Chapter 15 : Kidnapping - Part 2

Author note : Hey guys ! I've just finished writing chapter 31 this morning and… It was surprisingly easy to write. Don't know why I find this story so easy to write… maybe because I identify myself pretty well with the MC ?

The thing is… I've been stretching myself and my brain power pretty thin these days. I keep having ideas about new stories, taking notes about it, writing a few chapters… in the meantime, the stories I'm currently posting don't really advance. Plus, I currently want to post 3 stories every week : Marvel the Author, Reborn as Lex Luthor and Splinter's tale, with the latter having the biggest chapters. I'm not sure how that'll go…

Anyways… come check out my Patréon if you want : https://www.patre*n.com/user?u=66371596

Or search for Cathbel on their search engine. Enjoy !

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As we're being hauled like potato bags on the shoulders of a couple of thugs, I want to smack myself in the head. Unfortunately, my hands are still bound, and I don't really know how they'll react if I'm too lively. They might beat me up for all I know ! I'd rather not have that.

The reason why I want to smack myself is… I know magic ! For a moment, I imagine the image of Keanu Reeves saying this line while lying in a computer chair… Anyways, what's the point of making myself sweat, weep and bleed to learn something if I don't use it in times of dire needs ? 'cause even with my hands bound, I can still use it. Not very well, and nothing truly powerful. But enough that I can free myself from my bindings. And once that is done…

Even now that I've come to the realization, I don't act. And I don't have a fucking clue why ! Am I frozen ? Afraid ? Stupid ? Okay, I have an answer for the latter : yes. Yes, I am ! That's probably why I'm still carted in a very uncomfortable position by these jerks. I should have sent them to the mirror dimension, already !

Maybe I don't act because of some Prime directive or Statute of Secrecy bullshit… Maybe I've watched and read so much shit throughout my former life that now, I'm being influenced unconsciously. Damn, that would take the cake ! Being prevented from acting because of a fictional common sense from a magic-less, fantasy-less world in the reality they invented. What a mind twister… I'm not sure my brain's even working properly as I think of this.

Okay, let's think back… I'm in Marvel. A fictional franchise where heroes battled villains, alien races, evil masterminds and mutants. This franchise existed in my former world, which didn't have magic or anything fantastic. A boring world where normal people invented exciting stories to pass the time and distract themselves from their monotonous everyday lives. And the ideas from the fictions of this world are influencing me in this fictional, though not so fictional anymore, world.

Nah… Probably not. The way I see it, it's probably some kind of spell acting on my psyche. Or, I'm just plain stupid. Could be either…

A few minutes later, we're dropped on the cold, hard floor and I wince in silence when I land painfully on my elbow. I really want to shout or cry out, right now… It's actually Cory who yells out instead.

« Shut it ! » I hear a voice yell followed by retreating footsteps.

Still with the bag on our heads, we have no idea what's happening, right now. Did they just leave us here without anyone to guard us ? Doubtful… Unless they're complete amateurs but their kidnapping technique is too elaborate for that to be the case. I don't hear him or her, but I'm sure there's still someone here. Perhaps even several people.

How many grabbed us ? I think they were four, not counting the driver. The back of that van was pretty crowded…

I can't hear them speak between themselves and they still haven't said anything to us. Then again, you don't exactly expect kidnappers to just chat with their victims. It probably happens but when you're a professional… Okay, I need to stop this train of thought. I have no idea of the psychological impact of kidnapping on the victim. For all I know, both the victim and the aggressor need a little social interaction, be it from a human standpoint, or a tactical one. It would help the victim to not despair, but also make him/her understand what his place was in this situation.

Despair, and on the opposite spectrum, boldness were two things that kidnappers didn't want a victim to exhibit. The first would push him or her to do stupid things and the other… well, that, too, but with the delusion that he or she might succeed.

I really should stop thinking all those things and just act… Hm ? Wouldn't that make me the bold and stupid one in this scenario ? Let's just wait until we figure out who the hell these guys are and what they want.

I hear shuffling not far from me. Is it Cory ? She stopped moaning in pain a while ago so now she's getting comfortable, maybe. Or, as comfortable as the situation allows anyway. She's the smart one of our trio so I doubt that she… Wait ! She can be reckless at times. Hopefully, she'll realize now's not one of the times where she can afford to be.

The shuffling intensifies and I feel cold sweat forming on my back.

« What are you doing ? » I whisper-shout through gritted teeth. I'm feeling annoyed both at her and the fact that I still can see shit. I'll need to find a spell - or make one - for these kinds of situations… Okay, scratch that ! Unless I plan on getting regularly kidnapped, that's useless. Maybe in a situation where I can use my sight for one reason or another ? I guess I'll think about it when I'm feeling bored and don't want to work on my more important projects.

« I'm trying to get… OUT !… Of these bindings. »

As she says that, the way she does and the noise she makes, it is obvious that she is struggling very hard to make it happen. She seems to settle down a second later, takes a deep breath and returns her own whisper-shout :

« You know… You could help by… I don't know ? Cast a spell ? Flex those invertebrate muscles of yours or something… »

« For some reason, I can't seem to be able to concentrate on any spells. As for flexing my muscles… » I pause when realization hits and say dumbly : «… Oh ! »

We were speaking about another one of Cory's masterpiece : a voice-activated ink-based spell to change my appearance back and forth between my human and alter-human form. She worked on it based on the crazy idea that I might want to play the hero act someday… A henshin, or rather a transformation inspired by those sentai and magical girl tv shows. Except without the silly poses, the backgrounds and the music.

And she is right… as a human-cephalode hybrid, I can probably get out of those bindings pretty easily. I won't even need to use magic. At least, nothing flashy. It is the simple and smart choice so… I wonder why I can't even think of it ? That being said… I'm not sure where our watchers are and if they're glancing in our direction. Based on the fact that Cory's still moving pretty wildly and nobody said a thing, I guess they're not.

This raises my doubt about their professionalism… Are they, or are they not competent ? Perhaps, only the team that grabbed us were, and they dropped us off at another, less competent team ? I guess that's a possibility.

I rub my bag-covered face on the ground in an attempt to get if off… No success. I guess they tied the opening around our neck to prevent something like this. I try to use the light in the room to peer through the cloth bag… That, too, doesn't work too well. There's not much light in the room.

I sigh in defeat. Cory doesn't know the kinds of threat facing the 'mutants' of this world, so she spoke without knowing. Otherwise, I doubt she would have asked for such a thing… Unless she actually doesn't care about me ; I don't think she doesn't however. If anyone were to see me in my hybrid form, and more importantly, realize who it is behind it, my most guarded secret would be out.

Granted, I'm crap with secrets as it has already been established, but there's only Cory and Doreen who know… pretty much everything there is to know about me. Well… There's actually one secret that I've managed to keep until now : my reincarnation. Don't really know why. It baffles me !

If Cory knew about the Weapon-X program, the Hellfire club, Sublime, the sentinel program… And that's not even mentioning how 'mutants' are viewed in our society. At best, we're ticking-time bombs and at worst, freaks of nature and terrorists. I'm getting quickly depressed remembering this and recalling the first few months of my transition. I'd rather get back to my sewer that getting outed…

That said… Let's cross our fingers and just get on with it !