Scene 37 - October 26

Interior Cell Block, Continuous

Abraham Armstrong

It took a moment before I found my voice again, then I said, “Will...”

“Canaveral,” he said, coolly. That was a bad sign - he usually called me Abe or Navi.

“I... I hear that you’ve learned some things,” I tried, “that... that don’t sound very good, from a certain perspective.”

“You could say that,” he agreed, still in that same unaffected, emotionless voice.

“I...” I sighed. “I can’t lie to you, Will. The Ambrosia Company is... it’s not exactly a morally-upright institution.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Legion commented. “Publicly, perhaps, but I think we all know that the face we put on in public isn’t necessarily the truth.”

I glared at her. “You’re not helping,” I snapped. “And why the hell do you work for them, if you know how bad they are?”

She sighed. “Loyalty, I’m afraid. They saved my life.”

“I thought that I saved your life.”

“It’s arguable, and like I said I disagree with the me who helped you.” She shrugged. “Besides, if they had a different enforcer they would probably be even worse than me. At least I don’t kill anyone - anyone other than myself, anyway.”

I stared at her, then pointed at Will’s head where it emerged from her arm.

“Does he look dead to you?” Legion asked. “The man isn’t even dead legally, just missing-in-action.”

“Get to the point,” Will groaned. “Existing as a disembodied head isn’t exactly comfortable, you know.”

“Right.” I shook myself, trying to refocus. “Will, Ambrosia does a lot of bad things, yes, but... they do good, too. I would never have become a hero if not for them.”

“There wouldn’t be so many villains if not for them, either,” he retorted. “Not to mention that the brawn that they distribute throughout the country.”

I glanced at Legion. “I didn’t know they were involved in brawn distribution - is that true?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Maybe?” She gave a noncommittal shrug. “Not my department. I know there’s some level of involvement but I don’t know the details of it.” There came a loud thud at the door, and I glanced over my shoulder to double check that it was still holding. “Better hurry up,” the villain added.

I sighed. “Look, Will, I’ll be straight with you-”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Since when have you been straight? Especially with me.”

I grinned at him for a moment, then remembered the situation we were in and cleared my throat. “You’re up for resurrection - Legion is willing to bring you back. But only if you agree to keep quiet about Ambrosia.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know if I can agree to that. I mean, think about what they’ve done!”

“They’ve granted powers to heroes too!” I protested.

“I already said that you and Nanoblade doesn’t make up for all the villains!”

“You think it’s just the two of them?” Legion asked, then laughed. “Oh, Ventus, you have no idea. Canaveral isn’t the only hero to buy his powers - he isn’t even the only one in the New Champions!”

I hadn’t known anyone else in the Champions had gotten their powers from Ambrosia, but decided to think about that later. “And they’ve taken villains off the playing field, too,” I added. “My power was taken away from a Russian villain in order for me to get it.”

“So you’re saying that they can do more than bribe people with the possibility of extra powers, they can also threaten to take them away?” Ventus asked. “That just makes them even scarier.”

“We tried to bribe him to stay quiet first,” Legion told me. “It didn’t work.”

I sighed. “Will, you’re going to die if you don’t stay quiet. And it’ll be permanent this time - no way to come back. I don’t want you gone forever!”

“I’m already dead,” he said, a trace of pain in his eyes - I doubt I could have seen it if I didn’t know the man so well. “I don’t care if Legion thinks she doesn’t kill - this isn’t a life.”

She sighed. “You have the right to your opinion,” the villain said, “but the fact that you have one to express means you’re alive. But... yes, not for long.”

I closed my eyes and tried to come to terms with what I was about to do. Will had been my best friend from childhood. He had been my first crush, my first boyfriend, my first kiss. My first partner - we had been closer than brothers. And now... could I really do this to him?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Will said. “It’s not going to work. You can’t make her bring me back if she doesn’t want to.”

I hadn’t been thinking about that, and the fact that I wasn’t just made me feel worse. Had I really changed so much that Will was wrong about me? “I’m so sorry, Will,” I said, my voice breaking as I tried to hold back tears. “But I don’t have a choice.”

Legion snorted.

“What do you mean, Navi?” Will asked.

I turned away before opening my eyes again - I couldn’t look. “Make the escape attempt, Legion,” I said. “Where’s your brain?”

“I have it in my pelvis right now,” she told me.

I could hear the understanding in Will’s voice as he realized what was about to happen. “Fuck you, Abe,” he said. “Fuck you very...”

Then he was gone, and Legion was lashing out at the walls, the ceiling... making it look like a great battle had occurred. I played my part too, bouncing around her strikes to build up a little sweat to make it realistic. After a few seconds, she broke through the door to the cell, revealing a crowd of agents, several of whom had been attempting to break through themselves. I broke off a leg of the table, launched it through Legion’s midsection, and she collapsed and took my best friend with her.