Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

"Would you like to hear a story, Anne?" Doyle questioned as he began to slowly remove his tools from his briefcase, not noticing the fear in the young woman's eyes as he turned to grin at her with his dazzling smile.

"What am I saying... Of course you do!" Doyle chuckled as he turned his attention back to his tools, gently placing a scalpel onto a towel next to his briefcase before he approached the terrified young woman.

"Once upon a time, there was a very.... Very... Ruggedly handsome and charming prince... But he was very lonely." Doyle paused for a moment as he leaned rather close to the young woman to examine the scars that traced an eery smile into the edges of her lips.

"They healed rather nicely. Excellent." Doyle murmured to himself before he cleared his throat rather dramatically, his smile returning as he gently traced his fingers over the scar.

"He was very lonely because the king was killed in a battle to save their kingdom, and this made the queen very sad. So she took it out on the poor young prince. The prince looked far too much like the king, so the queen locked him away in a tower..." Anne released a muffled cry of pain, struggling beneath Doyle's hold as sound of tearing flesh echoed through the laboratory.

"The prince was alone until he was ten years old... Only seeing the queen when she would come to feed him or... Release some tension. The prince had plenty of time on his hands within the time he was alone... So he did the only thing he could do. He read. He studied... He became the smartest prince in the whole kingdom..." The flesh of Anne's cheek began to spread with what appeared to be an off-white fabric as she struggled beneath his grasp, the male not seeming to care how desperately she was struggling as he continued his story.

"Smart enough to escape the clutches of the evil queen..." Doyle continued as he pulled his hand away, running his fingers over the sides of her mouth where the scar had previously been but was now replaced completely with the same off-white fabric that now covered her face and neck.

"So he waited until the queen came to feed him one night..." The fabric of the sides of Anne's lips began to weave with a black string that made it look like he had given her a large smile.

"And he put an end to the evil queen... Permanently. She became his first little doll after that... A beautiful doll. She fit in well with the collection of old dolls that filled the prince's room." Doyle paused to admire his work for a moment before he gently ran his thumb over the fabric of her cheek, leaving behind two blood red dots as the blush of her cheeks.

"The prince was eventually discovered by the guards of the kingdom and was given to a neighboring kingdom so that he may attend classes and learn even more about his newfound obsession with the human body. The prince had grown to love the art of medicine and biology... So the prince worked very hard so that he may go on to do something better than what the queen had done..." Doyle's fingers trailed over Anne's eyes which caused her to stiffen as she prepared herself for the worst but nothing happened, much to Doyle's disappointment.

"I suppose I will have to do this the hard way." Doyle murmured to himself as he turned to make his way back over to where his briefcase sat.

"The prince studied and became smarter than any other student within the school he was sent to... But the prince was still lonely... The guards had failed to find a family that would take in the prince... So the prince decided he would make his own family. He befriended a beautiful fairy which allowed him some semblance of what it felt like to no longer be lonely... But an evil knight took the beautiful fairy from him... So when the prince found out that the knight had joined the army... He found a way to enact his revenge and joined as well... But that... Is a completely different story." Doyle lifted a needle to examine it in the light, his demeanor less energetic now as his expression flashed with anger rather than the excitement he showed before.

"Once again, the prince was left alone. His fairy was no more... The friends he had found within the army abandoned him for the evil knight... The prince felt as though all was lost... Despite joining a foundation that allowed him to explore his research... He was lonely. He was... Sad. Until he saw the most perfect princess he had seen in his whole life." Doyle's entire personality seemed to shift in an instant as he spun around, holding the needle in the air while his other hand remained closed tightly around an object that Anne had not seen him pick up.

"She was not beautiful... In fact she was quite normal in appearance. But she held a fire in her beautiful blue eyes that he had not seen in a long time. She was young but he could see a maturity that would eventually make her a leader.... He knew he would have to snuff out that fire before she grew to her potential. If a fire burns out of control, it takes down all those in its way. She was a challenge that he was more than willing to take on. But there was a problem..." Doyle opened his palm, revealing two large, black, buttons, which he set onto the table next to Anne who shuddered fearfully as she realized what was coming.

