Nate leaned against a wall in his cell, his cards flying from one hand to another. This was bad. No, scratch that, this was worse than bad. This was downright injustice.

    With a groan, Nate finally sat down crossed legged and glanced out the plexiglass door of his cell. The other cells in this block contained his teammates. Across the hall he could see Evan pacing, Willow curled in a ball and Rachel sitting alertly by the glass in their respective cells. He caught Rachel's eyes and pointed a thumb to his right, inquiring as to how Taro, his cell neighbor, was doing. They couldn't hear one other through the glass, so they were limited to non-verbal communication.

     Rachel glanced over at Taro's cell before making a sleeping motion towards Nate, who shook his head in disbelief. Rachel agreed. How could any of them nap at a time like this?

In only a few hours, they had been informed, they would be taken as a group to the memory erasure machine that they hadn't known could even exist. In the blink of an eye, they'd forget everything- Their names, their families, each other- and after that their fate would be a mystery. Nate shivered, wondering what it was going to be like to completely forget everything about himself.

    Well, he thought miserably, At least if we're going down, we're going down together. Although, admittedly it would have been better if any of them had managed to escape. However, escape was no longer an option. Each prisoner had a metal wrist band that would deliver a painful jolt of electricity if they got out of line. Rachel had been the first to discover this 'shocking' feature when she was climbing her cell, looking for a way out.

    In a sudden fit of anger, Nate tossed his cards in the air. This was so stupid. Why had he even gotten into all this? To feel like he was a part of something? To feel like he was needed? He shook his head as his cards fluttered back down like leaves, wishing he had never auditioned for the SVE club. Wishing he had never shown Midas that card trick.

<><><><><><>

"So let me make sure I understand this," Mr. Lee said as he drove furiously down a deserted highway. "You two are gonna run into this highly guarded facility, somehow bust the rest of the lunatics out and take down this class A menta, Insomnium guy?"

"That's the gist of it," Sam said from the back seat where she sat with Midas.

"And this guy," Mr. Lee said, jabbing a thumb at Midas, "Is a ticking bomb, and you're basically the finger in the gun barrel?"

Sam frowned. "That's not exactly how I would put it, but yes."

Mr. Lee shook his head. "We are all gonna die."

"Speaking of which," Midas said, turning to Sam. "We should test whether or not Insomnium can control me immediately after you release me. Now that he doesn't know where I am."

"Wait, so you want me to let go now?" Sam asked, terrified at the prospect.

"Only for a moment. We shouldn't take any unnecessary risks, but we need to know if I can use my power or not so we can make a plan."

"You don't have a plan?!" Mr. Lee shouted, almost swerving into the barrier.

"We're working on it!" Midas retorted.

Sam looked down at their hands. "I see what you're saying... but are you sure I'll be able to stop you in time? Just in case the worst happens?"

"You did last time, right? And now you know what to look for."

"We need a code word," Sam suddenly said.

"What do you mean?"

"Something you can say if you feel Insomnium starting to get in your head, something shorter than 'He's got me.' You know?"

"What's shorter than that?" Mr. Lee muttered.

Ignoring him, Midas nodded. "Agreed. We need to think of a word, something we wouldn't have any other reason to use."

"Tonsillitis," Mr. Lee suggested, his tone obviously sarcastic. "Aw, shoot that's four syllables. Never mind."

"Help?" Sam said.

Midas shook his head. "It's a frequently used word. I might have to use it for something else."

    "Insomnium?" Sam suggested.

    "Four syllables!" Mr. Lee shouted.

    "How about Pierce?" Midas asked.

    Sam looked confused. "Pierce? Oh, I get it. Like he's piercing through your brain or something, right?"

    "No, that's not... Never mind," Midas said, suddenly unsure if  he was willing to expose Insomnium quite yet.

    "Okay, then. Pierce," Sam said, nodding. "I like it."

    Midas managed somewhat of a grimace. "We're gonna lose, aren't we?"

    Sam shrugged, trying to seem confident. "It would hardly be the first time. ISH, your AcTeam, Overdrive- We were getting our butts kicked on a daily basis for a while there. Hate to say it, but we're still kind of a team of losers."

    "And speaking of losers, I'm just lost," Mr. Lee said, trying to look at the map on his phone and the road at the same time. "Midas, you're supposed to be helping. Do I get off on this exit or not?"

