"Did you miss me?" - Jim Mortiarty

Chapter Twelve:

Lestrade let Leona play in his chair when Sherlock and John came back. For once, she was too fascinated by the swivel chair to jump on John as a greeting.

When he did enter the office to pick up Leona, she was giggling madly, spinning in the chair as fast as she could make it. And, considering that she had the ability to move things with her mind, she used that to the best advantage in this chair, making it turn at what seemed like lightspeed.

"Leona?" John said, interrupting her fun. Leona stopped and giggled. She jumped out of the chair and tried to walk towards him. However, she was extremely dizzy and only managed to bump into Lestrade's table, trip over ger own feet, and land on the floor.

"Are you alright?" John asked, coming around the desk. Leona was still giggling, but she seemed to quiet down now.

"Leona... Spin... Lesta fun!" She murmured barely able to see straight.

John laughed and helped the girl up. He kept her close to his side and steadied her as she fought to regain balance.

"Come on," he said, "Sherlock's downstairs."

"Shee!" Leona cheered, moving to run towards him, but John stopped her.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" John said. Those three words always made Leona stop dead in her tracks and she turned, waiting for orders. "Now, when we get downstairs, you cannot jump on Sherlock, and you cannot take out your wings, alright?" Leona nodded. "I need you to promise, Leona."

"Leona promise. John, Leona pinkie promise?" John smiled and held out a fat pinkie and Leona couldn't help a giggle. She took his pinkie in her entire tiny fist and she shook his pinkie.

"Pinkie promise," John promised. Leona grinned and John led her by the hand out of the office.

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When John and Leona came downstairs to Sherlock, Leona had to try very hard not to run over to Sherlock and hug him. But, she pinkie promised John she wouldn't, so she smiled at Sherlock, bouncing on the tips of her toes.

"John," Sherlock said, not looking at her. He showed a picture on his phone. Leona reached up to take it, but Sherlock held it higher. "Rhododendron ponticum. It matches." Sherlock turned away to think and Leona watched him. She liked watching him think, it interested her. He always held his head or moved his hands around, as if he were seeing a big picture and trying to fix it.

Finally, he looked up, "Addlestone."

"What?" Lestrade asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"There's a mile of disused factories between the river and the park," Sherlock explained and then stood up, grabbing his coat. "It matches everything." Sherlock took Leona's hand and hurried out of the office, John following close behind.

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Leona sat silently as they sped down the street. They pulled up to a long strip of old factories. Sherlock and John moved to get out, but John stopped her. "Stay here. It's too dangerous," he warned her, then closed the door.

Leona stared out the window, sadly, but John did not come back for her. She say back against the seat, watching all the police officers running towards the buildings. She could hear Sally shouting orders to them too, "You, look over there. Look everywhere. Okay, spread out, please. Spread out."

Leona wanted to help, she knew she could. If she knew how they smelled, she could find them. But John said to stay in the car, so Leona had to stay.

Everything was quiet for ten or so minutes, and only filled with the distant sound of shouting. Leona sighed, laying in the seat. She was bored. Maybe she could just go inside a little...? Then, she'd come back and... No. John would be really upset if she did that.

Leona curled up on the seat, when she heard a short tapping on the glass of the window. Leona looked up and when she saw who was around the car, she gasped, scrambling to sit up.

Erasers surrounded the car, growling threateningly, all with guns surrounding her or claws outstretched. "Don' 'ake a scene, a'right?" A female eraser said calmly, but her voice was wrapped in danger. Leona looked around, eyes wide as she looked for a place to escape. "Ya git five seconds. Else we comin' in."

Leona tried to breathe, and closed her eyes. She went to the door slowly, and a few Erasers moved, allowing her to come out. They slammed the door shut and one pushed her down. Leona let out a gasp, her palms scrapping the ground as she fell. The female Eraser yanked her up by her braids, sneering. "Ya gon' soft, 'aven't ya, 54?" She slammed her face back down. Leona's chin hit the pavement, and bit her tongue. Blood welled in her mouth and she hissed, spitting it out.

"Let's go," the female Eraser ordered and then they ran, dragging Leona with them.

