Jonas declares he's going to search for Ash. It doesn't make a difference to me. That candy bar can't make up for the pain I'm enduring. I knew I was sore, but this is a new level of pain. It feels like I really did get in a car accident. What did Red Raven's mind control do to the rest of my body?

The CNA barely helps me, and I wouldn't want her to anyways. After she unplugged the IV, I immediately felt drained. However, I don't want to lean on someone else to help me get better. She's just like a guard rail; in case I slip, she's there to keep me from falling.

She opens the door for me as mom brings me a change of clothes, including sweatpants and a t-shirt. They both quickly exit. They're smart enough to realize I'll snap at them again if they linger for any longer than necessary.

I'm finally alone, I think to myself. I take my ponytail down and my earrings out. I was still wearing makeup from the dinner. That was going to be a hassle to get off in a shower that supplied me with a bar of soap and trial size shampoo.

Finally, I take a look in the mirror. Yikes! There's a risen bump in my hair. As I touch it I realize that's probably the source of my constant headache.

Other than the dirt and sweat across my face, (my entire body, to be precise) I appear to be fine. Maybe mom will bring me some extra shower supplies but it looks like I'm stuck with the bare minimum.

I lock the door and take the gown off, finally letting the cool water hit me. That's when something registered in my mind.

My suit. Did Jonas hide it? He'll be sorry if my parents find our suits. They'll kill me, but not before I kill him.

I try not to think about the questions lingering in my mind. I occupy myself with getting cleaned up.

My shower is quick and painful. At least I smell decent, but nothing fancy. I smell like the hospital itself. I wipe my face dry in exasperation. I need to be home, plotting my next attack on Red Raven. Far from this place.

The bathroom doesn't have a vent or fan, so I'm perspiring as I manage to slide on sweatpants. This is torture. I can't wait until I check out of this place.

The mirror is fogged up, but maybe that's a good thing. I know what I looked like before. Hopefully a shower made it better. I don't care at this point. I'm not trying to impress anyone.

That brings me to wonder where Mickey is. Sure, I've only been here one night, but Jonas called my parents, why wasn't Mickey informed? Mason did say something about him being upset when I left the house. I would be too if the roles had been reversed. He knew I had a job to do, though, so did he really have a right to be angry with me?

I hear voices come from outside of the door. Normally I don't eavesdrop, but they're whispering, whoever it is. That automatically leads me to believe I'm the subject. I press my ear to the door.

"She's a big girl, she can handle herself, Audrey." My dad seems to be addressing my mom.

"She's not handling it well, James! Look at her!" Mom hisses, her voice louder than dad's.

"She needs to do things for herself. It's her future and we said we wouldn't get involved." Dad inputs.

"I know, but-"

"No buts."

Silence fills both sides of the door. They don't believe I can handle myself, but in what way?

Whatever they're talking about, they're going to eat those words.

***

It feels so much better to be wearing sweats than be in that flimsy gown. I didn't have a hairbrush, however, so my hair is tangled and thrown up into a sloppy bun.

I'm alone in the room. No one is watching the game, no one is sitting on my bed to comfort me. I'm finally alone. Jonas must have read my mind and gotten everyone out.

I allow myself to slip under the blanket and attempt to find a comfortable position.

The CNA comes back inside my room to hook me back up to the IV. So much for peace.

A bird perches on the window ledge, and begins to peck at the glass. So much for quiet.

Once the nurse leaves the room and the bird flies away, I'm finally at ease. The basketball game distracts me from the rest of my problems. It distracts me from my reality.

I don't spot my phone anywhere in the room, and maybe that's for the best. The struggles of the rest of the normal world would just add fuel to my fire.

The basketball game finally ends. I'm sure I missed the majority of it in the shower. There's not many channels on the hospital's cable, so I flip it to the news again.

Big mistake.

I'm informed of 10 new villains on the loose. My jaw drops as the news reporter tries to hide the panic in his voice. I'm just as horrified as the list pops up on the screen.