"She was appointed to a different scientist. One who surely would allow the princess to grow to her potential instead of snuffing out the fire... So the prince took drastic measures." Doyle went silent in concentration as he focused on threading the needle with the black thread he had kept hidden from her sight previously.

"He... Brought the scientist's attention to another patient... How he was being treated. A mother's love is something that the prince could never comprehend but he knew how to use it to his advantage. Of course it worked... Humans are quite predictable but the prince had evolved passed the point of human emotions long ago. So he acquired his prize in exchange for transferring the male patient to another scientist." Anne whimpered fearfully as Doyle set the black buttons over her eyes, his eyebrows knitting together as he concentrated on threading the buttons over her eyes.

A muffled scream of pain escaped Anne as she struggled beneath his grip, releasing a strangled cry as he wrapped his free hand around her throat, his eyes now pitch black as he began to tighten his grip.

"Hold still or you'll find out just how unpleasant I can be when I am angry." Doyle's voice was low in warning as Anne fell still beneath his grip, eyes now hidden behind the black buttons that he continued to sew onto her face.

"She was finally his. Though she denied it with every bit of that fire in her soul, she was. He was so close to training her properly... So close to making her into his perfect little doll." Doyle's eyes flashed darker as he gritted his teeth, jabbing the needle dangerously close to Anne's eye as he began to breathe heavily.

"But she was stolen from him. By the same evil knight that stole his first love. But don't worry, Anne. This isn't the end of my story... Because I have a small secret..." Doyle leaned down until he was inches away from her ear now, a smirk on his full lips as he brushed Anne's red hair away from her ears.

"I put a tracking device in all of the necks of my little dolls... Even hers. I'm just waiting for the moment I may escape to follow her. Once I replicate the Cratos serum... Nobody will be able to stop me. Not even Magdalene herself." Anne's breathing began to pick up at the thought of Doyle being loose within the general public. The amount of damage he could do if he was given access to the Cratos serum... She could only imagine how many he would turn into his dolls if he was allowed free.

"Yes, even you, Anne. Right here is where it is. I need to make sure that you stay loyal, don't I? And you are loyal, aren't you, Anne?" Doyle twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, the girl immediately giving a nod in reply so that he wouldn't continue to hurt her.

The place in her neck where she now knew a tracking device was, seemed to throb uncomfortably from where Doyle had touched it ever so gently. As though her body now wanted to reject even having it buried under her skin. She wanted desperately to rip from her restraints and tear out the device so that he would no longer have that small control over her, but she knew it wouldn't help. He'd probably just implant another if he found out she removed it... And she would definitely be punished for defying him.

"My little Raggedy Anne.... Such a good little doll you're turning out to be. I cannot wait until you and all of the rest of my little dolls can live happily at my side... Forever." Doyle began to put his tools away, not seeming to care or notice the way Anne shuddered uncomfortably at the mere thought of being forced to live with someone like Doyle.

He was handsome, there was no denying that fact. His looks and charm were something she'd never encountered before but the cold sociopath that hid behind a charming smile was not someone she could ever see herself being with forever. She'd rather die...

A gasp of pain escaped her lips as Doyle plunged a needle into her wrist, her veins already extremely visible through her pale skin from just how many times she had been tested on within the past week.

"If Banner honestly thinks I'm frightened of his petty threats then he has another thing coming.... He's just a weak, pathetic, little man with no reason to live aside from kissing the ground Magdalene walks on. I won't tolerate his insolence." Doyle's words caught Anne's attention as the male slammed his hand down on the desk he stood in front of.

"I will do whatever I please. I'm the smartest person in this whole compound... Nothing he could ever do would hurt me. I'm untouchable. Magdalene herself wouldn't be able to lay a finger on me." Anne turned her head, realizing now that she had likely zoned out for a lot longer than she realized as she spotted a figure seated behind Doyle.

She hadn't seen the person slip into the room, and she certainly hadn't heard the beginning of whatever conversation they had been having. But that was a side affect of the serum, she would've liked to say that she was used to it by now but it still caught her off guard when hours passed by in minutes to her.

