Goosebumps rose against Chase's skin. The air around him seemed to drop ten degrees. The cold pricked his skin like a needle. It was almost like Frost was using her abilities to unsettle him. But he knew that wasn't the reason. Her cell was built to prevent her from even conjuring up the smallest snowflake. It must've been a draft somewhere in the prison.

But still, he couldn't shake the cold slithering down his arms and back.

"Who's Victor?" Frost asked coyly.

"Apex," Chase spat. He pursed his lips at her. "Don't play dumb."

She stepped up to the glass barrier between them. A mischievous glint passed over her icy irises. "What makes you think I know where he is?" She gestured around her containment unit. "Thanks to you, I've been stuck in here for over a year."

"Not thanks to me," he countered. "Your own actions landed you there."

Kissing her teeth, she placed her hands on her hips and looked away from him.

"Where is Victor?"

"I don't know."

"Sure you do. You two worked together—"

"Exactly. We worked together," she interrupted. "We weren't friends. We barely knew each other."

He frowned. That hadn't crossed his mind before. He figured she would've been well acquainted with Victor during their time together in Kismet. Then again, the guy didn't seem like he was the most open person—and for good reason too. Kane had done something to him; something that had changed him forever.

That was part of the reason why he wanted to find him. Victor needed help. Even though he'd done some terrible things, it wasn't entirely his fault. He needed help, and Chase was determined to anything his power to make sure he got it. 

"I met the kid when he was eighteen. We knew each other for about six years. You'd think you would know a guy after that, but no. Victor was...he was complicated. Troubled." She shivered. "Kane...he did things to that boy that no one should ever have to endure."

"Then why were you on his side?"

"I believed in his message." She looked down at her hands. A wistful—almost regretful—look passed over her face. "He told me I was a goddess; that I was more powerful than these people who wish to silence us. He told me I was tested to rule over these peasants by his side."

Chase narrowed his eyes at her.

"I was a poor and hopeless when he found me," Frost explained. She sat back down on her bed and hung her head. "He told me he saw something inside of me that only he could bring out. So, I went with him. We did things I'm not proud of. But I always told myself it was for the greater good."

"You're crazy."

"I was naïve!" she snapped. The look in her eyes was cold enough to freeze Hell itself. "You can't fault me for that."

He said nothing in reply. He didn't know why she was telling him her story. Did she want him to feel sorry for her? If she did, it was working. Sort of.

But he didn't come to her to hear her sob story. He came for answers.

"Well, if you don't know where Victor is," he said, "then where could he be? I'm sure you guys had safehouses all over the world."

She laughed. "We do. Or...we did, at least." The humor vanished from her face as she cast her gaze back to the ground. "I don't know where he is. I thought...maybe he'd come back for me. Maybe he'd come rescue me. But it's been over a year and he still hasn't come." She looked up. An aura of sadness surrounded her dreary frame.

Chase shifted his feet and cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea on where he might've gone?"

Frost paused for a moment. She raised her head after a few seconds. "He was born in California. He would always talk about going to the beach. He loved the water. I knew that much about him. Maybe he went there."

His eyes widened while a rush of hope flooded his chest. He remembered Director Shaw saying something about Victor's hometown. If the man was anywhere. that might've been his best bet.

He looked to Frost. There was one more question he had for her.

"What exactly did Kane do to Victor?"

She bit down on her lip.

"I need to know," he said, his voice strained. His mind went back to Adak Island. "He could've killed me back on Adak Island. He should've killed me." He paused. "I need to know why he didn't."

He wanted to understand Victor. He figured that was the key to getting the man some help. Because, at the end of the day, he was still Director Shaw's son. He had been stolen from his home and was forced to become Kane's personal soldier.

It was vile. Inhumane. He deserved to be helped, not punished.

Chase had seen enough of the world to know people weren't truly evil. Even Kane wasn't the supervillain the world had made him out to be.

He just wished everyone could see things the way he did.

"Kane didn't tolerate weakness," Frost finally said. "I...I don't know the full extent of what happened to Victor, but Kane had him conditioned. Every couple of days, he would have a couple of guards hold him down and he'd torture him. He convinced him that his father didn't care about him and that he was destined to bring the world to its knees. It worked...or at least, it did work."

Her words hit Chase like a punch to the gut. He had suspected Victor had been harmed by Kane, but hearing his theory be confirmed was something else. Pity stabbed at his heart as he looked down at his shoes.

After a few tense moments of silence, he looked at the woman in the cell. "Thank you. I really appreciate—"

His expression of gratitude was cut short by an explosion rocking the building. The lights shut off shortly after. Darkness enveloped the cell wing Chase stood in. The only light came from the blinking sensors within the prison cells, which weren't connected to The Vault's central power system.

"What's going on?" Frost's panicked voice asked.

"I...don't know."

He whipped his head around, desperately trying to see through the dark. Everything went quiet. It was so silent that he could even hear the blood rushing in his ears as he unwittingly held his breath.

What is this?

Had the power gone out? No, that wasn't it. The power doesn't just 'go out' on The Vault. There had been an explosion. He just wasn't sure what caused it.

But once a chorus of sirens set the air around him on fire, he knew it couldn't have been good. He immediately activated his shield device and reached for his sword. Cursing, he realized he left his blade in the jet. He grumbled under his breath and faced Frost.

"Stay there."

"Where else would I go?"

Ignoring her, he made his way towards the stairs. But he wouldn't make it to the ground. At least, not by choice. s

A flash of blue sliced through the darkness swirling around him. He stopped on a dime and faced the source of light, but it had vanished as quickly as it appeared. His arm hairs stood up like an obedient cadet. He tasted static in the air. His eyebrows rose as he spun around.

