Through Potions and Books it's still, you isn't it?

Chapter twenty-nine

Tommy really started to get sick of these walls. White, grey, then more white with a couple of mouldy dark spots followed by more white. Occasionally, there'd be a part of the wall missing, allowing them a brief look at the concrete pillars keeping the whole facility stable. They looked withered, almost like no one had checked on them in years, which probably wasn't too far off considering this place was literally owned by supervillains. Could XD even be called that? A supervillain?

Tyrant would probably make more sense all things considered. Not that it mattered.

XD had dragged him down more hallways than he could count, stumbling up and down dirty stairs and almost falling over about three times. The god had to catch him roughly, muttering about how weak the boy was all of a sudden (Tommy had bit back a comment at that, not keen on getting knocked out before meeting the Egg. Still, the remark that's what happens when you deny a human body food, water and proper rest sat on his tongue) and he didn't understand what changed his behaviour. He was oh so obedient when they first met and now he's being all rebellious, going against the rules, showing the god that he wasn't worthy whatsoever.

"If it wasn't for your ability I would've gone rid of you the second you chose to raise your hands against me." The man had growled, then harshly tugged on his arm (which was covered in hand-shaped bruises already, the man had a strong grip) and dragged him further down into the depths of the facility.

It made a shiver run down his spine, knowing that he was only allowed to live because the god had a use for him. (And the specific use made bile rise up his throat.)

They didn't speak for the rest of the track, XD only occasionally pushing him forwards and forcing him to walk without support. Which was rude in Tommy's very humble opinion, he hardly had the energy to keep himself on his feet, let alone walking. That tends to happen when you're forced to wear a power-suppressing bracelet all the time while training while also not getting nearly enough food or water. His body was simply exhausted and Tommy could feel the toll the constant fatigue had taken on his mental stability. Of course, it wasn't just the physical aspects that made him slowly but surely lose his mind. It was also the fact that he simply didn't know for how long exactly he's been here and that he had no way of knowing whether or not the heroes were looking for him. For all he knew they could've just marked it off as him running away after the Syndicate revelation. Maybe they thought they'd give him some space and time to think and then let him come back to them like a wild animal that slowly had to learn to trust again.

But then again, Wilbur had been there when Eret kidnapped him and died in an attempt to pry the man away from him. He'd remember that he got kidnapped. No, surely they were already looking for him. They must've.

(But what if they weren't? What if they found looking for him to be too much of a burden and instead wrote him off as dead already?)

He stumbled down another stair of sets, XD's hand burning on his shoulder as yet another hallway came into view. Two doors set at the end of it, one surely leading to another set of stairs. The other led god knows where and it seemed like Tommy was about to find out if the sudden push towards the door had anything to say to it, the god not pulling his hand away as he pushed him through.

A hallway, this time with black walls. Blackstone, if Tommy had to guess.

XD didn't give him a chance to look around much, he barely managed to take a glimpse at the many doors to the left and right side before the man-god pushed him through another door, revealing a slightly different but definitely recognisable training room.

They weren't alone. On the red-matted floor lay a body.

Body, because that man was undeniably dead. His chest wasn't rising or falling, dull brown eyes looked back at him. Two people stood on both sides of the body, wearing the same clothes that they had forced on Tommy and every other kid in the facility. Their faces weren't covered by anything, revealing their cold and stoic expressions. They seemed completely unaffected by the bloodshed in front of their feet, the man to the right holding the knife with which the victim's throat had been slit open. There was still blood on it, a single drop dripping to the ground. He forced himself not to look at it, instead swallowing hard and redirecting his gaze to the opposite wall. It only worked for so long before XD forcibly tilted his head to the corpse again, a sick grin on his face.