Part Two, Chapter Twelve: Custody

"What?" Charlie hissed from below her.

Fearing she might not be able to hold her much longer, Beatrice shakily teleported off of Charlie's shoulders.

"It's my brother." She repeated distantly.

"What? How? B—" Charlie said.

Beatrice's hands were shaking, and her heart was hammering in her chest. It felt too hot inside of her helmet, like she couldn't get enough air, so she pulled it off to try and catch her breath.

"B, are you okay?" Charlie said, placing a hand on her back. She didn't like Charlie touching her so carefully, as if she was something that needed to be handled easily so it didn't break.

Come on. Pull it together.

She closed her eyes and slid the helmet back on.

"No, it's okay Charlie. I'm okay." Beatrice said. She took a steadying breath, and turned on her radio. "Lin."

"B? B!" Linton's angry voice came through. "Where are you? You and Charlie just disappeared! I haven't been able to find you anywhere!"

"Lin there's a situation. You probably need to call for backup." Beatrice interrupted. "If you go to the other side of the warehouse, there's a door that leads to a room with a hatch. The hatch is already unlocked, and if you go down the ladder it leads into a hallway. We're in room 3671."

"What? B—"

"Lin, please hurry—" She snapped.

"I can hear someone coming down the hall!" Charlie said in a soft whisper.

"Lin, is it you?"

"No, but I'm on my way."

Beatrice could hear footsteps getting closer and closer, and cursed.

"Come on—"

She grabbed Charlie by the shoulder, and quickly teleported them into the other room. Charlie stumbled a bit, but quickly composed herself.

It was a large room, utilitarian, but almost messy in a way. Strange equipment seemed to just lay around without purpose, as if it had quickly been discarded.

TJ was in the center of the room. She could see him better now. He was closer.

It was nerve wracking to see him this close up, because he looked even worse than he did from the window. He looked more fragile, more lifeless. It was impossible to tell whether he was even alive. She didn't think she'd ever seen someone so pale who was still alive.

The fact that he might be dead made her dread approaching him. It sent a slimy chill down her spin, but she found herself walking forward anyway.

She laid a hand on the side of his neck, and felt the vein gently throb. She gasped, and pulled her hand back away. He was cold, and unconscious, but he was alive.

Beside him there was a small metal table, with a tray on top. Something familiar quickly caught her eye. A syringe, filled with a strange substance; neon green and gel- like in texture.

She surreptitiously pulled the long range teleporter from her belt, and stuck it inside. It zapped away in an instant.

She had asked for it to be programmed to transport items directly to Charlie's apartment. She had thought it would be useful if she ever had to be gone for more than a day at a time, so she could send Charlie letters.

It seemed like it was a good choice.

"Is he... alive?" Charlie startled her by coming up behind her.

"Uh!" She whipped around. "Yes. Well, I mean, he has a pulse—"

She heard muffled voices in the other room, and Charlie gave her a worried glance.

"We have to hide." She said.

She dashed over to a large container, and ducked behind it, pulling Charlie along with her. There was an electronic hum, and the door slid open. Beatrice could hear the sound of boots tapping against the concrete floor. She glanced over at Charlie, to see her face pale and her eyes wide and squeezed her hand for reassurance.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone in here." A man said tiredly.

"The motion sensor went off. There has to be someone here." Another said.

"Maybe it was some kind of animal?" the first one said.

"Unlikely. This stuff is pretty high tech."

"I don't see how they would get through without a keycard." Another person said.

"There are ways."

Four. Beatrice thought there were four of them, just going by her ears alone.

She heard footsteps, and she could suddenly see one of the men in the reflection of the container in front of her. He was wearing a guard uniform with body armor, and carrying a handgun. He stood authoritatively over TJ, and jostled him roughly by shaking his shoulder. His head rolled to the side, and his arm fell limply off of the bed, but he didn't stir.

"You don't think it could have been him?" The man said.

"No. Trust me. These guys aren't moving around anytime soon." Another man said. "I don't know what they give them, but you can do pretty much anything to these guys and they won't wake up."

"Keep looking around. Don't put your weapons down."

Shit. I have to get Charlie out of here right now.

She glanced back up at TJ.

But what about TJ... I can't just leave him here.

There's no way I can get them both out without these guys noticing.

Sorry TJ. I'm sorry I have to let you down one more time.

Her throat tightened and she squeezed Charlie's hand.

No. I have to at least try and save them both.

She took in a deep breath to concentrate, and snapped. In an instant, Charlie and her were back in the hallway. There was a clack of boots, and she saw Lin rushing over to them.

"B, what about your brother?!" Charlie said. "We have to go back!"

Linton looked over at her, his brow furrowed and his eyes wide.

"Your brother? What? What does she mean by tha—"

"Get Charlie out of here!" She interrupted him.

"No, B-" He tried to grab her wrist but she snatched it away.

"Get her out now!" She said. "There are men with guns in there, and I can't risk her getting hurt!"

"Beatrice."

She ignored him, and snapped again.

She reappeared in the room, right in the middle of the guards. They quickly drew their guns, and fired surprise, but she was quicker. She drew her force field around her, her arms spread defiantly apart. Their pullets felt like nothing compared to the explosion she had kept at bay a few months ago.

She easily held steady as they emptied clip after clip at her, clearly hoping she would be the first to give in.

As the bullets bounced and clattered all across the room, they decided to switch tactics.

"Get one of the chips. We've got to cut off her powers." One of the men shouted.

"Oh no you don't!" She yelled.

She quickly let the forcefield down, and slung her hand downward, bringing it into a tightly clenched fist. The glass containers around her, the small window, and even a few vials lining the shelves all shattered, and shards of glass sprayed through the air. The men shouted and covered their faces to try and block the shower.

One of them tried to take a shot at her, but she quickly pulled a canister from a nearby shelf, and sent it flying into his stomach.

The other men were beginning to regain their bearings, and tried to circle her.

She brought her arm down again.

The man in front of her was knocked off of his feet, and carried through the air, hitting the man next to him with a dull thud.

She turned to the next man, and did the same thing, sending him tumbling into the other men with even more force.

For good measure, she gave them one final shove. They slid across the glass covered floor, all the way to the far wall.

While they laid in a pile, struggling to regain their footing, she dashed over to TJ.

She took his cold hand gently and prepared to teleport.

I hope disconnecting him from all of these tubes doesn't do anything bad. She thought with a wince.

It's my only choice. I can't leave him here.

She squeezed his hand, and picked him up. She took a deep breath, and snapped.

They reappeared in a puff of smoke, just in front of the door, still in the same room. It was hard to catch her breath, and her arms and legs were shaking like they wanted to give out.

Dammit. I can't be fatigued already.

Come on. Come on. You're not this weak. You can make it to the outside of the building. There is no option except to succeed. There's no other choice.

There was more noise behind her, but she paid it no mind. She let her thoughts be clear, and she snapped again.

This time she hit the mark.

She reappeared on the sidewalk outside of the building. There were lights everywhere. Yelling.

The world spun around her as the edges of her vision grew dark and blurry.

Someone grabbed TJ from her arms. Someone else grabbed her shoulders.

"B! Are you hurt?" It was Charlie that had her shoulders, she now realized.

"No..." She rasped. "Just exhausted. Probably should learn to pace myself better when I fight."

Her vision cleared a little bit. She could see there were police cars and ambulances all around, and silhouettes dashing back and forth. Someone was walking towards her.

As they approached she could see it was Linton. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and there was an officer at his side.

"Lin?" She blinked.

"Put your hands behind your back." The officer said. "We have to take you into custody."