1.3

Content warnings: depictions of a tortured prisoner(detail below; skip if you prefer surprises)

• A prisoner is shown hanging upside down with electrical shocks through his body.

~.~

As soon as Haku disappeared, Morgan stormed over to the spot where the immortal had been and kicked the wall, as if that would do anything. Joshua was clearly furious, too, but he was more productive with his anger.

“You,” he seethed, storming over to Ilia. “You knew.” Ilia shrank a little under the tall bird man’s gaze. He only had an inch on her, but his wings were very large and very intimidating.

“I guessed,” Ilia corrected him. “It wouldn’t be the first time that bastard fucked me over, so I had a feeling something was going on.” The word “bastard” felt unfamiliar on her tongue, but as she said it, Ilia realized just how angry she was at Haku.

After all, the immortal had frozen her in time for fifty years without her consent.

“In any case,” Ilia said coldly. “We need to keep moving. The guards are bound to come up here eventually, since this seems to be their locker room.”

“No! You know what? No!” Morgan snapped. “Why should we keep going? The stupid immortal bastard can’t report us to the Soul Stealers if they’re still a prisoner, so I see no reason to keep going with this charade.”

“We have no way out,” Juli pointed out, plopping down on one of the benches in the room.

“They’re right,” Ilia said smoothly. “My teleportation won’t work here.”

“What? Why not?” Rae’s eyes were narrowed in suspicion as xe looked at Ilia. Ilia sighed. Somehow, she hadn’t even said that much around these people, and she’d already ended up in their bad graces.

Another thing she could blame on Haku.

“Something is blocking my powers,” Ilia said with a frown. To prove her point, Ilia waved a hand, calling upon her aura, but she was barely able to summon even the smallest of royal blue sparks to her fingertips.

“My powers are working just fine!” Peter offered. Ilia turned to Peter and noticed, with chagrin, that he had at some point picked the locks on all of the lockers. He seemed to be in the middle of switching around the lockers’ contents.

“No one asked you, Peter,” Dani shot back. She materialized a small, cube-shaped barrier in her hand, then dispelled the barrier with another gesture. “But mine are working, too. So, why aren’t yours?”

Ilia bit her lip. “I… hm. This is a long explanation that we don’t have time for.” Joshua slammed one hand against the locker behind Ilia, eliciting a squeak from her.

“Start. Talking.”

“Okay!” Ilia cried. “Fine!” She took a shaky breath. “My powers—they come from the same place the Ennead’s powers come from. I’m not immortal, but since our powers come from the same place, whatever’s blocking their powers is interfering with mine, too.”

This, too, was technically a lie; her other powers were working just fine. For some reason, it was only teleportation that was affected. Karyme raised an eyebrow, and for a second, Ilia thought she was going to have to explain further—but then Karyme looked away.

“Look. Whatever’s blocking my powers—I can’t get through it,” Ilia continued. “But if we rescue at least one member of the Ennead, they’ll know how to fix that, and then we can leave.”

Joshua took a step back, still glaring at Ilia. “Fine. Lead the way.”

Ilia let out a breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding, and she did her best to shake off the suspicious looks from the others as she walked through the only door in the room, which led out to a stairwell. As Ilia descended, her feet clanging against the metal stairs, she was hit by a wave of heat.

“Mannn, it’s hot in here,” Lian complained from somewhere above Ilia. Karyme’s voice rang in Ilia’s head.

We should probably stick to telepathy for now. You know, for stealth’s sake.

Oh, okay! Lian replied. It’s still hot in here, though.

For you, maybe, Juli shot back. They paused, as if in contemplation. What should we do about security cameras?

Shoot them? Dani suggested.

Great, Rae said wryly. So the guards will know for sure that we’re here.

“I think that ship has sailed,” Ilia mumbled, mostly to herself. Then, telepathically: I can make us invisible, but you’ll have to stay close to me.

Oh, that’s great! Lian replied, grinning. Ilia thought she vaguely heard an electronic ding in her head, courtesy of Lian, but she had no idea what Lian was trying to convey.

Ilia closed her eyes and took a deep breath—in through her nose, out through her mouth. As she focused on the image of a royal blue flame, sparks of royal blue appeared at her fingertips, and with a wave of her hand, the group was hidden from view.

We can still see each other, Ilia explained. But no one can see us. You’ll have to take my word for it.

Cool, Lian whispered.

The group traversed the rest of the stairway in silence. The heat only grew more intense as they walked, and Ilia felt more than a little thirsty by the time she reached the end of the stairs. The door at the bottom led out into a hallway that extended some distance to the right and left before curving around on both sides. A glowing turquoise stripe ran horizontally across the walls. As Ilia looked up, she was startled to find that there was no discernible ceiling.

Which way? Rae asked, turning to Karyme. The archivist shrugged.

From what I can see, there are… a lot of life signatures in this room. Karyme replied. The weakest life force is right in front of us, though.