    "Yeah."

    "Yeah get off, or yeah don't get off?"

    "This is the exit!" Midas exclaimed.

    "Why didn't you say so?!" Mr. Lee said with a scowl, yanking the steering wheel swiftly to the right. Everything in the car seemed to slide with the force.

    "If the city wasn't being evacuated, you'd have gotten pulled over by now," Sam informed the crazed teacher.

    "If the city wasn't being evacuated, I wouldn't be driving like a madman towards the danger," Mr. Lee retorted. "How much farther?"

    "We're twenty minutes out," Midas said. He glanced at Sam. "We should try this now. We might not get another chance."

    Sam nodded determinedly. "You're right. Remember, just say pierce."

    "I'll remember," Midas said, sitting back in his seat and closing his eyes, prepared for the worst.

    Sam couldn't stall any longer. She let go.

<><><><><><><>

Gerald Lockson hated his job. Of course he got blamed for allowing the amateur heist at ISH to get so far. Now he was stuck at the confinement unit, keeping tabs on the five punks (one of which, he felt certain, was responsible for the spilling of his coffee). Lockson sighed, head in his hands. His barren station consisted of a few security monitors. Not a computer for solitaire in sight.

He glanced at his watch. At last, he could take the brats to the machine and they'd be out of his hair. The machine would have been prepared by now.

Lockson stood up and went to the door, which opened automatically, and strolled into the nondescript hallway that led towards the containment block. He had barely gotten five steps down the hallway when the floor shook violently. With a terrified shriek, Lockson fell to the ground and watched as the linoleum right in front of him seemed to disintegrate and fall into a deep sinkhole. When the quaking had subsided, Lockson peeked over the edge of the gaping hole in the hallway. There was no way he could get across it.

    "Pierce!" someone shouted. Lockson looked up to find two people standing on the other side of the hole, joining hands.

    "You!" Lockson seethed upon seeing Midas. He recognized that mask from the ISH break-in. He was the one who had gotten away. Now here he was, only five yards away. Silently, Lockson stood up and ran as fast as he could to get reinforcements.

    On the other side of the pit, Midas wiped his brow. This was a bit more difficult than he had anticipated. He breathed heavily and looked positively pale.

    "Are you going to be alright?" Sam asked.

    "It's harder than I realized. He's constantly pulling my consciousness out from under me. And when you block him, it yanks me away from him. It's exhausting. Kind of like..."

    "Like being dragged underwater and then pulled quickly to the surface?" Sam suggested.

    "Sort of," Midas said. "For now, let's stick close. We'll only use my power if we absolutely need to."

    "Then what was that?" Sam asked, motioning to the big sinkhole. "I mean, I understand the cameras and the doors, but..."

     "That hallway leads to the guard blocks. This should give us a good head start," Midas explained. "That said, we'd better keep moving."

    They moved quickly through the building, Midas leading the way. Sam stretched her fingers, which had begun to cramp, but made certain that she did not pull away. Since both hands held each other more out of grave necessity rather than want, their grips were tighter and because of that, the pain came quicker.

    "Sorry," Midas said, trying in vain to hold Sam's hand a bit gentler. Still, he hated the idea that one of them might stumble and lose their grasp.

    Sam made a face, trying to be a good sport. "This is awkward, isn't it?" she asked, huffing to keep up with Midas.

    "Yeah."

    "You'll be happy to know that I'm enjoying it just as much as you are," Sam said.

     Midas gave her an oddly skeptical look. "You mean-"

     "Yep," Sam said. "I can't wait for this whole ordeal to be over. No offense, but I want my hand back." She laughed. "Don't you?"

    Midas hesitated.

    Sam frowned. "Midas?"

    "Sorry. Yeah, you're right," Midas finally said. "The sooner we stop Insomnium, the better. I mean, I can't expect you to hold my hand forever, right?"

    "What a horrifying thought," Sam joked.

"Exactly," Midas said, not looking at her as they approached a large metal door. "This is where they'll be... If they're still here." He glanced at Sam. "You can have your hand back for a second. I don't have any other plan for opening this thing. Same with the cells."

Sam nodded. "Do what you need to do."

Midas pulled his hand away and focused on the door. There was a sharp bang and the door was obliterated instantly, the jagged edges blackened and smoldering. As he inspected the opening, Midas felt his body suddenly go stiff.

