So, it begins... | Open to Titans

[Violet Schultz]

Violet's flat expression didn't alter an iota until he'd finished, when her lips turned down at the edges, her eyes narrowing in a most peculiar expression, given the circumstances. Amusement? It didn't make sense for that to be what she felt, but with how flat the emotion fell in her eyes, it was obvious that it wasn't true levity, but just the jaded expression of someone conditioned in dealing with the verbal snares of such people. Someone who was tired of dealing with it.

"Oh, that's rich," she snorted, her head tilting to the side. "First, you kidnap me from the streets. Then you drug me and do who even knows what kind of experiments on me when I'm out. And as the finale, you offer me monetary compensation if I make your jobs easy for you, but without even bothering to pretend that I have a guarantee that I'll ever leave here alive. As you may imagine, money doesn't work so well as incentive in this situation. Or for me, really any situation."

Her voice was soft, a low rasp which resulted from her dry and aching throat, but it somehow managed to hold a note of menace which matched the coldness of her eyes. Her long black hair streamed over her pale shoulders, managing to mask the shiver of her muscles. She was obviously not in the most cooperative of moods, partially due to the knowledge that these lab techs were the reason that she felt so abominably ill, and also due to the fact that this man was trying to pretend that he had any semblance of a moral high ground in this. As if the only reason she was there was so that he could save some firefighters... Sure, the organization was donating that fabric, right? Yeah, sure.

"You want to know what makes me tick?" she asked, her expression flat and cold again. "Let me use my powers, and I'll show you exactly how they work. Of course, I already know that you won't. Instead, the doctors prefer to torture people when they're defenseless. Such stellar examples of humanity. I bet you're proud. I'm sure you'll do what you want, but expect me to fight you every step of the way."

Her stare never moved from his face, her voice still low and controlled as she defied him and his offer. All the more impressive was extent of her muscular control throughout, not moving an inch despite the involuntary quiver that resulted from cold and illness. The drugs had nasty side-effects, and it would take time for her to fully recover, given the frequent and heavy dosage.

[Martin Christopher Taylor]

Not the exact answer he had expected, but he had planned for this overall basic response.

"I'm not exactly speaking of money in the strictest sense, there are other... Concessions... That might be taken into consideration, things you would want for sure, if not for yourself, then maybe for someone else?"

Squaring his shoulders he then lifted his chin in defiance at her accusations and then gave a single shake of his head; "You must still be suffering from the drugs, because you clearly don;t understand, I'm not the one doing this to you, the doctors and scientists are, I'm just a step above you in that I work for them, and am protected due to my cooperation, and if you can see that by submitting willingly, you'd save everyone, primarily yourself, a lot of time, trouble and pain, then yes, you might be allowed to use your powers, if you can be trusted to not cause problems... It's the biggest reason you've been treated the way you have been.. Or did you forget Columbia?"

Martin knew that before she had been cornered and caught the first time, in Columbia Missouri, Violet had been found (after leaving St. Louis she had attracted some attention but had given everyone the slip) she had been approached by a small team of "recruiters" agents of sorts that worked for the labs, who would help tag and gather the children for the tests, sometimes it was easy, just offer up food, and safety, and even some pocket money and the kids would gladly "sign on" but sadly other than a VERY few number, most would realize that it was all but a trap, and would then become problems.

(Kevin, and Aria where of course two other problems the Labs had had, but Martin was not fully aware of this)

To date only three of the "recruits" had willingly gone alone, and while only one of them had survived, he was in fact, paid, and allowed many privileges, including limited freedom, that the rest of the children had in essence, refused with their constant rebelling and escape attempts.


"As to what the doctors do, I have no input on that, and while I don't like it, I found that the path of least resistance is also, the less demeaning, and painful path to take... But I digress, I was sent to try and reason, since the doctors loath to keep you under much longer, for fear of damaging you, and all the BIO tanks here are currently either full or undergoing repair... and the more simplistic and practical usage of your powers are still a fairly hazy mystery to them, and one they are most anxious to unlock... however I would refrain from trying to use you're powers for the moment, one aftereffect of the drug is that it will impair all mental functions until it is sufficiently eliminated from one's system, so you wouldn't want to harm yourself or expend what little energy you have, should you still wish to fight it out... Or maybe you would, at least THAT way, you'd have some control over you're suffering... Because if you don't believe me on anything I've said, believe this: they will get what they want from you Violet, one way or the other..."


He let his last statement hang in the air before he turned and walked back to the door, where it opened, and a small cart was pushed into the room, where he pulled a small cloth away, to show a simple fare of water bottles and prepackaged foods.

"A tiny sign of good faith, for what good it will do... Think about it Violet, if not for your sake... Then maybe for Will's..."

Vorac then turned on his heel and left, the door slamming shut behind him with a solid "clang!"

[Violet Schultz]

"I don't distinguish between you and them," Violet replied softly, pushing past her rising nausea. "If you work for them as you claim, you are one of them, and a traitor to our kind. Don't try to pretend that you're on my side in this, because I'm not buying it. I have no use for a person like you, and no patience to pretend otherwise. You're not above me; you're so far below, I'd be surprised if you can still see daylight."