"Your ego may very well be the end of you someday, Doyle... I'd be careful what you say. Banner has more control than you think he does... He is head scientist, after all. You don't get that position for being a bird brained suck up... He was the creator of the Animal Kin... That discovery helped us win a war-" Doyle released a scoff which cut off the woman's speech mid-sentence, Anne trying desperately to crane her neck to see the source of the female's voice.

"And how useful is his discovery nowadays? It makes us money but you cannot deny that my success was far superior to his. His freaks were nothing compared to my art. I created the perfect soldiers." Anne wanted to roll her eyes at how arrogant and self conscious Doyle was. He had a need to be better than everyone else which gave him the impression of being a needy child, desperate for approval.

"Considering they require a shipment of new Kin for the frontlines on a monthly basis... I'd say that they're pretty useful. Your experiment was groundbreaking... But now that you cannot replicate it, it makes everyone wonder whether or not you're just stalling... Or perhaps it wasn't your experiment to begin with." Doyle's eyes filled with black as he tightened his hands into fists, gritting his teeth as though he was struggling to control himself. Anne could only wonder what he would be like if he had been given a destructive power that allowed him to wreak havoc without having to touch the person that was angering him.

"And what exactly have you accomplished in your time here, Rue? Aside from imprisoning your son in an attempt to save your own skin?" Doyle's words caused the woman to stand rather abruptly as she narrowed her honey colored eyes at the male who smirked in response to her anger.

"I have accomplished much more than you, Doyle. I have saved lives with my discoveries. You've ruined lives with yours. I will not listen to criticism from a sociopath that is obsessed with minors." Rue kept her voice even and low, Doyle's reaction showing that she had gotten to him with her comment as his hands balled into fists.

"Let's not forget our little agreement. You wouldn't want to do something to make me reconsider our deal, would you?" Doyle's threat did not seem to faze the older woman as she placed her hands on her hips, lifting her head slightly to glare at the male with no trace of fear in her eyes.

"Do not threaten me, Doyle. You know that breaking our deal would get you in quite a lot of trouble with the knowledge I have in my own favor. What I know about you... Well... We wouldn't want to ruin your reputation, would we?" Rue took a step towards Doyle to show his threat did not worry her in the slightest, they both knew that she had the upper hand within this situation and would win whatever dispute Doyle brought up against her.

"There's going to be a war coming soon, Rue. Are you quite sure that you're on the correct side?" Doyle murmured, his form stiff under her intense gaze as a small smirk graced the edges of Rue's full lips.

"I suppose we shall see, Doyle." Without another word, Rue turned to walk from the room, ignoring Doyle's protests for her to wait.

"Guards... Come take her away. I'm done with her." Doyle snapped through the intercom as he focused his dark gaze on Anne who visibly stiffened under his harsh glare.

"You were too easy to break, Anne. Very boring of you to already be this obedient... I guess I was wrong about you being strong willed." Doyle's words hurt more than Anne was willing to admit, like a sharp dagger had gone through her heart while her throat tensed up at the realization that she had disappointed him.

Though she hated to admit it, she actually felt a deep desire to please him despite all that he had done to her. She wanted him to choose her as his favorite doll... Not...

Anne paused from her thoughts as she realized that she was jealous of the attention Doyle gave Joelee, despite knowing that attention from Doyle wasn't a good thing by any means.

As the guards came into the room to take her back to her cell, she couldn't help but glance back at Doyle on last time, admiring how quickly he worked as he began to type out the information he had gotten from their session.

Anne quickly turned back to her guards, feeling a warmth in her cheeks as she made a promise to herself that she would do her best to make Doyle proud now.

She had to! He was her Toymaker, after all...

_-*-_

"Nobody wants to hire anyone with this much charisma anymore, I guess." Sam sighed dramatically as they sprawled across the table in the center of the mall, the fedora they wore falling off of their head in the wake of their theatrical performance.

"You told the guy that his mustache looked like a toddler drew it on with a pencil." Joelee responded as she took a bite of the food court nachos she held onto rather tightly so that nobody would have a chance of stealing one of her precious chips.