Left, then, Joshua said through gritted teeth. Dani. Shield us as we move. Dani did not seem thrilled to be taking orders from Joshua, but she obeyed. She held out a hand, and a sage green barrier of light encased the group, following their movements as they walked.

Ilia took care to tiptoe as the group moved down the tiled hallway. At the next intersection, though, she couldn’t help but gasp. The hallway continued around in what appeared to be a circle, but that was of little interest to Ilia compared to the chasm to her right. A bridge extended out from their position—one of four similar bridges arranged in an X over the gaping chasm. Each bridge had a single watchtower positioned over its center, though it seemed easy to walk directly under the arched structure. In the center of the X was a single platform.

Ilia knew without looking that Felix was being held there. She could feel it.

The platform in the center is where we need to go, Ilia said quietly. No one questioned how she knew this, and Ilia decided to count her blessings on that one. She led the way across the bridge. As soon as they were halfway across—standing right under the watchtower—Karyme chimed in.

The watchtower contains a mechanism for disabling the biometric lock. Someone will have to go up there. There’s a ladder to our right.

I’ll go! Peter said cheerfully, raising his hand.

I’m going with, Dani said immediately. I don’t trust you.

Okay! Peter said without skipping a beat. He shot Dani a shit-eating grin, and Dani looked like she was suppressing the urge to punch him.

The pair skittered up the ladder. As the group waited for Dani and Peter to return, there was a rumbling from the very walls themselves, and the whole floor started to move first up and then downwards, as if they were all standing in a giant elevator. Ilia almost fell over.

A few seconds later, a litany of screams echoed from the top of the tower, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground.

I hope they’re okay up there, Lian said solemnly.

They’re fine, Karyme replied. Um. Hm. Does Peter always force his victims to eat mustard…?

A couple of minutes passed, and Ilia felt a headache building between her eyes. She really wasn’t in the proper condition to be using her powers for this long without a break, but the alternative—walking around without invisibility—was too dangerous to consider. No sooner had the thought crossed Ilia’s mind than Peter and Dani were sliding back down the ladder.

Lock disengaged! Peter informed them.

Great, Joshua said thinly. Let’s move.

The journey to the center was seamless after that. The center platform was thin and flat, with only a single metal hatch in the center. A broken padlock hung off of the hatch—Ilia guessed this was the biometric lock that Peter had disengaged. Which meant…

It was time to rescue her ice skating coach.

~.~

Karyme wiped the sweat from her brow. It really was hot in here—she’d slipped off her cardigan ages ago, but she was still sweating. Joshua swung the hatch open with ease, and Karyme stared into the inky darkness with a grimace. There was no ladder leading downward: only a ten foot drop into a small, cramped space. It was too small for anyone to even consider jumping in.

A small amount of light filtered into the space through the open hatch, revealing the crumpled form of a teenage boy. His ankles were chained to the ceiling and his wrists chained to the floor, so that he was hanging upside down, and he appeared to be just barely conscious. Every time he so much as moved, the shackles sent a shock through his body.

Holy shit, Juli breathed. Ohhh, this is… holy shit.

Karyme swallowed and turned away as Juli began to melt the chains. Her stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of what this boy—no, no this immortal—had been through. It wasn’t like she had to imagine it—she’d seen it in her dreams, the way the guards here had tortured the prisoners to near-death—but to see the consequences in real life was something different altogether.

Aha! Juli said as the last shackle melted. Got it!

As soon as the last shackle was off, there was a blinding flash of turquoise light, and a wave of pure cold emanated outwards from the prison cell. For a second, it was so frigid that Karyme couldn’t breathe. When the light faded, a thin layer of ice covered everything: floor, walls, watchtowers, bridges. The prisoner was levitating a few inches off of the ground, a turquoise glow wreathing his form, and when he opened his eyes, they were masked over by that same turquoise light.

“Ohhh, I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” the boy said with a grin.

“Show off,” Ilia grumbled.

“Awww, Ilia, don’t be like that,” the boy pouted. The glow faded from his eyes, and he landed softly. As soon as he hit the ground, he stumbled. “Ah, shit, my legs are not used to walking.” Karyme reached out a hand to steady the immortal, then almost pulled back as she realized how cold he was.

“Thanks,” the boy said, nodding. “My name’s Felix, by the way.” He rotated his wrists in circles, then rolled his neck. “Phew! It was not comfortable in there.”

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t punch you here and now,” Ilia said flatly.

“Jeez! I’m not the one you should be mad at,” Felix said, raising his hands defensively. His voice cracked from disuse. “Haku’s the one who did you dirty—and they made that decision all on their own.”

“Should we really be standing here having this conversation?” Rae said wryly, gesturing towards the watchtowers.

"Oh, that?” Felix waved a hand dismissively. “I wouldn’t worry too hard. The guards are all frozen solid, so they can’t hurt us here.” Ilia breathed a sigh of relief and dispelled the cloak of invisibility around the group.