As he spoke, she leveled a baleful glare at him, obviously not moved by his sentiments or his warnings. She had been to too many labs like this to not be aware of exactly what level the doctors could stoop to, participating in the most abominable practices and passing them off as necessary in the pursuit of knowledge. She'd never wanted to end up in a place like this again. In her mind's eye, she could see all of the children that she'd seen in labs: some dead, some that she almost wished were dead so that their suffering could be alleviated. There was no question that she had hell on earth ahead of her, but in this place where she truly had no control except over herself, that control became essential.

Another no-win situation that life had lined up for her? So what else was new? She was no stranger to pain, or to suffering. What mattered was her reaction, and how much she could take before the status quo changed, one way or another. She wished she could believe that the Titans were coming for her, but if they hadn't come in however long she'd been out, what were the odds that they would come now? If they couldn't find here, there was only one realistic way for this to end. Perhaps it was best to just go straight to it, as he'd suggested...

No. Something at her core resisted, rebelling against the prospect of death as it had so many times before. Stay alive. If she died, that was the end of the story. No more chances, only inevitability. The only way for hope to survive was to stay alive. Perhaps if she could just stay alive, she could make it out somehow. It was a blind shot in the dark passing for a ray of sunlight, but grim determination could be just as effective as hope sometimes. She would stay alive. She would fight back as hard as she could, for as long as she could, and keep her honor, no matter how they tried to degrade her. It was all she had left in a place like this.

His parting words hit her like a ton of bricks out of nowhere, and she felt the slow smolder of anger rise up in her chest, a rage that set her heart racing, glaring after him as he closed the door. The threat in his words was impossible to miss, and it was perhaps the only one that could break her conviction to resist them. Of course they had to know that. She stood slowly, ignoring the ache of the deep cuts that were still healing, along with the soreness of her muscles. Stay alive. She had to stay alive, and to do that, she had no choice but to use what she was given, even if she didn't trust it in the least. She picked one water bottle from the tray and returned to her bed along the wall.

She took a long drink to sooth her throat, then closed the bottle and set it on the floor before laying down on the bunk, her back to the one-way mirror. If only all of this was just a bad dream... No, she couldn't think that way. It was the fast route to breaking. Did it matter? She was a test subject, sure, but she was also bait for Will. She didn't even know if she wanted them to find her anymore. In fact, the last thing that she wanted was for Will to come. He was too reckless. If he was caught coming to help her, she would never forgive herself. ...But what if she cooperated? Would they leave him alone? No. Even if they said that they would, there was no way she could trust that they would actually keep their word, and she had no way to hold them to it.

She closed her eyes, processing the conversation as well as she could, but after a few minutes, she couldn't help but just fall asleep, her mind still full of indecision.

[William Talbot]

"I can feel her Doc... Barely... And not all the time but..."

Blaze looked out over the city, off to the mountains, his gaze far beyond the horizon, as his eyes glowed softly and he watched the darkening sky, the bleak surroundings of the ruined Macklin Mfg. buildings doing nothing for his mood...


Having searched and found nothing, Blaze and the Doctor had looked around the whole complex, searching out any clues, but coming up dry, they had gone back to the Tower, but today, no at the start of what would be day three, Will had come back to double check, and it was then he could feel the faintest flicker of familiar flame, far away, but he could still feel it, feel the pull of it, like an unspoken need or urge that directed him.

It was driving him crazy.


"I'm going to follow my... I'm going this way." Blaze at last said as he stepped off a pile of ruble and onto solid ground, his gaze never wavering as he walked with a steady, thoughtful purpose, his boots crunching on the dirt road as he wandered towards the mountains.

All the while, reaching out to Violet through the link, calling to her; "I'm coming Violet, I'm looking for you, show me where you are!"

[Tim Drake]

Robin stood over the console glaring at the screen, deep in thought.

Given all the information the Cyborg and Speedy had turned up, the almost total LACK of information he and Raven had gathered and the strike outs of Argent and Aqualad's search of the coast, he was wondering why he wasn't surprised that while Blaze and the Doctor had turned up nothing, they had gone back to double check, and now Blaze had called in saying he was picking up the faintest hint of Darkbrand, and was following it.


He was also walking right for the mountains, straight into the middle of nowhere.


Which Tim had to admit, made some sense in an overly simple kind of way, but it didn't help them, and given the fact that there where reports of numerous other super persons vanishing, it was beginning to unsettle the whole city, even when thus far, Violet had been the only Titan who had been taken in.


The tracking of goods and resources however had netted some areas to look in, and then there was the cover-up at the "abandoned " weapons dump in the desert...


It was worth a look anyways.

[Violet Schultz]

"Sir, the negotiations failed," a nervous lab tech reported, a bead of sweat rolling down his neck.

"Of course they did," Luthor replied from behind his desk, reading a report with bored eyes. "I never expected them to succeed."

"She says she's going to fight us, and I... I don't think she's lying," he said, looking away and loosening his tie.

"Is that so..." the CEO mused. "Well, it looks like we're going to have to break her spirit if we're going to get anywhere."

"Sir?"

"Notify the good doctor," he continued, ignoring the interruption. "Tonight, his staff can do whatever they like with her. Just make sure she's still alive tomorrow."

