Broken Hero

Chapter 10

Eclipse groans as she opens her eyes, grateful that the lights were dim as her head was already pounding. Doc was removing the IV from her arm when he noticed she was awake.

“Easy there, you’ve been asleep for two days. Give your body a moment to adjust.” Doc instructs as she sits up.

She rubs her forehead as he finishes unhooking her before leaving, silence falling over the room as neither she nor Warfalcon speaks.

Warfalcon finally sighs. “You had me worried there for a moment.”

“Sorry...” Eclipse’s voice comes out raspy from not being used, and the scratchy feeling sends her into a coughing fit.

Warfalcon jumps up, handing her a cup of water. She gulps it down, the water kick starting her healing factor and making the headache go away.

“Thanks.” She sets the cup down again as she catches her breath, shifting her weight so she can sit on the edge of the bed and face him. “That wasn’t my intention, you know.”

He nods, staying quiet for a moment before speaking again. “What happened between us anyway? You used to tell me everything before.”

“I tried, but after Charles and the other three went missing... You stopped listening to me.” She looks at the wall.

“What? I still...” He stops as she gives him a look. “I guess I was so focused on what happened that I never realized... And then I relied too much on Lindsey to help you.”

She shrugs, “Yeah, I noticed... especially after the... incident. “

“What do you mean?” He looks at her, confused. “Any time she even hinted at the possibility that I may be depressed, you sent Doc after me. I spent a lot of time in the psych ward just because I pissed Lindsey off, and she used you to punish me.” She rolls her eyes.

His face fell, and she watched as he mentally recalled the times she was talking about. “I thought...”

“I know what you thought, and I don’t necessarily blame you after what happened. But it still hurt when you listened to her. I felt like I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise.” She swallowed hard. “So, I gave up. Things got worse, and I didn’t see any other way. So, I called my connections from my army days, and they sent me undercover.”

Warfalcon gulps. “Do I want to know what you mean by worse?”

“Lindsey wanted an excuse to cheat, so she spread rumors that we had opened our relationship. I guess that wasn’t enough for her and her friends, though, because she brought one of the men to my home one night... You can piece together what happened from there...” She stretches as his face goes white, changing the subject. “Since we’re talking again... I think we need to clear the air about everything else as well.”

He studies her face for a moment before nodding. “Alright, then what happened with Charles and his group?” She bites her lip, playing with her lip rings as she recalls the memories from all those years ago.

Eclipse splashes water on her face, trying to ignore how pale it looks as she ties up her long hair into a tight ponytail. Her arms, however, were bright red from being rubbed raw. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling of his hands on her body. Her timer goes off beside her as she picks up the plastic stick on the counter, her breath catching in her throat.

“No, no, no... this can’t be happening.” She leans against the wall, sliding to the floor as she starts hyperventilating. “Charles is going to kill me.”

Tears sting her eyes as she sits on the floor, unable to move as her thoughts race for an answer. She finally takes a deep breath and gets up slowly, resolve coursing through her as she turns on the sink. The warm water felt good as she cleaned up her tears and then the mess on the counter. She clutches the plastic stick to her chest tightly as she leaves the bathroom.

“There you are.” Charles’ deep voice makes her jump as he stomps over to her.

“Ch... Charles, what are you...” Her voice trembles as she steps back towards the now closed bathroom door.

He smirks at her fear, grabbing her jaw. “What do you think I’m doing? Everyone else is busy, and I have some free time.” His eyes fall on the stick in her hand, his voice turning cold. “What is that?”

“It’s nothing! I just...” She tries to come up with an excuse as he rips it from her hand.

His face turns bright red from anger. “You’re pregnant?!” She stammers as he grabs her hair, making her cry out as he slams her head against the wall. “You said you were on birth control.”

“I... I am, but it must have failed.” She whimpers.

He throws her to the floor and turns to leave. “Get rid of it.”

“No.” She gulps as he spins back towards her.

His face was turning an interesting shade of purple now as he reached for her.

“If you force me to miscarry, then I’ll have to go to the hospital. They’ll tell Warfalcon, and both he and Sera will know what you’ve been doing.” Her voice sounds stronger than she feels as she scoots away from him.

He pauses in his tracks, his face cycling through different emotions before scoffing and leaving the room. The door slams behind him as she breathes a sigh of relief. She gives it a few minutes before leaving the room, checking to see that the coast is clear before making her way to Warfalcon’s office.

“Hey, Warfalcon?” She opens the door to find an empty room.

Biting her lip, she decides to go find him by slipping out the back. She sighs in relief as she makes her way down the sidewalk, grateful to have gotten out without the others seeing. The streets were calm since most people were still at work. Eclipse bites her lip, hoping that she can find Warfalcon soon. A white van pulls up beside her, and the back doors slam open, letting out the twins, who grab her. They cover her mouth with a sweet-smelling cloth as they drag her into the van, everything tilting around her before going dark.

When she wakes up, she finds herself tied to a bed with her arms and legs spread. The ropes gave her no room to move, and her body hurt all over.

