Chapter Text
Irene Baker had celebrated her 37th birthday with minimal fanfare. She had gone out to eat with a few coworkers at a seafood restaurant, then spent the night with her close friends, enjoying a few bottles of wine at her apartment. All in all, it was casual. A day she remembered fondly, but vaguely.
Her 38th birthday party, as it turned out, was going to be a bit more extravagant.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself as she maneuvered the bobby pin within the lock, one eye closed and teeth gritted in concentration.
Lockpicking was a skill she had picked up a long time ago, another life ago. Trying to impress some girl who dyed her hair red and dressed in shoes with 2-inch high platforms. She didn't even remember her name, but she remembered the instructions from that ancient Geocities website.
It had always been a party trick. She had never imagined that it would be getting her out of prison.
With one last pin pushed up, the door finally obliged and gave way, opening with a blessedly sparse amount of noise.
She stuck the bobby pin back in her hair.
Behind her, her apartment, or what passed as one. She was more keen to think of it as a dorm, or as quarters, as though she were part of the military. A single bed was the only provided amenity, aside from the en suite bathroom.
Now that she thought about it, it was much more like a cell.
Before her, a hallway. Her room was at the end of it, with other identical doors to hers lining either side. More "apartments". More prison cells.
This would be no mass breakout, however. Attempting that would just get her captured.
After all, most, if not all, of the people in these apartments wanted to be here.
Irene Baker could not count herself among that group's numbers. It wouldn't matter before long, though.
She was getting out of here, and she was getting out of here tonight.
She had no flashlight to speak of, and the hallway was nearly pitch black, aside from the emergency LEDs silently glowing above. By their light, she was able to move down the hallway.
Another door at the end. This one wasn't locked.
She took another deep breath, steeled herself, and advanced.
7 months ago, nearly to the day, she had been attending a company mixer. Trying to solve a miserable puzzle. Listening to a hyperactive man rattle off Coldplay song titles.
7 months ago, the so-called King of America had announced himself to the world.
7 months ago, Irene and her newfound comrades, because she struggled to call them friends, had launched an escape attempt. Get off the island. Get home. Save the world.
That meant that, for 7 months, Irene had been living in this compound. An artificial island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Kept under lock and key at night, and heavily supervised during the day as she went about the monotonies of admin work. Maybe she should add "sending polite emails while in mortal peril" to her skill list on her resume.
She hadn't seen the others since the broadcast. She hadn't seen the sky since then, either. From what she'd heard, the US government was keeping an incredibly close eye on the compound. Sometimes, she swore she could hear the beating rotors of the helicopters.
Somehow, though, supplies were still coming in. Something about humanitarian principles. The shipments were supposed to be being searched for weaponry, but if the inventory spreadsheets were anything to go by, that wasn't happening.
Irene's plan was simple: Find her comrades. Get to the roof. Flag down one of the helicopters.
Whatever government bullshit would await them on the other side of that, it had to be better than this.
Getting to the roof wouldn't be too difficult. Finding her teammates, though? That was going to be a little more difficult.
Irene looked down at her wrist. Fastened around it was a little metal band, with an LED strip on the top. She knew from experience that it would light up if she got within a certain range of one of her teammates. The light would start at a yellow, then increase towards red the closer she got.
She hadn't seen that light go on in a very, very long time. It was a precaution during their first few days after the broadcast, when everything was still settling down. When prisoners were being shuffled about, when confusion was rampant. As soon as that light turned on, her handler would turn another way, find another route.
The very thought of it glowing again made her heart flutter.
Of course, wandering the building randomly would be pointless. The Berg was massive.
It was a good thing, then, that she had file access to all sorts of stuff on the central server. That included a map.
Anything within 300 feet of her housing or workspace could be safely ruled out. There were a few other housing units, but it was not one of those that had caught her eye.
In the lowest level, in one of the R&D areas, was a smaller housing unit, entitled "subject housing".
If she was lucky? Nadiya would be down there, housed right where she worked. If she wasn't? It was more than likely that one of the others had been turned into a test subject.
She had a few other places in mind to search, but those would just have to come after.
As she pushed through the door out of her own housing unit, she was met with, predictably, more darkness.
This was all a gamble on not being noticed. She had no sort of weapon, and Kardala was all but a distant memory with how long she'd been away from her teammates. If she got caught, she was doomed.
But first, they would have to catch her.
The elevator was too risky, and probably locked at this hour anyways. The stairs would work just as well. She moved down the stairwell, struggling to keep a balance between speed and silence.
