TB: Twisted Souls ch. 4

Chapter 4: A Bargain with a Sadist


Neil Davis was pacing silently up and down his cell, lost in thought, when there was an insistent knocking on the door.  The window cover slid open, to reveal a pair of eyes hidden behind reflective glasses, set in a grim face.

"Mr. Davis."

"Doctor Strange." Neil said politely, halting far away from the door.

"I came to see how you were doing.  I do apologize if the alarms, ah, upset you."

Neil didn't respond.

"I thought it might interest you to know that some of your fellow inmates escaped." Strange said pointedly, only receiving a shrug in return.  He paused for a moment, then added, "They took your sister with them, it seems."

"My sister is dead, Doc." Neil answered firmly.  "The woman everyone presumes is her is a demon."

"Be that as it may," Strange responded with an indulgent nod, "The…demon was taken.  I assume you'll start eating again now?"

"Maybe." Neil said in a non-committal manner.  For some reason, this made the doctor smile.

"This is good to hear, Mr. Davis.  On that note, enjoy your lunch."  And the grate slid shut.



Some time later, in a cell far removed from Neil Davis's, the Joker was also pacing back and forth, up and down, as he moved about in a fury.  Starting the day off talking to Doctor Strange was never a good thing.  Couldn't he wait till that blasted 'group therapy' of his?  And the news that Zai and Curiosity had escaped with some new inmate…Joker wasn't sure whether he wanted to strangle them both or pat them on the back and ask them how they did it.

Whatever it was involved guns.  He knew that much, same as any of the other inmates.  He'd heard the shots fired nearby.  Uzis, he'd deduced.

"Say, you're unusually quiet today, Joker.  What are you up to?" came the question from the cell next door.  It sounded a bit too polite and friendly, like the speaker was straining to be civil.

"Why the same thing you're up to, Pengy!" Joker answered brightly, "99 bottles of Joker serum in the cell."

"Oh lord," Penguin squawked in the tones of one resigned to the chopping block, "Not that again!"

"99 bottles of serum in the cell, 99 bottles of serum…" Joker sang, bouncing around the padded walls for emphasis.  This proved to be a bit of a challenge in a straitjacket, but somehow it got easier the more he worked at it.

"Yeah, just one short of brain damage." Penguin grumbled.

"You smash one down, smiles spread around!  98 bottles of serum!"

"All right, settle down, Joker!" said a new voice, "It's lunchtime."

The door to his cell opened, revealing a young man with a buzz cut, a bored expression, and a surfer's overplayed accent.  Joker leered at him, remembering when he'd first broken into Arkham and put a smile on the kid's face.

"Feh-lunky," he said, starting in a high pitch and working his way to his lower, threatening tone, "I do hope you've been going to Dr. Strange and giving him my complaints about our diet.  Too much stinking macaroni…"

The orderly sighed, "Yes, Joker.  I made sure to tell him…again."

"So why is there still macaroni on the plate?" Joker demanded angrily, making him take a step back.  The orderly had no clue Joker was already having a bad day, but he knew better than to get to close when he started talking half-sane.

"Knock it off, Joker." said another orderly, stepping inside the cell.  Joker glared at him, wishing he was out of the straitjacket so he could snap Gabe's neck.

"Or you'll do what…flunky?" he growled.

"Just eat." Gabriel sighed, as the first orderly set the plate of macaroni and cheese on the floor and backed out.  Gabe too, started to back out.

"Gabriel." Joker said his name in a deadly voice, and he stopped, partially because he was stunned he even knew his name.  "She's never going to be yours."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Gabe answered coldly.

"Oh, but my dear archangel," Joker said in a mocking, honey-coated tone, "I think you do."  After all, the fear in those bright blue eyes spoke loud and clear, belying his brave face.  Gabriel's face hardened and he slammed the door shut with a resounding clang, making Joker smile.  He'd won that one.  The blonde idiot was just making it too easy.  Then he scowled.

That flunky had been after Zai the second he saw Joker with her.  Joker had threatened him repeatedly, tricked Zai to try to turn her against him, had the kid beaten to half an inch within his life…and he was STILL stupid enough to not give up.  Ha!  And they thought he, Joker, was the one that should be in the cell?  THAT was laughable.

