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Camilla

AJ resumed her navigator role at the front of the pack, but Camilla decidedly stuck to the back of the group besides Elsie. She still felt a little shaken from what she had seen in the control room, and she didn't want to serve as the group's first line of defense if she wasn't in the position to guarantee their safety. Thankfully, Abby didn't need an explanation, and she reassigned one the senior Alliance metas to fill in Camilla's role.

It wasn't long before their group was met with more resistance than ever; Camilla and Elsie even warded off some attempted surprise attacks from behind them. Still, their group welcomed it, and Abby even encouraged them to make a scene. Because out of all of their teams inside the facility, the Capture Team was the best equipped for staging an offensive, and every guard they drew towards them was one less that their allies had to contend with.

But they couldn't afford to have any interruptions when they confronted Hester, not when they needed her confession as evidence. So when they reached the floor Hester was on, they fought the guards they met with the intention to capture instead of immobilize. Once they had three meta guards securely restrained, AJ approached them individually, placed a hand on their foreheads, then muttered a quick apology before sparks flew from her fingertips.

"Stop anyone that tries to pass," AJ ordered once they were all under her trance. "Try not to kill anyone."

"Impressive," one of the Alliance metas commended as they continued down the hallway uncontested, leaving the brainwashed guards to their orders.

"And I'd rather not do that again," AJ snapped irately. "Now focus up; we're almost there."

The door they stopped in front of looked just like the hundreds of others they had passed throughout the prison, with the exception of the room number placard posted beside it. Without a word, the Capture Team clustered around it, ready to attack. At Abby's signal, Camilla nodded, then extended her energy through the closed door and into the room.

Even though she couldn't use her cell control abilities, Camilla could sense the long lab coats she saw the scientists wearing in the security feed, as well as their body heat escaping into the cold air around them. By her count, there were six scientists in the room, and only one of them had a higher body temperature than the rest.

With everyone's eyes on her, Camilla held up six fingers (six potential hostiles), then one finger (one meta), an O-shape (zero armed non-metas), then five fingers (five unarmed non-metas). Abby nodded in understanding, then held up three fingers; it was a scenario with less than five metas and less than ten non-metas, therefore they were going with Plan Three.

One of the Alliance metas put a palm on the door, then looked to Abby for her signal.

Abby held up three fingers. Three.

Camilla blindly reached behind her.

Two.

She felt Elsie squeeze her hand tightly, then quickly let go.

One.

The door swung open, with the force from the Alliance meta's abilities almost tearing it off its hinges. Immediately, the Gorilla disappeared from her spot right in front of the door, and a chorus of startled yelps rang out from inside soon after.

Camilla was up next, and she ran inside just in time to see the Gorilla being flung across the room. While Camilla spared some of her energy to cushion the woman's fall, she reserved most of her focus to attack Hester, who was still facing the operating table with her back to the door.

There was a plethora of small, sharp objects in the pseudo operating room, and Camilla only needed a second to gather them and send them flying towards Hester. But just before her attack hit Hester's back, Camilla stopped and froze. Hester's back was still turned to her, and the woman was making no indication that she planned on defending herself.

"What's wrong?" asked an Alliance meta that ran through the door behind her. "Why aren't you attacking her?"

That was a good question. There was no reason for Camilla to feel any sympathy towards Hester, but she couldn't bring herself to throw the hovering cluster of syringes and scalpels at the woman if she wasn't going to fight back. Camilla knew it wasn't Hester's conditioning at work—that usually stirred up fear rather than the doubt she was currently feeling. All she knew was that it didn't feel right to attack Hester just then, and Camilla decided to trust her instincts.

"Stop what you're doing, Hester," Camilla said instead, keeping the hoard of floating weapons pointed threateningly at Hester's back.

The other five scientists immediately dropped the instruments they were holding and backed away from the operating table with their hands raised in surrender. Hester, on the other hand, continued to work as if nothing was amiss.

