Lola Hilling: The Blinding Light

1 - A Morning Of Beginnings

"Breaking News, siblings Stiff H₂O and The Crane Fly. Also known as Blake and Ethan Keating, have been sentenced to life in the newly erected Hollows-Beach Prison For The Powered, just on the outskirts of London. They will be joining other criminals with abilities gifted by The Wave, or villains in general taken down by our heroes... Let us hope this helps deter those who commit these heinous acts."

The newsreader began her report to the nation, one which had been repeated several times throughout the day. The way she spoke was almost poetic at times, but it didn't take away from its importance. It was a message that needed to be spread far and wide. That there were consequences for their actions.

Lola Hilling stood, watching the television from the kitchen. Pouring milk onto cereal that sat in a bowl before her, she'd scrunch her nose.

"How could they do this? How can they even think about doing something so dangerous?" She said aloud, almost whispering.

Her own voice was low, barely audible over the sound of the kettle boiling. She poured the hot water into the mug, stirring it with a spoon. Her hands shook a little as she did this, but Lola ignored it; ignoring everything besides her breakfast.

She stared out the window, seeing the grey clouds above. No rain yet, maybe another hour or two before it started to fall. An odd thought came to her then. Did Ben just up and leave them? Was he still here? Did her brother just run away?

Lola's mind wandered back to the news report. She couldn't believe what she'd heard. It wasn't just Ethan and Blake who would be joining the prison population. There were more names that kept cropping up. More villains going straight to jail.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. In hustled her mother, Tanya Hilling, wearing an apron over her pink nightdress.

"Morning sweetie," She said as she patted her daughter's shoulder.

Lola smiled and nodded towards Tanya before grabbing her breakfast and moving into the living room. She instantly spotted her brother, Sky, sitting on one of the chairs. Staring directly at the TV, it was obvious he was taking in all the information from the news report as he could. His hand rested on his knee, gripping tightly around the fabric. He turned when she approached him.

"Hey sis," He greeted her with a smile. "I'm surprised you're up already."

"I couldn't sleep..." She sighed. "I keep thinking about Dad, Ben and Tmo..."

"So do I," Sky replied. "It is all too much to process right now."

"Yeah..." Lola agreed, taking a seat on the couch. "Especially for you, with your old best friend being locked away."

The siblings sat in silence for a while. Both staring at the television, not saying anything. The news reporter would talk, filling the room with the names of people they didn't know, and people they did. Other villains going down. People they didn't care about. Then the name of the last one would appear on screen.

"Serena Hellford..."

"Makes sense..." Sky sighed. "But then that means, they haven't found Dad yet..."

"They will, I'm sure of it." Lola said confidently. "Just give them time and they'll find him. Maybe he's holed up somewhere..."

Sky looked at his sister, his eyes looking weak.

"You really think so?" He asked.

"I don't see why they wouldn't!" She faked a smile. "Father Flame wouldn't be able to keep himself hidden for long..."

"No, I suppose not..." Sky muttered. "Well, I better get ready, going to do some patrolling. See ya later, Lola."

He left his chair, disappearing in a blur of flames. He sped off and out of the house, heading out into the city.

Lola stared at the empty space where he'd been sitting. The room seemed so quiet without him. So lonely. She felt like crying, but then again, she couldn't be bothered. Finishing her breakfast, Lola jumped out of her chair before taking her bowl and mug to the sink. Placing them for her mother to wash, the two would wave to one another before Lola left the room.

She wanted to do something with the day, not just stay inside and be sad. Thinking to herself, something quickly popped into the female's mind. She'd visit her cousins! Grabbing a black jacket, she threw it on before rushing out of the door. Her stop, The Moonlight Lounge!

---

Father Flame's eyes shot open, with the feeling of pain overwhelming him. He was out of his suit and strapped to some kind of hospital-like bed. Shaking with violence, the villain tried to free himself, finding it impossible to do so. Graham gulped, wondering what kind of situation he had gotten into.

"Easy..." Came a voice, slowly coming closer to him. "That's enough... Don't try to move..."

The contained man yelled with anger, shaking even more than before.

"Who are you?! What have you done to me?!"

"Calm down, we need to talk..."

Graham did as he was told, still trying to struggle against the restraints. Even though he was a villain, he could too still be scared. Especially after getting shot down and kidnapped by some freak.

"Okay, calm down. Just let us take care of you, please..."

The villain remained silent for a while. With the sounds of light footsteps approaching him, Father Flame looked into the face of his captor. He spotted the man's spikey blonde hair and purple suit, instantly hating him.

"What do you want?" He growled.

"First of all, I am The Puppeteer." The masked man retorted. "Secondly, I'm right to believe you're related to the hero known as Freight-Tale?"

"Why? What does this have to do with him?"

"Because he's the reason you're here right now. I've been watching your activities, trying to figure out who you were. You're damn good at what you do, so I know you must be a hell of a guy. But, he doesn't even wear a mask. He just styles his hair, like Superman! This is the real world, and now I know who you are... The Hillings..."

"What do you want?" Father Flame yelled.

"I'm going to turn you into something different, so I can get ahold and do the same to him..." The Puppeteer smirked. "So then, Disney Duchess can see I am more of a threat than she realizes!"

"You're crazy! If you hurt him, I swear I'll make sure you suffer!"

"Heh, I don't think you can do that..." The man laughed. "You're just a hunk of metal that tries to murder his own children, why do you care now?"

"You know nothing..." Father Flame snarled. "If you harm my son, I will destroy you! I won't go down without a fight!"

"Oh, don't worry." The purple-suited man smirked. "You'll fight, I know that for sure..."

Revealing an injection in his hand, The Puppeteer swiftly pushed it into Graham's neck. The man screamed in agony, struggling against the restraints, only to feel the drug spread through his body. It made him dizzy, seeing things around him blur.

"What is this? What are you doing to me?!" He screamed.

"I'm taking control..." The blonde man replied. "Of the Father of Flames!"