"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" She demanded while pulling Theos' still raised arm down.

"I followed you guys..."

"Are you telling me you stayed invisible this whole time and did nothing?" Hera asked, annoyed.

"I was getting intel... well, I was trying to sneak in when that lady took food in your room this whole week, but she was really well guarded. She must be important to that Azrail guy. Such a dick bag."

Joel grumbled out his defence until Hera interrupted. "We've been here for a week?"

"Two, actually, but I got bored with hiding after the first one... This place is swarming with agents, and I think Azrail is experimenting on the Evolved he kills. Also, we need to get out of here before he comes back. I think he's looking for the safe houses, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't found them yet. Did you know he has like eight mods? He used blood or something. I heard some people talking about it." Joel bent overdramatically, out of breath after rattling off his discoveries.

"We don't have time for this," Theo ground out, grabbing Hera's hand. "We need to get my mother and get off this ship."

Hera's eyes widened. "She said cameras would only be off for ten minutes, and it's been at least seven... if we look for her, the agents will find us."

They stood in silence for a moment. Theo's jaw ticked, and internal conflict rolled off in waves.

"Locate her."

Hera sighed in response and sent her weakened energy out. Like a frozen rubber band, it snapped back into her with force, causing Hera to double over in pain. "I can't."

"Let's just go, and when the cameras turn on, I'll try to make us invisible to anyone that looks for us." Joel offered. Theo didn't look excited by the prospect of being helped by Joel, but he had no choice. He walked to the door with Hera in tow and peered into the dark hallway.

 "Keep trying." He looked at Hera as they shuffled out of the room. She sighed and bit her lip, trying once more as they walked only to get the same painful result. Her head throbbed, and her energy angrily flitted across her fingertips and up her arms. Hera met Theo's dark eyes and shook her head which only seemed to make him more frustrated. 

They picked up the pace, and Joel brushed up against her offering a sympathetic look. It seemed to say, 'not fun being on his bad side, huh?' She swallowed and followed as fast as her aching body could go. They reached a crossroads, and Hera fearfully tried searching again. This time she felt the faintest energy from the left before she fell to the ground clutching her head in agony. She bit back the whimper that threatened to escape her lips and was lifted into Theo's arms. She felt his racing heart, and she knew he wasn't mad with her but over the situation he had placed them in.

 His guilt was evident to her, and she wanted to help him get his mother back desperately. She gestured to the left, and the two men broke out in a jog. They were running out of time. The left direction was a straight shot for what felt like hours until they reached another intersection. Tears sprung to her eyes as she searched again. The signal from Jane was so much stronger, and Hera felt immense relief.

 "Right, " she croaked out when suddenly the lights came on and blinded the trio.

"Out of time," Joel whispered, steeling himself for what would come next. They sprinted down the corridor as they heard dozens of footsteps echo in the distance.

"Stop," Hera whispered, reaching her hand out to brush against the cool metal door to her left. Theo shoved the door open, and they huddled inside, locking the it behind them. Jane stood from behind a desk in the middle of the room and cried out when she noticed the new occupants. Theo placed Hera down and embraced his mother. Hera's eyes drifted around the room, and her stomach turned horrified. Jane's 'office' was a cold storage unit.

 Half a dozen squares lined a wall that Hera assumed contained dead bodies. The other wall had shelves full of mods with different labels, and a security light flashed above each. This was where she dissected Evolved. She saw Joel had made the same realization as her and pulled a face. 

"What are you doing here? You need to leave!" Jane's hushed whisper drew all of their attention back to the mother, son duo. 

"We are leaving, " he replied, squeezing her hands in his. "Together."

Jane looked nervously at each of them before her gaze fell on Hera. She must've looked terrible because Jane gasped and reached out her hand to cup her face. 

"I have something for you." She turned on her heel and reached her desk, rummaging in the drawers. Then, after a few moments, she came over with a small gold chip in her hand. Hera shook her head and went to step back when Jane stopped her. 

"Please take this. It will help you regenerate your energy in hours rather than days or weeks. Please Hera. You will need to be strong for what comes next." 

Jane's eyes pleaded with her, and she gulped down her anxiety. It felt wrong using the power stolen from one of her own. Joel unexpectedly stepped forward and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. She smiled at him and saw in her periphery a stone-faced Theo. Nodding, Hera turned so Jane could place the mod. 

She thought about the Evolved the mod came from and apologized silently. She vowed to herself she would use it to stop Panacea from causing the same fate to her kind.

"This was from my daughter," Jane whispered in her ear. Hera's heart split in two. "The last piece I have of her, and I want you to have it." Tears rolled down both their cheeks as an incision was made along Hera's hairline. As the mod was attached, she hissed in pain and felt her skin stitch back up again. She turned and wrapped Jane in a hug, feeling her daughter's power ripple through her nervous system. She already felt so much stronger, and her pain had stopped. 

"Let's get the fuck out of here."