He sat brooding and steaming for a few more minutes, when Penguin suddenly squawked again in his cell.  "Wh-what is this?  You maniacs trying to kill me?!"  There followed a spitting noise and a small clink, and Penguin suddenly went, "Oooooh.  Seems someone's losing their keys…"

Joker stared blankly at the wall separating them for a moment, then kicked over his plate of macaroni and cheese and spread the contents on the cell floor.  For a moment, it only squished, then there was a small scratching sound.  Something metal was sliding across the concrete floor!  He kicked the plate over, and there is was: a cell key, hidden among the pasta.  He could only stare for a moment, and then he grinned widely, his smile touching his ears.

"Well now…" he said, highly amused, "Perhaps I'm not gonna use your head for a bowling ball yet, Strange."

The sounds of his mirth filled the asylum, making all who heard it shudder.  All save one man, sitting in his office at his desk, fingers steepled.

A smile came over his face.



"We there yet?" Wraith asked darkly.

"Almost," the redhead called Erin answered from the front seat.  "The tunnel should be coming up soon."

They'd spent the entire night and most of the second day driving around, leading the police on a wild chase until they finally lost the trail.  Now, it seemed, they were finally heading to wherever it was they were supposed to be going.

"Where exactly are we going?" Curiosity asked, raising an eyebrow at Wraith.

"…It's difficult to explain," she answered, "It used to be my father's place, long time ago.  Now it's the boss's place, where he conducts all of his work."

"Shouldn't it technically be your place?" Curiosity asked.

"If you really want to get into the technicality of it," Wraith snorted, "It's supposed to belong to my older half-brother.  But he's…busy, and he doesn't like the house.  And according to the old man's will, if my brother gives it up, I don't inherit it until I turn twenty-one."

"And when's that?"

"In another two years.  I'm not sure I want it either, though…Think I just might let him keep it." she said, poking at her box of effects boredly.

Curiosity thought this a rather dumb course of action, but she said nothing, and silence held the van in its grip for a few more minutes.

"Hey, the tunnel's coming up." Erin remarked.

"Right, everyone!  Hold your breath!" Wraith said, and Curiosity and Zai looked at her funny.

"What, are you superstitious?" Curiosity snorted.

"No!  Boss keeps a hallucinogen pumping through the tunnel!  You've got to hold your breath until we come out of it!" Wraith said, reaching over and pinching the nose of the unconscious Adrian, while Magpie covered her mouth.  "Unless of course, you want to be living out your nightmares for a week!"

They didn't need to be told twice.  Right before they saw the mouth of the tunnel swallow them, they took deep breaths, and held.  The lights dimmed considerably, flashing orange-yellow outside, and the sounds of the tunnel walls roared all around them.  The van cut through a strange, misty haze, and the air grew stiflingly hot.  Then, just as they thought their lungs would burst, the tunnel fell away, and they were traveling on a countryside road.  They all exhaled at the same time, shuddering, and realized that Adrian had jerked awake, squirming.  Magpie released her mouth, Wraith her nose.

"What in the—"

"I'd hold my tongue for the time being, if I were you."  Wraith remarked casually.

Adrian struggled, trying to reach her tazer, only flopping around like a fish out of water.

"Ah, yes.  We had to tie your hands and feet while you were asleep.  Nasty toy, that tazer of yours.  Couldn't risk you going trigger-happy." Magpie threw in.  Adrian glared at them all in turn, her gaze finally coming to rest on Curiosity and Zai.

"You are going to be in SO much trouble when we get back to Arkham!" she promised them.

"Assuming you can undo those ropes, escape a booby-trapped mansion, subdue us all, and keep us that way until the cops arrive." Banshee said with a yawn from the front seat, polishing an Uzi none-too-subtly.  "Anyone wanna take bets?  I say 10-90 she pulls it off."

Adrian went silent, still fuming.

"We're here." Erin said abruptly, and they all looked out the windshield as the van began to climb up a hill.  Massive pine trees lined the sides of the gravel driveway, obscuring their view, and they pulled up to a giant gate, a length of chain and padlock holding it in place.

"Key?" Erin asked, Wraith already fishing through her box of belongings.  She pulled out a small object as Erin put the van in park and tossed it, the redhead catching the key and hopping out of the van to go unlock the gate.  There was a distant clinking sound, a thud, and a loud creak like nails on a chalkboard, and the gate gently swung in as Erin got back in the van.  She tossed the key back to Wraith and pulled on through until they got to a large parking lot in front of a huge Gothic mansion.

