𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄| Mike Wheeler [COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON FIVE]

Chapter Seven: The Source

chapter seven:
❛ the source ❜

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Scarlett sat beside Eleven, her fingers gripping the cold metal arms of the chair as Dr. Brenner loomed over them. The stark, sterile room around them buzzed with an undercurrent of tension, the fluorescent lights casting an unforgiving glow on every surface. Scarlett glanced at Eleven, her heart pounding in her chest, echoing the dread she saw mirrored in the other girl's wide, haunted eyes. They both wanted to leave, to escape this suffocating place, but neither of them had that choice anymore.

Dr. Brenner stood in front of a large screen, looking intently at the brain scans displayed. He spoke in a soft, clinical tone, his words methodical and precise, cutting through the silence like a scalpel.

"Do you know what happens when someone has a stroke?" Brenner's voice lingered in the air, waiting for a response, but neither girl answered. Scarlett didn't trust her voice, and she could feel the tension radiating from Eleven as well. They both remained quiet, their unease thickening the room.

"The blood supply to the brain is cut off," Brenner continued, undeterred by their silence, as though he was giving a lecture to a class rather than speaking to two terrified girls. "It scrambles the signals in the brain, to the point where the mind can forget how to do things. To eat. To speak. To walk."

Scarlett's stomach twisted as Brenner's words sank in, his calm explanation feeling like a warning. She shifted in her seat, a familiar dread building in the pit of her stomach. The memories from the previous year were hazy, incomplete, and the thought of facing them again terrified her.

Brenner's gaze turned to them, finally breaking from the screen. "When you were both attacked last year, I believe that your signals were scrambled in much the same way," he explained, stepping closer. Scarlett stiffened, her body tense as Brenner approached, his presence like a looming shadow over her and Eleven. "But just as a stroke victim can learn to walk again, I believe you, too, can return to your full power."

His words hung heavy in the air. Return to your full power. Scarlett's fingers twitched in her lap, instinctively pressing against the cold steel of the chair. Her mind raced, trying to grasp the idea of reclaiming her abilities, of facing the trauma she had fought so hard to bury. Could she do that? Did she even want to?

Brenner moved toward Eleven first, gently placing a hand on her head. Scarlett could see the tension ripple through Eleven's body, her jaw clenched as Brenner held her, his voice soft but unnerving. "Your abilities are still in here," he said, his voice almost a whisper, coaxing her power from deep within her mind. Then, as if performing the same ritual, he turned to Scarlett. His hand hovered before resting lightly on her forehead, cold fingers pressing against her skin.