"Doctor Bridgette Hester," Abby said from beside Camilla. "We're here to talk to you about the experiments you conducted on behalf of the Organization. Stop what you're doing and step away from the table."

But Hester continued to work, acting as if none of them were even there. She was so intent on what she was doing that it spurred Camilla's curiosity, and she focused on the person lying on the operating table. At first, Camilla was shocked when she found she could feel them and she assumed she got her cell control abilities back. It wasn't until a second later that Camilla realized the truth: the person was as cold as the metal operating table they were lying on, and Camilla could only feel them because they weren't alive anymore.

"They're dead," Camilla whispered, her voice so quiet that she wasn't sure anyone could even hear her.

But Abby had, judging by her sharp intake of breath and soft cursing.

"Hester," Abby repeated. "Stop what you're doing now, or we will attack."

Again, Hester didn't react.

Abby sighed, frustrated, before glancing at Camilla and nodding. Camilla returned the nod, but she took a moment to plot her next move. If Hester was the one that sent the Gorilla flying like a ragdoll with barely any effort, Camilla knew Hester would easily deflect her as well. So instead, Camilla changed tactics and focused on the instruments in Hester's hands. They looked like metal, so Camilla poured her energy into them, not stopping as they grew warmer and warmer.

"Damnit!" Hester finally hissed, and she dropped the burning instruments, letting them clatter noisily on the operating table. She sighed, sounding more inconvenienced than anything, before turning around with her arms folded across her chest.

At the sight of her face, Camilla instinctively froze, bracing herself for a wave of fear to overcome her. But instead, as Camilla took in the scene of Hester standing before a cold, metal operating table in a pristine white room, Camilla realized she felt more angry than scared. And instead of cowering, she tightened her hold on the surgical tools she still had hovering in the air between them. She wasn't afraid, and she had a job to do.

"Honestly, is this really necessary?" Hester asked, annoyed. "I'm trying to work."

"Work?" Abby replied in disbelief. "Is that what you call it?"

Hester shrugged nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just been cutting open a dead body. "I'm just calling it what it is."

AJ walked right up to the operating table as if she belonged there, and she only briefly took her eyes off of Hester to glance at what she had just been working on.

"Implanting Seeds in dead people?" AJ asked, then scoffed bitterly. "Looks more like you're trying to make zombies. What, was torturing living people not sick enough for you?"

Hester rolled her eyes. "Well, you two proved that the living can be very... difficult," she explained, looking first at AJ, then at Camilla. "And while I can normally work with that, unfortunately, I'm on a clock."

"And your alternative choice is to make a zombie army?" another Alliance meta chimed in, bewildered.

"'Zombies' are a creation of folklore and fantasy, and are completely unsupported by science," Hester corrected, sounding as if she was offended by their ignorance. "Right now, I'm leaning towards the term 'reanimation.'"

"So a reanimated army. Whatever."

Elsie, who had appeared besides Camilla at some point, tutted softly. "'Zombie army' sounds better, honestly," she muttered skeptically, just loud enough for only Camilla to hear.

"Does it matter what you call it?" an Alliance captain brusquely interjected. "Either way, it's completely unethical and illegal."

Hester scoffed, then chuckled softly. "Ethics? Legality? Please. Those are just some abstract constructs set by the government to create some semblance of a civilized society."

"Something wrong with being civilized?" Abby questioned, her tone sharp and bitter.

"It's restrictive and boring," Hester explained, as if it was obvious. "Not to mention, completely hypocritical. Honestly, the very people that set the standards are the first to break them."

She shrugged with one shoulder. "It's not like I mind that, of course. What's irritating is how they're too scared to admit what they really want. What's irritating is that these people are too worried about what others think about their true desires, so they'd rather go about achieving them in secretive and underhanded ways." Hester scoffed again, annoyed. "It's cowardly, and pathetic."

"Exactly who are you referring to?" Abby asked solemnly.

In an instant, Hester went from looking bitter and peeved to mischievous and sly. "You and your sad herd of sheep know exactly who I'm talking about," she said as a knowing grin stretched across her face.