The tech blushed deeply but nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door silently behind him. The reaction of the team was what he expected, though he wasn't sure whether to feel excited or sickened by what would be going on. He spoke to the flaccid old scientist leading the team, his nervous manner likening him to some sort of rodent.

"Sir, you said yourself that she's not even human," he said, barely daring to speak above a whisper, something nearing disgust in his tone.

"Of course she's not," he agreed, a dark smile on his lips. "That doesn't mean that she can't... satisfy."

He watched her from behind the one-way glass, his greedy eyes trailing over her sleek and curvaceous body. Her pale skin was marked by scars, sure, but there was a grace to her build that made him look forward to the night more than he had in the twenty years that he'd been married to the shrill hag he kept at home.

The next day

Everything hurt, and it was all she could do to just lay on her bunk and breathe, now that it was all over. All that fighting them had gotten her was what felt suspiciously like broken ribs and a lot of bruises, and every breath brought a new round of stabbing pain. Her blue eyes were bleak as she stared at the wall, the blood stains from the fight having already been scrubbed out with bleach. Oh, how she had fought them, with every ounce of strength that she had, but she was just one person, and the guards that she'd fought were almost as well trained and much larger than she was.

The new track mark was on her neck from the paralyzing drug they had used to put a stop to her attacking, but why couldn't they have at least used a tranquilizer? The sadistic answer was obvious. They wanted her to feel everything, see everything, remember everything. She wanted nothing more than to forget.

She'd been expecting it ever since she'd realized where she was, since Aria had once described to her what life was like in a lab. It happened at least once to every girl in those labs, once they were old enough. At least once. She hadn't wanted to imagine it when Aria had told her. Now, there was no imagining needed. She couldn't stop it from playing in her mind, the memory... Those cold hands, disgusting breath; it wasn't anywhere near the worst of the memories...

The blotchy bruises on her wrists and ankles pulsed sharply with each heartbeat, but it hurt far less than other parts of her body, and her body hurt less than her heart, which was equally appalled, angry, and horrified. What they had stolen from her... How dare they? It was something that should never have been taken, but rather given to the man that she would've chosen. How dare they? She wanted to just melt away, leave everything behind and be in the gentle arms of her mother, sobbing away the pain and shame...

She'd never felt so close to broken in her life...

Violet didn't move as she heard the door to her cell open. What was there left for them to take? What else could they possibly do to her?

That girl was certainly a tough one to crack, or so thought Luthor as he watched her recover from behind the one-way glass. She hadn't even cried, and she hadn't stopped fighting until the drug had made it impossible for her to do so. He could only feel a grudging respect for her and her unyielding composure. Still, even with that being the case, how much fight could she have left in her? Soon, she would stop fighting, and they would get what they wanted from her.

[William Talbot]

The doctor had not a chance to keep up with him, and with the speed and fury that had some how torn free inside, he doubted that there was anything else alive on earth that could stand between him and his goal, the pull now less a notion or urge, than an all consuming force of nature that drive him past all limits and reason, the landscape a smear of color under him, his body a blinding hot blur scorching along the ground, an event with but one reason for being.


Vengeance.




The closer Will had gotten to Violet, the stronger the link felt, and the stronger the link felt, then more he could learn, and the more he could learn, the better he knew where she was, and that meant he could move faster towards her, and the of course, strengthened the link.

But there was something wrong with the link, it was only working one way, and all he could tell about Violets half was that it was hazy, repressed, drugged, and that she could not understand why she felt as she did.

But Will understood, and he could even feel, and see what she did, in rapid glimpses, and snatches of sound, and emotion, and when...


He had tripped and fallen, crying out in shock and pain, rage and dismay.

For two whole hours he laid in the middle of the desert, shuddering in detached agony, until the link faded to a soft, dreamy hum, tainted with pain, indignation, shock, and a sense of loss that he could not define, other than with what he knew only as facts.


As soon as he could stand again, he morphed into his quadruped form, and then raced for her, for them...


Oh how he would make them pay...

The next day

The shrieking of metal and the sound of gun shots, and energy blasts filled the cave, the yells of men being thrown like rag dolls a constant echo as a blindingly hot and bright form tore into the mountain itself it seemed, alarms sounding, people running, both for cover, and to the site of the infraction, until the loud sizzle of massive amounts of electricity filled the air, and then the reek of ozone dispersed, and the alarms at last died down, and the red lights stopped flashing.


A limp, large bodied male was being dragged along by two large guards to the holding block, which while small, was also about the most heavily built and most secure place in the whole complex, which had three sections, buried under a small mountain.


"My god did you see this thing? Ripped a wheel off the ACP and embedded it into the guardhouse... Burned all the guns beyond usage too..."

"Yeah, I'm glad that big tazer thing worked, otherwise who knows what other damage it would have done."

"Just what the hell is this thing anyways, and how did it find us?"

"Who knows, but I bet the guys in charge will LOVE finding out."


They tossed him into the empty cell at the end of the hall, the most fortified cell in the whole block, and once the door was shut and locked down, the glanced in as a lab tech drew blood from a dark haired girl who looked like she had seen better days, two more stout guards standing watch to ensure she didn't give any trouble, although she looked like she could hardly sit up, much less cause any real problems...