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John didn't even realize that Leona had been gone until long after they came home. After they found the two kids in the factory, Sherlock and John were in a rush to get there. Then, the whole scene at the hospital involving the girl, Claudette, and John's confusion around it too. His questions concerning why the girl had been so terrified of John, and then Sherlock taking thr taxi alone and the Albanian gangster getting shot in the street... John was bombarded with questions that he needed answering.

Finally, when they were at home, John when to his room, and things had quieted down, John realized his mistake. He ran into the sitting room where Sherlock had been sitting quietly, hands folded as he usually did when he was deep in thought. "Leona!" He gasped and Sherlock looked up immediately. It seemed that he too had forgotten.

"Wasn't she with you?" Sherlock asked.

"No! She..." John ran his hands through his hair, stressfully. "We brought her with us to Addlestone. I told her to wait in the car. She must've came out to find us," John pulled out his phone so he could call Lestrade.

Greg answered on the first ring. "This better be important," he half-hissed. John could hear Sally shouting out orders in the background.

"Leona is missing," John told him. "All afternoon, we just realized. I know you've got people on there way, but do you think you could send someone back to Addlestone to see?"

Greg was silent, then he let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Alright, I will. And, I'll file a missing-person's report for you."

"Thank you," John said, closing his eyes.

"Don't mention it." Then, he hung up.

"What did he say?" Sherlock asked.

"He said he'd send someone out to look for her." Sherlock nodded, and going back to think again. "Where do you think she is?" John asked curiously, trying not to worry. The last time Leona went missing, she came back with a concussion and stab wounds.

"Probably wandering about Addlestone," Sherlock said. "She's probably scared silly, but she'll get over it. Besides, she knew not to get out of the car, you told her so."

"She usually listens to whatever I tell her to do," he sighed, shaking his head.

"She'll be back. We have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment." And, it was true. Sherlock could hear the police sirens faintly coming their way as he spoke.

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Ice cold pressurized water was sprayed at Leona's bare body. She cried out, trying to use her wings to block the water, but the Eraser behind her hit the back of her legs with a metal rod, and she fell to her knees in pain. The water came more forcefully at her face, her back, and her wings. They made her skin feel raw, and yet she knew this was only the beginning.

Whitecoats came out of the side doors, completely suited and carrying large poles with large, soapy steel wool pads at the end. The Eraser behind Leona kept hitting her wings in order to keep her down and the Whitecoats got to work.

They scrubbed at her with the poles and Leona screamed. It felt like they were trying to take her skin off her back completely. Leona tried to get up and run, but the Eraser kept her from moving at all. Leona turned away, her fists clenched. She heard the poles of metal clench and strain.

The Eraser pulled away and the two Whitecoats advanced. They pointed the butt of their poles out at her and stuck her with it. Electricty heightened by the soapy water made her convulse on the ground like a dying worm. Tears threatened her eyes and black spots danced across her vision.

Leona groaned and twitched for a few more minutes, unmoving as the Whitecoats finished deep cleaning her. They walked out of the room, leaving the Eraser as the water sprayed even harder overhead, rinsing her clean.

"Git up," the Eraser growled once the water finished. Leona whimpered, unmoving. The Eraser kicked her in the side and Leona gasped, trembling. She coughed, spitting up soapy water that had entered her lungs.

Slowly, she stood. Her arms crossed over her chest and she shivered. The Eraser forced her into the next room, which was alternatively steaming hot. There were a set of clothes sitting on the floor. It was undergarments and a strange white-and-blue checkered flimsy dress.

Leona frowned. At her School, they never let them wear anything like this. Only old rags and never anything like underwear.

Panic slowly began to set it. If she wasn't in her old School... Then where was she?

The Eraser hit his rod at her upper arm and Leona hissed, rubbing the area. "Hurr' up," he warned. Leona glared at him, but quickly slipped the clothes on.

He led her to a different room, one she was far too familiar with at this point. Cages littered the floor, each carrying different experiments. Some were not breathing, but others weren't so lucky. They moaned at her, some of them hissed. One child with the malformed body of a bull rammed its face into the metal rods, tongue outstretched and eyes pure black.

