The Assylum's Monster

C20: Confrontations

" Is that someone you know? " Rachel asked her mentor once the teenage couple left the room.

" Kind of. Old Titans business. " Dick sighed his eyes filling with pent-up anger.

" Check it. Former Delta Force commando. Part of H.I.V.E. " Garfield read. " Select soldiers who underwent a series of experimental bio-enhancements. Huh. " He scratched his head before opening a file. " Out of the 35 trial subjects, the only one to survive was Slade Wilson. Interpol says he retired years ago after the death of his son Jericho. I tried having the computer find-"

" I'll take it from here. " Dick assured them before stepping forwards and unplugging the computer system making Rachel and Garfield confused.

They couldn't ask him what the problem was in time, an alarm went off.

" Security alert. Main entrance. Access denied. " An automated voice warned.

Pushing a button Dick accessed the main entrance camera footage, making him sigh relieved to see his friends standing beside the elevator door.

" So, I guess you changed the code. " Donna said, looking straight at him through the screen.

Rachel hearing her voice, laughed softly before walking away.

" Finally. " She sighed, going to the living room with Garfield.

Donna, Dawn, and Hank slowly made their way to them.

" You guys have no idea how much this place misses you. " Rachel welcomed them.

" This place, huh? " Dawn said smiling at the teenager.

They chuckled hugging themselves.

" Mostly just me. " Rachel confessed.

" And me, too. " Garfield added.

" Me, three. " Anais chimed in as she jogged over to them, jumping in the bulky man's arms.

Chuckling he gave her a hug, quickly noticing her red eyes and damp forehead. They broke apart and Anais waited for Garfield to let Dawn go before hugging her herself.

" Where's Kory? " Her sister asked.

Dawn looked at Donna.

" She sort of vanished. " She answered her.

" What do you mean by 'vanished'? " Anais asked, feeling her sisters mind wave tremble.

" I don't know. She's not answering her phone. " Donna clarified, making Rachel sigh in worry. " But you know, she mentioned she wanted to see Florida. So, I just figured she made an Irish exit and took a quick little trip. " She tried to reassure her.

They all stayed silent for a minute, before Hank realized that one of the teenagers were missing.

" Where's the kid? "

" Which one? " Anais clapped back, jokingly.

" Yeah, where is Jason? " Garfield added, looking at the petite girl.

Embarrassed, she adverted her eyes and nibbled her nails.

" He's... in time out. " She answered, blushing.

Noticing her reaction, Dawn and Hank frowned, while her friend and her sister blushed understanding what must have happened.

" What for? " Dawn asked softly.

Anais remembering the last thing Jason said to her, sighed sadly and answered:

" Oh. Nothing... "

Seeing the young girl get emotional, Dawn took her away and hugged her. The older woman didn't understand exactly what had been going on between the two since the last call she and Anais had, but she still wanted to comfort her at all costs.