B came too in waves. He remembered a dull ringing in his ears as he saw and rain bounce off the hood of the dark gas guzzler. B tasted blood and mud. He saw his reflection and Marks in the shiny top of the gas guzzler right before his hair was let go and his head hit the hood again. B’s vision was going as the edges of what he saw were fading into blackness. What he did see, as the darkness was slowly encroaching, was someone was moving him into the gas guzzler. Bhind that person was at least four guys pinning Mothman to the ground. Details were fading as well until nothing was left but the dull ringing in his ears.

In the next wave of consciousness, he felt his head bounce from leaning against the back of a seat onto someone. He instinctively tried to reach out to this person as he opened his eyes just enough to see, but something hard and cold pulled against his wrists that he just then noticed were behind his back. He saw his head bounced onto Lola who had a deep scratch and road rash on her cheek and arm. She leaned her tear-stained cheek against B’s head and whispered the word “sorry” to him right before he fell back into the inky blackness.

B was jolted awake by a sudden stop and a jerk against the seat’s bindings. He felt drum beats in his head but the only noise he could hear was some doors being opened in front of him. B slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that he and Lola were in the back of the gas guzzler in between two of Jormungrand’s men. She looked about the same but he noticed that she had blood on her shirt and a ripped sleeve on her jacket where her road rash must have started.

“B-” Lola started but was quickly yanked out of the other side of the gas guzzler. Not too long after B was pulled out of the gas guzzler and pulled out into the walled-off compound.

B was half-dragged as he tried to keep up with the man pulling him toward a tall building with ornate white doors. The doors had a shiny gold snake twisted into an infinity symbol eating its own tail. Around the front of the building were tropical plants. The guards in full kevlar a the doors opened the doors for B and the guy dragging him.

“Welcome to Jormangrand’s Palace,” one of them jeered.

B felt a blast of cool air as the doors opened and he was pulled inside. He saw Lola and Mothman, both with their own escorts, waiting in front of a pair of red double doors at the end of an oddly pristine room where an attractive woman sat at a desk typing at a messaging machine, taking glances up at B and the rest of them. The red door opened to reveal an elevator. The ride up was silent.

When the doors opened again, the three prisoners and guards marched out into a room that reminded B of a doctor’s waiting room but with more house plants. There were two couches seated across from each other and a coffee table in between. Jormungrand in his fine tailored suit stood in between the couches with a toothy smile. He clapped his hands and gestured to them all.

“Ah, Mothman. Do come in. I see you’ve brought guests,” he said as he tossed his long blond hair out of his face.

The guards walked them to the couch across from where he was standing, but Jormungrand held up his hand.

“No, no. Have the other two sit next to me. Mothman, you can sit there,” Jormungrand said cheerfully as he ushered B and Lola to his side of the coffee table. He moved B to one side of him, and Lola to the other side then took a seat with one arm around each of them. Once Mothman sat down, he nodded to the guards who walked back.

Everyone was uncomfortable except Jormungrand who looked like he was having a good time.

Jormungrand’s head turned to B and his arm gave him a little squeeze.

“Nice to see you again, Bacterium. Your mom has told me a lot about you, B. I’m sure wherever she is now, the piece of your father she and I shared will always be with her,” he said with a chuckle.

“You made her-?” B started in shock.

“Eat him? Yes.” Jormungrand said before turning from B dismissively.

“YOU-!” B’s string of curses was cut to muffled ones by Jormungrand’s hand covering B’s mouth and nose.

“Ah Lola,” he said, turning to face her. He spoke slowly as he squeezed B’s nose and lips shut.

“Lola, Lola, Lola,” he said leaning into her and sniffing her. She didn’t look at him. B struggled against his binds as he tried to shake Jormungrand’s hand off his face.

“It’s been so, so very long,” Jormungrand said as he grabbed Lola’s chin with his free hand and twisted her head to face him. B’s eyes watered, his muffled curses at Jormungrand stopped completely. Lola’s eyes still didn't meet his.

“Let him breathe,” Lola said softly.

“What?” Jormungrand said with a laugh.

“Let him breathe, damn it!” Mothman yelled from across the divide.

“Not. Until. She looks at me.” Jormungrand said slowly.

B’s vision was starting to blur, but apparently, Lola’s eye met his and he let go of B’s face letting him fall forward to catch his breath.

“Now that I’ve got your attention,” he said to Lola.

There was a loud smack as his now free hand swung around and slapped her cut cheek. Lola hissed visibly tried to not show pain.

“It’s been over two hundred years and your first words to me are, ‘Let him breathe?’ Pathetic,” He said angrily.

“I know what you’re doing, Jormungrand,” Mothman said sternly.

“Oh, would you rather me kill them both now?” He replied with a quick swipe of both his hands grabbing both B’s and Lola’s necks and gripping them tight.

Mothman jumped from his seat and full over the coffee table with his hands cuffed behind his back and over his wings. Jormungrand burst out laughing.

“I’m lucky that McHarvy convinced me to not make Mothman a shoot on sight target. This is fun.” He said giddily.

“But you aren’t suffering enough, Ms.Nova,” Jormungrand said in a more serious tone as he let go of B’s neck. “Not after you’ve done…” Jormungrand reached for his hair. “THIS to me!” He pulled off his hair showing that it was in fact a finely crafted wig. Underneath the wig was just a normal bald head.

“You wanted to become a half-fae,” she said sternly, ”You advocated for the continuation of half-fae experimentation and even signed up to get it done to you.”

Jormungrand rolled his eyes.

“But I didn’t sign up for losing my luscious mane!” He whined

“It’s been two hundred years and you are still sore over going bald?” Lola scoffed.

Jomungrand gripped her neck harder and slammed her head into the coffee table next to Mothman hard enough to break the wood. The pair fell onto the floor.

Jormungrand stood up and took a breath while adjusting his tie.

“No, no. Not now. Suffering is the best way for meat to die,” he said to himself.

Jormungrand stood with his eyes closed for a moment, then turned to the guards.

“Send them to the lab rats,” he ordered.