They however missed the look in her eyes, and had neglected to note that, the large hairy beast they had deposited in the cell next door, had gotten up almost instantly and was pressing its ear to the wall that stood between it, and the girl...

[Violet Schultz]

As much as she wanted to fight them when they came for her blood, she was in what could only be described as shock, with her mind shutting down enough to protect itself from the reality of the situation and the pain that her brain could hardly process, due to its source. She could do little more than turn to look at them with half-dead eyes, the minor pain of the needle nothing compared to the rest. But they were still talking as they moved, and that, more than anything else, managed to shake her out of it. Who else could they be talking about but Will? So that thud from earlier...? As soon as the door clanged shut, she turned to stare at the wall for a moment before closing her eyes.

The flame was still there. She could still feel it deep in her core, but it was only barely. But if she could just access it, maybe she could break through with the link? If it truly was him, he would be trying to get through to her with it. She closed her eyes again and blocked out the pain, delving deep into her own mind with the desperation of a diver swimming for the surface of a deep pool. It was difficult, with how numb her emotions were, but she kept fighting for it, and at last she reached it, her eyes lighting lavender for just an instant. She tried to find the link there, but she only got the mental equivalent of a fingertip grasp before she started drifting away from it again.

"Will," she croaked softly, her chest hurting with the extra air. "Are you there? Is that you?"

Her words were slow and lethargic, as if she couldn't tell whether or not she was in a dream. Truthfully, she was hoping that she was. If none of this was real, that meant that nothing had happened, and she hadn't just... But in dreams, pain wasn't something that one could feel this potently. Physical pain, anyway. More than anything else, the pain forced her to confront the truth. It was all real. It was too real. And now they had Will, just as the masked man had threatened... No... No, he had to get out. He had to get away. She had to make them leave him alone...

"You have to get out of here...." she whispered, knowing that if it was him, he would hear. "You shouldn't have come. It... it was always you that they wanted..."

Luthor was too correct. She didn't have much left to give before she couldn't fight them anymore, even in her mind. Physically, she already wasn't up to it. The days of her immune system being so suppressed had made her ill, the lack of eating had made her weak, and the injuries had broken her last means to fight back. The degradation she had suffered was something that her mind was trying and failing to process properly. Instead, her willpower was draining away with the rest of her strength.

[William Talbot]

He was sore, and his head hurt, and he had the most annoying itch on his back, and the room was... off... Strange colors danced about randomly from time to time, clouding his vision, but he felt... Well, marginal at best, exhausted or starvingly loopy at worse, his stomach rumbling suddenly at the very thought of food, but he couldn't keep his thoughts straight, they where wandering, and his head swam from time to time, just enough to derail his thinking, and confuse him.


Right before the electricity had hit, he had been shot with two large needle darts, filled with what he was guessing (correctly in fact) was some form of the VX based drug that they had used on Violet, and it was making his life... Interesting, was one word he might use.

Honestly, it might even be amusing if not for the context.


However at the shimmering flicker within the link, something deep down inside snapped him to task, and he reached back to her over the link, and he could sense her trying, and failing to reach him even as he could feel himself fumble with the link as well.

Then he heard her voice, faintly through the wall, his ear still pressed to it, and the sound of her voice... Even dry, weary and defeated sounding, it was the sweetest thing he had ever heard, and it gave him that tiny little shot of hope he needed to close his eyes and reach down inside--


"ZZZZZAAAAAAAAAPPPP!"

"HHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLWLWWAAAH!"


Howling like whipped dog, Will flew from the wall as an arc of pure electrical power, fully ten times the amount that had stunned him only just ten minuets ago, drove him away, and crashing through the bed frame into the other wall, the snapping crunch and groan of cracking tile and bending metal drowning out the sizzle of cook hair and steaming flesh.


"Down boy." Luthor said into a microphone, his voice sounding from a speaker embedded high up in the wall, as he observed the Lycan half breed in his cell, twitching like the shocked beast he surely was, this strange abomination had cost him a pittance and a half in damages, but had also somehow found his most hidden lab, and where it not for the jamming devices that ringed the parameter with fences and the like, all carefully hidden of course, he would have worried that the other Titans where on their way as well, and while ready for that event, Lex wasn't relishing the idea of giving this place up, at least not yet.


"You're not as useful to me and my ends as the girl... But you could prove to be, if nothing else... Amusing... And I would personally enjoy watching the doctors gleefully discover if all the legends about werewolf's are true, we do in fact have some various forms of many substances that you are rumored to be... "Highly Allergic" too..."
Releasing the button, he then found, to his pleasure and amusement, that his voice had been broadcast to both rooms, and he felt that this, playing upon their fear for each other, was the smart move. and he was nothing if not smart.


But then Hubris had no prejudices either for or against anyone on earth.

That Night

They had strapped him to a table, drawn blood, prodded, poked, cut, pulled, scorched, and electrocuted him for a solid six hours, and when they had at last left him in peace, all he could hear other than the ringing in his ears, was the faintest sounds of sorrow from the next room, and that above all, knowing they could not tell it, and yet he could, despite the numbing drone that seemed to block his flames from him, infuriated Will to no end.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"But... Sir... I... Really?"

"It's about power, clearly you don't grasp that concept, don't ask me where, but it is written that we are to take dominion over the beasts of the field, and so we shall do so now, and to add to our power, we will bring the female into the room, and make sure they both know, that they are nothing more than our personal conquests, in every sense and application of the word."

