- "Do you like how the nursery is coming along?"

- "Very much. You have a lot of skills, Spencer Walter Reid."

- "Yes, I do, Mrs. Reid."- he stood up, left the roller on the tray, and wrapped his arms around me. - "How are you feeling today?"

- "Like I'm baby Reid's yoga gym."- my answer made Spencer chuckle as he carefully placed a lock of hair that fell in my face behind my ear and kissed the top of my nose.

- "You are a lovely gym."

- "Thank you."- Spencer hummed in contentment as I held him close to my body and kissed his neck. - "But we should start considering getting a house."

- "I know."- he whispered, his words muffled against my body.- "But... I don't..."

- "You don't wanna leave 'cos there are too many memories here you don't wanna forget?"- I murmured and played with Spencer's hair as I felt him nodding.- "You know you have an eidetic memory. It's not like you are gonna forget anything so easily."

- "I know. But you know how I feel about change. It's... hard."- Spencer pouted as he looked at me, and his sweet eyes looked at me with love and a dash of fear.

- "Nothing's gonna change if we move from this apartment. Except maybe we won't be so crowded."- I teased him playfully and he chuckled.

- "I wanna give you everything you want. If you want to move to a house, I wanna do it for you. I wanna be able to give you the house of your dreams."- his words touched me and nearly brought tears to my eyes. I had to bite my lips as I stared at him in silence, nodding at his words.

- "The house of my dreams is any place I live with you and our babies."- my words brought a big smile to Spencer's lips and eyes. A smile that was interrupted by the sound of my cell phone.

- "Please don't tell me we have a case."- my husband murmured as I walked out of the room. Raven was watching a movie in the living room and coloring a book.

- "No, it's my mom. She and my Dad are coming for dinner. Hey mom!"

I wish I could tell you Spencer got better at dealing with changes. But he didn't. It has always been hard for him. There are things you can be prepared for to change, like our kids. We both know they are gonna grow up, move out and be independent. We know that and we have made peace with that thought. But there are things you never see coming. Things that hit you, like a blow on the face, and that make you reconsider everything you think you believe in.

And guess what? That's what happened next.

The following Wednesday we were at the office when Garcia announced we had a case. I was sitting at my desk going through some paperwork and eating the third orange of the day. I was going through a very citrus stage30 weeks into pregnancy. Oranges and lemons were my regular cravings.

Morgan looked nervous when he met us in the conference room. He walked in with Rossi, and Garcia started briefing us in no time. Twenty minutes later, I was calling my mom to tell her we were on our way to Los Angeles to catch another serial killer.

Morgan didn't only look nervous during the debriefing, he was anxious the entire time. During the flight, he was constantly checking on his phone, frowning. It wasn't until we were ready to go back home, later that very same night, that Rossi explained to me that Savannah had asked him "to talk". And knowing Morgan as well as I do know him, it was clear he was overthinking everything and anything that he might have done wrong to upset his girlfriend. That man was whipped. That was something I sweetly reminded him of every time he tried to make fun of my husband for loving me so much.

I was just talking with Spencer about that on our way to pick up Raven from my mother's when we got a call from Hotch. My stomach turned into a knot right away. We had just finished a case, that wasn't a good sign.

- "Morgan was taken."

And I was sadly right. It was something incredibly bad.

Spencer's point of view

Things I can't stop thinking about the day Morgan was taken. I drove us to the crime scene as fast as possible and none of us said a word the entire car trip. (Y/N) just landed her hand on my tight and kept it there, caressing me from time to time, as a way to reassure me she was there for me.

I also remember getting out of that car and nearly shoving the police force, desperate to see and know what had happened to my best friend. My wife held my arm and stopped me, as she did all the talking. I was too worried to be even polite. The entire time I felt I was reliving the day Prentiss was taken from us.

JJ got there a few minutes later and ended up talking with the cops as we checked our surroundings and Derek's car. There I found a packet I immediately took and turned to my wife.

- "Let's go back to the BAU."

Savannah was locked talking with Rossi when we got there. Hotch walked down the stairs and stared at us with a stern glance. It was obvious we were all still in the dark about what was happening and why.

- "What did you find?"- Hotch asked as he stood in front of us.

- "No sign of him. But they left this in his car at the parking lot."- I said as I handed it to him.

- "How is Savannah?"- (Y/N) asked, trying and failing to catch a glimpse of her in the office.

- "She is being brave."- Hotch whispered.

- "Poor thing, I'm sure she is going crazy."- my wife replied, mostly to herself and it wounded me to know she actually understood how Savannah was feeling. And I never wanted to put her under that pain again.

- "Could she tell you anything?"- JJ asked, which I knew was the right thing to ask 'cos we had a case to solve, but yet, it felt cold considering the circumstances.

- "She said she thought she heard three attackers and that Morgan sounded drugged before they cut off the call."- Hotch explained and we all nodded.

- "Then it's a coordinated, planned attack, most likely professional."- JJ pointed out the obvious and (Y/N) took the thoughts from my mind as she said.

