When the meeting ended, David, Mike, and Medusa rose from their seats, their chairs scraping against the polished floor. They didn't say a word as they left, their footsteps fading down the corridor until only silence remained. It was just me and Katara now, the air in the room growing heavier with every second that passed.
Katara leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on me with a sharp, unreadable expression. Then, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Don't do anything stupid this time, Lena," she said flatly. "If you do, you already know something bad will come."
Her tone carried weight, like a threat wrapped in casual words. My chest tightened, but something inside me pushed back against the fear. I clenched my fists and forced the words out, my voice trembling but clear.
"I don't want to join your villain group."
Her eyes narrowed, the room falling deathly silent. For a moment, she didn't move—and then she did.
Katara's hand shot out like lightning, gripping my throat. My back slammed against the cold, metal wall, and her fingers dug into my skin like claws. My lungs spasmed, searching desperately for air, but nothing came. Her face hovered inches from mine, her smile gone, replaced by raw fury.
"You have no choice, Lena," she whispered, her voice venomous. "You are stuck here. And even if you refuse, I'll make you stay. I have a thousand ways to break you. Don't test me."
I clawed weakly at her arm, but it was useless. My chest burned, stars bursting in my vision as tears streamed uncontrollably down my cheeks. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't anything enough. The metal bracelet David had locked onto me seemed to pulse mockingly, reminding me how powerless I truly was.
When she finally released me, I collapsed forward, hacking and coughing violently, my throat raw and burning. My knees trembled beneath me, but Katara just stood there, calm once again, as though choking me had been nothing more than swatting a fly.
"Follow me to your new room," she said coolly.
Terrified, I obeyed. Every step I took behind her felt like walking into a deeper abyss. The girl I had once thought of as bright, even playful, was gone. This—this cold, merciless commander—was her real face. Katara wasn't just some child. She was the leader of Interitus. The villain organization that started the chaos. The one that fought the professional heroes to a standstill.
And I was trapped in her den.
We stopped in front of a heavy steel door, guarded by two tall figures in black armor. Their presence alone made me shrink into myself. Katara glanced back at me, her eyes unreadable.
"This will be your room from now on. Medusa decorated it for you herself," she said.
The guards pushed the door open, and I stepped inside.
It was nothing like the sterile white room I had woken up in. The walls were dark, painted in warm beige and cream. The furniture was sleek and neatly arranged—a desk, a bed, a wardrobe. Everything felt carefully chosen, almost comfortable. But the air was thick, heavy, and suffocating. This wasn't a room. It was a cage disguised as kindness.
"I know your old room was boring," Katara continued, her voice sharp. "But don't get any ideas. These walls were forged by David himself. Even with your powers, they cannot be destroyed. And the two guards outside will accompany you everywhere you go. Think of them as your… tour guides."
Her words stabbed at me like knives. Freedom. She kept saying I had it. But this wasn't freedom. This was a leash.
"Your training with me starts tomorrow," she finished, turning toward the door. "Rest. You'll need it."
The heavy door slammed shut, leaving me alone.
I walked deeper into the room, dragging my feet. My eyes were drawn to the window on the far wall. My heart pounded as I approached it, a desperate hope rising in me. Maybe there was a way out. Maybe I could—
But when I pressed my forehead to the glass, all I saw was emptiness.
A vast desert stretched endlessly in every direction, dunes rippling beneath a merciless sun. No trees, no rivers, no signs of life. Just sand. Sand forever.
My breath hitched. A desert? There weren't any deserts in my city. Sure, there were a few scattered across other cities on my continent—but Interitus was from North America. That meant I was somewhere else… somewhere far from home. They had taken me—transported me—to another continent. Somewhere unknown. The hope that had flickered inside me snuffed out instantly.
I wasn't just trapped in this base. I was trapped in an unfamiliar land, cut off from everything and everyone I loved. My parents. My friends. My home.
Gone.
I sank to the floor beneath the window, hugging my knees to my chest. The tears I had been holding back poured freely now, hot and relentless. My throat ached from Katara's grip, my chest hurt from holding in too much fear, and my body trembled violently.
