Chapter Text
February 5, 2027
“I won’t let you do this to her!” Tigress screamed before storming out of the room. The large doors slammed shut. Countess Cleo winced slightly before turning to face the rest of the faculty. They groaned at her exit, Maelstrom looked especially upset as he rubbed the disappointment away from his eyes.
“Where on earth is Saira?” She murmured. Looking through wedding venues most likely.
“Don’t try to change the subject, Countess Cleo,” Maelstrom started. “You lied, to all of us.”
Coach Brunt shook her head. “We could have given her up this entire time! Or she could have been used as bait.”
“Not to mention, the Carringtons are one of the richest families in all of North America,” Maelstrom stressed. “They could have helped us relocate to a new island. It’s practically insane to rebuild our home in the same location.”
“Gunnar, this is not our only base! And we have our new security measures courtesy of Saira,” she took a few steps forward, closer to the large desk at the center of the room. “ACME won’t walk one step before they’re in for a…shocking surprise.”
“It’s too late to give her now, messing with her memory at such a young age would be extremely dangerous after the amnesia,” Maelstrom reasoned. “And there’s no point in doing so if she can’t remember anything about her past. She needs to get it back so we can prove she’s who she is.”
“How on Earth did you find that out about them anyways-”
The doors creaked open. The cleaners led a man in, flaunting a new suit, bowler hat, and a smile. His confidence was almost surprising as he was fresh out of prison. His choice to come back into a nest of vipers was rather unique, to say the least. But they wouldn’t turn him away. An old friend of the Faculty was always welcome, and second chances seemed to be a popular option recently.
“Hello, Roundabout. Pleasured to make your acquaintance again,” Maelstrom welcomed with a wicked grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why are you so mad, Tigress?” Aléxia asked, her voice dreaded with concern.
“It’s Sheena, Lexi. Tigress is for when we’re out with V.I.L.E. You don’t have to call me that anymore since you’re old enough to keep secrets.”
“If you don’t like it. Then leave,” she suggested.
Wow. She really just said that.
“It’s not that easy you know. Besides, it’s too late for me to leave. You still have the chance though,” she joked. Aléxia looked at her curiously.
“Why would you want to leave? They like you,” she said, folding a few of their old bedsheets. Tigress sighed.
“Trust me, it seems cool at first. But you slip up a few times…” her voice trailed off. “Anyways, I can only protect you for so long kid. Then you’re out in the real world again.”
“I hope I can be your best friend forever.”
“Same kid. Same.”
She looked at the girl again, noticing the mark she failed to hide. Tigress didn’t know why she bothered to hide anything from her at this rate.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” she said jokingly. Aléxia looked puzzled at the mention of the idiom.
“You’ve been trying to cover up that bruise for ten minutes. Did you fall off a ledge again?” Tigress asked, more serious than before. Her posture straightened.
“No. I cut myself fixing the wires. Dr. Bellum needed me to help with a thing,” she responded.
Liar.
“You wanted to help?” she wasn’t convinced at all. Bellum would never allow a child, especially one the rest of the faculty disliked, to help her with that top-secret project she was rambling about for the past few weeks. Unless she was lying to the rest of the faculty as well.
“My hand hurts a little, but it’s pretty fun! Dr. Bellum gave me a mini wire cutter that fit my hand,”
She’s determined, I’ll give her that. “Fine, I have a…meeting to go to so be careful next time.”
“Okay,” she replied. She finished setting up the bed and pulled out a glossy marble black and white chessboard she likes to play with in her free time. She grabbed the pieces from a small pouch and set them around the board, playing with them like they were action figures.
She needs to find some actual friends Tigress noted to herself before dashing off.
The dining hall she walked past was filled with bustling people since it was the Friday when they got food from the outside world: the one day of the week when they didn’t have to eat instant food. She heard some of the kids gossiping behind Tigress’s back.
“I heard she was getting in trouble. They’re probably gonna kick her out soon…” one girl whispered.
“There’s no way they’re gonna let her do whatever she wants…especially after that brat came along,” the boy next to her replied.
Tigress spun around and glared at the two teenagers, a look that could kill. She held a fist in her hand and slowly walked closer to them, not breaking eye contact for a second. There was no rule against beating up V.I.L.E students as far as she knew, but one thing she learned is that verbal intimidation often works the best against people like them.
She wore a smile. “Oh? I didn’t know you two were well-versed on matters of the V.I.L.E faculty.”
The two froze. They were screwed.
“I’m sorry, we weren’t thinking and-”
“Sorry is for people who actually have the capacity to make up for their incompetence,” Tigress snarled. “Learn how to be a good thief before smack-talking. And don’t think about messing with me because I’ve heard the punishments here are painful.”
The two of them held hands, trying to ground themselves and expect the worst punishment they could receive. A crowd that formed around them murmured in curiosity.
Tigress smiled. “What are your names?”
The girl almost seemed hesitant to answer. “I’m Sonic and he’s Cayenne…”
“Seriously? That’s the best you two could come up with?” Tigress asked. The two looked like they were on the verge of tears.
“I better not talk to you both again unless we’re on a caper,” she said. She struts off to the secondary rotunda building as she originally intended, leaving both of the students in the dust. There was a new tower added with the new structure, meant to serve as a lookout. It was one of the operative’s jobs every day to take note of anything suspicious.
The operative that day, Saika, was the second to notice the sand-covered body after Tigress. The view of the high-quality telescope showed her a moment of conflict. There was a second where Tigress was willing to ignore her cry for help. To let her be, or even push the young girl back into the raging waters.
But she couldn’t. Not again.
A different operative was there this time. Some new person, she didn’t care to know their name. Tigress shoved them out of the way and told them she would be taking over manual security for the rest of the day. The operative was hesitant, worried it would be a trap, but she said dinner was served and they practically leaped off the wall to avoid work.
Kids these days.
Once a week, Tigress would look out for any similar ships the day Mirage arrived. None of them ever showed up but it helped put her mind at ease. Maybe if she was with her actual family, she could focus on taking care of herself. She shouldn’t have to go crazy for this child who could be a potential loose cannon.
But Aléxia wasn’t. She was different. Better than Tigress was at that age. She deserved a family that doesn’t pretend she doesn’t exist. She looked through the telescope and at the surrounding beach. A few operatives were outside picking up trash or sweeping the exterior of the building. She saw a few students gossiping around the edge of the building.
She swiveled the large device to the front of the school where she saw Cookie Booker examine the building. Aléxia sat on the steps reading one of her fairy tale books before setting it down to politely greet the elder woman. Tigress wanted to punch the walls surrounding her until they crumbled.
“This isn’t going to be good…”