The younger doctor blinked in shock at the rotund older scientist, before shaking his head; "This is disgusting beyond reason..." he at last said before turning on his heel and leaving. however he could not know that there would be guards awaiting him at his small quarters in the next block over, nor could he know that he would have a choice of joining the two they held in the testing, or of two nine millimeter rounds to the head.


The old Doctor squared his shoulders as he stood up and walked for the door, muttering to himself; "Time to get along with it..."

3 hours later

He led her, as closely as he could, as if his very life depended upon it.


The device they had used to block his powers, had only worked for so long on Violet, because it was broadcasting a wide range of frequencies, however that interfered with some of the more sensitive equipment, so when it was determined what frequency range seemed to work best on her, they simply set it to sweep both rooms with the blocking waves.

But, color was the key.

Visual light is little more than photons moving at certain wavelengths, when an object has a tint to it, a color, it is because it is reflecting (for any number of reasons) THAT wavelength back out, and absorbing the rest, and as any eighth grader could likely tell you different colors, travel at different wavelengths, and another word for wavelength is frequency.

Therefore, Lavender, which is to say, a shade of purple, is clearly not the same as almost any or all shades of blue.


It had taken Will a good hour to figure this out, the drug by then cleared from his system, however, he instinctively did not let them know that, at least until he could bend the light around into the shadows under the table they had his strapped to, a small thing, but something he could use none the less to tell him, how much of his power he had back, and...


Well, when they had wheeled Violet in, also strapped to a table, he could hardly guess what they where planning until things where said, and clothing started to fall away.


The instant the lead doctor's hand touch Violet's cheek, it exploded into a ball of white hot, blue flame...


Even in his enraged state, hours ago, Will had a plan, and he now, enacted what little of it he could currently use, and in doing so, he destroyed the table he was strapped to, the chain-mail like straps ripping from the hardened steel surface like a pull tab from a coke can, and with as much speed as his still fogged mind could push from his sore, injured body, Will morphed back into his purely Lycan form, and within moments, he and Violet where rushing from the room, the door foolishly left open, and the doctors and guards scattered like bowling pins, the now one handed doctor weeping in silent shock as he stared at his stump, and muttered over and over; "monsters... monsters all... monsters... monsters all..."


Not that it mattered, because as soon as they where far enough away from the blocking device, Will could feel himself come alive, the flames in his chest suddenly a raging bonfire that lit his feet and eyes with power, the alarms not yet sounding as a mass of hot fur, clinging to a small pale female form barreling through at a blinding speed.



That had been an hour ago.


At the moment, Will was huffing in the cold, thin air, Violet still in his arms, his breath fogging densely as he took a knee, his fur matted with lathery sweat, his eyes tired, and arms sore, a few small scabbed over marks marring them, grazes from bullets and who knew what else, parts of his thick yet soft back fur filled with darts and bullets that didn't quiet reach his skin.

But that didn't matter now, what mattered was that Violet was starting to die, in his arms, and he wasn't sure if infusing her with his own power, would help her or not. Yes, it could heal wounds, but she has suffering from far more than just cuts and scrapes, she was in total shock, and withdrawal from the raping and the drugs and the tests and, it seemed, even seeing him, but...

"Violet... Violet please... hold on... Don't let go of me... Sweetheart... Please... Please Violet..." he bent his head down and nuzzled her softly, large hot tears forming, and yet refusing to fall.


Not hearing any signs of pursuit, he moved over to a small sheltered spot in the side of a the treeless hill, and knelt at last, still holding her as close as he could, his powers flaring wildly due to the strain, and stress, but that meant he was almost twice as warm as normal, which given that there was snow in places on the ground and it was somewhere in the low forties or lower, he knew that Violet might in a sense, freeze, due to the lack of heat. He wasn't going to panic, but he felt helpless, they had taken his communicator, and hers was clearly gone, and the only other thing he could think of was to make a pillar of fire tall enough to be seen... by everyone, friend and foe alike...


"Violet... Please... Open you're eyes..."

[Violet Schultz]

The only answer that she'd gotten to her questions was the howl of pain that sounded from the room where he was being held, and then the voice of Lex Luthor over the intercom. With shaking hands, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, grunting and then gasping with pain before she forced herself to stand and go to the mirror. She braced herself for every step, the bruises impeding her as much as the broken ribs, but she did make it to the mirror, and she supported herself with one hand on the mirror, clutching her mid-section with the other. Her eyes were hard and cold as she stared through. Despite the fact that she couldn't see anyone, she needed to talk to someone.

"Let him go," she rasped, her shaking hand smearing a trail of blood along the mirror. "I'll do whatever you want, just leave him alone."

"I'm sorry, but you already gave up that option when you decided to fight us," Luthor's voice came over the monitor. "His life is forfeit to you."

"No... Please..." she whispered. "Leave him alone. You got what you wanted, so leave him alone!"

"You overestimate your own importance, Violet dear," he replied. "You are nothing but the subject of a laboratory experiment. A rat to put through a maze. I think it's time you came to terms with that."

"Please..."