- "We did just take down a network of online hitmen, but if this is blowback, why Morgan?"

- "We have to assume that we're all targeted."- Hotch's words felt like a stab. - "I've put protective details on each of our families, but I want Savannah to stay here."

(Y/N) gripped my arm as we heard those words. Just what we had always been scared of. Risking our daughter's well-being because of work.

- "It's just until we know what is going on."- Hotch assured us as I wrapped an arm around my wife, trying to calm her down. Something I knew was impossible to do under those circumstances.

- "I'm gonna call mom."- (Y/N) whispered and we nodded. Hotch asked me to ask Rossi to meet us in the conference room 'cause Penelope had some updates, so I knocked on his door and slowly showed in my head. Savannah was pacing inside the office, as scared and nervous as I expected to see her.

- "Garcia needs us."- I waited for Rossi to leave his office and walked in. Savannah was still standing in the middle of it, trying to put herself together.

- "I'm sorry."- I whispered as I looked at her.- "I swear we are going to find him and bring him back."- I added as her eyes watered up. I took a few steps closer and wrapped my arms around her, carefully. She reciprocated and sobbed on my shoulder for a few seconds.

- "Thank you."- I heard her whisper and I nodded silently.

- "Hey Sav."- (Y/N) said from the door.- "Can I get you anything?"- Savannah just shook her head and I walked to stand next to my wife.

- "Just get him back soon."

- "We are doing our best."- I answered immediately as I grabbed (Y/N)'s hand and we slowly started walking to the conference room.

How were we going to deal with Morgan's abduction? I had no idea. Not considering Hotch's words: all our families could be targeted. And I refused to think my job was jeopardizing Raven's safety.

- "This is the block Derek was taken from."- Garcia pointed at the screen. - "That blue dot is him. And then at 9:23, we lost him. So I checked all the other cell signals in the area. They're all legit, aside from one that I was only able to find thanks to some technology no one outside this room needs to know about."

- "What is that?"- I asked, trying to understand what Garcia was implying.

- "An encrypted signal most likely bouncing off a satellite."- Hotch explained simply.

- "I know we're thinking this would be tied to our Darknet investigation, but satellite encryption is much higher in technology than most online crimes."

- "That's true, but the hitmen are still our best lead. We need to exhaust that before we move on to other theories."- Hotch added immediately and then turned to my wife. - "JJ, you (Y/N), and Garcia will take an armed agent to Savannah's house and get her to pack a bag."

- "Yes, sir. Absolutely. But why me?"- Pen questioned, confused.

- "Because while she gathers her things, you are going to see if they were under surveillance."- (Y/N) explained immediately as Hotch nodded and added.

- "Whoever's behind this has been planning this for weeks, if not months. We have no time to catch up. Let's move."

(Y/N)'s point of view

As Penelope checked the local routers and did her computer magic and JJ talked with the neighbors, I helped Savannah pack a few things to take back to the BAU.

Ok, the concept of "helping" could have been a little too generous of me, I was too pregnant to stay on my feet for too long, but let's say I was with her as she packed, and gave her all my moral support.

- "Are you sure you should be working?"- Savannah asked as she grabbed some things from the bathroom.

- "We are not turning this to me. How are you doing with all this?"

- "I hate the fact I live with a profiler and I know things about these cases."- she whispered and shook her head as she opened another drawer and grabbed a sweater. - "I just need to put those thoughts aside and focus on Derek. He is coming back. He has to come back."

- "Of course he will. He is one fucking tough nut to crack. I'm sure he is kicking ass as we speak."- I tried to be as positive as possible, knowing the hell my friend was going through. And I guess that's exactly what she was thinking, 'cos she carefully sat on her bed, next to me, and sighed.

- "Who do you do it?"

- "Do what? Stay positive?"

- "No. How do you deal with Spencer facing all these... threats day after day?"

I sighed and held her hand. There was nothing I could say that could help her process everything she was going through. So I just told her my experience. My dark and painful experience.

- "Sav, like ten years ago, Spencer was abducted, tortured on camera, and drugged for over three days. And during that time, I was a monster. I couldn't think right, I didn't sleep, couldn't eat, and yelled at every single team member that came across my path. Trust me when I tell you I know exactly how you feel."- her eyes wide opened as she heard the short version of some of the darkest days of my life. - "There is nothing I can tell you that might help you deal with this except my promise: we won't give up until he is back. 'Cause he is our family, and we are not going to rest until we bring him home."

- "I'm... I'm pregnant."- Savannah whispered and broke into tears. I wrapped my arms around her and though I wanted to tell her congratulations, it felt like it was the wrong timing.

- "Hey, hey, this is great news. Morgan is going to be so excited when you tell him."

- "I just don't know if I'll be able to tell him."

- "Come on! Don't lose hope in us yet."- I cut her a smile as she wiped the tears off her face. - "You are gonna be an amazing mother, Sav."

- "Thank you, (Y/N)."- I cut her a short smile and ran a hand through my very big belly.

- "I'm glad I'm not gonna be alone in this, we can schedule playdates."- her eyes shone at the idea and it made me feel better to give her a little break from all the pain and angst she was going through.