"Because it did!" Sam lifted their arm to turn their hazel glare onto Joelee who rolled her eyes before popping another chip into her mouth.

"Then you told the manager before that, that she was dummy thicc." Alyssa piped up much to Sam's annoyance, their glare falling onto Alyssa instead who avoided their eyes so that she could instead focus on her iced coffee.

"You cannot honestly tell me that you weren't thinking the exact same thing." Sam stared at Alyssa intently as Alyssa sipped her coffee rather awkwardly, trying her best to look busy rather than meet Sam's intense glare.

"Just because she was, doesn't mean you had to say it to her face. Especially during an interview." Joelee lifted her eyes so that she could get Sam's attention away from Alyssa so that they would stop making her uncomfortable.

"Let alone saying it in front of your boyfriend." Joelee continued as Sam rolled over to look at her instead, trying to intimidate the young woman with their intense glare but Joelee held their gaze easily.

"Oh, I don't mind. She was super thicc." Kai's words seemed to visibly shock everyone seated at the table but he didn't seem fazed by everyone except Sam and Joelee immediately turning their gaze to him.

"Do you even know what that means?" Sam questioned as they quickly turned their gaze away from Joelee's almost predatory one.

"I'm assuming it has something to do with her very voluptuous a-" Kai began to say before Oscar slammed his Chinese takeout onto the table next to Joelee, flipping his dreads over his shoulder before he took a seat next to the blonde woman.

"I got all of you enrolled into your GED classes so that you'll actually be able to do something now that you're free. The fake ones will only last so long so the sooner you get jobs to pay for your classes, the better. Because honestly nobody will believe that none of you graduated from highschool because you were kidnapped... So... Better get on that, Sam. Because you can't live with me forever... I need my space." Oscar rubbed his face rather wearily as he released a quiet sigh, looking up at the large group of kids that sat within the food court.

"This is why I'm gay." Oscar murmured as he glowered at the vast amount of parasites- I mean children, that filled the cafeteria.

"Same. Well.... Halfway same." Joelee grinned as she held her nachos out of Sam's reach, not noticing that her words peaked Nathan's interest as he looked up from the application he had been intently focused on previously.

"You're not gay. You made that very clear in the past... You don't want kids?" Connor questioned as he delicately took a seat next to Oscar, his brown eyes studying the male next to him curiously as he began to hesitantly eat the salad he had elected to buy to watch his figure.

"Nope. Never did. Not after I had to raise all three of my siblings. You know the deal." Oscar mumbled bitterly as he gazed down at his food instead, the look on his face showing that he wasn't willing to discuss it further.

"I hear that. My parents are like rabbits... There's fifteen of us in total." Joelee's words caused a heavy silence to fall across the teens as they all turned their attention to her now.

"You're being dramatic, right?" A beautiful girl with long, sleek, blue hair said as she tilted her head to the side, large mismatched eyes examining the blonde curiously as she spoke in a rather soft tone.

Joelee turned her attention to the girl, opening her mouth to answer but as her gaze landed on the woman, her blue eyes widened for a split second before the blonde awkwardly cleared her throat as red spread over her pale cheeks.

The woman was incredibly beautiful with large almond shaped eyes, her eyelashes practically brushing against her cheeks when she blinked. Her left eye being a beautiful baby blue while the other was an incredibly dark brown. Her rosy cheeks were dotted with freckles, as were her tan shoulders. Her waist length hair being a beautiful sky blue which made her right eye incredibly vibrant against her honey skin.

"No. I'm not. They have a serious problem, honestly." Joelee answered before she quickly looked away, cheeks flushing red as she instead focused her gaze on Nathan who looked like he was in serious thought as he watched the exchange.

"I do have some money saved up back at home... But I'm not sure that they'd be too happy with me calling after four years to get money." Joelee's eyes became distant as she began to rub her thumb over the side of her index finger, panic fluttering in her chest at the thought of having to confront her parents.

