" Destructo asked with a flat tone, but his clenched fist and undulating power betrayed the stoic façade he tried to show.

"No." Brainmatter answered darkly.

"You said they were here. You said they were alive. Then what is this?" His power flared, a small crater appeared around him, yet not a sound nor tremble of impact came with it.

The two were standing in front of five pods, each with rotting children floating inside a green liquid. A holographic screen floated in front of the pods, detailing nothing a number and a message about their essence.

"They are alive, Vin." Brainmatter spoke to him with a serious tone. "You know how my power works. I can access their inner world. That can only happen if they're sapient and alive."

Destructo closed his eyes, breathing deep to calm himself. "You can access them, so tell me what do you see? What's inside?"

"Chaos." He spoke darkly. "Like someone ripped it apart, taking away pieces and smashing the rest until all that's left is a pile of cold rubble. I've never seen something like this before, much less know how to start rebuilding. I don't even think I can."

"What do you mean you don't think you can rebuild it?"

"I can rebuild normal damage, like a memory out of place or a trauma getting too big. But this-", The brain in the jar shook side to side, "Imagine coming across a small rubble of bricks, wood, and mortar on the ground. You know there's a house there before, but you have no idea what it looks like. How would you rebuild that? Even if I knew how to, there's too much missing. It'll break apart again in moments."

"Damn."

The two stared at the children in silence, one in anger and the other in frustration.

"What about the previous cases? The ones in a coma. Are they anything like this?" Destructo turned around, not wanting to keep looking.

"Not at this level, no. There's similarities, in that chunks of their inner worlds are missing, but not as bad as these."

"I don't get it. Why keep them here? Why not destroy the evidence?" He muttered, looking at Brainmatter. "I know you already read the staff and the guards."

"I told you already. Lizard's tail. Guards were told to make sure they seem convincing. Staff were told to stay until they get raided. Evidence was fabricated. The whole deal." He shrugged.

"But they didn't expect you." Destructo spoke then gestured for him to continue.

"No they didn't. But even then, they were careful. Careful enough that all I could know about who they're working for is that they use a moniker. The Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

"That's what they call him. Or her. Not really much to go on." He sighed.

"No, it's enough. It's more than what we'd know if I didn't ask a favor."

"Damn right." He chuckled.

A knock on the door, the two turned to the sound. A cop was standing nervously in the doorway, pausing at the sight of Destructo.

"What is it?" He asked, annoyed.

The cop gulped before steeling himself. "Sir, you're going to want to see this."

The two looked at each other before nodding to the cop. "Lead the way."

The cop nervously complied and lead the two to walk in the hallway. They passed by cops and investigators, all in white coveralls, carrying equipment up and down the facility.

Destructo glanced at each lab, each child in green liquid. According to Brainmatter, they were all alive, just brain dead. Didn't make it any better though, as they've failed to rescue any conscious child so far since the string of kidnappings began.

"Right inside, sir." The cop stood to the side, opening the door for them to enter.

The two of them entered, the same thought ran in their mind as they saw what was inside. The green liquid coating the floor. The bundle of wires scattered about. The open and empty pod.

One of them is alive. And they knew who it was.