For a moment, everyone was silent. No one needed to say anything to know that Hester was talking about the Org. They just needed Hester to confirm it.

"You talk pretty high and mighty for someone in your position," an Alliance captain spoke up first. "As if you don't personally benefit from making the Org's army."

Hester looked towards the captain, disgusted. "An army," she repeated, scoffing. "What is with you people and your armies? An army is so barbaric. Not to mention it's a complete waste of time and effort spent to put it together. All for what? To see it get demolished over politics and ego-boosting power plays? Please, give me some credit. I like to think I'm more sophisticated than that. You see, I wanted a collection."

When Hester smiled this time, it sent a chill up Camilla's spine.

"Think about it: a collection of metas," Hester continued, almost breathless with excitement. She spread her arms in front of her dramatically as she stared above them at a dream she had yet to attain. "You have to admit that there's something so satisfying about having people with extraordinary strength and potential, and watching them just dance at your fingertips.

"And to think, there was a time when I couldn't even imagine the possibilities of people that were out there." She cringed and shuddered. "What a boring existence that was."

Suddenly, Hester lowered her gaze again, and her empty eyes looked straight at Camilla.

"I suppose I have to thank your father for showing me the truth," Hester continued, her whimsical tone suddenly gone. "Sure, his naivety really pissed me off, but I can't deny how valuable his knowledge has been to me."

At the mention of her dad, Camilla's anger flared.

"Don't you dare say another damn word about my dad," she warned. The surgical instruments in the air began to quiver dangerously.

Hester's chuckle only succeeded in making Camilla even more furious.

"Please, child," Hester said pretentiously. "I knew your daddy better than you did. And it's a fact that while he was extremely intelligent, he was probably the biggest idiot I had ever met. Because only an idiot would trust everyone unconditionally and assume everyone was working towards the 'greater good' and all that crap, even when it was clear that they had other intentions."

Suddenly, Hester paused, as if she was deep in thought.

"Although, he did seem like he was brightening up near the end," she continued. "At least, that's the only explanation I can think of for why he tried to hide his research from us at the last minute." She glanced at Camilla with one eyebrow raised inquisitively. "You do know about that, don't you? His theory on the existence of metas with above-average abilities?"

Camilla refused to answer, but she couldn't help how her mind suddenly remembered the letter her dad left her, and his research that he left behind. He said he had deleted it all, yet Hester seemed to know everything.

Her expression must have been easy to read because Hester smiled wide.

"So you do," Hester guessed correctly. "Anyway, once he was dead, I managed to recover his research that he tried to hide. And it was like a whole new world had been opened, just for me. Learning about the existence of a 'superior meta' was like my enlightenment; I felt like I was born anew. And even though he made it seem like it was all hypothetical, I just knew it had to be true." When her eyes met Camilla's again, they were wide and hungry. "And you were meant to be my prized trophy."

Camilla couldn't help her feet as they took a defensive step backwards, and the floating instruments began to waver unsteadily. She was immensely grateful when she felt Elsie's hand rest assuringly on her shoulder, and Camilla anchored herself with Elsie's touch.

"Me?" she asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"How did you know?" Abby quickly stepped in. "How did you know someone would be a... 'super meta' or not?"

Hester chuckled lightheartedly, obviously amused. "Oh, Abigail. Why ask the questions you already know the answer to? Oh, is it because you're recording all of this as evidence to expose the Org?"

At Hester's correct guess, a few of the junior Alliance metas began to shift nervously. Similarly, Hester's colleagues began looking towards the corners of the room, their eyes darting skittishly between the security cameras that were pointed at them.

"Really, I expected more from you," Hester continued, not paying any attention to the shift of tone in the room. "The Org has swept much more heinous wrongdoings under the rug. Why do you think this time would be any different?

