Grant

Chapter Seven-LoN

The next morning starts off with a scream.

"Jesus Christ." Tony jumps as I flip over him, ready to defend him and Pete if necessary. It's Dreads writhing on the table and absolutely screaming her head off at us. My hand plants itself over her mouth as I lean down to talk to her.

"Please, stop it. We just want to talk. Okay?" I ask slowly, adrenaline fading into stiff limbs and tired eyes. Blue eyes scan me fearfully before she nods and I remove my hand.

"Get me out of here. Please, please don't let them hurt me." She pleads quietly and my brows furrow while she stares at Tony in fear. He gets up with a groan and faces us.

"Whoa there. We're the good guys. You're the ones that kidnapped our teammate and beat him." I point out, instinctually feeling defensive. She shakes her head and now I realize she's actually trembling.

"Good is relative. I know the truth. You're all just a government front. So called do-gooders actually killing people in the shadows." I blink in shock.

"Uh, what?" Tony asks, walking forward a bit.

"That's right I know. And you kidnapped him and brainwashed him just like his sister. Monsters!" She shouts and I glance at Tony's wide eyes to find my own surprise reflected in them.

"None of that is true. This team saved me from brainwashing. My sister too."

"Truth." She breathes and her eyes suddenly turn a vivid, glowing blue.

"What the hell is that?" Tony steps forward and puts a hand on my chest, but I don't move away.

"Hold on, hold on." A few moments pass before the blue fades back into her clear eyes and she considers me more closely.

"You're not lying." She says and I nod.

"Nope." I point out and her mouth opens, but nothing comes out. "Why don't you tell me your name?" I suggest and her eyes scan me cautiously.

"Ramona."

"Okay, great. I'm Grant and this is Tony." Tony waves. "That guy you took is Peter." I wave a hand at a still somehow sleeping Peter and guilt creeps into her eyes.

"We weren't going to kill him. We just wanted to know where and how he got his powers." She defends instantly.

"Why?" Tony asks, trying as hard as I am to connect the dots. She looks back at me and chews on her lip.

"We're called the League of New."

"LoN? Your acronym is LoN? Come on." Tony scoffs and I shake my head at him.

"Like new gifteds." Ramona continues with an annoyed glance at Tony. "We just wanted to talk to him!"

"Right, torture just comes up organically in conversation." I sass and she sighs.

"He wouldn't talk. Didn't work anyways. Your friend is tough."

"Yeah and your boss is an asshole feeding off of desperate kids. Tell us his name. We'll help you." I tell her softly. Genuinely. I can see the desperation in her eyes, just like Des. She mulls this over for a few terse moments.

"His name is Eli Bay. He's our leader." She admits nervously. "He's been recruiting gifteds for a while now."

"Collecting, more like." Tony grumbles with distaste.

"Does he have an ability?" I question and Ramona shakes her head.

"No. Not that I've seen. He just has a lot of resources." She explains and I nod.