A h . T h e r e y o u a r e .

"Pierce," Midas said. Sam took his hand and the villain was gone.

"Ready?" Sam asked.

Midas took a deep breath. "I guess."

Sam merely nodded once. They entered the room together. On either side of them, their teammates watched them with wide eyes, glancing amongst each other. The explosion had caused the glass barriers to crack in places, so Midas and Sam heard clearly when Nate now spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What's it look like?" Midas said incredulously.

"After what you pulled at ISH, you decide to come back for us?" Evan scoffed.

"Who cares?" Taro laughed, sounding hysterical. "Let's get out of here!"

"Whoa, whoa, guys," Rachel said, looking intrigued. She pointed at Midas and Sam's hands. "What's this, now?"

"That's what concerns you about all this?!" Nate howled. "Why's he even here? I thought he was working with Insomnium or whatever. Sam, what's going on?"

   "We'll explain later," Sam answered. "Right now, we need to get you guys out of here. Can you please cooperate?"

    This caused an uproar of arguments and yelling.

"Just listen to me!" Midas shouted, holding up his free hand. "Look, I know none of you trust me now. You don't need to. You can hate me, and after today you don't need to have anything to do with me. But Insomnium is on the move, and we're some of the only ones who can stop him... No. You're the only ones who can stop him."

This quieted everyone down. The SVE club stared at their former leader, wary and tired.

"Midas," Willow said. "Even if we do believe you... We're... we're nothing against someone like Insomnium. You made us believe that we could do things like this... But you were wrong. We can't do this. We're not strong enough. Isn't that why you left us?"

Silence filled the containment block. Sighs were let out. Nate and Rachel sat back down, leaning against their cell walls.

Midas was taken aback. Had that been why he'd left? Had he just assumed that the team could not survive so many forces, with or without his help? With a start, he realized that the answer was no. There was a different reason.

"I wasn't strong enough."

Every head swirled towards Midas.

"I was the one who was not strong. Not you guys," he continued. "I knew that if I didn't get Insomnium what he wanted, he'd turn me on all of you. I allowed him to make me his puppet because I wasn't strong enough to withstand him... I wasn't strong enough to stand up to him. So... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you, and I'm sorry I let things go this far. This whole thing is my fault, and nobody else's. But I can't fix it on my own. Because powers or no powers, you are the strongest people I know. And I need your strength to beat Insomnium. I need all of you."

A stunned silence filled the room. For a moment.

"Okay, I'm in," Taro said. "Bust me out of here, would you?"

"Just like that?" Nate laughed in disbelief.

Taro shrugged. "Hey, if Insomnium's on the loose, I'd rather live my last day of freedom doing something awesome than sleeping in a jail cell."

Midas let go of Sam's hand and focused his energy on the glass of Taro's cell, gently disintegrating it into dust.

Y o u w o n ' t e s c a p e m e .

We'll see.

Midas took Sam's hand again as Taro joined them in the hall. Midas turned to the others.

"Well," he said. "Who's next?"

    Rachel rapped on her glass. "I am."

Midas repeated the process with Rachel's cell.

Y o u w i l l r e g r e t t h i s .

I know, was Midas' reply. Aloud he said, "Pierce." Sam was there in an instant and Insomnium disappeared. He turned to Nate, Willow and Evan. "What about you guys?"

    It was silent. Evan and Nate looked distrustful and Willow seemed unsure.

    "I don't blame you for not wanting to come," Midas said. "This could kill us for all we know-"

    "Nobody said anything about that!" Taro exclaimed.

    "-but to be honest, I don't think we can succeed without all of you," Midas continued. "Right now, I don't need you guys to be villains. I need you to be heroes."

    Echoes of footfalls sounded in the distance. Voices murmured from outside the hallway.

    "Might want to decide quickly," Sam advised.

    This advice rang true, since only a minute later a group of guards, including Lockson, burst into the dilapidated containment block. They swept through the area and found no prisoners in the cells. It was no mystery how they had escaped- The glass barriers were completely disintegrated. At the end of the hallway, a gaping hole had been blown into the wall, letting the chilly air in.

    "What do you think happened here?" one of the guards asked Lockson.

    Lockson turned away from her and merely stared out the hole into the outside.

    "They got away," he answered. "All of them."