“Wait, wait, wait, what about the security cameras?” Rae interjected.

“Oh, stealth is a moot point,” Felix said with a shrug. “The Necromancer already knows you’re here.”

“He what?” Morgan roared. “And no one thought to tell us this?”

As Morgan spoke, a rumbling sound echoed throughout the prison, and a sense of vertigo hit Karyme as the room started to move downwards once again. Felix seemed unfazed.

“Look,” he said calmly. His eyes glinted a dangerous turquoise. “I’m happy to get into a shouting match with you, but I’d rather not do that here or now, because I’ve been in captivity for fifty years and I’m just a teeny bit pissed off.”

Felix turned away from the group, and Karyme took the time to read some of the small boxes that had popped up in her vision as she looked at Felix. Most of them listed useless facts about Felix, but a few told her details about his ice powers, his tenuous emotional state, his… kill count. Oh.

Morgan took a step forward, ready to start a fight with Felix, but Karyme stepped in her path.

Not here, Karyme said telepathically. Don’t pick a fight that you can’t win.

Who said I was going to lose? Morgan shot back. Karyme licked her lips nervously. She didn’t see a way to get through to Morgan. Luckily, Felix interjected.

“I know that some of you want to leave, and that’s fine,” he said, “but unfortunately, I can’t actually get you out of here.” Felix looked over his shoulder. “The machine that’s blocking my teleportation power is on the bottom floor. So! You’re stuck here until we reach the bottom.”

“Great,” Joshua muttered.

“Isn’t it?” Peter said with a grin. “Now we get to see how an immortal fights!” Joshua gave Peter a disgusted look.

“Enough yelling,” Felix sighed. “Let’s move.”

Felix took the lead as the group proceeded across the nearest bridge and then down the hallway to another stairwell. Karyme found herself struggling not to slip on the ice as she walked, and a brief look around told her she wasn’t the only one—in fact, Peter and Joshua seemed to be the only ones who weren’t struggling aside from Juli, who just melted the ice as they walked.

Karyme followed Felix down the staircase with trepidation. It felt weird to be prancing around the prison without any invisibility or shields to protect them, and though Karyme’s power told her there were no dangers in the stairwell, that did little to calm her nerves.

As Karyme exited the stairwell, she shuddered at the atmosphere of this new room. It was set up like a locker room, with lockers lining two of the four walls and a row of benches in the middle of the room, but something about the room gave her the creeps. Maybe it was the barometers everywhere, or the rust on the lockers, or the dried bloodstain on the floor. There was a label over the only exit to the room: Pressure Exchange Chamber.

“Huh,” Felix said nonchalantly. “I didn’t know there was a room like this in here.” He turned to look at one of the barometers. “Oh. Hm. The air pressure in there—” He pointed to the exit door. “It’s near zero. Definitely below what humans need to breathe.”

Karyme opened one of the lockers. “I think this might help?” She pulled a space suit out of the locker. It was bulky—heavier than she expected, thanks to the oxygen tank on the back.

Joshua groaned. “I can’t wear one of those.”

“What, too worried how it’ll make your hair look?” Morgan snarked.

“No, asshole,” Joshua snarled. “I’m worried about my fucking wings, which would never fit in a suit like that!”

“Well, we can’t leave you here alone,” Felix said, stroking his chin in thought. “Who wants to stay behind?” Karyme exchanged looks with Rae. Neither of them were much use in a fight, so maybe—

“I’ll stay,” Morgan muttered. “Can’t shoot a gun in a space suit.”

Karyme pinched the bridge of her nose. This is going to go well. She stepped into the spacesuit and started pulling it on. In fact, everyone started to suit up except for Felix. Rae raised an eyebrow.

“What, too good for spacesuits?” xe asked.

“No,” Felix replied, shaking his head. “I just think I’ll fight better without one. And unlike the rest of you, my body can survive in low air pressure for a while, so I should be fine.” He tapped his chin in thought. “What was it Jinal always said…? Oh yeah!” A grin crossed Felix’s face. “I can be hypoxic for a bit with no problem!” Karyme frowned.

Just because you could push your limits didn’t mean you should, but she wasn’t going to argue with an immortal about that.

“All right,” Lian said cheerfully, donning their own spacesuit. “Angry Pigeon, Trigger Happy—make sure you get along, okay? Please don’t kill each other while we’re gone. I do not have the strength to carry a body.” If anyone other than Lian had said that, Karyme had a feeling they would have gotten a bullet through the forehead, courtesy of Morgan. As it was, Morgan simply continued to glare at Lian.

Once everyone else had suited up, Felix placed a hand on the door handle. “We’ll just be a bit, k?” he said, turning to Joshua and Morgan. “Don’t go anywhere while we’re out!”

“There’s nowhere to go,” Morgan grumbled.

“Exactly!” Felix gave the pair a sunny smile, and then he led the rest of the group out of the pressure exchange chamber, leaving Morgan and Joshua to stew in their thoughts.

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