Leona was given the empty cage right next to the bull child. Leona hissed and clawed at the Eraser, but he pulled out his gun, pointing it at her forehead. Leona stopped immediately and sat down, carefully and angrily eying the armed Eraser. He smirked at his power and slammed the cage door shut.

Leona sat back, trying to calm her breathing. This couldn't be real, she wasn't actually back. Sherlock would come get her soon and she would go home. Everything would be fine.

The bull boy rammed his face against Leona's cage again, teeth bared and he growled at her.

Leona hissed, eyes flashing and the boy was sent back, and held against the side of the cage. He began to shake, and sputtering from not being able to breathe.

Leona realized this and stopped. The boy fell to his side, unconcious. Leona stared at him, "Leona is sorry," she whispered, trying to come to the boy. His eyes fluttered back open and when he saw her, he squealed in terror, moving away. "Leona is sorry!" She said again, tears growing in her eyes.

The boy didn't listen, and he didn't ram her cage again. Leona curled up in her cage, tucking her head between her knees and she cried.

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An hour or so passed before Leona heard the sound of loud doors creaking open. Everyone else did too, and went silent. Three pairs of footsteps came down, one heavier than the rest --- probably an Eraser --- but the other two she didn't recognize.

Leona sat back in her cage as the footsteps got closer and closer to her. She could feel the heightened sense of fear from everyone. Nobody wanted to be chosen. Leona knew that three people either meant execution for whoever was chosen, or you were being sold away.

If Leona was sold away, she'd never be able to go home again.

The footsteps stopped and Leona's heart was pounding. She didn't know who they stopped in front of. Then, a cage door swung open and the Eraser bent down. "Out. Now," he growled. Leona looked up. It wasn't at her, but at two cages down from her. She didn't know who it was, but she could see spots on their skin.

They hissed and the Eraser tried to grab at them, but they batted his arm away. Claws outstretched from their hand and they scratched him. Leona watched, shocked. Fighting an Eraser, unless told to, was a death sentence in itself.

The Eraser bent down and growled at them, but they did not budge. Then, he reached in and grabbed their leg. They screamed, trying to kick at him, but the Eraser dragged them out already.

Leona was big puffy hair and a long spotted tail that matched her skin. She wore the same checkered gown Leona did, but hers was dirtier. The Eraser pinned her to the floor, then injected something into her neck. The girl's movements began to slow down before she fell limp, unconcious.

"Hmm... You'll have to pull its nails before it comes home with me," a voice said. Leona frowned, she knew that voice.

"Yes, that can be arranged. It would cost extra, however." The Whitecoat told him. The Eraser dragged the girl behind him as they walked slowly.

"That would be fine," He replied. Leona's breathing got heavier as they began to walk again. She knew that voice. She knew it. "And the other one?"

"Right here," the Whitecoat said, stopping again. They stopped in front of her cage.

Leona's eyes widened and she tried to move away, but the limitations of the cage stopped her. "This one, I must warn you, is a bit more dangerous than the others. It's best to keep it subdued all the time for your safety."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said. Then, the Eraser opened the cage.

"Out," he growled but Leona was not moving at all. "Git. Out," he said again,but still, Leona stayed put.

He reached in and grabbed her foot. Leona screamed, her eyes glowing and she twisted his hand. The Eraser roared in pain, eyes full of fury. He shook his hand out, then used both hands to yank her our completely.

Leona fought hard, trying to push him back and breaking several bones, but the Eraser continued to yank her out of the cage, not caring for his own physical safety.

Finally, Leona was out and the Eraser slammed the cage shut. He was ready to inject her, but the other man stopped him. "Let me see it," he said and the Eraser stopped moving, but kept her pinned to the floor.

Leona's eyes were full of panic but then dread and fear overtook it. Mortiarty smiled down at her, teeth exposed. "Lovely seeing you again, dear," he told her. "Aren't we going to have fun..." Leona screamed, but the Eraser inject the shot in the small of her neck. Leona gasped, trying to struggle. To go back in her cage, to do anything but this, but she couldn't and was slowly consumed by darkness.