I wanted to go home. I wanted to wake up in my room, surrounded by the comfort of my books, my bed, my things. I wanted to believe all of this was a lie.
But the desert outside told me otherwise.
There was no escape.
No hope.
Just despair swallowing me whole.
The nights blurred together now. Food came in. Food went untouched. I stayed buried under my blanket, my body shaking with quiet sobs until sleep dragged me into darkness.
But even in sleep, there was no rest.
My family's lifeless faces lay in my arms again, slipping away no matter how desperately I clung. Then my friends—Carm, Jela, Andrea, Mia, Chris—screaming, begging me to save them. Their voices merged with my parents' cries until they drowned me.
And then she appeared.
Katara.
Cold, unyielding. A cage of iron rose around me, and she stepped close, her voice like venom:
"You're mine now, Lena."
I woke screaming, soaked in sweat, clawing at my throat like I couldn't breathe. No one came. No hand to comfort me. No voice to soothe me. Just me, alone, shaking on the floor.
The panic attack didn't end until dawn.
When the food came, the masked worker finally spoke.
"Why haven't you eaten? Is it not to your liking?"
I forced myself to answer. "I'm just… not hungry."
He left, carrying the old tray away, and replaced it with a new one: egg sandwich and orange juice. Camp food. Memories stabbed me, but hunger won, and I ate slowly, swallowing bitterness with every bite.
Later, a guard knocked.
"A message from Katara. Report to the training grounds at 10 a.m."
My chest tightened. My body wasn't ready, but it didn't matter. Refusing her wasn't an option.
I bathed, dressed in the sports clothes given to me, my hair pulled into a braid like some soldier. By 9 a.m., the guards escorted me through the base. Dining halls, labs, weapon rooms—all signs of a monster too big for me to fight.
The training field was enormous, a desert of sand where soldiers ran drills under the watchful eyes of scientists scribbling notes. My stomach twisted.
Then she arrived.
Katara walked across the sand, her presence pulling all attention like gravity. She didn't need to raise her voice when she said,
"Today, the scientists will observe. Don't embarrass me, Lena."
She moved to the center of the field, and I followed like a shadow. Her gaze pinned me in place.
"Keep up. Or I'll make you regret it."
And then she ran.
Not a jog. A sprint. She was a blur of power and control, leaving me to stumble behind, lungs burning, legs screaming. Within moments, I lagged. The sting of her stick snapped across my hand, hot pain flaring up my arm.
"You're pathetic," she hissed. "If you can't keep up with me, how do you expect to survive?"
I tried harder, but it was useless. Another slap. Another insult.
"Even my weakest soldier runs better than you."
"Is this what survived the explosion? A weakling who can't even breathe properly?"
"Maybe I should've left you to die with your friends."
Every word cut deeper than the blows.
Push-ups until my arms gave out. Sit-ups until I thought my stomach would tear apart. Squats until my legs collapse. She didn't stop. Every failure was met with her voice, sharp as a blade.
"Stand up."
"Pathetic."
"Again."
By the time meditation came, my body was a trembling wreck. I tried to find peace, but her shadow loomed over me.
She crouched low, her lips near my ear.
"You want freedom? Earn it. Right now, you're nothing. A weak, powerless girl. But I'll shape you into something useful—even if I have to break you first."
When training ended, she didn't soften.
"Do better tomorrow, Lena. Or I'll break your bones until you learn to listen."
She walked away, leaving me standing in the sand with tears blurring my vision, too humiliated to wipe them.
By the time I made it back to my room, it was 3 p.m. Lunch was gone. I bathed, put on fresh clothes, and wandered to the cafeteria, ignoring the guards' warnings.
The moment I entered, the workers froze. Whispers followed me until someone rushed me into a separate room. A tray piled with food appeared, more than enough for five people. I picked at it, eating only enough to silence my stomach.
Back in my room, I curled on the couch with a book, though the words swam on the page. All I could think about was her voice—her eyes—her promise to break me.
Tomorrow, I will face her again. And tomorrow, she will break me more.