- "Please don't tell anyone yet."

- "Of course not."

- "Guys?"- JJ's voice downstairs ended our little moment. Savannah grabbed her bag and I helped gather a few more things before we went downstairs.

- "Bags already"- I announced as I saw her standing in the lobby with another agent, who was escorting us.

- "Hey. So I just talked to your neighbors."- JJ announced - "They didn't see anything, and I didn't find anything forensic outside."

- "So, they weren't peeping at us through our windows? Thank God for that, I guess."- Savannah sort of joked as walked to Garcia and rested my hands on her shoulders.

- "That means you are our only hope, Pen."

- "I'm finishing my diagnostic now, munchkin and I think I have something."- Garcia turned to Savannah and asked - "Do you have a wireless router on your DVR?"- like it was the first thing you know about your house.

- "Uh, I think so?"

- "Ok. They used it as their back door. And then the encrypted phone call, this is the hacking version of that same thing, and..."- she made a short pause and gasped, shocked. Shit, that wasn't good.- "Oh, man, they were all up your business."

- "Was it the same unsubs?"

- "My money says yes, but what's weird is they used an intranet."

- "What is that?"- Sav asked, confused.

- "It's a private closed system. They use a portal to a public page."- Pen asked in the simplest way she could, and just like that, the CIA homepage appeared on the screen in front of us.

- "Will someone explain why the CIA would abduct Derek?"- Savannah questioned and none of us knew how to answer that just yet.

No one slept that night. Sav was in Rossi's office, pacing nonstop and drinking herbal tea. We took turns to keep her company, me, and Garcia. Spencer tried to push me into sleeping, but he knew none of us could have more than an hour of sleep under those circumstances. We were all worried sick. And it didn't get any better the following morning when we finally found out who had taken out friends.

Short version of the facts: a group of freelance mercenaries, who specialized in taking up jobs that involved abducting and torturing victims to extract sensitive information out of them, had taken Morgan. Why? They were hired by Chazz Montolo to target Derek, the one SSA he blamed for the death of his son, Giuseppe.

The fucking Dirty Dozen was still hunting our team. Even from beyond the grave.

Spencer's point of view

I could see the exhaustion on the team's faces as we sat across the table. It was around four in the morning, none of us had closed an eye. (Y/N) was sitting next to Rossi, and she kept caressing her belly as I stood by her side, resting my hands on her shoulders, trying to give her some comfort. I don't think I could promise her everything was going to be ok, 'cos at that point, and at that hour, it's always hard to stay positive.

Until Pen rushed in, holding her computer, and nearly yelling.

- "I may have a line on !! I just got notification from Fort Eustis!"- we all turned to her as she sat at the table, hyperventilating as she explained. - "That encrypted SAT phone, it became active again and we managed to pin down one side to here. It is a 20-mile radius in Virginia. The other side was to a contractor who didn't even bother not to use his own cell phone."

- "Arrogant. He thinks we can't find him."- Rossi pointed out as we all stared at the screen.

- "And he would be wrong."- Pen added as she kept typing as fast as possible. - "He being John Bradley, not S.A.S. as we had suspected. Bradley and Mr. Who Dares Wins tried to become S.A.S., but they couldn't cut it, not to mention people who are S.A.S. don't get tattoos saying S.A.S. because S.A.S. is covert. That is the point. But apparently, people who are dishonorably discharged from the British Royal Marines do get that tattoo."

- "Pen, breath."- (Y/N) caressed her arm as she cut her a short warm smile, doing her best to help Garcia process everything that was going on.

- "Thank you, munchkin..."- Garcia whispered.

- "Your last ping has him in Derek's direction. He's probably on his way to him now."- I said, my eyes glued to the screen. I could feel the anticipation, the need to end whoever was hurting my brother. We had to save him.

- "We've got helos on the roof standing by for immediate transport."- Hotch added as JJ asked.

- "Any way we can narrow down the search?"

- "Yes."- Garcia replied with satisfaction- "Their encryption algorithms are dust. If and when that SAT phone connects, I've got him."

Not even five seconds later, there was a beep, someone had picked up the phone.

- "Sir... it went live."- Garcia announced, with a shake of fear and hope in her voice.

I ran to the elevator and pushed the button. The team stepped in as I turned around and looked at my wife, standing next to Garcia. I ran back to her, cradled her face, and kissed her lips gently and quickly.

- "We'll bring him back, chipmunk. I swear."

- "Please be safe."- she replied, angst written all over her face, and I just nodded.

- "Hurry up, Reid"- JJ called from the elevator. I ran and pushed the button to close the door, locking eyes with my wife as I nodded at her one more time, sealing my promise. We were bringing Morgan back.

A helicopter took us to the location. During the entire ride, all I could think of were all the moments I had shared with Derek and who, despite all odds, he had become more than just my best friend, he was my brother. He teased me, took care of me, joked with me, and even tried to be my wingman a few times before I had the nerve to face my true feelings for a certain team member.