"Well... There's always the easy option of getting money." Nathan lay a flyer down on the table in front of them with a nervous expression, hazel eyes remaining fixated on the red slated table rather than his friends.

"Absolutely not." Connor's expression immediately darkened as his brown gaze flicked up to Nathan who stiffened, lifting his head to return Connor's harsh glare.

"And why is that exactly? We would be able to pass all of the requirements to join! We have magnified healing, senses, and even powers that would aid us!" Nathan argued under his breath, gritting his teeth when Connor scoffed in disbelief.

"We can't use our powers to get an easy way out... Plus it'd put you in danger of being recaptured, Nathan..." Joelee spoke up tentatively, as though she were picking and choosing her words carefully.

"They work with the government, Nathan. She's right. They'd recapture you and use you in special missions that fit your powers. They'd train you day and night just to put you on the frontlines. Better safe than sorry, man." Oscar's voice was low as he kept his intense gaze focused on Nathan who lifted his own hazel gaze to Oscar with a defiant expression.

"How do you know? How do you know so much about The Monarch? You never fully explained... Anything, really. Who's your informants? How did you find out about The Monarch? There's plenty of questions. None of which, you've answered." Nathan kept voice low in warning while Oscar just looked amused at the younger males annoyance.

"That's information that you have no reason knowing. If not knowing makes you trust me any less then that's your problem. I have no intention of putting my neck on the line to explain myself to a literal child. Which despite you thinking otherwise, that's exactly what you are. A child. That's all any of you are." Oscar's reply caused Nathan's eyes to darken as he kept his hateful glare on the sassy male in front of him, jaw tense as he gritted his teeth.

"Well then your opinion is not valid in this situation." Nathan replied finally, his words strained as if he wanted to say something else but he seemed to think better of it as he instead balled his hands into fists.

"That's enough, you two. Can we talk about this later? You're drawing unwanted attention." Joelee's words were calm but the warning was still there as she flicked her gaze between the two males.

"Oh we'll talk about this later, alright." Nathan muttered which caused Oscar to release a sigh of annoyance before he turned away from the younger male, deciding to be the bigger person today.

"Look, the sooner you're out of my hair, the better. That's all I will say." Oscar murmured to Joelee who gave a weary sigh before she nodded to show she understood what he was saying.

"I will see what I can do." Joelee said after a moment, causing Oscar to eye her curiously but he said nothing more as he went back to his food. All seeming to realize by how awkward the silence was that the conversation as a whole was over.

Old Nathan lowered his gaze as Joelee's began to drift away as she began to grow deep in thought about what their next step would be. Old Nathan rubbed his face from beneath his large cloak, face itchy from his beard that he had yet to take care of but it was beginning to... Grow on him....

No? Not funny? Okay.

Joelee glanced up in confusion which caught Old Nathan's attention at the sudden movement, eyes wide when the woman began to look from person to person curiously but he held still as not to arouse suspicion.

He needed to leave the group. That much was obvious. He knew that they would be alright without him now.

Oscar stood after a moment, seeming to grow bored of the silence that he was partially responsible before as he let out a rather dramatic yawn. 

"Let's get out of here. Five hours should've been plenty of time for at least some of you to find a job and I'd like to go home and... Relax. Today has been rather stressful." Oscar's words caused almost everyone to immediately stand, most not used to being around so many people in such a long amount of time.

Old Nathan followed near the very back, head low to shield his face as he began to slowly break away from the group, studying all of his friends one last time so that it would all be worth it to him later.

It hurt now to watch what he wanted so desperately so return to but he knew he couldn't stay.

There was no place for him here anymore.

Joelee hesitated for a moment, glancing back to make sure everyone was following, blue eyes scanning the crowd as if searching for something but she seemed to give up rather quickly as she instead rushed to catch up with Oscar who she began to talk to in a quiet voice.

Old Nathan broke off from the group as they exited the mall, green eyes watching at the group began to grow farther away.

His heart felt heavy as he watched the only family he had left disappear into the distance, fists clenched to force away the emotions that threatened to emerge.

With a heavy sigh he flipped open his watch, looking up a final time before he clicked open the dial.