Exiting the stairwell on the first floor, she was immediately bombarded with the acrid scent of disinfectant. She was in the right place.
Her intuition was confirmed as she took a few steps further in and found her bracelet beginning to glow yellow.
Almost. Almost.
A heavy, steel door led into the section that Irene knew to be R&D. Next to it, there was a bare hole in the wall that had once contained a keycard reader, by the looks of it. It had since been ripped out and left like that.
The door would likely have a manual lock then. Even better.
Irene scanned back and forth as best as she could in what amounted to total darkness.
She stiffened and slapped a hand over her glowing bracelet as she noticed a figure coming into view, accompanied by the sound of clomping footsteps. She barely dared to breathe as they passed.
The person was dressed in what appeared to be military gear, complete with a large firearm in their arms. Irene couldn't tell from this distance if its rounds were lethal or not.
They moved past the door a few steps before pausing and turning on a heel— They must've missed the door the first time. Not a difficult feat in such minimal light.
The guard, now in front of the door, produced a keyring from a pocket and selected the proper key quickly, fitting it into the lock.
Irene nearly flinched back as the door opened, flooding the world outside with the light within. Regardless of the hour, apparently the lights stayed on in R&D, bright and white and sterile. She took a step back to avoid being caught in the glow.
That was going to be a problem. Once she went through that door, she was forfeiting all aspects of stealth. She'd be completely visible in that bright light.
She couldn't go back, however. Not now. The only option was to push forwards.
She'd have to be quick about it. Get in, and follow the readout on her bracelet to locate whichever teammate was inside.
Irene wasn't sure who she was hoping for. Nadiya would be logical, she supposed. She was both more likely to be here, and a bit more useful in this situation. Remy, however, would be a comfort. A friend. Someone she could laugh with and hug.
If Remy was down here, though? There would be bigger issues, and he might not even still be the man she remembered.
She tried not to think about it.
She couldn't keep standing around. The guard could come back and spot her.
Just keep moving.
The bobby pin was once more plucked from her hair, and she worked the lock quickly, pushing open the door.
With every step she took, the light on her bracelet grew a little more red. Getting warmer.
Beyond the door was a long hallway, sterile and tiled in white. The overwhelming lights overhead threatened to blind her. She scanned the labels on each door she passed. "Lab support", "Chemical storage", "Radiology".
Finally, a pair of double doors, boldly emblazoned with the words "Subject Housing".
Exactly what she'd been looking for. There was another lock, here. Another manual lock. Another ripped-out keypad.
What was up with that?
She once more stuck the bobby pin into the lock, fiddling with it, trying to find the pins. As she pushed upward, however, the thin metal gave way, leaving her with half a pin in her hand, now.
Dammit.
Of course, she had extras, but it meant wasted time. She pulled another from her hair and continued to work, struggling to steady her hands.
She couldn't stop shaking.
With a few pins out of the way, she thought she was finally making progress, until she heard a sound from behind her. One of the doors down the hall was opening.
Dammit dammit dammit-
Her work got more frantic as she heard the clattering wheels, a cart being pushed out into the hall, with a person sure to follow.
The lock clicked open without a second to spare, and Irene burst through the double doors. Her knees were quaking beneath her, sweat running down the back of her neck despite the rather cool temperature in the R&D wing.
Her bracelet, by now, was glowing a bright, furious red. She was close. Very close.
This hallway looked identical to the last, with white tiles and steel doors. These doors were much closer together, however, and each had a clipboard hanging off a hook on the front.
She moved down the hallway at the quickest pace she could manage. As much as she wished she could get every single person out of here, there was no time. She'd have to come back for them, hopefully with some firepower. That was all up to the government, of course.
She scanned past names she didn't recognize, covering one whole side of the hall without seeing the names of either of her teammates. She pivoted, looking to the other side, moving down-
She stopped in front of a door that didn't name Remy, or Nadiya. Her bracelet had started flashing, now.
It wasn't either of her teammates behind that door, but it was someone she knew, or at least knew of. Hastily, she looked at the two doors she hadn't checked yet, but she didn't know either of those names either.
Which meant her bracelet was responding to this one.
No turning back now. She was an expert with these locks by now, and she picked this one in less than thirty seconds.
This was going to be... Interesting.
The room beyond was even more of a prison cell than Irene's own. It was miniscule, its only feature a metal slab jutting out of the wall.
The slab had some kind of mattress pad laid on top of it. On top of that mattress pad was Mary Sage.