Sera smirked as she towered over her, a glowing blue stone in her hand. “Hey, the freak’s awake.”

Charles laughs as he and the twins join her. “About time. Too bad she didn’t wake up earlier. I would have loved to hear her scream.”

She feels her blood run cold as Sera gives her a satisfied look. “W... what did you do?”

“We just gave you what you wanted.” Charles’ girlfriend laughs as she motions towards her lower body.

Her heart almost stops as she recognizes the stone in her hand. A couple of months ago, she had told Warfalcon that she was bi-gender, meaning she was both male and female. The twins had overheard and told Charles, and they had all been using that information to bully her. They had also been there when she and Warfalcon were practicing using water manipulation to change her DNA. Doing so let her change her hair and eye color, as well as different physical attributes. The stone she held was a water crystal, a crystal made by the gods to manipulate water.

“You said you wanted to be both, so now you are. Oh, and don’t think about changing it back. Sera took the time to run some stitches into its base so you can’t reverse it.” Charles smirks.

Sera giggled. “I also made sure to tie your tubes as well. No baby would ever want a freak like you as a mother anyway.”

Pain radiates through her abdomen, confirming her fears, her mouth running dry as Sera and the twins head for the door.

Sera stops and turns to look at her before closing the door. “Since you wanted him so badly, I’ll give him to you for a bit.”

She laughs as she slams the door closed.

Charles cuts the rope from one of her legs and climbs on top of her, his hand gripping her neck tightly. “Should have done what I told you to.” He laughs as she gasps for air. “And don’t even think about running home to tell Warfalcon. If he comes after me, then I’ll be coming after you.”

He took his time before leaving her still tied up and bleeding on the bed. The pressure on her tied leg had snapped it, and her abdomen tensed up as pain wracked her body again. She had to get out of here. Looking around, she notices a puddle in the corner where the roof had leaked after a recent rain. It was hard to concentrate as pain continued to course through her, but she was finally able to use the water to s***h the ropes that held her. She bites back a scream as she sits up, grabbing some of the rope and rolling the blanket to make a weak splint that reaches her hips. It wouldn’t be good for long-term use, but it was enough to get away. She limps to the window and looks out. There was a tree just outside that she could reach, though it was going to hurt. She opens the window as quietly as she can and grabs a branch, using her arms to swing towards the trunk as she tries to ignore the pain.

Then, using the trunk, she slides to the ground. She lies on the ground to catch her breath before forcing herself to her feet and limping to the road, careful to stay out of sight. Keeping an eye on the windows, she moved quickly until it was out of sight. They had taken her to the middle of nowhere, but she hoped that there was a town somewhere with a hospital. Night fell quickly, and every sound made her jump. The sun was just rising as the buildings popped up in the distance. She sighs in relief, unsure if she could have gone any further, considering how much pain she was in. She stumbles into the hospital lobby, asking for help. Nurses rushed to her, pulling her into a room quickly once they saw her messed-up leg and all the blood. She tells the Doctor about how she had been kidnapped, and her tubes forcefully tied while pregnant.

“Unfortunately, you’re too late for us to save the baby, but we can remove the fetus and untie...” The Doctor starts to tell her the plan.

Eclipse interrupts her. “No... can you... Just take it all out. I don’t want to risk getting pregnant anymore.”

The doctor looks surprised before nodding. “We can do that. We’ll leave the ovaries for health reasons and remove the uterus, if you’re sure about this.”

Eclipse nods as the nurses start to prep her, and the Doctor finishes going over the plan to fix her leg as well. Thankfully, it wasn’t completely broken; however, it was dislocated and fractured, so it would need to be reset and then cast while she healed from the surgery.

“I know the owners of the hotel down the street. We can set you up there until you are fully healed and then figure out how to get you home from there,” the Doctor informs her as she recovers from the anesthesia.

While she healed, the owner and his wife took care of her. Treating her with warmth and sympathy made her tear up. A couple of weeks in, a man visits and hands her a necklace with a small blue pendant.

“We were able to use the little bit of ash from the fetus and made this for you. Thought it might help.” the man says gently as she takes it.

She holds it close to her chest. “Thank you.”

After a month and a half of rest, she was able to walk again. She calls a cab and gets a ride back to the academy while everyone was busy, too embarrassed to stick around and say goodbye.

“After that, I never saw the others again.” Eclipse finishes as Warfalcon rubs his face with his hands.

He sighs as he looks up at her. “How long was Charles...”

“About six months.” She answers quietly.

He grits his teeth, taking deep breaths before speaking again. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“When I had told you they were bullying me before, it just made everything worse. Charles terrified me, and I didn’t know how to handle it. It’s one of the reasons I worked so hard to get stronger. Not that it helped with Lindsey...” She shrugs,

“Well, don’t worry. We’ll be transporting Lindsey to the jail later today now that you’re safe.” He starts to leave, stopping at the door. “You are sticking around, right? I could use the help from my Vice.”

“Of course, I am.” She chuckles. “You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, but are you seriously going to force that title on me?”

“Yep!” He laughs, closing the door behind him.