"But sure, I'll humor you; hell, maybe at least one of you might even appreciate my sheer brilliance. God knows some of those other people sure don't. They only see the faults in everything I do. 'Doctor Hester, you've been taking too many younger subjects. You need to find older people, or at least go after runaways.' Or, 'Doctor Hester, someone at the LA City Hall is asking why they have paper records for someone that's not supposed to exist anymore. Why aren't you fixing that?' A bunch of ungrateful bastards, if you ask me."

She suddenly waved her hand flippantly in frustration, and the scientists around her immediately jumped with fear. But if Hester noticed, she didn't say so.

"Anyway, to answer your question," Hester continued. "When I was made headmaster, I gained unrestricted access to all of the meta-human tests. At first, I didn't think much of it, and I would only look through the results if I was seriously bored. It wasn't my job to evaluate them, after all; other people were paid to do such menial tasks, and I had more important things to do.

"But that changed when I saw yours." Hester pointed to Camilla, her eyes and smile wide. "Your results reminded me of the 'hypothetical super meta' Ken had written about, and suddenly, everything clicked. There was no way Ken would write in such detail about something hypothetical unless he knew it was actually real—that wasn't his style. Plus, it made even more sense if that 'hypothetical' meta was his own daughter."

She sighed nostalgically, as if she was reminiscing over her memories. "But unfortunately, I had no way of knowing for certain. Not yet, at least. So when the Org got additional funding a few years later, I pushed to put it towards perfecting the upgraded meta-ability test that Ken tried to hide from us. Once that was done, we were finally able to determine the potential of a meta's abilities, and we tested everyone that was under the Org's contract at the time. That's..." her eyes scanned over the Control Team, "most of you, I believe?"

She looked at Camilla again, her chilling smile still firmly in place. "And that's when I knew for sure why Ken tried so hard to hide his research. He was trying to protect his sweet little baby girl." She said her last words mockingly, then began cackling madly. "He must be tossing in his grave right now at how pointless it was for him to risk his life to try and prevent the inevitable. Unless..." Hester suddenly calmed, and her gaze drifted upwards as she seemingly searched her memories. "He was cremated, wasn't he?"

As furious as Camilla was, she still had enough sense left to know that something about Hester's last statement sounded odd. Maybe it was her wording, maybe it was her tone... or maybe Hester was just creepy in general. Regardless, something didn't sit right with Camilla, and she had to know for sure.

"How did my dad die?" Camilla managed to ask, her voice much calmer and restrained than she felt.

Unsurprisingly, Hester continued to pretend to be deep in thought.

"Was it... it was supposed to be a car accident, wasn't it?" she asked innocently. She looked to Camilla, as if she was checking to see if her answer was correct. And with Camilla's unwavering glare, Hester continued. "Oh, you mean how he really died? Well... that's a little more complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it," Elsie demanded, and her grip tightened on Camilla's shoulder.

Hester rolled her eyes. "So impatient. Let's see...

"Well, once upon a time, many years ago, a much younger and less-dead Zachary Stein approached me to ask if I knew what Ken was working on." She shrugged, as if she was reenacting her reaction from that day. "As far as I knew, Ken was supposed to be working on refining the meta test, but I wasn't aware that he made any progress. And when I asked Zach about it, he acted all suspicious and guilty—he was much easier to manipulate back then—so I took some initiatives.

"I looked into Ken's research files myself, but all I found was a huge timeframe of missing data. Either he didn't do anything for months, which was obviously unlikely, or he intentionally deleted everything, and he was just too stupid to cover his tracks. It was clearly the latter, so the Org wanted to find out what he was trying to hide, and they asked me to see what I could find. And... well, I admit, I may have been a little too zealous and definitely inexperienced, and..." She shrugged again. "Yeah."

With the abrupt conclusion to her story, the room was silent, as if everyone was waiting for more.

"'Yeah' what?" Elsie pressed impatiently.

"I mean, that's it," Hester said, as if it was obvious. "Ken found some stuff out, the Org wanted to know what it was, he wouldn't talk, and so I killed him."

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