Master Morpher
Iron Robber
Shadow Soldier
Silver Assassin
Blizzard Beast
Black Light
Crossfire
Cannon
Night Haze
Ruckus

I count each of them on my fingers. Yup, all ten are present. I think I'm going to hurl.

"To civilians listening, we don't know their motives, so we beg, be safe. There's no telling what these heinous villains want."

My room was drastically chilly all of a sudden. I looked over at the thermostat to watch it literally drop. What the heck? So it wasn't just goosebumps from the news alert?

Suddenly I realized what this meant. Slowly, I turned my head towards the open door. Red Raven was standing in the doorway, making his way towards me. It took every ounce of me to show no fear.

"Well, Rapid Glare seems to be slacking off. I hope the villains don't get too out of hand," He looks up at the tv with a menacing grin.

"Oops, too late."

He lunges for my IV, but I smack him across the face. He'd much rather keep his mask on than tamper with my vitals, because he draws back to right his mask.

"Why are you here?" I snarl at him.

He rolls his grey eyes and begins pacing. I don't understand how he managed to mind control every nurse in order to get in here. My speed and invisibility won't cooperate together for more than five seconds.

"I'm checking on you, of course. Remember, I do know you outside of our rivalry." He sits in the chair beside my bed. Too close for comfort. One of my arms is tied to a cord. If he tries to take out my IV again, I can't defend myself. His mind control works faster than my lightning reflexes.

"Ah yes, we go to school together. We must be very close." I feign a chipper attitude.

Raven sits back in the chair. That metal chair must be freezing with the temperature drop. I pull the white sheets up to cover my feet.

"Oh, extremely close. I'd dare say you and I are best friends."

"I only have two best friends. You aren't either of them. As for my lame excuse of a boyfriend, yeah, maybe you and him have a lot in common. I'm willing to bet you're my boyfriend." The words slip out of my mouth before I become aware of how true they are. I was in denial before.

Red Raven is taken back, "Whoa, there, Della. We're not that close. Why do you diss your boyfriend like that?"

"Why do you care?" I spit back.

His eyebrows raise in surprise. "I don't. I'm just trying to be a good friend."

"Oh, yes, all my closest friends try to pull out my IV." I huff.

He runs his hand through his dark hair. I wouldn't know how to deal with my outburst either. He had to expect something when he came here trying to injure me.

"Well Mickey is an idiot if he doesn't understand what you're going through. He does know your secret, right?"

It must show that I'm perplexed, because he smirks. He's given me confusing information. Who's to say anything he's said has any truth to it? He's a villain. They lie.

"Yeah, he knows." I mutter.

Red Raven stands up from the chair, sighing as if I was not the conversationalist he planned for. He fiddled with the cord to my IV, but dropped it, becoming bored with it too.

"Raven, can't you tell me who you are? You know who I am." I try to play innocent and sweet.

He tenses and a fury flashes through his eyes. In a blink of an eye, he's a maniac. Red Raven lunges at me, leaning just inches from my face.

"You don't want to know the monster behind the mask." His voice is rough, but when I look into those unfamilar eyes, I see a boy who's afraid of what he's become. Maybe he doesn't want to hurt anyone, but he thinks he's too far gone.

My fingers reach up to brush his mask. Surprisingly enough, he doesn't flinch. His arms stiffen as he remains propping himself up. His breathing hitches and we stare at each other for a moment.

"I can't hurt you." Red Raven breathes. The words were barely audible. But they were there.

My mouth tries to form words as he runs out of the room. What just happened?

Within a minute, Jonas and Ash sprint into the room, panting. Ash and Jonas look like they've been up for days. They may look more exhausted than me.

"Was that?" Ash gasps for air.

Without any words, I nod. All that's on my mind is his face over mine.

I can't hurt you.

A/N

Ohhhh snapppp. What does all this mean??? Comment theories and such below!

Ash is portrayed as Ryan Newman above.

Hope you like the song attached!

Thanks for reading!
Always, Sunny