(Sort of a sequel to Coming Back to Haunt.)

———

Penny snaps her fingers and a flame appears, lighting several candles in the dim room.

The added light gives view of the science experiments’ cells. It sends shivers up Penny’s spine seeing their containers. It looks exactly how they left it, though he had fixed the testing cell where they escaped.

“So Dr. Marken, how does it feel to have the shoe in the other foot?” Ness questions. “Or maybe presence in the other prison cell is more accurate,” Landen adds.

“That doesn’t flow as much,” Penny points out. Ness lets out a humorless laugh.

It surprises Penny how silent Tex is being. While he is the strong but quiet type, he always trash talks Dr. Marken, wishing for his death. Now they have him locked up where he trapped them, and he doesn’t say a word?

“Please, I have a daughter,” Dr. Marken begins to plea. He gets right up to the glass, his breath fogging it up. His glasses are askew, probably from where Tex roughly threw him in, and terror is written all over his face. He looks a mess, contrasting greatly from the put together scientist he appeared as.

“We know that,” Ness snaps.

“You think we’re deaf?” Landen questions, rolling his eyes. In his palm, he has a blue energy ball that he is morphing into blobbish shapes. It shimmers in the flames that Penny created.

Dr. Marken has the nerve to tilt his head and put on the mask of confusion. “At the end of your little recordings, you would talk about Ever. And how she was the most important thing. Who cares if you tortured kids? As long as she got to live,” Tex answers, his gruff voice having the slightest shake in it. All three of them glance at him, not used to him being anything other than angry at the scientist.

“I didn’t just heal Ever! I helped other children!” His eyes are shining with tears, his whole body trembles. It brings him down to his knees, practically begging. Penny wonders if he is seeing them as they saw him.

Penny crouches down and glares right into his wide eyes. “Children of your friends,” she says with a fake sugary sweet tone.

His gaze darts from person to person. It would almost be comical if not for the reality.

He thought he had a trump card.

“Yeah we know. We’ve been around,” Ness taunts, twirling her pointer finger.

Slumping his shoulder against the glass, Dr. Marken looks defeated. Good.

But his demeanor shifts in a second. The pleading mask ceases and what is left is the hardened scientist that the foursome is much more aquainted with.

“What do you want?” He asks, much harsher than he was a moment ago.

Penny can’t tell if he’s dropping the act because the sacrificial father wasn’t working or he doesn’t care anymore how they see him. Why would he? They are just his science experiments after all.

The only reason they are improtant now is the fact that they are the ones that have him caged.

“Answers. We want answers,” Landon replies, tapping the glass like the doctor is a fish in a fish tank, helplessly contained.

“Well I want revenge but answers would be nice too,” Ness adds, a darkness lacing into her voice. Mini lightning bolts hang in the air around her, making everything feeling staticy and charged. Penny arches one eyebrow at her.

The whole revenge seeking brute is normally Tex’s attitude.

But she supposes they all have resentment and fury towards this man. But especially Ness since from what Penny knows, Ness was there the longest.

“Answers about what? You know why I did it.” Dr. Marken feigns stupidity, which isn’t a good look honestly on him.

“For a scientist, you are kinda of dumb,” she speaks her thoughts out loud.

“It isn’t about you,” Tex admonished sharply, like his voice could wrap spiky barbs around the doctor. Ness nods in approval of Tex’s tone. “We want to know about us. Where we came from. Our families,” she clarified, turning her head away from the cell, so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

Penny doesn’t know what it’s like to remember her last. Ness is the only one who has and it almost makes her glad that she doesn’t recall anything. It has weighed down her friend since she got a memory.

“Oh,” the doctor responds lamely.

While he doesn’t give much information, she watches closely to where his eyes are. He hasn’t looked any of them in the eye unless forced to, so his gaze has mostly been shifting between them, not staying on any of hem for too long. But now his head strays.

Wow, he is a horrible liar.

How did Ever not see the lies?

Following where he averts his sight line, she starts her search in the far left corner where he appears to be looking. There is a metal cabinet with several drawers.

Fitting her fingers until the notch, she pulls, but it doesn’t give. Then a shine from the candle’s light catches her eyes. A tiny keyhole on the top of each drawer.

Very annoying.