- "I just wanna tell her I love her. I need to tell her what I feel for her 'cos now I can see there might be a chance she loves me too!"- I was drunk, drinking whisky with Morgan at a random bar, finally openly facing my feelings for (Y/N). The scene didn't stop replaying in my head, 'cos it was a very important moment of my life he had been a crucial part of.

- "Might be a chance?"- Morgan frowned and shook his head- "Kid, that woman is head over feet in love with you. And she has been for years. I just can't believe you've wasted all these years!!"

Morgan had been there the entire time I had worked at the BAU. He had taught me how to kick doors (a skill very much needed as an SSA agent if you ask him), he taught me how to flirt, or at least he tried, and he supported me every single time I needed it. For Christ's Sake! He had taught me how to play baseball as soon as the doctor said me and (Y/N) were having a boy. He had tried once when he needed a player for an FBI match, but that last time I asked him for help 'cos I wanted to be able to share nice memories with my kids.

- "Ok, you see my hips? See my hips? You swing right through, nice and easy. All right, come on. You give it a try."- Morgan made it look like it was the easiest thing in the world, but hitting that ball with that base had to be the hardest task I had ever had to face.

- "I know you are trying to make it easy, but trust me, this is not gonna work."- I argued as I walked to the base to take position.

- "Hey, you asked for my help 'cos you wanted to teach your kids how to play baseball, so fucking learn to have fun, Reid."- he had a teasing smirk on his face, 'cos he knew no matter how much I argued, I wasn't going to quit. 'Cos it was something I wanted to do for my kids.

- "Believe it or not, most of my childhood sports memories aren't altogether pleasant."

- "Exactly, and you don't want your kids to go through the same, do you?"- I shook my head and took a deep breath.- "Good. Now grab the bat, get up there, and give it a try."

I followed his instructions and tried to imagine what playing with my kids would be like. I already enjoyed having Raven in my life, but now with a second baby, life was about to get even better, and louder. And Morgan wanted to help me make more special memories with them.

- "Get up there. You're gonna like this, kid. I promise."- he stared at me, a silly grin on his face. I could read it all over his features, how he was thinking about how far we had gotten together. So I smiled back at him and he nodded.

- "Here we go, Reid!"

- "Spence?"- JJ grabbed my hand and took me from my thoughts- "We are landing, are you ready?"

- "Yeah, let's bring Morgan back."

There was no way I was not gonna fight to bring him back to Savannah and the team.

The BAU and the SWAT team that was with us surrounded the entire cabin. I took the lead through the back door quietly and heard voices coming from the living room. I held my gun tight and tried to keep my head cold and in the moment. I couldn't miss. This was too important to overthink.

- "Wake!"- someone said as I walked slowly through the kitchen door and saw Morgan barely alive, bleeding on the floor. And he made eye contact with me for a moment, knowing I was there to save him.

- "Wake up. It's time to die."

- "Not yet."- Derek mumbled and before the murderer could hurt him, I pulled the trigger three times and ended him right there. Rossi and Hotch burst into the room and ordered medical assistance, as I rushed toward my friend and kneeled next to him. His right hand was stabbed against the table and he had lost a lot of blood. We all stayed by his side until medics came and took him to the ambulance. I couldn't leave his side as he mumbled incoherence, barely conscious.

- "What is it Morgan?"- I asked him and touched his arm carefully, just to let him know I was close.- "What is it?"

- "I'm scared, pop."- he replied and I froze. I was scared too. I didn't want to lose him.

The flight back to the BAU was quiet. I called (Y/N) before we took off and told her what had happened, making my best effort not to cry. She said she was driving Savannah to the hospital along with Garcia, and that she'd wait for me there.

- "Are you ok?"- JJ held my hands as I hung up the phone. I nodded as I kept staring at the space in front of me, lost in thoughts. The way they had treated Morgan, how they had clearly tortured him, it hurt. We had been fast enough to bring him back to his family on time, but only for a few minutes. What if he didn't make it? What if he had been hurt too badly?

- "Morgan is gonna be ok"- JJ said as she kept holding both my hands. I just nodded and didn't say a thing. She wrapped her arms around me tight as I did my best to keep myself together. I just wanted to be back with my wife and daughter and keep them safe forever.

Often, as you can see, I wonder why we didn't leave the BAU sooner. All the signs were there. Especially JJ's.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” she whispered, deathly quiet. Her voice trembled with a mix of fear and fury. Flynn had the gall to look hurt by her outburst, as if it was a shock that she would react like this after he left her alone, with Supervillain of all people. She searched his face for a sign of sympathy or vulnerability, any trace of the Flynn she knew. The hero who was always her shoulder to cry on when things got hard.

“Morgan,” Flynn said again, her name like a prayer from his lips. “I’m sorry. This is my family. They always have been.”

“And I’m just the job, right?”

Flynn didn’t reply and maybe that said everything. She half-turned her body to the staircase and nodded to him to go first. Mostly to try and hide her unshed tears from him.

