ΣΙΓΜΑ and Avengers Phase I

Chapter Δύο (Two)

Lauren quietly sits up, her heart hammering in her chest. She puts on her light jacket and zips it up, flipping the hood over her blonde hair. She creeps toward the stairs and strains her ears for any other sounds.

"We told you we'd be able to. Now, make it easy for us, and tell your guy to make it a weapon!" Lauren tenses up and presses her back against the wall. That man's voice was not her father's. This voice was eerie, and it sounded like he was trying to scream but stay quiet at the same time.

"You're going to have to tell your buyer what I said. I refuse to help in any way, Shade. I told you I was out once I knew what you planned to do!" Now that was her father. Lauren quickly but quietly opens the small closet next her, removes the towels, and grabs a metal baseball bat.

"You don't understand. This is going to change the grand picture! Don't you want to help us make the world a better place? This revolutionary technology will change the future," the eerie man says. Lauren peeks around the corner and looks down the stairs. Her eyes widen when she sees three people in the living room. One is her dad who is sitting in his rocking chair. The other two have weird outfits on, almost as if they were spies.

Lauren's dad glances quickly up the stairs, spotting Lauren. The two intruders don't even notice. "Troy will never make what you want, even if you don't kill me, so good luck."

The creepy voice guy steps toward Eric who stands up, sensing danger. Lauren grabs her bat, ready to beat them up if the intruders get any funny ideas.

"We'll just take the boy anyway. Maybe he can speak for himself. After all, our L.I.G.H.T. technology is one of a kind. Maybe he will understand the potential for it." The creepy man's voice turns to a low growl at the end. Lauren steps on the first step, trying to be as sneaky as she can.

"I can't let you do that." Lauren's dad whips a small gun out of his pocket, but before he can do anything, the second intruder shoots his own gun.

The bat drops out of Lauren's hand and rolls down the stairs. The two intruders freeze in their tracks, and Lauren shakily walks down the stairs. She turns to the living room and surveys the scene, her heart not believing what her mind is processing. Blinking away tears, Lauren notices the guy who shot her dad is also pointing the gun at her.

"Murderer!" In one swift motion, Lauren reaches forward and grabs the gun around the barrel, forcing it away from her and punching the man in the face. The creepy intruder snaps out of his shock and reaches for Lauren's neck, but the blonde ducks and kicks the man in the knee. The creepy man falls and Lauren lets go of the gun, sprinting out of the house.

The man with the gun shoots at Lauren multiple times as she runs away, but none of the bullets reach their target. Lauren jumps into her car and lays low, fumbling her keys out of her pocket and starting the car. She drives away without a second thought, going to the only place she knows will give her answers. Her dad's shop.

It's still dark out when Lauren arrives. She processes what happened at the house during the car ride. She mourns over her father, not believing that she is now all alone with no one to protect her. However, she quickly wipes her tears and shakes her head. She can't think about this now. Her father would want her to figure this out and keep those people from getting what they want. Although, she does promise herself that if she ever meets those two again, she will get her revenge.

There are a couple things Lauren could decipher from the conversation she overheard. One was that the evil people found a substance and want to make it into a weapon. The evil people knew about her dad beforehand, forced him into a contract of some kind which he backed out of, and wanted him to make them the weapon. No, they wanted her dad to get Troy to make the weapon. They're going after Troy next.