#fusion will

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Everything hurt. Everything. From the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, every damn thing on her body hurt.

And that wasn't going to change, was it? Because the man in front of her would make damn sure of that. Breaker, with his spiky hair and evil smile, looked her up and down as he stood at the table, handling- oh god, was that a knife?

No no no. She could deal with bruises, even a broken bone- but, knives. Knives and needles, like that on the syringe in that little metal tray on the table. There were a thousand things that could be in it, and that alone made her want to cry.

But she couldn't, because he'd turned the camera on a few minutes ago. Turning his back on her with a cruel smile, he continued his monologue to the blinking light, broadcasting to thousands of civilians in the city. "And here we are about to begin part two, for your viewing entertainment!" he announced, twirling the knife on his finger with a flourish. "We've seen how your little mirror withstands brute force, but~ how about something a little more penetrating?"

And suddenly there was a whole new fear to worry about. Dinah clenched her legs unconsciously, fighting to keep a calm face. Surely they wouldn't allow him to . . . not on live television. No way. No way the Cowls would just let that by, let Breaker destroy their reputation like that.

Unless. Unless they killed him just afterward, and her as well. They'd done things like that before, to show that they didn't approve of that Cowl's way of doing things. It was a warning- "do things our way, or suffer the consequences."

Ohgod. It was a possibility. And as Breaker turned back to her with the scalpel, she tried to brace herself for anything. The low-grade electric current humming at the base of her spine and near her neck prevented her from using her abilities, as did the drug he'd pumped her full of. It made focusing enough to use her powers impossible. With straps this tight, she couldn't even move.

"You know, dear, things would be much easier for you if you just complied." She was learning to hate that smile of his, especially as it came within inches of her face. His breath stank of old fast food. "Just take this off-" he laid the knife, cold against her skin, on the border between her mask and face, "and you can be one of us. No more of his Cape nonsense. Just a little training and you'll be on our side." He straightened up, as proud of himself as though he were some friendly recruitment officer surveying a promising candidate. "What do you say?"

She mustered up some spit in her mouth- it seemed dry, except for the trickle of coppery blood from where he'd mashed the inside of her cheek against her teeth earlier. She had a feeling that a tooth or two might be loose. Goddammit. "You know the answer, Breaker," she said, forcing as much strength and serenity into her face and voice as she could. "It will always be no." Nothing angered a man like him, a man who took pride in destroying others, more than that. Something strong. Unbreakable. She had to be that, for the children watching. They hadn't gone into this, hadn't begun this entire thing, without understanding what they wanted to achieve, and what that would cost.

If this changed anything . . . if even a single person's life was changed for the better because of this . . . it was worth it. That was their mantra. That's what they had decided, to be prepared to sacrifice everything.

And, just as she had predicted, her calm expression made him furious. Another punch to the stomach drove all the air from her lungs, leaving her gasping- but she didn't cry out. She had hardly made noise this entire time, and Breaker obviously couldn't deal with that. He grabbed her head and yanked it up by the hair, gesturing with the knife. "If you won't take this off, little mirror, then I will break you and take it off myself," he snarled.

No sooner had the sharp, cool tip of the knife nicked her skin than something threw Breaker across the room. Through her hair, Dinah spotted a familiar expanse of light-blue cloth, and smiled. Muse didn't get angry often, but watching the results was often pretty fun.

A flash of black and red went by her other side, and Duel's tattoo-vine-things picked Breaker up and slammed him into the wall. Repeatedly. Unlike Muse, he wasn't one to hold back his aggression. "Duel, you're shaking the camera," she teased, alarmed to find her voices suddenly so weak. Then again, repeated punches to the gut did that after a while.

There was a brief, hot glow as the straps holding her to the chair-table-thing disintegrated, along with the electric bits on her back, and another pair of hands grabbed her as she fell. Judging from the little sparkly bits sticking out from under those gloves, Dinah guessed that Sheath had chosen diamond to punch her way through one of the safety doors in the building. Honestly, Breaker was a terrible Cowl for not noticing the vibrations from that earlier. Requiem would've picked that up instantly. Then again, considering the fact that her power was all about vibrations and sound, that wasn't very . . .

She didn't even notice that she'd passed out until she found herself laying on the floor, supported by Sheath, while that tickling warmth in her chest meant that Fusion was reconfiguring molecules and whatever. "Broken or bruised?" she asked, wincing as something moved slightly where it really should not have.

"A little of both, but no outright cracked ribs," he said, moving a hand to her face briefly. For a moment, there was a deep, aching pain in her jaw- and then the teeth that had been knocked out of place were back in. Good, now she wouldn't have to try to explain that to the dentist. Sorry, Doc, I forgot to ask your permission to get beaten up by a homicidal maniac. My bad.

He moved his hand to fix some of the bruises, but she shook her head. "Save it for after we get out of here," she said, levering herself up (as much as Sheath would let her, anyway.) Now she could could see Terabyte over in the corner, sitting crossed-legged and speaking into the microphone connected to his laptop. Which was, in turn, connected to the camera. Apparently, he'd been talking for some time now, with that young voice of his disguised by the software he was using. "-is something we will not tolerate. We operate under a code, something with has been ignored for the last sixteen years by those you live in fear from." He continued, serious and official, and the contrast between his actual voice and the "official" voice she was hearing through her headset made her laugh. But only a little, because laughing hurt.

Muse, guarding the prisoner- well, protecting the prisoner from Duel, actually, since that brooding look on his face meant very bad things from Breaker if she didn't keep him at bay- looked over and raised an eyebrow. Dinah nodded, and the strict lines of her face softened slightly. But only slightly. Dinah sighed and sat up in spite of Sheath's attempts to keep her down. "I'm sorry. I was careless," she said.

Fusion looked up from where he was working on her ankle (sprained at the very least, from the feel of it). He studied he for a long moment, then shook his head. "No need to be sorry. Just, next time . . . "

He reached up in one movement and, with a flash of warmth and almost-pain, removed the bruises and cut from her face. She scowled at the unnecessary use of power, and he just shrugged. "Next time, remember that we're a team, okay? We're here for you. No more running off on your own, no matter what." With that, he climbed to his feet with a grace she couldn't imagine having right now, and walked over to Terabyte, who was ending his broadcast with the usual propaganda about how they were going to help change the world.