"Whoa!" was all the three newcomers could say.

"What?  You act like it's big or something." Magpie said with a  snicker, fist-bumping Banshee.  Erin parked the van and turned it off, pressing a button that popped the back doors open.

"Got the gate." Wraith called in bored tones, jumping out through the doors and taking off down the path they'd come.  Adrian flopped around again, until Banshee appeared in the frame of the back doors, putting new clips in her guns.

"Well, you just gonna stare, or are we going inside?" she asked.

"Call dibs on disabling the alarm system!" Magpie crowed, shooting out of the back.

"I don't think anyone's going to fight you for that one, hon!" Erin called after her, appearing in the doorway as well, untying the ropes around Adrian's ankles.

"Are you crazy?!" Curiosity shrieked.

"Leave her tied!" Zai threw in, backing away, clutching her box as though afraid Adrian would take it from her.

"Oh, we'll tie her up again if she causes trouble." Banshee said in a way that gave no one any doubts she'd see it through.  Adrian, for her part, was red-faced, furious, and terrified, but she remained silent, and accepted Erin's help in getting out of the van.  Wraith came charging back up to them, swiping her box from the back of the van.

"You guys coming or what?" she asked Curiosity and Zai.  The two girls looked at each other, unsure of what they should do, but neither saw much other choice.  Still, why hadn't Wraith or one of the other girls told them about the house?  Something fishy was going on…

Curiosity jumped out first, her box under her arm, and Zai reluctantly followed, still with an iron grip on her clothes and sketchbook.  Magpie was standing at the door already, fiddling with a keypad.  She worked at it for a couple of seconds more before it lit up in bright green and let out a chirp.

"Getting easier and easier every time," she remarked.

"You know, you could always just put in the passcode." Wraith sighed at her.

"It's more fun this way." Magpie said with a shrug, pushing the door open to reveal a long hallway.  Adrian scowled at it.

"Great.  I've had nightmares about this before."

"Really?  Then what are we sitting around here waiting for?!" Curiosity said, suddenly excited, and she shoved Adrian forward.  Magpie and Banshee went right after them, a bit less speedy.  Zai fidgeted nervously, and Erin swept past her with a "hmph" and flounce of her red curls.

"It's okay.  The house isn't going to bite you, you know." Wraith said, watching Zai.  She jumped and inched toward the door, then paused.

"A-aren't you going inside?" she asked.

"I've got to bring up the rear," Wraith answered, "I'm the only one that can reset the boss's alarm system."

Zai frowned at her, still suspicious, but she stepped inside and started down the hallway.  The door shut behind them, darkness flooding their vision for a brief second, and then lights in the hall ceiling snapped on, nearly blinding her.  There was an ominous chirp behind her, and she jumped, only to see Wraith brushing non-existent dust from her arms.

"What's wrong?" she asked, but Zai only shook her head, following the hallway.  She wouldn't admit it, except to possibly Sadie, but there was something about this house that made her feel caged.  They followed the hallway, catching up to the others, and doors to other rooms started to appear, nearly all of them closed.

"What are all these places?" Curiosity asked when she tried a door and found it locked.

"Linen closets, weapons rooms, laundry chutes, combat simulation, offices, living rooms, and the poisons room." Wraith rattled off.  Curiosity, Zai, and Adrian all gave her a searching look, hoping she was joking.  But there was no wink, no sudden grin and giggling, no "April Fools" at all.

"You're serious." Adrian croaked.

"There's also the kitchen." Erin remarked, still walking ahead of them.

"Yes, but that has an archway, not a door." Magpie threw in.

Zai slowly turned and gave Curiosity a look that said, "What have you gotten us into now?!"  They kept following the hall, until they heard a low growl, stopping all of them dead in their tracks.  Wraith stepped forward, dropped into a crouch, and clicked her tongue several times, snapping her fingers.

"Rosie!  Rosie, girl!  Come here!" she called in a sweet voice.  There was an answering whine, and a blur shot out of nowhere, pinning her to the ground with a fit of barking and a lot of licking.  Curiosity and Zai jumped back, and Adrian moved like she was trying to, but she almost stumbled.

It was a husky, waist-height and white, with a black leather collar around its neck, and bright blue eyes.

"Rosie, g-get off, you big goof!" Wraith sputtered, and the husky barked again, licking her face.

