The Secrets Within Ourselves (KLANCE)

19: Submerged

Song Of The Chapter:
Kettering - The Antlers

It was 6:00 AM.
Lance received an anonymous text naming a location. With that in all caps, it said:
DON'T BE LATE. 10:00 SHARP.
Lance recognized the location, too.
It was the place they conducted tests on him when he was younger.

Lance wasn't exactly sure what he was getting into when he agreed to the meeting. For all he knew, they could be trying to punish him, or try another test on him.
But, a deal was a deal, and backing out of it would not be a wise choice.
Lance sat up on his bed, tucking his legs into his chest. Anxiety flowed through him, and he tried to close his eyes and calm down.

I don't wanna go.
I don't wanna go.
I don't wanna go.

He stayed in the position for around 12 minutes before finally regaining himself.
With a shuddering breath, Lance changed, stuffing some money in his pocket. He went over to his desk and wrote a note to Keith in case he got worried.

Out meeting someone. Be back later. I will get dinner on the way back. -L

Lance hurried out, stopping by the coffee shop. He ordered some food and a coffee before calling an Uber.

Lance made sure they dropped him off around 10 minutes away from the location, just in case.
After the car left, Lance changed to his Frost form, however, he wasn't wearing his normal suit. Just a plain shirt that said PARENT ADVISORY. EXPLICIT CONTENT.
Lance walked down the road, taking note of how ghetto the area looked. A normal person would definitely think the place was a sketchy, low income community.
Little did they know it was an area where many crooks, burglars, and gang members hung out - including his father's business.

The Cuban pressed onward, until he finally reached a medium sized building.
It looked like any other warehouse around the area, with dirty red bricks and dark olive green doors and window frames.
A perfect disguise for a secret lab.
Lance took a deep breath before walking forward. Three men were sitting out front smoking in chairs, their heads lifting at Lance's approach.
"Boss is inside," one nodded to Lance. Lance opened the door, greeted by a gust of cool air from the air conditioning.

His father was talking to someone in a white suit that looked like a doctor. At the sight of Lance's entry, Lance's father walked over.
"Hi papa-"
Lance didn't have a chance to finish his sentence.
A punch to the jaw sent Lance reeling. Lance brought a hand up to his face, then up to his father.
"Wha-?"
"You should never get captured! What the hell is with you? You could have gotten away, but your weak ass decided to stay! Furthermore, you could have agreed to the task assigned to you. You wouldn't have had to fight my men!"
Lance looked away, torn.
He knew all this already. It was his decision.
There was no way he would ever inflict pain on his mama. His father should have known this.
Dismissing that issue, Lance's father turned.
"You're probably wondering why I called you here today. Come, I will explain as we walk."

Lance followed as his father pushed two doors open, walking down a hallway with buzzing, flickering lights.
"I want you to continue considering your mother as a problem needing to be solved. In the meantime, I need you to break into someone's home. They have evidence of a robbery with my face in the video. If the police get their hands on it, then I'm a dead man. I need you to delete the footage, kill them, and also get their credit card number for personal purposes. Got that?"
Lance nodded, making sure he didn't miss any information.
He wished he didn't have to kill anyone, though.
His father continued, pausing to turn and unlock another set of doors.
"Now, I could have told you that anywhere. But to be honest, I brought you here to... test one more thing. You see, in your Frost form you still have the ability to use your ice manipulation effectively. But there's something about your form that is stopping you."
Lance looked over, confused.
"When you get shot by a bullet for example, you take on effect like a normal human does. But... if we alter that, a different reaction can occur."
Lance was growing more and more aware of what was going to happen to him from his father's explanation.