[OLD] The Supers Experiment (#1)

Twenty

Claire grimaced and rubbed her temples. Reaching out for Ivy's mind had been fine when the building was nearly empty, but now the Altered were returning from the attack on the Fortuna.

Thankfully, they seemed to have left the boat intact. There were injuries, but Claire couldn't find any thoughts of death as she sifted through the voices flooding her mind. The ship's cannons took Scorpion by surprise.

Claire tried to put her mental walls back up as two soldiers led her into an elevator. A scientist who'd introduced himself as John followed them in and pressed a button labeled with the number twelve. The top floor.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. A group of people in lab coats waited in the hall outside. More scientists.

"Who's this?" one of the scientists asked, a woman with a spanish accent.

"Is she not the... Ivy?" a man asked. Claire frowned.

John shook his head. "This is Claire. She has telepathic and telekinetic abilities." He raised an eyebrow. "According the the reports salvaged from Tyche Labs, she received one of the highest doses of Serum-P."

The woman smiled. "Interesting."

"She'll be fun to study," another added.

Claire was getting nervous. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.

John exited the elevator, and the soldiers gave Claire a push that forced her to follow him out. "We're taking you to our lab," John explained. "Well, they are. I have some other matters to attend to."

The group moved down the hall, pulling Claire with them. Her blood ran cold when she saw the door up ahead that led to the roof. If she went with these people to their lab, she might not be able to escape.

Ever.

Ivy! Claire desperately tried to get her friend's attention. They're taking me to the roof. They're going to take me away.

What? Ivy's reply was faint.

Claire looked around. John and the two soldiers had moved to the front of the group. Besides the scientists, there was no one to stop her from running back to the elevators.

So that's what she did.

The scientists shouted and grabbed at Claire as she pushed her way through the group and sprinted toward the elevator bank. There was a ding and the doors slid open. Claire was relieved to see the others inside.

"Claire?" Ivy asked, her voice a mixture of confusion and relief. Claire flew into the elevator and spun around. The two soldiers were running toward the elevator.

"Pick a floor," Spencer shouted.

"Which one?" Claire asked as panic set in.

Ivy hit one of the buttons, and the button for the ninth floor lit up. The soldiers were getting closer.

"Come on," Spencer muttered. The doors began closing at a painfully slow pace. "Come on."

The soldiers were just a few feet away. One of them held up their gun and fired just as the doors shut. Claire flinched when the bullet hit the metal outside, but they were safe. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the elevator began its descent.

"Any particular reason you chose the ninth floor?" Summer asked.

Ivy pointed to the label by the ninth floor. "Computer labs," she read. "I found something on Claudia's computer and printed it. I think it came here."

The doors slid open. The group entered the empty hall.

"Look for Lab Five," Ivy said.

They split up. Claire picked a side and moved down the hall, looking at each door. Lab One, Lab Two, bathrooms...