"Meet Rôssamund, by the way." Banshee, Magpie, and Erin all said at the same time.

"Rôssamund?" Adrian asked.

"For her coloration." Erin pointed out, and now that they looked closer, they could see the husky wasn't completely white.  Where most huskies would have black or gray cloaking their fur on top, Rosie had a slightly reddish-pink tinge.

"Rosie!  Bad girl!" Wraith scolded, and immediately the dog got off her, sat back on her haunches, and laid her ears flat, whimpering.  "Stay…Shake!"  The dog's ears lifted a little, and she extended a forepaw, which Wraith shook gently.  "Good girl!  Friends, Rosie." She pointed at the others each in turn, and the husky tilted her head to the side.  "You can pet her if you like.  She just gets excited when new people come in."

"Umm…no thanks." Zai said, taking a step back.

"Pass." Curiosity said, and the husky's ears drooped again as she whined.

"Oh, you big attention whore." Banshee grumbled, crouching down to scratch the dog's ears.

"Aww, don't be like that!" Erin jumped in, petting Rôssamund.  "Rosie's attention-deprived!"

Adrian snorted, clearly thinking this whole thing was ridiculous.

"Rôssamund!" a voice suddenly called, and dog stood completely rigid, ears pricking forward.  "Come here."

The husky turned around and charged down the hall.

"Yeah, he's not happy." Wraith muttered.  "Oh well, time to face the music."

Curiosity and Zai looked at each other.  The voice they'd heard hadn't been shouting, and it didn't have any particular qualities to it that seemed threatening.  Maybe Wraith could hear something they couldn't?  Either way, they reluctantly followed the rest of the girls, Wraith in the lead, charging after the dog, who led them straight to an arched doorway.

The kitchen was large, luxurious, and modern with a  sleek feel.  There was an island in its center, a long, wraparound counter against two walls, a fridge twice the size of most, and a metallic round table and matching chairs.  Rosie trotted into the kitchen, then slowed to practically a crawl, dragging her belly on the floor, her ears laying back as she approached a man, glowering with crossed arms.  He was nearly as tall as Edward Nygma and thin, though nowhere near as thin as the Riddler.  He wore a long white lab coat over a blue sweater and dark slacks, which gave him a sort of no-nonsense air.  His skin was pale, his nose hooked, his black hair done in a bowl cut (which almost made Curiosity snicker) and there were dark circles under his brown eyes, like he'd not gotten a lot of sleep.

"Rôssamund, you are the worst guard dog in the world." he grumbled, and the husky sat up, wagging her tail, tongue lolling.  The man rolled his eyes and groaned.  "The news of which doesn't phase you in the least, does it?"

"Leave her alone!  You know Rosie's not a mean dog!" Wraith said suddenly, rushing forward and dropping down, wrapping her arms around the dog.

"And you," the man said in a bored voice, "Are late."

"Got held up." Wraith muttered.

"You call being arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum as getting 'held up?'  I think you need to reassess your priorities, Wraith."

Now that they were in the kitchen with him, Curiosity and Zai nearly fell over laughing.  This was Wraith's boss?  The guy was an uber-nerd with an uber-nerd haircut and uber-nerd fashion sense!  Even his voice wasn't threatening; it fact, Zai thought it was almost soothing, it was so gentle.

But apparently, the other girls didn't think he was something to be trifled with.  They kept their distance from him, standing as far away as possible while still being in the kitchen.

"Also," the man said, boiling water for tea as though newcomers in the mansion were a typical occurrence, "Not only did you fail to follow my orders, but you brought home more strays.  What is this, the Anti-Nancy Drew club or something?"

"They're my friends!" Wraith snapped, standing back up, her wings ruffling.  The guy glanced at Curiosity and Zai, then back at her, and quirked an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh, sure.  Where'd you meet, arts and crafts time?  Or lunch?  You start some food fight or something?"

Wraith scowled at him, her hands curling into fists.

"And her?" he asked, nodding at Adrian.  "Why do you have an orderly with you?"

"Thi-this is all a big mistake!" Adrian suddenly said to him, as though hoping the man could be rational.  "L-look, I was kidnapped by these maniacs, and brought here!  I had nothing to do with this!"

"Why are you defending yourself to me, Adrian?" the man asked, frowning at her.  "I'm not the police."

The orderly froze.  "…How did you know my name?"