"I wonder... My associate believes you are something more than human, if you can believe it. He thinks you're tougher than the average girl. Let's put that to the test, shall we? I'd like to prove a point before you break completely."

The door opened at that point to reveal the doctors coming for more tests, and her knees buckled as she slid down the wall, her black hair streaming in front of her eyes as the body guards came toward her and then pulled her upright by the bruised wrists. The jostle of her injured chest brought a painful cough, and she tasted blood in her throat as they directed her to the table. Her eyes went to the lab tech attending, and fresh anger blossomed as she recognized him from the night before, one of the three who had enjoyed it the most.

She stepped to the side of the table as they expected, but instead of climbing onto it as she was supposed to, she turned and struck the tech with all of the force that she could muster, her knee driving into the fork of his legs hard enough that she heard and felt a crack in his pelvis before the guards could even realize what was happening. The tech screamed in pain before sinking to the ground while the guards quickly went for Violet, throwing her to the ground while a medic came for the downed man. She could only gasp for breath, a cry of pain breaking past her stolidity when the guard kicked her prone form.

"Still fighting, eh?" Luthor's voice came over the intercom. "Looks like you've still learned nothing. I guess you'll have to repeat object lesson one. They can do this as many times as it takes for you to understand."

"He... deserved that..." she breathed, her face tight with pain. "You deserve... far worse."

But this time was worse. This time, they'd been told to make sure it hurt... She couldn't hold back the agonized moans as it happened.

Late that night...

She was dying. She could feel it in every painful breath, every cough that brought up just a little more blood. She could only be satisfied that she hadn't broken her word. She had fought as hard as she could, for as long as she could, and she could only hope that this time, when they came for her, it would be the last time. Her body would give out if it took any more abuse, and she could barely summon the wind enough to stay alive, much less fight them anymore. She could only pray that maybe Will would find the way out that she couldn't, that he would live through this. He had to live through it. He had always been stronger physically, more resilient.

She was resilient, sure, but no mortal could handle so much trauma and survive. The fire inside of her was dying, flickering as it faded, tired and beaten as it was. She knew exactly what it meant when they came again with the table, but they had to pick her up and put her on it themselves, the dull stare in her dark blue eyes telling them that she couldn't do it herself anymore. Her pale skin was blotched blue and purple, her ribs red and swollen, the food they'd left for her untouched.

They rolled her down the hallways again, and she started to wonder. Had there ever been anything other than this place? It was the only thing that felt real anymore. Was the rest of her life just a dream that she'd fabricated to convince herself that this wasn't how life was? But even she couldn't invent something so vivid as the emotions tied to the sight that met her defeated eyes when she arrived in the room. Will... God, he looked so beautiful, out of place in this world of horror, an angel stepped into the bowels of hell. His injuries just added to the strength that she could still see in his steel blue eyes as he watched her.

Even after everything that had happened, the old doctor's touch caused her to close her eyes against the tears that rose up, the shiver dying somewhere between her spine and her shoulders, given the fact that she didn't have the strength left for it. But then something strange happened. His hand literally burst into flame, the tissue ripping apart and disintegrating before he could even have a clue what was going on. Will was up and moving, carrying her in his warm arms before she could even process what had happened with her mind so lethargic.

Her eyes closed against the brightness of the sun as they burst into daylight, and they stayed closed for the entire hour that Will was fighting to get away from the relentless security force. The howling wind didn't stop her from listening for the sounds that would've meant that they were coming to take him back to that place... After a while, they died out, and Will found some temporary measure of shelter. In the absence of the device, her inner flame was resurfacing, but it was too low now to do much good. It would only slow the process of her losing the battle against the illness raging in her.

"I fought those bastards... as hard as I could," she said slowly and faintly, a gentle rasping gurgle in her throat. "I tried..."

At his words, she attempted to force her eyes open. Honestly, she did. But she couldn't. She didn't have the strength left to push herself any further.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered, barely audible over the wind. "I... promised her... I promised... to watch over you... I'm sorry I've failed..."

A cough brought blood to her lips again, the jerk causing the pain in her chest to flare sickeningly.

[William Talbot]

Holding her closer, Will closed his eyes and let the tears fall, his arms cradling her as gently as was possible, the dexterity of the large Lycan still only slightly hampered, but even so he felt...

Everything was wrong, so wrong; Violet was dying, he was sick, and couldn't stop a mild dizziness from sweeping over him every few moments, and they where in the middle of nowhere and...


"No Violet... Shh, I know... I know... God I'm the one who failed... I should have been faster... I should have been there..." the tears where a steady stream now, and his deep lumping voice wavered until he could only say one thing; "I love you Violet... With all my heart..."

Burying her face into his neck Will held her there for a few moments until he felt and heard her cough up blood, and he pulled her back to look at her, his eyes glowing softly as he slowly morphed back into his human form, before he gently wiped her mouth clean and kissed her softly on the lips, then whispered into her ear; "Just hold on to me... I won't let you go."

