Chapter 6

Thomas woke in darkness, hands bound, eyes covered. He stiffened as his memories came flooding back, a mosaic of screams and pain and stone that flowed like water, of fear, so much fear. He reached for his power, desperately seeking to split reality once more, only to find- nothing. Nothing!

"I wanted to thank you."

The girl's voice cleared the panic from his mind, a whisper that calmed a hurricane. Fear would not help him, and what was stolen could likely be returned. Everyone had something they wanted, needed, he just had to survive long enough to discover it.

Thomas was good at surviving.

"You taught me something important, Thomas," the voice continued. Thomas remained silent, without the safety of a second timeline he did not dare provoke the wrong response. "I killed your men, when I took you." A hand pulled at the cloth on his face, and it fell away. The girl sat cross-legged in front of him, young yet weary, with eyes like ice chips. "I didn't mean to. I didn't even wantto, despite them coming very close to hurting me with those annoying little lasers." She ran a finger down his face, and Thomas couldn't repress a shiver. The girl gave him a cold smile, "They were just... there. Inconvenient, like gnats on a warm day. So I swatted them." she shrugged, "I didn't even realize it until much later."

Thomas swallowed dryly, as the icy touch of fear crept up his spine. He had always avoided the more deranged members of cape society. They were always far more trouble than they were worth, so he preferred to remove them rather than deal with them.

He was greatly regretting that lack of experience at the moment.

"I don't think I was like that- you know, before." the girl waved her hand idly, the meaning of the gesture lost on Thomas. She jerked her head down to meet his eyes, the movement making Thomas flinch, "I think I can understand now, how you could be the way you are. I'm sure you were an awful person before," that word again, what- "But you had your own little realm didn't you? Every time you used your power, you got to play God." She leaned in, her nose nearly touching his own, "It's so hard to see people as people, after all, when your power lets you toy with them so easily." She straightened, her eyes leaving his, to gaze at some point in the distance.

Only now did Thomas take in his surroundings, a dusty warehouse, long abandoned, filled with broken crates and rot. He could see the stars through a hole in the ceiling. Hope bloomed within him. He was above ground, likely still within the city. All he had to do was wait.

The girl broke out of her reverie, and patted Thomas gently on the cheek, "Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you, for showing me what I might become."

Thomas hadn't the slightest clue what she was talking about, but now was as good a time as any to start bargaining, "You are quite welcome," he rasped, his throat still hoarse from screaming, "Now, perhaps we should talk about what it is you want? I'm prepared to offer a generous amount of money for my release, and the return of my powers."

"Return of your powers?" the girl smirked, sending chills down Thomas' back.

"Yes... I seem to be missing them, and I would very much like them back." calm, in control, Thomas struggled to maintain his illusion, "Naturally I would pay you for your time."

The girl snorted in amusement, "You know, I wasn't actually sure if I could remove powers. It was something I suspected, but not exactly easy to experiment with."

"I can imagine it would be difficult to find willing subjects for such a thing." Thomas allowed, his pit of fear growing ever deeper.

"I could always sense them, of course." she tapped his forehead, "That thing latched on to your brain is just a big battery, after all. Energy transferred through dimensions is still energy, and it shines like a spotlight."

"Naturally." Thomas agreed amicably, having not the vaguest idea of what he was agreeing with.

"And I couldn't just grab some random cape and tug on his power, because that might draw attention. But you," she poked Thomas in the belly, "You, you silly little man, your powers came from a bottle."

His eyes widened in fear, his calm facade swept aside by a storm of panic, "You're with Cau-"

Her hand clamped over his mouth, "Now now, we wouldn't want to call her here would we?" She looked down at him, her voice a low hiss, "No, secrets exist for a reason Thomas, and you'll keep them if you want to survive this."

He nodded frantically under her hand.

"Good." she slowly removed her hand, "As I was saying, your power was disconnected, just the blended fragments of a dead god. So I unplugged it." she shrugged, "The portal snapped closed afterwards, and since I didn't die in golden fire, I assume it's gone for good."

"Gone?" his voice was shaky, his mouth dry, his mind spinning.

"Gone." the girl nodded happily.

Numb. That was the word that best described Thomas. He had fallen well past panic, deep into the realm of emotions that humans simply could not process. Without his powers, his safety, what was he? Not Coil, surely, not the villain who always won, who was always a step ahead of his competition.

Thomas wept as his kingdom died in its womb, as his life's work turned to ashes.

All that remained was survival. And vengeance. His remaining mercenaries would be here soon, his abduction contingencies should have long since activated. All it would take is time.

"I have money," he managed to gasp out, "I will pay you ten million dollars if you release me. I will not come after you, I know when I am outmatched, and I swear to you, you will never see me again."

The girl cackled, a shrill sound that conveyed a lifetime's worth of amusement. "You- you won't-" she held her belly as she laughed, "Oh, Thomas, you must think I was born yesterday." She prodded his waist, "A tracker in your hip," his left foot, "A miniature radio in your heel," his neck, "And, unless I'm very mistaken, you had a biotinker stick some sort of pheromone in your sweat glands. Activated by stress or fear maybe? These are not the precautions of a forgiving man." she wrapped a hand around his throat, forcing him flat on the ground, "And if you are trying to buy time, rather than your life, well... take my word for it, nobody is coming for you."

The fog began to clear from Thomas' head, his senses slowly restoring themselves to full function. His hip throbbed, a deep pain, that he was only just now able to separate from the rest of his battered body. He pressed down on his heel, and winced as hot fire raced up his leg. No!

"Please," he begged, actually begged, a plea for life, "I can give you anything, just free me! Please!"

"You don't have to give me anything, Thomas, because I'm going to take everything. All that you've spent your misbegotten life accumulating, I'll snatch it up and make it mine." The girl smiled, genuine and carefree, "And I won't even feel bad about it when I do. This might sound hypocritical, but... you're not a person to me, you understand? People don't do the kinds of things you've done. You're just... a vault; an inconvenient, inanimate object, guarding material goods. I suppose the only difference is, you can be leveraged by pain."

Thomas surged forward, desperately clawing at her, but a wave of concrete ripped him back towards the ground. The girl smiled, and spoke softly, gently, "But don't worry. I think my friend would be disappointed in me, if I did it that way. I think the me from before, would be disappointed as well. So, we're gonna have a chat, with a mutual friend." Thomas thrashed as the cement bound his hands, screamed as he sunk into the earth, "She'll be here eventually," the concrete formed a bit, leveraging his jaw open, preventing him from biting into his tongue and ending this madness, "You just sit tight, Thomas, and relax."

He sank into the floor of the warehouse, the liquid dragging him deep into the ground. He struggled futilely against his bonds, the girl's last words echoing in his ears as the gaps closed above him.

"This will all be over soon."