𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 - 𝑓. ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑠

029. SOME PAIN AND SOME SUFFERING

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SOME PAIN AND SOME SUFFERING ☂︎︎

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THE FIRST NOTABLE SENSATION WAS THAT SHE WAS FREEZING.

The second notable sensation was that she was stuck.

Goosebumps littered her skin as her eyes slowly fluttered open, the cold giving a feeling as though her eyes had been frozen shut. Charlotte looked down, ropes tightly strung against her midsection, tying her down to a metal chair. Panic came quickly, eyes darting around the room, empty racks and metallic walls. A freezer, she realized.

Per usual, she stared down at her restraints, her usual purple glow meekly cascading the rope. Not only was she unable to concentrate, the rope was now lightly glazed with frost, a sensation she hadn't encountered up until then.

Her breathing was staggered, a horrible complication as the cold took the air from her lungs and the panic even more so, shortening the amount of oxygen that entered them.

Enter Charlotte's blur of color.

A bright pink overcoat fell over her shoulders as the metal door to the freezer slid open. Bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair that was covered with a lacy hat. An odd look for her kidnapper but something about the lady's sickeningly sweet smile gave her an impression that she was far more dangerous than she seemed.

She lay in even more confusion when Lila stood closely behind her.

"Chilly, isn't it?" the woman sighed, examining the room provenly. "But I had to control you somehow. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the wardrobe change you could give me so easily."

Charlotte did not speak, shivers beginning to overtake her body. The woman smiled brightly, a stark contrast to how the girl felt in the moment. "Oh, but you're perfect. In so many ways, as well. Such a hassle to get our hands on you."

Teeth chattering and eyes sending a deadly glare up to the woman. "Who the fuck are you?"

She grinned, crouching down to meet the shivering bundle of nerves in front of her. "I forgot I should introduce myself." she extended her hand in mockery. "You can call me the Handler. I run the Commission, sound familiar? And, of course, I'm Lila's mother. You know my daughter?"

Lila continued on with a blank expression, offering a small salute to her.

All she could muster was a nod.

The Handler smiled, standing up casually. "Good. So you know the basics. Now, where to begin?"

"How about with why I'm here?" she bit, thoughts slowly running to why someone from the Commission, someone most likely connected with Five, would want her. Why Lila would be placed there?

She didn't have the energy to shrink back as the Handler ran her gloved fingers through her hair, a malicious smile on her face as she did so. It caused a surge of discomfort to intermix with the bitter cold. "Like I said, you're just so perfect. And not just because you're so pretty but I suppose that's a bonus. You have perfect connections, perfect powers and most of all, perfect timing."

Charlotte's brows furrowed as the lady began circling the chair lazily. How could she have known about her powers? "Of course, not everything went so perfectly. I didn't intend for Hargreeves to get his hands on you or for you to get along so well with his family but things all worked out in the end."

It was then she had a horrible epiphany, the blur of colors triggering the memory she had repressed so far down into her mind. The wacky outfit, the intense platinum blonde hair. Slowly but surely it was all clicking together for worse or for better.