She was facing the wall, curled up, with a blanket draped over her, though it had half fallen onto the floor. The sound of gentle snoring echoed off the white walls.
From beneath the blanket, Irene could just barely make out a flashing red bracelet.
This wasn't going to be easy. She had barely even met Mary, and Mary probably didn't even remember her. It'd be better to start at square zero.
Closing the door behind herself as slowly as she could manage, though taking great care to make sure it did not actually latch, she then moved forward on silent feet.
She put a hand on Mary's shoulder and gently shook her.
There was an annoyed whine, and Mary tried to pull the blanket tighter around herself.
"Mary. You need to wake up." Irene spoke, as quiet as she could be while still being audible. She shook her again.
This time, Mary conceded to open her eyes, though they were still watery with sleep. She tried to close them again, but another shake brought her closer to reality. She blinked a few times.
"Mmm... Who's there?"
"Mary? It's Irene. I don't know if you remember me. I'm here to help. Can you sit up, please?"
Blearily, the redhead did so, rubbing her eyes. Irene could identify the exact moment that she looked up at her and realized that she was a stranger. That little nervous gleam in her eyes.
"Mary. Do you remember me?"
A slow blink.
"...maybe? You look kind of familiar."
Now that Mary was no longer hidden beneath a blanket, Irene got a better look at her.
Her red hair, once long and tousled, going past her shoulders, was now cropped to just below her ears. It looked like a mess, too, stringy curls limply dangling.
She was dressed in hospital clothes, pastel blue pajamas and grippy socks. The pajamas were too big on her.
The bracelet around her wrist, identical to Irene's, was going haywire.
Irene tried to gauge how much she should explain. She had been, technically, part of the original group sent to recapture Mary. She wouldn't be surprised if there was some bad blood there.
"We've met before. I'll explain everything, but there's no time right now.
You're here against your will. So am I. But I got out, and I'm going to get you out, too."
Mary looked uncertain, to say the least.
"They'll hurt me if I try to leave. How do I know you aren't just trying- Trying to trick me? This is a test."
Irene's gaze darted around nervously. She had to convince her, and there was only one way to do that.
This was either going to go well, or very, very poorly.
Irene sighed.
"It's not. I promise. But I know you don't believe that, and that's okay. I get it. I did just kind of break in.
I- My name is Irene. Irene Baker. You may know me better as my... Other form, Kardala."
That got an immediate reaction. Mary's eyes widened.
"Oh my goodness. You're- Okay. No wonder the-" She looked down at her own bracelet, then at Irene's. "You've got one too. That makes sense.
Is it just you?"
"Yeah. I- To be completely honest, I came down here looking for Nadiya. I didn't know you would be here. But I'm glad that I found you.
How long have you been here?"
Mary shrugged.
"No idea. Ever since the broadcast. Where have they been keeping you?"
"Fourth floor. Admin wing. It's been seven months. It's June 29th."
"Seven..." Mary glanced down and let out a shuddering breath. "Have you seen any of your team since the broadcast?"
Irene shook her head.
"The bracelet went off a couple times, in the early days. But I never saw them. You?"
"Nothing. This thing hasn't gone off since I was brought down here."
Irene wanted to ask what, exactly, Mary was doing down here, but she had a feeling that the explanation would bring to the surface more emotions than they needed right now. It could wait.
"Do you have any idea where the others could be?"
"No clue. But they can't be within the 300 foot radius of anywhere that either of us have been. There's more labs on the third floor, I think."
"Okay, yeah, I think I saw those on the map. That's the bigger lab space."
"Jones wouldn't be down here anyways." Mary stood up. "I don't think she works with human subjects."
On that note, she gestured to the door.
"Want to go first?"
"Uh- Sure. We have to be quiet, though. I saw at least one person, and they were armed."
"There's always at least one night guard. Maybe two. Two guards at most."
"Right. Okay."
Irene opened the door, back out into the sterile hallway. If they could just find one more person, then their powers would activate, and they'd have no problem getting out of here.
But first, they had to find them.
The two women crept out into the hallway. Empty. They moved to the door that Irene had come in from. She'd made sure that it didn't latch, either.
She turned back, checking that Mary was still close behind, before turning to the door.
They were going to have to be quick. She opened the door.
That had been a mistake.
Right on the other side of the door was someone dressed in a lab coat, pushing a metal cart with a few pill bottles on it.
Irene froze. She hadn't expected it, and her composure was already faltering. Her degree was in psychology, she wasn't a fighter in any way!
For once, she wished that Kardala was here.
