𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙏𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙄𝙨 ~

"Come on, Sloane! Wake up!" Astrid continued to shake the Sparrow awake, hoping the yellow rays hadn't gotten to her too. She rested a hand against Sloane's left cheek, softly caressing it as her body filled with worry. For a moment, Astrid thought she was too late. But judging on what happened to Jayme and Alphonso after the blast, she realized whatever damage happened to them, couldn't have been so severe for Sloane, at least physically.

The Umbrellas looked at the dead bodies of the Sparrow siblings, slowly looking towards their saving grace, and only Viktor was quick to realize who the mysterious person was. "Heavens to Betsy, what did you do?! Did Viktor go full 'Carrie' again?" Klaus gasped the moment he stepped into the lobby. "We didn't do this!" Allison answered, gesturing towards the old man staring down at the corpses. "Harlan?" Viktor spoke softly, reaching towards him.

"Don't touch me!" Harlan flinched. "Don't come near me, please," his hands went to his head as ringing filled his ears. "I just want to make sure you're okay," Viktor assured. "You... you can talk now," Harlan slightly nodded, claiming that he could do a lot of things now. Astrid turned her focus back to Sloane, tucking pieces of her light brown hair behind her ears, still calling her name. "Sloane, are you alright? Please wake up..." She pleaded. A groan escaped Sloane's lips as she tried to sit up, feeling a burning pain in her side.

"It's okay, I've got you," Astrid whispered, wrapping an arm around her back. Sloane gripped at her right arm, briefly meeting Astrid's concerned but relieved eyes. "What happened?" She grimaced. "You were almost hit by rays, but I grabbed you just in time," the Shadow Girl explained, unaware her family was watching. Though they stayed silent and listened to what was being said, the wheels in their heads began turning with suspicion. How could she be acting all friendly towards one of our attackers?

As Sloane tried to stand up, she caught glimpse of a familiar mixture of burgundy and black. And as she looked over her shoulder, she was shocked to find the disfigured and cooked bodies of Jayme and Alphonso. Immediately, she started hyperventilating, hoping this was just a hallucination and that they were just unconscious. But the moment she saw their melted eye sockets, she realized the nightmare was a reality. Sloane's eyes bulged out of her head as she looked back to Astrid, and still a shaking and hyperventilating mess, she took off running up the stairs.

"You've got a live one, Trid!" Diego yelled, running behind as she took off after the gravity girl, Luther following close behind him. While Diego grabbed one of his blades, eager for revenge, the Ape-man wanted to stop him from killing Sloane and to help her as well. "Sloane, wait!" Astrid called out, following her as she ran towards the Oasis and Spa. But as soon as she stepped inside, it was almost as if Sloane had vanished into thin air.

"Sloane?" Astrid called out again. The only response she got was a shower curtain rustling, and an older gentleman stepped out, wrapped in a towel. "Oh geez, I'm sorry!" Astrid looked away embarrassed as the man shuffled his way out of the room. As she stepped further into the spa, she heard sniffling and turned around to find Sloane scowling at her with tears running down her face. Before Astrid could comfort her, Sloane lifted her high off the ground, now quivering with rage.

"Did you set me up?!" She growled. "No! I would never do that to you!" Astrid strained, trying to get her feet back on the ground. "Liar!" Sloane hissed, before feeling the edge of a blade pressed against her neck. "But I would. Let... her... go," Diego threatened. With either the choice of life or instant death laid before her, Sloane reluctantly freed Astrid from her grasp, making her land on the white-tiled floor, gasping for air. "You good?" Number Two questioned. "I'm fine," Astrid nodded.