Flynn sighed. He ran his hand through his hair before he started up the stairs. She followed him, dragging her lead-like feet. Morgan stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced to the left while Flynn went to the right. The stairs were in the centre of the landing, two doors to the left, three to the right, but Flynn didn’t go for one of the doors. Morgan followed him so he wouldn’t get suspicious of her scoping the layout of the house, but she almost rolled her eyes when she saw the second set of stairs.

As if sensing her disbelief, Flynn glanced at her over his shoulder and shrugged, a half-hearted smile on his face. “I told Supervillain how capable you were. He took it seriously.”

Morgan swallowed, the words like a knife in the chest… or more accurately the back. She blinked at him; it was all she could do when all she wanted to do was scream and charge and hurt him, but she just stared.

Flynn nodded and started up the stairs again. These stairs were cut in half in a double L shape adding more corners; slowing Morgan’s escape if she were to come barrelling down them in the middle of the night. She’d waste time having to turn three times, slowing her momentum, the only benefit was her pursuers would also have to make the turns.  

That little nugget of satisfaction crumbled when Flynn opened the door to her room, because that’s all that was on this floor: one single room. All for her.

Which means they’d hear her coming.

She bit her lip to keep in the helpless sob that wanted to escape her throat. She had to stay cool. Stay cool, stay cool, Morgan. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s—

“So, this is your room,” Flynn said as she stepped in, and gestured to the big space that was all hers. He looked back at her to see her reaction, and suddenly he was beside her. “Morgan… you’re crying.”

Those two words broke her, and she didn’t hold her emotions back any longer. She stepped away from him, tried to put space between them when her knees buckled, going like jelly beneath her and she fell heavy. Flynn caught her before she hit the ground. She hated the way she leaned into him, clung to his shirt as shaky sobs wracked her body.

He held her tight, one hand on her hair, brushing it from her face so her tears wouldn’t wet it, lightly running his fingers through. “I know. It’s okay. I know, you’re okay. It’s okay, Morgan. Let it out. I’m here.”

There were no words that could fully encapsulate her distress, so she didn’t try and speak. She hated how comforting Flynn’s cologne was, how soft his words were in her ears. Everything was so familiar and—

Fake, a nasty voice supplied. All his kindness and love were just a way to get close to you, to keep you close to him so he could betray you and get you here. Keep you here.

The salt from her tears washed into the cut in her lip from Villain. She winced. Usually, she was more robust than tears making her flinch, but she was just… exhausted. It was a long night… or day. Or both? Whatever. It didn’t matter now.

She sat up in Flynn’s arms and let him wipe the tears from her cheeks. He offered her a small, encouraging smile and she forced one onto her face. If she was going to be here for an indefinite amount of time, then she needed at least one person on her side. Since Villain already hated her guts and Supervillain was happy to have her not causing any trouble, the only one who she could sway was Flynn.

It was Supervillain’s master plan after all… he made Flynn become her partner, her best friend… even, in fleeting moments, more than that. It was her greatest mistake, trusting him, leaving an acrid taste in her mouth, or maybe that was just the dried blood. He glanced at her lips, then back to her eyes, a sad look crossed his features that made her chest tighten and bloom with a wailing warmth, like a banshee screaming in her ribs.  

“Here,” Flynn said. He took her arm gently and pulled a magnetic key from his pocket. He pressed the magnet to the bar and the cuffs clicked open like a ring-binder, freeing her wrists. She retracted them to her chest slowly. Her gaze went passed Flynn, the banshee’s screams turned her body cold, a sudden sadness overwhelmed her as she slowly pushed him away. She turned her back to his chest and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She stood still, rubbing her wrists as she took in the room.

To be fair to Supervillain it wasn’t a cramped cell like the basement, it was spacious. There were two skylight windows high on the domed roof, high enough that she couldn’t climb out of them without a considerable effort on her part, or maybe she was just tired. A large, extremely comfortable-looking bed was directly in front of the door, pressed against the back wall with two cherry wood bedside dressers. One had a lamp on it, the other a handful of books.

“There’s clothes in the wardrobe, but if you need anything I can grab it from your apartment or bring some stuff from mine.”

“Okay,” Morgan replied. Flynn played with the cuffs in his hand like he so usually did, always fidgeting when there was something on his mind. She didn’t prompt him to speak like she normally would. She didn’t have it in her.

“Um, if you need anything, my bedroom is the first door on the right from the stairs.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, uh, I’ll leave you then. To get settled in and stuff.”

Morgan nodded, biting her lip to keep in her sob. Half of her wanted to turn around, run to him, wrap her arms around him and ask him not to leave her, but the other half – the stronger, prouder half – won over. She stayed still as he left and shut the door behind him.

Morgan tentatively approached the bed, taking small, easy steps until she reached it and sat down heavily. The sheets were nice, the duvet cover soft. The duvet itself was thick and heavy. Morgan could just imagine the warmth and comfort smothering her into unconsciousness.

