"If there is one thing I don't want to do right now, it would be to get up," Joshua murmured as his eyes reluctantly opened. However, Joshua managed to sit himself up with profound effort, taking in the new surroundings. Grey, dismal walls surrounded him with an indifferent ceiling, and opposite from the walls lined thick, iron bars, leading out to a dimly lit beyond. The floor felt of cold cement that sent a chill up Joshua's spine. Joshua scrambled over to the bars, trying to get a better view outside. However, outside, all Josh managed to find was a cement floor with various sorts of rubbish lining it, and on the other side of the bars were large pieces of brick, glued atop each other with careless effort. He strained to look to the side of the cell, but only a tunnel of darkness was within his peripheral vision. As Joshua was about to slump against the bars, he heard a groan sound from the far, right corner of the cell. Hastily, he rushed over towards the darkened corner of the cell, immediately spotting a familiar face. Her perfectly straightened hair was strewn over her face in matted pieces with clumps of various substances from an unknown origin. Bruises caressed her cheek, and her makeup was smeared in all directions. Her One Direction t-shirt and jeans were ripped, replaced with dirt and muck. Her closed eyes suddenly began to flutter open. At first, she merely gazed at him blankly, and then a louder groan emanated from her mouth.

"What... are you doing here?" Alexa asked in a raspy voice. She looked around, noticing the unfamiliar surroundings for the first time. "Where are we?"

"I... don't know. Everything is kind of foggy," Joshua replied. What he remembered was a French-accented stranger in a cream-colored trench coat arriving to their science class. He couldn't recall as to why he was there or what intentions he had, but he knew for sure that he wasn't one for fun and games. Realising the poor state Alexa was in, Josh glanced down at himself. His black t-shirt and jeans were caked with dirt, and unfortunately, one of his Nike sneakers were missing. He raked his hand through his hair, and felt small pebbles being ruffled out. However, unlike Alexa, he could find no bruises, though, he had to walk or sit with a stiff posture. "All I remember is... a man with a French accent. Oh, and he also had a cream-colored trench coat. I don't know why the coat is important though." Alexa, in the middle of inspecting herself, snapped her attention back at Josh with such ferocity that he almost thought she broke her neck.

"Wait - what did you say?" Alexa asked. "He had a cream-colored trench coat?" Alexa's eyes grew wide in shock as if he had just grown a full-length tail out of his forehead - maybe he did by the way Alexa was looking at him.

"What?" Alexa opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a creak of the cell door opening sounded from behind Josh. Alexa cowered in her corner, looking past him, her green eyes wide with fear. Josh whirled around to see a man in a cream-colored trench coat.

"May I intrude in your conversation? I suppose I must provide some explanation as to why you're here," he said with what seemed like boredom hinted in his tone. Alexa nodded warily. The man focused his attention towards Josh, looking expectant, but grinning, all the same. Josh shifted uncomfortably. No one had ever asked for his opinion or even -at most times- never noticed he was there. Josh nodded. The stranger inched closer towards them, his striking blue eyes seeming to pierce the darkness.

"Well, Alexa already knows, but I'm Scott Frenchmen." Josh gazed at him puzzled before replying, "But I thought you were French." A flash of vexation crossed Frenchman's face, but he managed to respond somewhat composedly.

"Actually, funny thing, if you go to a foreign country and stay there for some quite some time -say a month- you can actually develop similar speech over time. Anyway, aside from the point. I'm sure you've already noticed the changes beginning to appear within yourselves." This time, both Alexa and Josh looked at him puzzled. What was this Scott Frenchmen talking about? What changes? Why were they there? And how did they get there in the first place?

"Please do not give me that confused look, Shapeshifter!" Frenchmen scolded at Joshua. Josh took a step backward, beginning to fear that Frenchmen might've captured them out of a mere delusion. After all, Josh and Alexa were just two arbitrary English folk. Suddenly Josh's mind wandered to the day before when he... No, he didn't do anything - he just really needed to use the lavatory, and that triggered his hallucination. But if it was a hallucination, how did this random stranger know about it? He glanced back at Alexa, expecting her to appear completely perplexed, but she appeared flabbergasted; there was no other better word to describe it. Th-that didn't happen though! That was a hallucination. What's going on?! "Ah, yes, you remember now, do you? That little delusion of the trip to the lavatory was no delusion, Joshua Peddlestone! And you," he said, pointing a slender finger in Alexa's direction. "expertly used your telekinesis, might I say. That will do me some good once I get my hands on it." Josh arched up an eyebrow, despite the terror pulsating throughout his body. Alexa stood from her spot and crossed her arms, trying to mimic Josh's confidence. If it were not for the dire circumstance, he would've cracked up laughing.

"What do you mean 'once you get your hands on it'?" Alexa asked, taking the words right out of Josh's mouth. "I mean that it's exactly as it sounds. I'll be taking your abilities from you. See, Jane was clever - oh so clever. But she shouldn't have had her password on her computer be so easily cracked. Any person of her intellectual level would've known that it was the birthday of her own daughter," he exasperated, almost as if he were talking to himself now instead of the two Sophomores. "You won't get my ability, I'll never succumb to any mental tricks you have! And I'll use my ability against you if you try to take it by force!" Alexa hissed. To Josh's profound surprise, however, Frenchmen merely chuckled.

"Alright, try to activate your impulses. Nothing will happen, because the process has already begun. And if you, Alexa, try to escape one more time, you will receive more than a few bruises," he threatened. "For the mean time, get comfortable, you'll be here awhile." Frenchmen produced a ring of keys one might see in movies from within his trench coat and slammed the door behind him, locking it.

"Let us go!" Josh yelled out of sheer instict.

"Don't worry, Mr. Peddlestone. It's nothing personal, so the pain will be much less severe," he stated, a wicked grin spreading across his face. And with that, he left Joshua and Alexa frozen in the cell, wondering what fate would await them with his footsteps echoing in the tunnel of darkness like cruel laughter.