Damp flooded her nose and provided her with the first indication that she was no longer in her own room, or even in her own home. A cold wind blew through the dark room and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to savour the last bit of body warmth. Creaking floorboards echoed in her ears and she pondered how a person would manage to find a place like this.

Attempting to stand, she found that her hands were shackled together and her feet shackled to the wall. Dim moonlight filtered through the hole in the ceiling, glinting off the silver of her manacles. Sweat dripped down her face as she attempted to use her intangibility to slip out of the chains. Face turning red, Astrid gasped when her fifth attempt failed. For some reason, the powers she possessed had abandoned her. In the moment she needed them most, she was rendered useless and human.

Adjusting to the darkness she had been plunged in, she could see that the room was completely bare of furniture. Wallpaper peeled from the walls but the pattern had faded with time and weathering. Blankets and pillows had been arranged in the form of a makeshift bed beneath her and a bucket had been pushed in the corner of the room. Features morphing into pure disgust, Astrid realised this was meant to be where she emptied her bowels. Astrid could only just reach it with a foot and she pulled her close enough for to be able to sit on it.

Once she had adjusted to her surroundings, panic began settling in when the reality of the situation hit her. Hyperventilating, Astrid realised she had no idea where she was, how she got there or who was imprisoning her. Did anyone know she was missing? Where was her captor? Why had she been taken? The room began spinning as she felt as if her heart would explode with the severity of its beating. Oxygen failed to reach her lungs and her brain pounded inside her head. Was she dying? Just as she felt she was going to black out, Lash's face was smiling at her.

Wait?!

Lash was her Hero, he would realise she had been taken and he would come and save her. He had vowed that he would always save her. The creaking sound of a door directed Astrid's attention towards the hole that had opened up in the wall. It was too far for her to reach with her shackled ankles. Tensing, she prepared to come face to face with her kidnapper but refused to cower away in fear. Light streamed into the room and the blonde blinked rapidly against the harshness of it.

Glancing up at the dark figure in the doorway, she scoffed in disgust. "I should've known it was you."

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Humming as he walked up the driveway to his neighbour's house, Lash looked forward to the day ahead. Especially if it was a repeat of yesterday morning (obviously before the blast). Knocking in tune to his humming, he smiled at Allison when she greeted him and told him that she hadn't seen Astrid yet so she was probably still getting ready.

Eagerly taking the stairs two at a time, he rapped gently on her door. No response. Knocking once more, he pushed the door open quietly, smiling at the lump under the covers. Someone hadn't woken yet.

"Astrid, wake up, baby. We're going to be late for school."

Tip-toeing over to the bed, he placed his hand on her to gently shake her awake but soon realised that pillows had been shoved under her duvet in the shape of a body. Panic kicked in when he realised he had no idea where his Sidekick was. Before he could rush out of the room and alert Allison, he saw the note on the pillow that hadn't been written in his handwriting. Picking it up, he read the contents of the note before storming out of the room, pure rage in his eyes.

Informing Allison that Astrid had left early as she needed something from Josie and Steven's house, he apologised for not staying for breakfast. Fire blazed in his eyes as the words swirled in his head.

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Opening the door to his house, Speed was immediately knocked aside when his best friend marched inside. His skin was splotchy and there was a wild look in his eyes that made Speed uneasy.

"I need your help."

"Dude, what's up?" Speed asked concerned.

Never before had he seen his friend look/sound so distraught. Even after the disastrous events of Homecoming, Lash had attempted to remain calm. Now, there was nothing keeping him tethered from toppling into chaos.

"Astrid's missing. Penny took Astrid."

"What? When? Why?!" Speed felt his own temper spike at the idea of the sweet Healer being in danger.

Since the day he had apologised to her, they had been learning to get along. As her relationship with Lash developed, her friendship with Speed had also improved. He had grown to care for the short girl and the idea of someone hurting her churned his stomach.

"We have to get her back," he fumed.

"You think?! I have no clue where she could be hidden."

"I might have an idea."

Recalling the last time he had spoken to the girl, Speed remembered her mentioning an old shack that she had discovered during a run one morning. It was secluded in the dark depths of the woods and ramshackled – it had been declared the perfect place to hide a person.

"Let's go then."

Neither one cared that they were missing school or that their parents had no idea where they were going/what they were doing. All they knew was that they had to find their friend; she needed them.

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"You don't actually think that you scare me, do you?" Astrid taunted, glancing at the Villain before her in disbelief.

"No but it's not about you. It's about the person who is terrified of losing you." Penny smirked at the smaller girl before her.

Astrid had weakly pulled herself to her feet and whilst she was determined to not show any weakness, it was evident that she would be unable to stand for much longer. She was hungry, she was dehydrated and she was cold. At the moment, the Stronghold girl was resilient and brave. It wouldn't last.

"Good thing that won't happen then."

"You seem to be forgetting that you're chained to a wall with manacles that have drained your power. You have no way out. Those manacles are used in Solitary. Every hour that you are in them, you get weaker and weaker. Soon, you won't even be able to drag yourself to the bucket."

Steel determination glinted in her eyes. Lash would rescue her. Astrid was confident in that.

"I have a question," said Astrid.

Raising an eyebrow, Penny silently conveyed that she could ask.

"Why are you doing this? I mean, I know that you're a vindictive bitch who can't stand to see other people happy but why? You and Lash were close."

A muscle jumped in Penny's jaw as the woman clenched her teeth tightly together as she decided whether or not she should answer. Knowing she had hit a nerve, Astrid took a subtle step back when Penny looked away but the metal clanking of her manacles gave away her motion.

"We were close but then you came along! Lash promised that we would stick together this year against all you good, caring Heroes – that he wouldn't change but then you decided to take an interest in him. He spent more time with you and became good. You made him a good person!"

"It's not as if I chose to be his Sidekick. We were paired together and yes, now I can't imagine myself with any other Hero but if he changed, that was his decision. He chose to be good! He did that all on his own because he's always been a good person and he knows being a Hero is the right thing. If you can't change your ways then good on Lash for escaping because he didn't need you holding him back!"

Pain flamed across her cheek as Penny's hand connected harshly with it. The sound of the slap resonated throughout the room and the two girls glared at each other.

"Point proven," hissed Astrid, spitting the blood in her mouth at Penny's feet.

Swiping the blonde girl's feet out from beneath her, Penny barely waited for her body to connect with the floor before she began booting her in the stomach. After hearing a sickening crack sound, Penny stopped, satisfied that she had caused enough pain.

"Get comfortable, You're going to be here a while." Penny spat, fleeing from the room.

Curled in a ball, Astrid tried to scream in pain but nothing but air escaped from her mouth. Fire scorched through her veins as she pressed a palm on the cracked rib. Tears leaked out the corner of her eyes when the pain didn't ease and she remembered that her powers had been rendered useless.