There was a full-length mirror in the small alcove beside the door and Morgan almost cried at her appearance reflected back at her. Her hair was a mess. The usual white-blonde strands looked more golden with how much grime and dirt clung to it. It looked more like a bird’s nest made with mud, leaves and twigs, probably from the scuffle in the woods with Flynn. Tears-streaked clean trails down her cheeks, cutting through the layer of dirt and some of the blood that was caked under her nose, and down her chin.

Crimson drops of blood-stained Morgan’s grey tunic that was visible below her thick, leather armour. She wanted nothing more than to just take it all off and burn it. If Supervillain got his way, Morgan wouldn’t have a use for it ever again. She shivered at the thought and shoved it down deep inside her, locking it away until she was ready to deal with it.

Her eyes zeroed in on her shoulder harness and she shot to her feet, turning and reaching behind her. Her hands found the familiar grips of her blades and she could’ve screamed. She unsheathed them with a swift, sharp click and a shink. Morgan turned again to face the mirror, and she smiled when she saw the usual fire in her eyes.

It was as if the world attuned around her, and she was whole again. As if one of her senses were muted but now she can finally breathe, the edges of everything sharpened in her eyes and she could feel the familiar alignment of her skill, mind and body all working as one as her grip settled around her blades.

How stupid could Supervillain be that he—

The fire stumbled in her eyes to a stupor, a flicker of hesitation dimmed it to a sporadic smoulder, as the light dimmed and fizzled out. Her grip turned white knuckled on her blades; her certain, strong hands shook as the realisation dawned on her.

This was just another way to humiliate her. Supervillain knew she would never use them, because if she did… if she even thought about such a thing then Sidekick would die and he’d reduce her to nothing, lock her in the cellar and throw away the key. Leave her to Villain, or her own despair, whichever killed her first.

She sheathed her daggers and undid the strap of the belt that crisscrossed over her chest and back, deflating as she went through the familiar motions. She pressed a hand to the front and lifted her dual scabbard-pauldron-hybrid over her head, laying it out carefully on a cherry wood table against a wall. Ignoring the fact that the wood in the room was all cherry, and the pang in her chest at sharing that it was her favourite with Flynn. She slipped her armour off as well, though the belts and buckles took more time to unfasten, and she let her mind wander into nothingness at the repetitive rhythms.

The first thing she noticed when she was relieved of her armour was the stench of her; a mix of blood, sweat and fear clung to her skin. She didn’t want to have a shower, she didn’t want to interact with anyone in this godforsaken house ever again, but she didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

She walked to the wardrobe and ignored the usual style of clothes she wore as a civilian, grabbing a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms and a sweatshirt and fresh underwear. She released a long exhale, expelling all the air from her lungs before she walked to the door and opened it. Flynn’s back greeted her, and she paused, brain too slow to process that.

“Can I use the shower?” She asked, voice empty.

Flynn shot to his feet, startled. She blinked at him as he turned. He looked guilty, like a child being caught being somewhere he shouldn’t. “Uh, yeah. Yes, of course. This way.”

She didn’t talk the entire way down the stairs. Thankfully the bathroom was on the second floor, but it was on the other end of the second floor. Morgan’s heart leaped into her throat as hope — that wretched, black thing — bloomed once more. She had to cross the other set of stairs to get to the bathroom. Tantalising information that she locked away in the cunning corner of her mind and continued on as if she were still hopeless and heartbroken. It wasn’t hard to fake, a lie wrapped in truth, all numbed by exhaustion.

Flynn opened the door for her. “Do you need me to show—”

“No,” she replied. “I can figure it out. Thank you.”

She passed him, and when their chests touched a pained expression crossed Flynn’s face. Morgan ignored it and closed the door on him, her heart stuttering as she clicked the lock shut. She pressed her forehead against the door, and out a breath.

How the fuck was she going to survive this?

*~*~*~*~*

Morgan’s face was obscured in the condensation coated mirror, which was fine by her, she didn’t want to see her face, now washed clean of dirt and grime. It still felt like it was on her, a film of filth that coated her entire body. Maybe that was Flynn’s betrayal, she didn’t know, but she felt a little better after the shower.

Now she stared at the door with a mutinous gaze. The locked door was a false blessing of security, but one she clung to with all her heart. She knew she had to leave eventually but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to do a lot of things, like swallow her pride and stay in this fucking house filled with enemies that wanted her out of the city’s bigger picture.

Sidekick’s battered body flashed across her eyes, and she swallowed the bile that threatened to rise and spew from her mouth. She got to her feet and stomped over to the door before she lost the nerve. She half expected to see Flynn waiting outside like before, instead she was met with two gleaming eyes.

Morgan’s nostrils flared. “Villain.”

“You clean up nicely,” Villain said stepping towards her. Morgan fought the urge to step back, narrowing her eyes into a glare. “Of course, your nose is all busted. Definitely broken, I think.”

“What do you want?”

“Me?” Villain asked with a smirk. “I want you dead. As a sign to the rest of your little heroes not to fuck with us.”

Morgan closed the distance between them with a step, putting her face in Villain’s, despite her thrumming heart. “Too bad your family wants me alive. I guess we’ll both have to endure this misery.”

