Molly's POV
I rush at the two villains ahead of me. Shockwave moves to the side, letting Aftershock stand alone. I duck as he throws a punch at my head. I hit him in the stomach, making a soft groan leave his lips. He snarls before lunging. I flinch and move backwards, but trip, falling to the ground. Aftershock punches me twice in the face before kicking my ribs hard. Something cracks, making me scream in pain, tears rushing down my cheeks. I hear chains clanking as my family tries to escape and help me. I roll over to try to get up, only to be kicked in the face by Aftershock's large red boot. My nose cracks loudly, probably broken. I feel blood rushing from it. I cough, tasting blood. My head spins as I look around the room. But I force myself up. He laughs louder and pushes me down again.
"Shockwave," he calls, making her walk over, "Finish her off. I'm going to wait." She nods, a nervous, but slightly evil smile present on her lips. He leaves. I groan and stand up, clutching my ribs. I can feel my lip is busted. I wipe my nose using the sleeve of my leather jacket, making the red substance smear across the material. Shockwave shakes her head at me, amused by my struggle.
"I've waited a long time for this." She rushes forward, slamming her elbow into my shoulder. I grab her arm and flip her on her back. Shockwave slams into the ground, groaning loudly. She kicks her leg out, sweeping my legs from under me. I tumble down beside her. The air gets knocked from my lungs, and my head slams into the ground. My vision goes dark for a few seconds. Before I can even begin to form a thought, Shockwave is on top of me, repeatedly punching my face. After what seems like eternity, she climbs off of my body. I struggle to keep my eyes open. She kicks my back, then walks over to the control panel. I glance up and see the tears and anger from my family. I look back down at the ground. I failed them.
"Who should get a wire shoved into their spine first, Psyche?" Shockwave calls, looking at the pallet beside me. I see her swallow hard and close her eyes. Her hands are shaking. She doesn't wanna do this, I realize.
"Shockwave," I cough out, struggling to stand, "You don't have to do this."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I know you don't want to," I continue, limping over beside the pallet. I lean my weight against it, exhausted and bruised, "Whatever Clint is blackmailing you with, I can he-"
"You don't know what you're talking about," she cuts in, her voice shaking.
"Do me first then," I volunteer, my breathing labored.
"What?"
"I'll be first." I pick up an unpackaged coat and toss it to her. It hits the ground. Shockwave stares at it. "Unless you don't want to." Her jaw tightens. "What is Clint offering you? What does he have against you?"
"Nothing! This is personal," she screeches, "I've told you this before." I raise an eyebrow, knowing she's close to breaking. "My father spent my entire childhood looking and experimenting to try to get powers," Shockwave snarls, "I never had a father." Bingo.
"So you don't have powers," I say softly, making her head snaps back towards me.
"Of course I have powers," she laughs nervously, "What the hell are you talking about?"
I shake my head no, "You told me before that your powers were genetic but you just said that your father spent your childhood trying to get them. You only have tech to make it look like you have powers."
"You're wrong, Psyche!" she screams, her voice shaking, "I'll prove it to you! Right now. I don't need to put a coat on you. I'll just beat the shit out of you." Shockwave moves into a fight stance.
I shake my head no, "I'm not going to fight you. I have nothing against you. I have no reason to fight you." I pull my mask off of my face and drop it to the ground.
Her jaw drops, "What? You have every reason. I- I kidnapped your friends and family. I've been terrorizing the city. I took your powers from you!"
"You're not a bad person," I continue, "You only want to impress your father to get his attention. He's dead, Shockwave. You owe him nothing. All of this isn't what you want. I know it." She sinks down to her knees. I go over and kneel beside her, "Clint is not in control of you."
Her chin quivers, "I can't stop. I'm going to go to jail if I do."
"You're going to murder people if you continue." She lowers her head, then nods in agreement.
"Police!" Someone yells, kicking in the door, "No body move."
"Hold fire. Psyche's here. No one moves," Chief Owens calls from the front if the group. The other cops stand there behind her.
Shockwave smiles sadly at me, "I'll release everyone. You're right, Psyche. And thank you." I smile back and nod. She stands up slowly, her arms in the air. Chief Owens catches my eye and raises and eyebrow. I shake my head no.
"Hold your fire," she repeats. Shockwave takes a step towards her control panel. Someone fires a gun at her.
"No!" I scream, tackling the frightened girl to the ground. I feel it hit me then everything goes dark.
