Chapter 11

I struggled against the ropes, glaring at them all. 

How the hell did Heathen even end up here? I asked as much, and nobody answered for a while. They just glanced between Genocide on one end to Aella on the other end. 

I felt a calming wind surround me, brushing against my suit. "Stop it," I snapped at her. She had the audacity to look hurt, but she stopped. "Just answer my question or do whatever it is you still have me for."

"Cam," Aella sighed. 

"Don't you dare," I warned her. "I don't want anything from you. I will only talk to Mime, which just goes to show you how pissed I am at you right now."

She backed down, and Mime laughed. I winced. Just because I'll listen to her doesn't mean I'll like it. "Poor little Cammie, first her team dies, the little Jack in the Box goes kooky, then, Aella here realises what's really going on and joins us!" My heart stopped,

"What?" I exhaled. Then I got angry. Oh how I missed the familiar anger. "What the hell do you mean, 'joins us'?"

Mime giggled again, and Heathen barked out a rough "Enough!" She went quiet. I looked closer at him, noticing freeze burns along his side, mixed with a few regular burns. I squinted. Was that a hospital bracelet?

"How did you get out?" I asked him. My voice was steady, a complete 180 degrees from just a few minutes ago. He just sneered at me. I then noticed most of their masks were pulled back, revealing their real faces. 

"Why are your masks down," I stated, more than asked. "What's going on here."

Aella smiled tightly and tried to speak again, but this time Genocide stopped her. The only one still masked. "Shut him up," he said, turning away from me and walking towards a door. Through the gap he left I saw the walls were concrete, and there was a slight drip somewhere in the room. It was cold, and there were two bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

"With pleasure," Heathen growled. He advanced on me and pulled out a small towel from seemingly nowhere. Mime, still standing too close for comfort, pulled out duct tape and ripped a strip off, grinning at me wickedly. 

Why don't I ever try to control my anger?

. . . 

Somewhere across the city, Ditto was freaking out. "Where is she?" She screamed at Waya. 

"Ditto please," he sounded close to tears, but Cole didn't care. Nessa was missing. It had been a couple hours since they had gotten back. Geronimo patched up all the cuts and bruised and pulled muscles. Jay's wing was fractured, from her fall with Peculiar into Rellik. A Rellik who was not too happy to have been fallen on top of. 

"Don't, Waya." Cole spit out sharply. "How the hell do you lose an entire person?"

"Hey, calm down a bit Ditto," Houdini finally spoke up. She had been there standing behind Waya since they got back, her expression blank, a few tears falling down her cheeks. "We just saw someone who is supposed to be dead kidnap our friend with the person we believed had killed her."

"What?" Ang choked out. "Aella is alive? And she's with the villains now?"

"No way," Artisto muttered. "That's not possible. You said she fell into the river after Mime froze her. Chameleon said there was no-" He cut himself off. "No body," he muttered.

Waya sagged into Houdini, unable to process the fact that his girlfriend came back from the dead to kidnap Cammie. Cole felt herself breaking, frustrated that she couldn't do anything. Being one of the newest members, she was ordered back along with Ang, Rellik, Artisto, Arctic, Nova, Rebel, Aerglo, Mayhem, Oracle and Mazus. There was another fire downtown, which now that Cole thought about it, seemed very coincidental. Ang, Nova, Rebel, Arctic and Oracle went to deal with that, and the five 'newbies' were left at the cave to see if anything else would come up. 

"What are we going to do," she said, trying not to let the panic she was feeling seep into her voice. "What's the plan. How do we get her back."

Geronimo shook her head. "Cole," her voice wavered. "I've been part of this team for three years, almost four now. We've never found where they hide out. The only one of us who would know now is Aella," her voice broke when she said her old friend's name. If Mo has been on this team for three years, and she was only a senior in high school, that means she was just thirteen when she was recruited. 

Cole sat down. Hard. She didn't notice the tears dripping down her face. Nova came and sat next to her, wrapping her arm around Cole's shaking shoulders. Chelsea, Cole remembered now. Nova's name is Chelsea. She's a sweet girl, was just inducted before Jay, Quinn and Pluto. 