“You more so than I. After all, I’m not on house arrest. I can always go and visit sick people in the hospital—”

Morgan lunged for Villain but was stopped by her name: “Morgan.”

Morgan’s head snapped to Supervillain, fear flashing across her features before she could school them properly. Supervillain smiled, his eyes drifting between the pair.

“I trust my child is not causing you any trouble.”

“Not at all,” Villain replied smoothly. “Just waiting for the loo.” Villain shoulder checked Morgan on his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

“I see you’ve settled in. I trust your room is to your liking.” Morgan swallowed, a pitiful attempt to clear the ashen dryness that came to her mouth when Supervillain spoke to her.

“Flynn made sure of that,” she said, turning and walking back towards her room. She had to pass Supervillain to do that. He caught her arm before she could.

“You must let me treat your nose.”

“I thought it was a warning to not act out.”

Supervillain chuckled lightly. “No, sweet hero. I don’t intend to treat you inhumanly. Besides, I think Sidekick’s life is enough of a threat to keep you in check.”

Morgan yanked her arm free. “I don’t want anything from you.”

“How adorable that you think this is an offer you can refuse.” Supervillain gestured for Morgan to walk in front of him. She hesitated, not wanting to spend another second with Supervillain but her heart betrayed her head, and she reluctantly turned on her heel, and started down the stairs.

Supervillain followed behind. “To the kitchen, Morgan,” he instructed. Morgan turned right at the hall, passing the dining room and walking straight into what she assumed was the kitchen.

Supervillain chuckled as he followed her in. “You’re already familiar with the layout, I see.”

Morgan didn’t reply. Even if she wanted to the words would’ve died on her throat seeing Flynn sat at the island in the middle of the giant kitchen. It looked like a kitchen from downtown abbey, or the crown or something, but modernised with all new furniture and appliances.

“Morgan,” Flynn said, his eyes flicked past her to Supervillain’s, and back again, harder this time. “How was your shower?”

Morgan lingered awkward by the door, grabbing her wrist and rubbing her thumb over her skin. “Yeah. It was fine, thanks.”

“Sit beside Flynn, Morgan.”

Morgan shot him a black look, but she walked towards Flynn, nonetheless. “Why?” Flynn asked, a question directed at Supervillain, locking his phone and putting it on the counter in front of him.

A phone. Morgan tucked that information away in the back of her mind, she hadn’t even thought about phones until now.

“I’m going to re-align her nose, so it heals properly.”

Flynn didn’t say anything to the explanation as Morgan climbed onto the highchair beside him. She stifled a gasp when she felt Flynn’s hand snake into hers, flooding her with warmth and comfort that she hated coming from him. She hated how her body reacted to him like he was still the one person in the world that could make her feel safe and secure.

That alone she could live with. The thing that turned her stomach, and planted a deep seed of resentment inside her, was the fact that she didn’t pull away from him. She kept her hand firmly in his, his fingers intertwining with hers; that’s what would keep her up at night.

Supervillain walked over to her with a first aid kit in hand. He placed the box on the island counter and stepped in front of Morgan, looking down at her with a small smile. Morgan didn’t want him to touch her, to be this close to her, but she also didn’t want her nose to fuck up her breathing while she was here.

“May I?” Supervillain asked as he lifted his hands to her face. Flynn squeezed her fingers reassuringly. Morgan swallowed her pride and nodded.

Supervillain cupped Morgan’s cheek gently, his other hand going under her chin to tilt her head up as he inspected the damage with intelligent eyes.

“This will not be pleasant,” Supervillain said after a minute of silence. “Though, Flynn can tell you the amount of times I had to reset his nose as a boy. I became a pro.”

“It’s true,” Flynn said with a laugh. “And you had to do Vil’s twice.”

“Okay, Morgan. I’m going to count down from three, and I’ll break it and get it over with, okay?”

“Okay.” Morgan braced herself, squeezing Flynn’s hand as hard as she could.

“Good. Three—” Morgan let out a sharp cry and a curse as Supervillain grabbed her nose in his hand and re-broke it with a crunch. It sent waves of pain rocketing through her skull as she groaned, black spots formed in her vision as she pulled back instinctively. Supervillain kept a firm hand behind her head so she couldn’t pull away as he re-aligned her nose so it would heal properly.

“There we go, I’m sorry. It’s done, that’s the hard part,” Supervillain said as shocked tears slid down Morgan’s cheeks. Supervillain tilted Morgan’s head up again, twisting her face left and right, eyes focused on her nose as he moved her head. “Mmm. Marvellous. It looks good to me, but I think just to be sure, we should re-align it properly with the rods.”

Morgan’s eyes hardened into a glare. “No,” she said. “It’s fine. It feels fine. It will heal itself.”

“Morgan, it probably is—”

She rounded on Flynn and yanked her hand from his. “Oh please! Whose side are you on?”

“I think you need to calm down, Morgan,” Supervillain told her. The condescension in his tone just rubbed her the wrong way and before Morgan had even realised it one of her blades whizzed through the room and to her awaiting palm, she locked her fingers tight around it and glared at Supervillain, her nose flaring as her power returns and makes her feel at ease. Better than Flynn’s lofty support ever could. She didn't need him. She saw red, and wanted to draw blood from someone and Supervillain was standing so close to her.