That was when it hit him.

A ghost made of crackling electricity smacked into his chest, sending him falling over the metal railing built onto the platform he stood on. He yelped as he fell to the ground below. The air fled his lungs once his body hit the stone ground. Groaning, he rolled onto his back.

The sirens around him grew louder. Soon, they were coupled by pulsing red and white lights. They strobed through the dark, illuminating the cell wing for a few seconds at a time.

He still couldn't see what hit him, though.

Whatever it was left him feeling like he'd just been stuffed into a microwave set on the forbidden popcorn setting. He opened and closed his mouth a few times to get rid of the soreness seeping into his jaw. A painful, tingling sensation niggled at his chest.

"What the..." He slowly pulled himself up, using a nearby wall for help.

Looking up, he saw a glowing, blue figure standing in front of Frost's cell. It was in the shape of a man, but he couldn't be exactly sure. They had their hands pressed against the control box. Sparks flew from their fingers. Inside, Frost watched the man with a mix of fear and intrigue on her face.

Chase paled.

Without even thinking, he threw his shield at the person made of electric. The person, who was most definitely a Prime, kept tinkering with Frost's cell. As Chase's shield sped toward them, a field of electricity exploded into view around them. The shield hit the field and clattered to the ground. Useless.

Seconds later, a loud hiss sounded following by the control box exploding into a mess of metal and glass. The glass barrier between Frost and the hallway lifted. Her cell had been opened.

Gritting his teeth, Chase surged toward the stairs. "Hey! Stop!"

"Please," the Prime made of electricity said to Frost. "Come with me."

The woman reluctantly glanced at him before looking at Chase, who was nearly up the stairs.

"Stop!" he ordered. In the distance, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. If the other Atlas agents arrived soon, there would be no way Frost—and whoever it was attempting to free her—would escape. Not on his watch.

He finished climbing up the stairs. Breathing heavily, he summoned another shield.

"We must go now," the electric person said. Now that he'd gotten close, Chase could see it was a man. His skin, while tawny in shade, held a brilliant blue undertone. Black hair clung to his face, falling into his oval-shaped eyes.

Frost nodded curtly at the man. She looked down at her wrists before smirking.

Chase gulped. She didn't have any cuffs on.

"I haven't been able to use my powers in months," she said while rubbing her hands together. "Let's see if I've still got it."

A cluster of razor-sharp ice shards was sent his way. Most bounced off his mission suit like rubber pellets, but a few tore into the durable mesh and hit his skin. Wincing, he raised his shield and blocked the second wave of ice she had thrown at him.

As he hid behind it, the two Primes made a for the staircase on the other end of the platform.

Oh no you don't.

Gritting his teeth, he took off after them.

The electric man glanced over his shoulder. An annoyed groan left his throat.  He aimed his palm at the boy. A blue light pulsed beneath his skin. Chase's eyes widened as he skidded to a stop.

Another blast of electricity was sent his way, but he managed to avoid it. He charged the man and caught him with a left hook to the chin. It sent him sprawling to the ground.

Chase bounced on his toes and waited for him to get up.

But Frost had other ideas. The woman crafted two blades of ice and jabbed them at him. The broke on impact, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt. Sneering, Chase snatched her wrist.

"Don't do this," he warned.

She wrenched her arm free from his grip. In one swift motion, she jumped into the air and kicked him in the chest. He staggered backward, a hand pressed to his sternum. Seething, he watched s she helped the electric man off the ground.

He shook his head at Chase. "You were not supposed to be here."

"Yeah, well, tough luck."

As he prepared to charge, another bolt of electricity was sent his way. This time, he wasn't able to dodge. It connected with his chest, sending volts of energy through his body. Had his skin not been as durable as it was, he surely would've died of electrocution. His entire body seized up as the taste of metal filled his mouth. He couldn't even feel his tongue anymore.

Silver spots filled his vision. He slowly lifted his head. But even that was a tremendous feat. He spotted the two Primes making their way down the staircase to the ground level of the cell block.

Unfortunately for them, a team of Atlas agents had just arrived. A rush of relief filled Chase's stunned body.

"We've got you cornered!" one of them yelled. "Stand down now or we will be forced to engage!"

Groaning in pain, Chase pulled himself up to his knee with the help of the railing nearby. He peered down at the trapped Primes, his head spinning. There was no way they were escaping a now. A drowsy smile bloomed on his lips.

It was short-lived.

While the Atlas agents prepared to converge on their targets, Chase noticed something on the ground moving toward the pair of Primes. He raised an eyebrow as he tried to focus his waning vision.

All the shadows in the area were being pulled from their sources and pooling together, forming one large expanse of black on the floor. It crept along the ground, inching its way toward Frost and her new friend. The Atlas agents cast their gazes beneath them, confused expressions filling their faces.

The electric man simply grinned. He faced the platinum-haired woman beside him. "Time to go."

Chase's heart stopped.

He had seen this before. It was in Times Square after the United Nations assembly.

In the blink of an eye, the collection of shadows lifted from the ground and formed in the shape of a wispy bird. In the center of the darkness floated a woman in a billowing, hooded cloaked.

Chase's breath caught in his throat.

Shadow.

"Take them down!" an agent shouted.

Gunfire rang out through the air, but none of them made it past the black guardian. Soon, it surrounded the two Primes beyond it. The woman inside wrapped her arms around herself.

Then, she—along with the gathered shadows and the other Primes inside it—disappeared.

Chase's slumped to the ground. Catching his breath, he threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. The backup lights were still flashing. He slid a hand down his aching face and groaned.

Director Shaw was not going to be happy.

#

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