"Gee," the man said sarcastically, "Couldn't be the name tag on your uniform." She relaxed, going pink in the face.

"And what do you mean, I didn't follow your orders?" Wraith shouted at the man, clearly not ready to be ignored for long.  "You said, kill the detective, so I did!  Not my fault Yin's too stubborn to die!"

"Is that really what I said?" the man said, looking genuinely surprised.  "No wonder!  You've always been a master at exploiting loopholes.  I suppose I should apologize; I'd meant for you to kill Batman."

"Oh, great!  NOW you tell me!"  Wraith screamed, throwing her arms up in the air.  "I went to the crazy house for nothing!  I could've gotten off easy if I was just stealing the chemical but NOOOOO!  You had to make me kill somebody, go to Arkham, break out, and come back here, only to find I DIDN'T SWING AT THE RIGHT BODY?!  Why don't you grow the other freaking half of your brain and alert Ripley's when it happens?"

The room went silent, and the quiet was so tangible, Curiosity wondered if she could cut right through it with her knife.

"You know," the man remarked, his voice going so cold they almost felt the room's temperature drop, "I'm getting a little fed up with that mouth of yours, Wraith."  He reached into the folds of his lab coat.  "Failure must be punished, come to think of it."

"Well, I'm getting a little fed up with that face of yours, Milo!" she snapped back.

"Milo?" the three echoed, Curiosity throwing Zai a look, and the man looked at them, raising an eyebrow.

"Professor Achilles Milo.  At your service." he said frostily, with the barest of nods, and Zai looked at Curiosity, snickering.  Even his name was uber-nerdy!  They burst out laughing.  Wraith was afraid of this guy?!  Even with the creepy quality of his angry voice, he was a total sissy-boy!  They howled with laughter, his skeptical frown only adding to their giggle-fits…

And then he withdrew the syringe from his coat.

Curiosity's eyes found the needle and her laughter died as her body went rigid, beginning to shake.

"WHOA!  What the hell?" Banshee jumped back.

"Hey, put that away!  Miss Curio is aichmophobic!  She's terrified of needles!"  Adrian said firmly once she saw what was occurring.

But it seemed that Professor Achilles Milo wasn't too keen on that course of action.  Wraith forgotten, he turned to them, eyes locking onto the green-haired girl, and a horrendous, cruel smile spread over his features.

"Is that so?" he said softly.  "How very interesting."

"Y-you stay away from Sadie, you creeper!  It's not funny!" Zai spoke up, falling silent when he looked at her.  His attention didn't stay on Zai for long, and his smile grew a little wider.

"As I was saying, Wraith," he said very softly, taking slow, deliberate steps their way, "There's always a price for failure.  How do you think your new friend would react to an injection of say, silver nitrate?"

Zai automatically took a step back, pulling Sadie with her, because she was paralyzed from the fear.  Adrian stepped back with them, looking frightened, but she thrust her chin forward determinedly.

"You can get arrested for that you know—" she started.

"Hey, ask me if I care." Professor Milo shot back casually, taking out a stoppered test tube filled with….something, and he began to fill the syringe.

"Milo, this isn't funny—" Erin Knightly said in a warning tone.

"It's hilarious from where I'm standing." He said in a bored voice.

"Leave Sadie alone!" Zai yelled at him, as Curiosity trembled violently.

"H-h-hate…needles…" she whimpered, and suddenly Wraith was in front of her, opening her wings as she dropped into a fighting stance.

"Cut it out, Milo!" she snarled, "Leave her alone!"

Professor Achilles Milo just shook his head, clicking his tongue.  "Wide open.  Your sympathy always leaves you wide open."  And before they could react, he seized the front of Wraith's Arkham uniform and drove the needle into her neck, depressing the plunger.  Her eyes went wide, and when he withdrew the syringe, she collapsed to her knees, shaking, choking, her wings folding tightly against her back.  Curiosity relaxed a fraction when the threat of the needle was gone, but she and the others could only look on in horror as the winged girl threw her head back in a silent scream.

"Easy now, it'll all be over soon." Milo said in a soothing voice, though it was anyone's guess who the hell he was talking to.  Wraith curled up into a ball on the floor, whimpering, her blue feathers rippling as though in a breeze, and gradually her trembling slowed.

"There.  All better." Milo said, leaning against a counter and crossing his arms.

Even before she looked up, everyone could feel the tension in the room evaporate.