“Tell me to calm down again,” she spat, jumping to her feet. “See what happens.”

Flynn got to his feet the same time as Morgan, cautiously looking between the two, waiting for Supervillain to give him the word before he did anything. God, how could Morgan have been so stupid to trust him?!

Supervillain was the only one whose expression didn’t change from before Morgan summoned the knife. Actually, if anything, he looked more relaxed as he folded his arms across his chest.

“I don’t need to see what happens, Morgan,” he said, fishing something from his pocket. His phone. “I just make a call, and Sidekick will be smothered in their sleep.”

Morgan let the knife fly, the point drew a line on Supervillain’s throat before settling heavy against his carotid artery. “Hard to do that if you’re dead.”

Supervillain smiled and grabbed the handle of the knife. “That’s fine by me, Morgan. Give Villain the satisfaction of killing Sidekick.”

Morgan’s shaky resolve crumbled, and her shoulders sagged as she dropped the knife. Its weight settled firm into Supervillain’s hand. He smiled at her and said: “good. Now, sit up and tilt your head back.”

“Dad—”

Supervillain held a hand up. “No, no. She’ll do it. Watch.”

Morgan obeyed wordlessly, climbing the stool and tilting her head back. She squeezed her fingers into fists on her thighs. “Look at that, Flynn. A hero that can take instruction. You could learn a thing or two from her.”

Neither Flynn nor Morgan responded. Something uneasy shifted under Flynn’s skin as he watched the girl he loved, the usually passionate, fiery Morgan, silent and subdued, waiting to do something she didn’t want to do.

Supervillain took his time, leaving Morgan sitting on the chair with her head back. He first crossed the kitchen to put the knife into the dishwasher, then washed some extra dishes on the sink to add some more humiliation to Morgan’s obedience. Then, to add insult to injury he dried the couple washed dishes, Morgan’s eyes following him all the while. Her head grew heavy on her shoulders like she was trying to hold back a kettle bell. Her neck strained as she struggled to keep it steady, not to move a muscle because she didn’t want to give Supervillain the satisfaction of seeing her fail.

Supervillain smiled at Flynn as he approached them and took out two familiar metal rods that he used on Flynn to fix his broken nose last year. “Hold her head for me, Flynn. You know how uncomfortable this can be.”

Flynn hesitated. He didn’t want to touch Morgan without asking her after that scene, and it didn’t feel… right to just do it.

“It’s fine, Flynn,” Morgan said softly as if reading his mind. Flynn swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, more for himself than anyone else and placed his hands gently under Morgan’s head while Supervillain sterilised the metal rods.

Morgan closed her eyes as Flynn took the leaden weight from her shoulders, happy that she could finally let go and relax. Flynn was there, right behind her (literally) as she went through this new change in her life that was entirely his fault. The mutinous part of herself, that she kept chained in the basement of her mind ever since his betrayal, was preening with the fact that Flynn was there, because he would always be there. The one thing he promised her when they first became partners in the Morgan academy.

He would always be there, and here he was supporting her head through this very hard time. Or maybe it was the sheer exhaustion that had turned her mind to mush, her logic left her, and she was left only with this infuriating light feeling of safety in his hands.

“Okay, Morgan. This will hurt.”

That was all the warning she got before Supervillain pressed the rods into her nose and she fought the instinct to jerk forward. “Fuck!”

“Try not to speak,” Flynn said softly, as he rubbed the coarse pads of his thumbs over her temples. Morgan whined in the back of her throat as she felt the rods move against the walls of her nose, fixing the cartilage. Even the vibrations from her pained hums seemed to hurt her head.

But Flynn was there, whispering to her.

“You’re doing great.”

“It’s almost done.”

“You’re okay, Morgan.”

“It’s okay.”

His encouragement mixed with his motions of his thumb on her temples brought her into a weird, fugue state where her body only recognised the sensations from Flynn’s hands and voice and numbed everything else. Later on, she would realise he was probably in her head, re-arranging some of the furniture, but in that moment, she just closed her eyes and sank into the feeling.

“There,” Supervillain said, pulling the rods free. Morgan’s eyes opened lazily, staring cloudy up at a grinning Supervillain. “All done. You’ll be perfect in three weeks. Just in time too.”

Morgan’s eyelids fluttered, the fuzzy feeling in her taking over now that the danger was passed. “Three weeks?” She heard Flynn say. “That’s too soon.”

“Not at all,” someone said, maybe Supervillain. Probably, who cares? “Three weeks and she’ll have come to see our side of things, Flynn. Just look at her in your hands, completely out of it. I could tell her my big dark secret and she wouldn’t remember, would you Morgan?”

“I did that so she wouldn’t freak out—”

Morgan didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. She allowed the fuzziness to consume her like a weighted blanket, and finally, mercifully, sleep took her away from the world of consciousness.

*~*~*~*~*