Absent Spark [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

XIV

Someone was shaking me. I groaned, and opened my eyes. Will was hovering over me, looking concerned.

"Grace, wake up." He said.

"What happened." I asked, my voice hoarse and scratchy.

I threw my arm over my forehead, trying to block out the light. We were in a what looked like a cell. The floor was stone, and so was the walls. There was bars, like in a cell, at the front instead of a wall. There was a single lightbulb hanging on a string. I concentrated on it, and it began to flicker on and off in a pattern.  I was laying on the stone floor, which wasn't very comfortable. I stopped with the lightbulb, and pushed myself up on my palms.

"They threw a can of sleeping gas in the living room." Will explained.

He was leaning against the wall, staring at me.

"Oh, well when did you wake up?" I asked.

"A couple minutes before you did."

"Well, it's a nice change of scenery." Will said, looking around.

I blinked.

"It's a prison cell."

"I was being sarcastic." He said, looking at me.

"Oh," I blushed. "I knew that."

"Your cute when you blush." He said softly, I almost didn't catch it.

That only made me blush harder. I had forgot about our shared kiss for a moment, but I didn't regret. I hope he didn't either.

"We need to get out of here." I said, changing the subject.

I stood up, walking towards the bars.

"That's going to be hard." Someone said.

Phantom stepped into my view, Black shadowing him.

"Phantom, what do you want?" Will said, coming forward.

If looks could kill, they'd be dead.

"My business isn't with you Acceleration. Well, it is, but primarily her." He said, turning to me.

He had a wicked grin on his face, Black mirrored him.

"I have no business with you. Well, expect to kill you." I sneered.

"Ah, but you do."

"If this is about the machine-"

He cut Will off.

"I see you figured it out already. And yes, before you ask, we did rebuild it."

"Then what are you going to do with it?" I asked.

"Wasn't that obvious? I was going to use it to amplify my powers all over the world, crippling everyone I want immobile. And that'll make it easy to take over." He explained.

"It won't work, there's not enough energy in the whole world to power something like that." Will told him.

"No, there's not. But there's enough power in her." He said.

I looked at him.

"You'll never get me to do that."

"I won't have to. I'll hook you up to this device, that your good friend Doctor Daniels made before he died. It'll turn your powers on permanently, never stopping. It'll be extremely painful, and you'll die after awhile, sure, but by that time I'll have what I need."

His words sent my head spinning, my heart pounding. I couldn't die this way, I wouldn't die this way. Strapped to some machine, electricity being sucked out of me every second. I refused go out like that.

What would Brooke do if I died? I already knew the answer. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

"You'll be fine Grace. I'm keeping my promise." Will whispered in my ear.

He kissed me on the cheek, Phantom raising an eyebrow at it.

"So are you two, like, a thing?" He asked, pointing at us.

"What's it to you?" Will spat.

"Just something I can use to my advantage." Phantom waved him off.

I glanced at Black. He had been silent the whole time, just standing half way in the shadows, keeping his eye on something I couldn't see. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"The machine will be ready in a few minutes," Phantom said. "Then you'll be strapped in, the electricity will be sucked out of you, you'll die, yada yada. You already know that though."

"What makes you think as soon as you let us out of here, we won't kill you?" I asked him.

"Because I have her." He said simply.

Black pulled something out of the shadows. The girl was on the ground, but she clearly awake and frightened. I recognized the familiar fiery red hair and green eyes. It was Anna.

The single light bulb bursted from my anger, glass splaying around.

Phantom pressed a button, and the bars evaporated like mist. I ran forward to Anna, sitting her up. I pulled the gag off her mouth, and her eyes were welled up with tears.

"Grace." She gasped, once she saw me.

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay." I comforted her.

Her eyes rested on Will rushing up to me, the broken lightbulb, Phantom and Black. Everything seemed to click in her mind.

"Grace, Grace oh my God, I'm so sorry Grace." She sobbed.

"It's fine, everything's fine." I assured her.

Will came kneeled next to us, taking Anna in his arms.

"You didn't need to bring her into this." I said standing up, seething with rage.

I clenched my hands into fists, lightning dancing over them in a beautiful ballet.

"I did what I had to do to get you to comply. You die with the machine, or she dies." He said, giving me my options.

I didn't even hesitate.

"Kill me."

"Grace you can't-" Will tried to say.

"I have to." I cut him off, turning my back to him.

"I'll give you five minutes." Phantom said, slinking out of the room with Black.

"Grace, what does he mean you'll die?" Anna asked.

I turned around, and Anna was standing up, Will supporting her. There was a bruise blossoming over her temple, probably where they knocked her out. I couldn't help but think this was all my fault.

"They're going to kill me. I chose your life over mine." I told her simply.

"You can't do that," She said. "You can't die on us."

"We can fight them." Will said, begging for options.

I shook my head.

"We can't, they'll kill Anna as soon as we try."

"I can speed us out of here." Will suggested, desperate.

"Black can teleport. And even if we did manage to escape, we'd have to hide for the rest of our lives."

"Please, Grace." Anna said, crying now.

Will's face was contorted into one of sadness. He wasn't crying though. He had to be the strong one. Phantom appeared in the doorway. It was time.

"This is it," I said softly. "Tell Brooke I love him, and I'm sorry. Remember, I love you both."

I slipped my arms around Anna, hugging her for the last time. She cried into my shoulder. I let a single tear slip out.

I turned to Will, and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. He grabbed my hand.

"Don't Grace. I can't lose you."

"This started with me. This will end with me. Save the world once I die, okay?" I said softly.

I turned and walked to Phantom, my head held high.