Cole didn't know what to think. Nessa was out there all by herself, in who knows what kind of condition, face to face with the villain who killed her best friend who also happened to be alive. When did this become the simple part of her life.

"Ditto's right," Legion spoke up. "We need to get her back. Right now."

Houdini turned on him. "How do you suppose we do that, huh? We don't know where they are, we never do! Not to mention our leader is barely holding himself together after seeing his dead girlfriend on the opposite side of the war from him!" 

Legion's jaw locked, and his eyes turned to iron. "I know that. But Cammie is my best friend. After Matt," he trailed off then continued again, slightly quieter. "After Matt, Cammie was the one who helped me. She'd told me things none of you know. Her entire team was killed by Mime and Genocide and the one member she was able to save was immediately captured by Peculiar, going insane; have you forgotten? You really think she'll last long?" His chest was heaving up and down, his face slightly red from his rant.

Everyone was silent. Slowly, Waya straightened his spine. All Cole could hear was hard breathing and her own heartbeat in her ears. "You're right," Waya spoke finally, his voice barely a whisper. "We need her back. Ditto," he said, turning to face her. "In the meantime, you need to be Chameleon. Can you do that?"

Cole nodded. She'd do anything they asked her as long as she got to come rescue her.

"Absolutely not."

"What?" Cole asked.

"None of you are coming on the mission to rescue Cammie. Seniors only." Houdini said, looking Cole directly in the eyes.

Rage built up inside of her. "Do you think," she spat, "that maybe, you're failing because you don't have the full force of the Agency behind you? I can do things none of you can. I can imitate your powers. I can access your memories. I can help. Let me save her, please." Cole was sobbing by the end of her rant, her words coming out in shouts. 

Chelsea squeezed her shoulder and pulled her back down onto the couch. Cole hadn't even realised she had stood up in her anger. She went numb, and collapsed into Chelsea. They had better get Nessa back soon. They needed her.

Cole rocked back and forth, letting out her tears and frustration, thinking of blue eyes and light skin, the first face she saw on Nessa. Then she thought her regular face. Brown eyes and curly black hair, dark as night skin. She couldn't decided which was more beautiful. She wondered what the real Nessa looked like. Even Cole had made some alterations to her natural form.

She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and prayed for the first time since becoming a superhero. She prayed they could bring Nessa home in one piece.

. . . 

A waterfall of freezing cold water woke me up.

I tried not to chatter my teeth, knowing how much Mime enjoyed seeing me in any kind of pain. Sadist. I shook my head, now bare. They had done something to this room, something that dampens my shapeshifting powers. I know it dampened their powers too, and I heard Heathen muttering about it. My guess was that they programmed it specifically for types of powers, not a person, because I still had my healing. I couldn't use it though. They had to believe I was powerless.

 Just until I figured out a plan to get out of here. Wherever here was. 

As far as I could tell, we were in a basement. There really wasn't much else to say about the room. Two bare light bulbs, my chair in the middle of the room, concrete square. Aella visited me regularly, bringing me meals and sighing loudly. I knew what game she was playing. 

I don't think I ever wanted to talk to her again.

I opened my eyes to see Genocide standing in front of me with an empty bucket. Wonder where the water went? "Morning sunshine," I said brightly. Genocide offered nothing. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my suit now thoroughly soaked. I probably smelled disgusting. I had lost count of how long I had been in here. They were leaving me in solitary confinement, hoping to drive me mad. With my healing powers I don't even think Peculiar's kiss could make me go insane. 

Speak of the devil and she shall appear: Peculiar walked into the room, followed closely by the others. Huh. I haven't had them all gathered in my room since the first time I woke up. This doesn't bode well for me. 

"Are we sure about this," Mime asked, glancing around the room. If even Mime wasn't sure I didn't want to think about what might happen to me.

Aella jerked her head in a tight nod, and that was all the others needed. Heathen came behind me and held my head, making sure I couldn't move it. "What's going on, what are you doing?" I asked, very much panicked. I tried to whip my head from side to side but it wouldn't move an inch. As Peculiar walked forward my eyes widened in panic. No, I thought, I don't want to find out what happens to my mind when it really breaks. 

I tried to move my head again, but it was too late. Peculiar's lips were on mine, and I felt something shatter inside me.

Splash, no more Chameleon.