They stared at each other for a moment, both unsure of what to do.
The silence was broken only by Mary, pushing past Irene and shoving the cart directly into the doctor, sending them stumbling backwards.
"Run!" Mary hissed, and Irene did not hesitate. They lurched down the hall, feet pounding on the tile. The grippy socks weren't helping Mary at all.
They made it to the door at the end of the hall, barely managing to open it in time before alarms began to blare.
Irene turned back to see the lab coat from before pressing a panic button on the wall.
The door started to try to close, its automatic opening system working against them. Irene pushed with all her might, which admittedly wasn't much, managing to keep it open long enough for her and Mary to escape through it.
That, however, was going to be the easy part.
Beyond the door, the lights were no longer off. Now the whole floor was illuminated, both with normal lights and blaring red klaxons.
Third floor labs. Right. Irene didn't say anything, just took off running towards the stairwell.
She yanked on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. The building must have gone into lockdown. All the doors would be locked, and there was no time to pick the locks.
Not with the heavy, clomping footsteps of the guards growing nearer. Irene let out an undignified yelp as a bullet whizzed past her head. At least, she thought it was a bullet, until she saw the red feathers sticking out of the wall.
Tranq darts. Maybe that was even worse.
"There's a fire exit on this floor." Mary announced. "We can get outside."
She was already moving towards it.
"Is there some kind of fire escape?" Irene asked as she followed. "How are we going to get up to the labs?"
"Are you insane? There's no time for that!"
"But the others-"
They got to the door. Mary yanked it open, and, thank all that was holy, it opened.
Another dart whizzed past, barely missing Mary's face. She heard it whip past her ear.
Irene gulped as she looked down.
There was a small, metal platform outside. A fire escape, like she'd thought, one that had stairs leading all the way up to the fifth floor, with a platform at every floor.
Below that, though? Seawater crashed up against the walls of the Berg. It was perhaps twenty feet down to the water. Twenty feet down to certain death.
Mary only paused for a moment before she was running up the stairs. Another near-miss from the guards was enough to snap Irene out of her trance and prompt her to follow.
By the time they got to the roof, she was on the verge of collapse. She had never been the most athletic. Mary looked much the same.
As they ascended, the beating rotors of government helicopters became louder and louder. On the roof, now, they were deafening.
Two military helicopters were hovering overhead, bigger than Irene could have ever possibly imagined.
This felt wrong. She was getting out— she hoped— but she was leaving her teammates behind.
She was going to have to go back for them. There was no choice. She'd tell the federal government about what was going on, and they could help!
Frantically, she began waving her arms at the helicopters, jumping up and down. Mary stayed still, arms crossed, looking over at her warily.
There was no response for a while, and no sign of the guards, either. They knew better than to get in the range of the helicopters.
Finally, finally, a ladder unfurled from one of the aircraft.
She was going to get to go home.
Irene got onto the first rung, clambering up a bit higher so that Mary would be able to get on behind her.
She looked down. Mary wasn't moving.
"Aren't you coming with?" Irene shouted over the sound of the helicopters.
Mary looked up at her, fear spelled out on her face. She looked back at the fire escape, then back up at Irene, before finally climbing onto the ladder.
The rope ladder began to move up, being drawn in by the helicopter's mechanisms. When they were high up enough, as Irene forced herself not to look down, she climbed into the main body of the aircraft. Mary was close behind, and the door was shut behind them.
Irene's eyes darted around the interior of the helicopter, taking stock of everything. They were in the back area, a small open part, and there were four seats. Two were occupied.
There were two more people, standing in the back area with them, who had helped them get into the vehicle. A man and a woman.
Irene got to her feet, breathless and gasping. Still, she held out a hand.
"My name is Irene Baker. This is Mary Sage. We've both been being held captive here since-"
"Get on your knees." It was the man who spoke.
Irene paused.
"Excuse me?"
"Both of you. Get on your knees, and put your hands behind your head."
Mary gave Irene a look of panic. Irene looked at her, then back at the soldiers, noticing the firearms they were each carrying.
Meekly, she got to her knees and put her hands behind her head. Mary did the same, her breathing quick and frightened.
The two soldiers moved behind them, making quick work of cuffing their wrists behind their backs, and then chaining their ankles, too.
Irene was starting to feel less sure about this plan.
Then, the soldiers were back in front of them, and the woman was speaking, this time.
"Ms. Baker, Ms. Sage, you're both under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."
She turned to the pilot.
"They're secure. Bring us home.”