I Am Number Ten///Nine X FEM!Reader

E L E V E N

Nine's P.O.V.

We made it back to the Hancock Building after a few days, after getting our asses handed to us. Ever since we got here, two hours ago, I'd locked myself in my room. I still couldn't stop thinking about Ten. The real Ten. She must still be alive. She has to be. From what I know she's tough as nails.

But where in the hell did they even take her? All I know is that she was taken away before John and I could get to her. I still remembered what happened as soon as I realized we couldn't get to her. I played it off cool with John and told him I was going to go, "play with the soldier toys", but I was actually firing a the trucks they tried to get us in. This was the second time I broke the promise I made to her.

I'd let her go again. At this point I didn't know what I was feeling towards her, all I knew is that no matter what, I wanted to protect her. She was awkward and beautiful, and made my stomach feel heavy in my body, but I wanted nothing more than to find her and crush her in an embrace.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "I need to do something."

I picked up the tablet to see what Five was up to. It looked like he didn't even move. I guess that's good. Off to the left of the dot that was Five another dot appeared. Just on the outskirts of Texas. My heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be, Ten. They drove off with her.

I stood up and walked to living room. In the corner I saw my old sketchpad, I sighed and picked it up, along with the pen next to it. I walked out the wall and stood on the ceiling and began to sketch out the perimeter of the Mogadorian Mountain Base. Ten still had to be there, right?

Sarah walked into the room. "Oh, hey." She turned to leave.

"Hey! Can you do something for me? Tell, Four to come find me."

"Sure." She nodded and left. I continued to scribble on the paper. Six, Eight, And Four didn't even seem to notice me. I ignored them until Six left, and lost focus and fell off the ceiling onto the floor.

"How long were you standing there?" Four asked. I replied with a shrug.

"I do my best thinking upside down, dude."

"I didn't realize you did any thinking."

"Okay, fair point, you usually do enough thinking for all of us." I handed him the sketchpad. "But check this out."

He started thumbing through the pages. "Is this-?"

"West Virginia. Every detail I could remember. This should come in handy when we make our assault on the place. I'm sure it's where that fat, jerk-off Setrakús is hiding out..."

"When I wanted to attack the cave, you were totally against it."

"That was after you'd run into the force field like a dummy. I said we needed numbers. We've got numbers."

"Speaking of which, did you check the tablet this morning?" I nodded. "And?"

"Five's staying out for now... but there was something weird."

"What?"

"Another dot appeared."

"Where!?"

"Somewhere near, Texas. It hasn't moved for about an hour... do you think...?"

"I don't know, Nine. Just keep an eye on where it's moving. Now that we've had a chance to rest up, I think we should make it a priority. The more of us the better, right?"

"And maybe while we're searching for Five and Ten, Setrakús Ra mounts a full-scale invasion of Earth. We've got him on the run. We should finish him off.

"On the run? That's not how I remember it."

"What? He did retreat, didn't he?"

"You think you're ready for a rematch?"

"You tell me." I stuck a body builder pose, and John burst out laughing.

"I'm sure he'll be intimidated by flexing."

"It's more intimidating than sitting around, anyways." I flop down on the couch next to him.

"You really think we should storm West Virginia? After the beating we took at Dulce?" I clenched my fists. We were so close, all of us to being dead.

"I don't know... I just wanted to give this to you so you know it's an option, all right? You may not think I'm, like, capable of learning my limitations and shit like that-but, back in Mew Mexico? I was maybe, just slightly, over my head trying to fight Setrakús alone. Six went off on her own too, Eight got wrecked, and everyone else was getting shot up. But you kept it together, man. You kept us together. Everyone knows it. I still don't buy your shit about being Pittacus reincarnated, or whatever, but you've got that team-captain vibe. So do the leading, and I'll do the ass kicking. It's what we're best at."

"Be Strong? I don't know- Six it pretty good at ass kicking, too."

I snort, "yeah, she was super-badass in her freaking ceiling cocoon. That's not the point, Johnny. The point is, I need you to tell me what to punch. And I need you to tell me soon or I'm gonna go stir crazy up in here.

"I know you're still stressed about, Ten."

"How?"

"The night that we couldn't save her. You weren't just shooting the guns for fun. I saw you shooting at the truck. You were literally on the verge of blowing it up."

"It doesn't matter. We'll find her eventually."

"Nine, she's one of the reasons we can't fight Setrakús right now. She can give us a huge advantage with her legacies if given the chance. And I can't have you a mess anymore. I wish Henri was here or Sandor. Any of the Cêpans, really. Someone that could tell us what to do."

"Yeah, well, they're dead. It's up to us now, and you're always the one with the ideas. Hell, the last time I wouldn't go along with your plan, I almost had to throw you off a roof."

"I'm not a Cêpan."

"No, but you're a freaking know-it-all. Quit whining, cut down on the snuggling with your little human girlfriend, and come up with some brilliant plan."

"What if I just don't have a plan?"

"That, Johnny -boy, is simply not an option."