She doesn’t have to say anything, moving aside for Tex who is already approaching the cabinet. With one tug, the whole drawer is ripped from the metal and the contents spill onto the cement ground.

Cream Manila folders cover the floor like a carpet.

Many more than just five.

All four of the crouch down and start to collect them, their attention abandoning the doctor for the moment. Penny can’t help but read the titles on the folders. One that she picks up is particularly thick with a good stack of paper in it, labeled _Subject Pennsylvania_. It’s her file.

Her breath catches in her throat.

It’s hers.

It’s her.

The file in her hands is her. The her she doesn’t remember.

“There are dozens of files here,” Landen says, bewildered at the sheer amount that they all have. Each of them have at least 10 in their grasp, the folders varying in thickness.

Penny thinks Ness speaks, but she barely understands anything. It’s in this state, she doesn’t notice the rising anger next to her.

Tex’s fist hits the ground, creating a small crater, making Penny jolt upright. “You piece of shit! How many kids did you do this to?”

She isn’t sure what to do. She feels…stuck.

As if someone hit pause on her.

Landen is shocked. Tex is angry.

Ness doesn’t appear to have any reaction. Not that Penny can decipher. In contrast to her, Ness is moving. The only indication that she is furious is the sharp cold breeze that entered the room.

With how Tex messed up the cabinet, Ness easily pulls the three other drawers open. They either are empty or don’t have anything of importance in them since she slams them closed, making it rattle.

She seems to be the only one who can move. Ness turns the place upside down. Perhaps making sure they have all secrets that their prison had to offer.

After scoping out the room, she holds two duffels that she found in a tiny closet. Stuffing the files inside them. Penny wordlessly helps, not even realizing she’s done it until she zips the top closed.

“We’re taking it all,” she commands.

“What are you going to do with me now that you have your answers?” Dr. Marken asks, eyes full of genuine concern. Penny almost feels bad for him. Almost.

He should be afraid. Having seen Tex’s and even Ness’ rage, Penny knows that his terror is justified. He created them, especially their fury. Now he has to deal with what he’s done.

A dark cloud appears over her head. It floats over her, a darkness looming.

Penny feels her hands heat up, a familiar warmth takes over her, the candles becoming brighter.

Landen has an energy ball, cerulean blue, in each hand, his eyes glowing the same color. With the glare, he looks deadly.

Tex always looks deadly. Murderous in this instance. His hands are clenched so hard, if not for his impenetrable skin, he would probably bloody his own palms.

While she led their escape and likes to be hopeful, it slips from her.

Not everyone deserves her kindness.

The storm cloud above Ness’ head lit up with a flash of lightning. It shocks everyone when she opens the cell, Dr. Marken falling to the ground, having leaned on the door. He looks up, his eyes shining through his glasses. Fear radiating off of him.

Crouching down, Ness gets to his level and shoves him with on hand against the open cell door. The bang that his head makes quells something inside Penny.

She has a fistful of his shirt, getting in his face. Penny is impressed with Ness’ strength to face their torturer. “You are alive because you’re Ever’s father. She’s the only reason why we’re not killing you,” she practically spits in his face.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Ness extracts a notebook. The notebook that each of them has seen countless times. The one that holds what he did to them in his own words. Once she has it, she pushes him back down.

Tex and Landen grab the duffel bags, following her lead. It actually surprises her with how willing they are to leave him unmarked.

Ness steps away and Tex takes the opportunity to throw his fist at the the doctor’s face. It completely obliterates his glasses and knocks him out. Tex must’ve not been using all his strength because he could have easily killed him. Yet here he is still breathing.

“We’ll bring him upstairs and leave him there,” Ness says.

“What should we do?” Landen voices, looking around at their and apparently many others’ prison.

Penny slowly walks up to her cell, very much intact. Her fingers run across the name tag that’s still titled _Subject Pennsylvania_.

When it’s quiet, she can hear her own screams as Dr. Marken experimented on her. On them. Her skin gets goosebumps, feeling the ghost of his torture.

This basement is more than a dungeon. It’s a symbol of their pain. Where they lost everything. The files mean that there were many more who dealt with what they did. She doesn’t want this place to ever house anyone ever again.

She finally understands the rage that Tex and Ness express all the time. It is all consuming.

Turning back to her friends with a renewed fury, she answers Landen’s question.

“Burn this bitch to the ground.”