With a softly glowing hand, William took a deep breath and then placed his hand over Violet's heart, and let his powers rise, until a steady flow of energy moved into her core, something Will did until he could feel her inner flame plus with a fresh, if not weak, warmth, his own strength draining away slowly, but still he flowed his power into her, until he felt that small surge, this time a bit stronger, again, and then he held his hand there, until there was a third, stronger pulse, and at that, he slowly drew his hand away, and then leaned in and nuzzled her cheek, as he at last fell over, still holding her as close as possible, the cold ground warmed by their presence, the small sheltered place below the outcropping, shielding them from the wind, as the sun touched the bottom of the western sky, Will could feel her there, as he shielded her, placing her between himself and the rock, holding on, to her as he felt sleep at last tug at him gently...


"I love you Violet..."

[Violet Schultz]

"No..." she breathed. "It's not... your fault. Promise me... If they come... you run. Don't... don't look back.... Just run... Please... Don't... let them... find... you..."

She passed out, the last words passing through her lips on a soft breath. As he began to feed his energy into her, he pushed her inner flame just far enough out of the critical range that it began to attempt to stabilize her. There wasn't much success, but the extra heat flooded her system, and her body used it to try to fight off the bacteria and viruses that she would've ordinarily been able to fight off without trouble. But still, her body was failing, the damage simply too great for her to fix on her own. She was slipping away, sick and weary in both body and heart. If left to her own devices, she wouldn't last more than a couple of hours.

For once, life cut them a break in the form of their friends. Although he had lost Will relatively nearby Jump, Dr. Kavanagh had followed as quickly as he could, relying on his considerable tracking skills and his natural stamina to keep moving. By ignoring the pain and relying on his healing factor to mend his muscles, he could keep moving night and day, relentlessly. His sharp eyes had tracked far more subtle people than Will, and the training that was honed by several Indian tribesmen and a few friends came in handy to allow him to track down where Will had gone. That same training kept him out of the hands of the patrols that were wandering the perimeter of the desolate mountain.

When he finally could feel them, both of them, he radioed it in to the other Titans, using the communicator that Robin had lent to him in case he and Will got separated. It felt like both of the teens were in serious need of the others, especially Violet, whose condition was critical. At this distance, he could feel very few details. Injury and infection were rampant in her life aura, and she wasn't conscious. Will was scarcely more awake, but Kavanagh could sense his condition as well, and while he wasn't as bad off as Violet, there was a drug in his system that was making him ill and weak. The doctor's pace quickened, and after nearly an hour, well after the sun had fallen from the sky, he finally saw them.

It looked just as bad as it had seemed, with Will's expression nearing despair and Violet's breathing labored but still shallow. He could hear the fluid in her lower respiratory system when she breathed, and that wasn't even the worst of her problems. He approached slowly, his hands up so that he wouldn't alarm Will. The Lycan's stance was clearly defensive and fiercely protective as he sat by the rock, and if the doctor approached out of nowhere, there was a good chance that he would be attacked.

"Blaze, it's me," he called quietly. "It's Doctor Kavanagh."

His expression was urgent and serious, his eyes locked on Violet's still form as she lay there. He quickly went to her side and knelt, his gentle hands resting on her head, then her heart, and finally her stomach. He looked progressively grimmer at each place. A pale green glow surrounded his hands as he held them above her broken ribs, knowing better than to press down when they were so painful and so delicate.

"By all rights, she shouldn't be alive," he said quietly. "The pain must be tremendous. Broken ribs, damaged lungs, internal injury in her abdomen, contusions over 70% of her body, partially healed wounds (probably from some sort of blade), malnutrition, massive infection, and borderline hypothermia, not to mention a nasty cocktail of chemicals still lingering in her system. Quite frankly, I'm amazed she's still alive."

His hands brightened in their glow as he increased the healing speed, trying to stabilize her condition as well as he could, given the circumstances. The fluid in her lungs was something that he couldn't fully deal with just yet, but her occasional coughing gave him hope that she was getting it up, at least partially. He had fixed the puncture that was causing the fluid to build, but what was still there would need to be removed with equipment that he didn't have, out in the wilderness as they were.

"You'll have to excuse me, but you're going to have to wait for me to get to your injuries," he said, not looking up from his patient. "If I don't treat her now, she'll die. The Titans are on their way to transport us to safety, so I'll have the equipment to treat her more fully then."

With her ribs mostly on the mend, his hands migrated to her abdomen, resting softly on the spot for a scarce second as he got a better feel for he exact damage, a sad frown on his face as he recognized the signs. He'd dealt with too many of these types of injuries over the years, more commonly back when women were considered the plunder of war, but it still saddened and disgusted him that someone would do something like that to someone.

"By all rights..." he repeated softly.

[William Talbot]

He rested his head next to hers and murmured; "No... I won't leave you... You're never... Alone..." before she passed out and he then flooded her with his power, if only for a moment, before he felt a buzzing build in the back of his head, so he eased off a bit, and just held her, his eyes wary and glowing as the light faded to a low darkness, the stars and crescent moon high above them, casting a low glow on the ground.


"Hey Doc... Perfect timing..."
When the Doctor arrived, Will's shoulders sagged in relief and he simply leaned over against the rock and held Violet there, gently, as the Doctor went to work on her.

"She's strong Doc... Stronger than anyone will... Ever know..." he panted lightly, his eyes still glowing, dimmer than before, but still they held a fire in them. Even so, Will could barely keep his head up as the Doctor worked, a small laugh barely slipping past his chapped and bleeding lips; "Don't worry about me Doc, just take care of Violet... Please."


