QUINN JUST BLINKS in shock. They could be like the last Project, the Asian lady had said. She vaguely remembers body slamming her in the hallway a few minutes ago. The last Project... so she means like Veronica and Theseus.

"Dad, is he... Is he like Theseus?"

Dr. Vanderwall stares at his daughter's horrified face. He remains silent.

"How do you know about that?" The woman asks.

Quinn scoffs, turning her gaze to her father. "Let's just say I can pick locks now."

"You didn't..." he starts, beginning to stride towards her once more.

"Darn right I did," she challenges. "And it's a good thing, too!"

"Are you sure about that?" He questions. "Because you have no idea what's going on here."

"Well then tell me!" She shouts. "Tell me why you kept a werewolf locked in a basement for over a year. Tell me why we suddenly had to move to the middle of nowhere. Tell me why there is a man, dressed like a psychiatric patient, hugging my elbow!"

Zero winces at the harsh sound of her words. He doesn't understand everything she said, but he does know she was talking about him in some regard. At the last statement, he slowly releases her, but he stays close in case anything happens.

"She found the files, then," the shorter woman says.

"You don't say," Quinn answers harshly.

"She knows too much--has seen too much," Dr. Vanderwall mutters under his breath.

"Sir, are you suggesting we take her into custody?" A new voice says. Quinn looks behind her at the woman who had been with the boy. And... she recognizes her. Its Katie, the woman she met on her brief tour. Quinn instantly scowls at her.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

"What?" Quinn interjects. She had expected to be arrested at some point, but not by her own father.

"But sir! She is your daughter? Are you sure there isn't something we could do?"

The Asian woman strides forward, her voice taking on a more authotitatuve tone. "We need to bring her in anyways. Look at them! Did you not see his reaction to her?" She then begins to develop a look of awe, her eyes flashing between Quinn and Zero. "The Subject had never willing approached someone, let alone initiated physical contact."

"Your point?" Henry asks begrudgingly.

"Your daughter could be a very valuable asset."

"What? No, no no no," Quinn starts. "We--" she gestures to herself and the boy, "--Are not assets. I am a living being and you can't keep me here for some super-weapon project."

Dr. Vanderwall turns to meet his duaghter's gaze, his emotions masked by a blank face. "Yes, we can. You broke the law by entering, and now we have the authority to keep you here."

Quinn blanches, her lips parting in disbelief. "Dad... you wouldn't," she chokes on the beginning of many angry tears. "You're going to turn me into some lab rat?!"

Henry slides a hand down the length of his face, his expression hardening. He looks much older now, tired lines making their way across his features. "I will explain everything soon, I promise," he says at last. "But I have to take you into custody. No, don't look at me like that. After you get the whole story, you'll understand. You will help me--help us."

"No, I won't! This is all wrong and you're delusional if you think I would even consider helping you."

Dr. Vanderwall doesn't respond, refusing to meet her angry, teary gaze. He motions with his hand for the guards to come forward. They follow his command, a guard taking each of her arms. Quinn screams at the man she used to call father, vocalizing her frustrations in the form of obscenities and threats.

Zero is forced away from her by two other guards, one holding a syringe threateningly. He cowers before them, still too afraid and confused to help the woman in any way. He whimpers, but it isn't heard over the sound of the new woman's thrashing as she is practically carried from the room. Zero has never seen such emotions expressed before, and it scares him. He wanted her to be different--to be a savior of sorts--but her outburst has shocked and frightened him.

He watches as she is forcibly removed from the training room in the direction of where his cell is. Will They put her in a cell, too? He wishes they wouldn't.

Even if she is scary, he wouldn't wish his same fate on anyone.

*

Quinn ceases shouting once they are back out in the hallway, but she doesn't exactly make the guards' job easy, either. According to her internal navigation, they are following around the outside of the room they were in earlier. Eventually, the reach the end of the hallway, which opens up to a much larger one, close to the size of the room the boy was in.

Multiple guards are here, like this is some kind of behind the scenes headquarters. On the far end of the room is a glass wall that separates this one from a lab on the other side. Only, that lab is different from any of the others she's seen. It has observation tables. They look similar to ones used to place cadavers on, but there are straps across it.

Quinn shivers.

She is brought from her observations by a harsh jab between her shoulder blades. She is led to the center of the space where several 'pods' of sorts are placed on tracks. They are metal and white, each with a large window on one side. One of them is moving, she notices, as it slides in place beside the others. They are all on tracks to make them portable throughout the facility, it seems.

They are all empty, save one.

The one that was moving slows to a stop right in front of her, its occupant unaware of her gaze. The boy is asleep--no, passed out--on the small cot, the only object in the entirely white cell besides himself. He is on his back, one of his arms hanging off he side of the cot at an obviously uncomfortable angle. The exposed crook of his elbow reveal large, purple and yellow bruises that contrast against the porcelain white of his skin.

Quinn opens her mouth in horror at the signs of abuse.

"What did you do to him?!" she snaps at the guards at her sides. She struggles to pull out of their grip, disgusted by their mere presence.

Neither of them answer her, of course. They only grip her arms tighter, her muscles beneath their fingers feeling as if they were being clamped by a vice. They harshly throw her into the pod next to the boy's. She stumbles into the room, turning around to face them just as the door shuts closed.

She slaps a palm to the metal door, her hand immediately stinging afterwards. "Gah!" She screams her frustrations, ripping her hat off her head. She fists her hands in her hair as she paces angrily back and forth, the sting of angry tears blurring her vision.

Her eye catches the window, or what she thought was a window. She only sees her reflection staring back at her, so that can only mean it's one-way glass. Great, they're watching her and she can't even see them.

This is not what she was prepared for. She has no idea what is going to happen next, and that terrifies her. He didn't even deny the things she accused him of, and that only makes him more guilty.

Quinn slowly lowers herself to the ground, her back resting against the metal wall beneath the window. She struggles to cope with all of the emotions running through her, trying to process everything that happened in the last half hour.

She has lost all civil rights. No one on the outside knows she is here. Veronica and Theseus would have returned to Canada by now, leaving her on her own completely, no one else knowing of the information she discovered. She now realizes everything the internet said was true.

Quinn was right, but she's the only one who knows it.

*

Henry Vanderwall sits quietly at his desk, hands folded beneath his chin, eyes gazing at nothing. He had never meant for her to find out. This could ruin everything he has built, but at the same time, it could be the last piece he needs to gain access to the very thing he has been striving towards for so many years.

The truth is going to crush her, but he can't help that. Once she gets over it, she will understand why he's done what he has--and what he will do. She will understand that her freedom is a sacrifice that has to be made for both of them. She will realize this is for her best interest as well as his.

Because he will do anything to bring her back, even if it's at the loss of his daughter.

Hey bros. I know this is a shorter chapter, but I had to stop here before I went any further.

Quick thank you to all of you who have pledged your allegiance to my cause. I love you all very dearly, which is saying something, considering I hate everyone.

Also! I am thinking of getting a Twitter account. I think it would be a great way to get to know you all as well as promote my stories. What do you guys think?

See you guys next time :)