"That…was not necessary." Wraith said, but her voice was different now, lovely and ageless.  Curiosity watched, stunned, and Zai tugged on her friend's arm.

"Her other personality!  I forgot to tell you!" she whispered.

"Guenhivyre." Achilles Milo murmured the name, as though he could caress it by speaking it out loud.

"Who else would it be?" Guen answered, standing upright and holding her chin high.  "You put Wraith to sleep."

"Wraith is lucky she gave the mission enough forethought to ask your eagle to deliver the package to Miss Knightly here," Milo said, quickly and quietly, "Otherwise you'd both be in trouble for her mistakes."

"Don't bandy about with me, Milo." Guenhivyre said, placing her hands on her hips.  Curiosity was stunned.  She really was a different person!  But would Sadie like her?

"Whatever do you mean, Guenhivyre?" Milo asked innocently, a friendly smile on his face.

"You want to get rid of Azhure.  You believe that Wraith and I rely on her too much." Guen said.

"What?" Erin gasped, looking between the two.  "Milo, surely you wouldn't kill Azhure?!  I thought you still needed her!"

"Guenhivyre has not needed any injections of the eagle's cells for two years now." Milo said coldly.  "What's the point of keeping the bird?"

The room went silent.

"Then let Erin take the bird." Guen said abruptly.  "She's friends with Oswald Cobblepot."

"The Penguin?" Milo snorted.

"He would take care of Azhure.  After all, he's got quite the aviary.  I'm sure he'd appreciate the addition of a rare blue female harpy eagle." Guen said quickly, folding her arms, still holding her chin high.  Milo gripped the collar of her uniform, glaring at her intently.

"Rather fast thinking on your feet there, Miss Pendragon.  Or did you have some 'inside' help?" he growled.

"You belittle me, Achilles Milo," she said coolly, "I'm not as naïve as Wraith.  I knew you'd be looking for a means of punishment, and I knew Azhure was the most likely candidate you'd choose.  The loss of the eagle would hit Wraith hard, and would provide you with the most sadistic amusement, we both know that.  But there's no reason to just go killing a rare species."

The scientist's knuckles went white as he gripped the collar tighter, but his voice remained calm and deadly.  "Sometimes I think you're a bit too smart for your own good."

"Are you going to kill me, Milo?" she asked softly.  For a moment they stood, glaring daggers at each other, and then he flung her away from him.

"Go to the combat simulation room!" he snarled.  "You're out of practice if you can't even kill one lousy detective."

Guenhivyre smirked and bowed at him.  "Your wish sir, is my command." She strode from the room, head held high, and the animosity began to creep back into the air.

"Man, you are so lucky I don't shoot your face in, right here, right now!" Banshee snarled.

"Do it anyway," Curiosity growled, taking the man apart with her eyes.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Magpie and Erin said at the same time.

"Wise thing, too." Milo said, perusing through cabinets and picking out a mug.

"How can you just treat people this way?" Adrian demanded, finding herself furious with the guy.

"Very easily." He answered, pouring himself a cup of tea.  "Thank you for volunteering, by the way."

"W-what?" Adrian stammered, taking a few steps back.

His cold dark eyes locked onto her.

"There's always a price to pay for interfering with my work." he said in that frightening angry voice again.  "Those three—" he waved toward Banshee, Erin, and Magpie, "Have paid it before.  You three are new here, and so a sacrifice has to be made if you wish to stay here.  The protection this house can offer comes at a price, you know."

"Wh-what are you—"

"Simply putting things, Miss Adrian—can I call you that?  Miss Adrian—you three have a choice to make: either one of you new faces sacrifices herself willingly to be my test subject, or the three of you can all be sent back to Arkham, shot up with my hallucinogens.  It's entirely up to you what you do, but the clock is ticking and you have a choice to make.  One of you takes a hit for the group, or all three of you get the hammer." He said simply, staring at them like a cat.

Dread closed over the three like a fist, and their hearts pounded.  Adrian's mind was racing, and before she could really consider the consequences, she knew what the course of action was.  She had no other choice, because she knew if she protested, the girls would back her into doing it anyway.

"Okay, okay!" she sighed.  "I'll…I'll do it."

And Milo smiled.

"I knew you'd see it my way.  So tell me…" he pulled two stoppered vials from his coat, containing red liquids, "How do you like the idea of having scales?"