As he held her, and Doctor Kavanagh did what he could, Will cringed at the list of injuries, all of which he was well aware of, and yet...

It still enraged him.s


"By all rights... She should never have been in there..." Will muttered as he could feel the soft tingle of the Doctors power in Violet, the link suddenly opening, as if it was its own person or being, Will suddenly feeling Violet, tired, broken, spent, practically within himself. He could only hope she would draw strength from him, as he gently wrapped her up with his arms and mind, his own body and mind slowly ebbing into an exhausted state, the only lucid thought that was in his mind, flowing over the link into Violet: "I love you... Don't let go of me..."

And with that, Will slipped into a blissfully gray and painless state, where all that was, was himself, and Violet...

[Martin Christopher Taylor]

"I see..."

Martin stood in the middle of the main concourse, the central hub center as it where, of the whole complex, his suit impeccable, his expression thoughtful, and distant as the surviving Doctors and Technicians and Scientists stood there with the few guards that had been attached to them, their recounting and explanation of what had happened, having just finished.

"And who adjusted the settings of the inhibitor?" he asked calmly, his light blue eyes hidden behind the mild glare of his glasses, as he looked across the gathering, Lex Luthor just behind him.


"Doctor Ramey, sir." said a middle aged woman in a lab coat and glasses so thick it was mind boggling.


"I see." Martin said as he looked to the now one handed man, who was still rather shell shocked, and clearly bemoaning the loss of not only his hand, but two of the finest test subjects he'd ever seen.


Glancing at the guard next to him, Martin noted that his side arm was not properly secured, and with a single fluid motion, he deftly extracted the pistol from the nylon webbing, thumbed the safety off, and clicked the hammer back, and aimed at the lead doctor; "You're fired."

Before anyone could truly register what was going on, three loud gun shots sounded the report of death, and injury, as Doctor Ramey fell back, his head pummeled by two nine millimeter rounds, the guard now cursing and moaning, his foot all but ruined by the third as Martin dropped the clip from the gun and cleared the chamber, catching the stray bullet in mid air before he turned to Lex and glowered; "You need to either hire better people who aren't selfish, incompetent and sloppy, or you should re-think your maniacal tendency's and how you execute them... I haven't the time nor patience for the failures that you seem to enjoy having about in your schemes..."

He angrily shoved the weapon into another guards hand and fixed him with a pointed gaze; "Never leave your holster unbuttoned and a round in the chamber.. If I had been a subject and done that, I would have shot you second, your now gimped partner first and Lex third, BEFORE I got to the doctors..."

With that, Martin left, his own contingency plans now needed to be set into motion, and he would need to act swiftly to exploit what he could of the current situation...

[Violet Schultz]

The soft, salty breeze danced over the hillside, teasing her hair and tickling her cheek as she dug into the soft earth with gentle hands. The bulb had to be buried, gently placed upright with its green tip poking out of the dirt as it drank in the sunlight. In the fall, the pale lavender blooms would decorate the earth tones of their home, lighting the browns and creams with a blaze of color. Gentle hands that handled the plants with love were essential to their growth, and the soft smile on Violet’s face as she patted the earth over the last bulb grew as her mother’s hand rested on her shoulder. Standing, Violet wiped the dirt from her hands as she examined their work, imagining what beauty would be there because of the works that their hands had done.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, Violet’s own just a scarce couple of inches taller than her mother’s, but her long black hair swayed in sync with the wind, just like her mother’s. The warm sunlight was pleasant on her skin, even though she wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a deep blue cotton shirt, the heat could only feel good to her, making her feel incredibly alive, despite the bare chill of the wind. Her mother hugged her from the side, one hand pulling their waists together as they inspected the job.

“<It will be beautiful, Mom,>” Violet commented, her voice soft as always.

“<My baby, even if they never bloom, the beauty is less in the flowers than here,>” her mother replied in a like tone, turning to her and gently pulling Violet’s dirty hands to eye level. “<It’s in the work and love that went into them. It’s already beautiful.>”

Her mother pulled her into a hug, an embrace whose warmth had nothing to do with temperature. Violet smiled with contentment as she stood there on the hillside, held in her mother’s loving arms. Her grip tightened as she felt something wrong in the world, a flicker in reality that she could only barely detect. No… Not yet… On some level, she had always known it was a dream, but she wasn’t ready to face reality again just yet. Reality was pain.

“<I don’t want to leave, Mom,>” Violet murmured. “<Not now. It hurts back there.>”

“<No, Sweetie,>” her mother refuted softly, pulling away with a kind smile. “<Vi, it’s all over now. You’re safe. And there are many more works for you to do. No matter what happens, remember that it’s the love that counts, and remember how much I love you. Remember how proud of you I am.>”

Violet pulled her mother back in for one last embrace before her mother pulled back and gently pulled Violet’s face down so that she could kiss her daughter’s forehead before holding Violet’s hand out to someone behind her. Violet turned to see who it was and a small smile touched her lips again as she recognized him and allowed him to clasp her pale hand in his much larger and darker hand.

“Don’t let go of me,” he said. Violet tightened her grip.

Okay, maybe reality wasn’t so bad after all…

“Don’t worry. I’m not letting go,” she promised.