Chapter 5

Donna’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she could just make out several shapes around her. “My dear Darkstar, so good to see you’re finally awake,” a voice said. Donna looked up to see a tall man with a sneer on his lips. He knelt and held her chin up with one hand. “I certainly hope you didn’t get to attached to your friends, because when I find them, I’m going to personally murder them. Imagine, killing two of my best men like that.” The man stood and walked away.

Donna looked down at her hands and feet, which were chained to the cold, steel floor. There were other prisoners all around her, most had been beaten or whipped. The girl next to her was still bleeding from her last beating. Donna reached out and touched her arm. The girl slowly looked up, tears still in her green eyes. “Are...are they gone?” she asked.

Donna nodded looked around. “Where is this place?”

The girl shuddered and said, “It doesn’t matter; we’re all going to die.” Donna reached out to touch her shoulder, but her chains prevented it.

The girl showed her hands to Donna. “See these chains? They keep us from using our powers. Otherwise, I would’ve escaped a long time ago.”

“What do they want with us?”

“They’re going to kill us,” the girl replied, “unless you make yourself useful, like I have.”

“What do you mean?” Donna asked.

“The Gauntlet has this huge machine that takes powers from mutants and transfers them into others. Most of the time, the Gauntlet uses it to increase their own powers, but sometimes they use it on mutants to make them more powerful. Then they force the mutants to help them destroy other mutants.”

“Mutants?” Donna asked. “Aren’t they...evil?” The girl stared at her for a few seconds. “What?” Donna asked. “I see them in the news all the time, blowing up buildings, killing people, and trying to take over the world.”

The girl looked down at the floor. “I see. Then tell me, Darkstar, are all SPBs* like yourself evil? I mean, that Darkseid guy is pretty bad.”

“What? Are you insane?! You can’t judge all of us just because a few of us are--” Donna stopped, suddenly realizing the girl’s point.

“Are what, Darkstar? Evil? Just like you can’t judge all us ‘muties,’ because of a few evil ones.”

Donna stared at her in shock. “You’re...a mutant?”

“You better believe it. Don’t be so surprised, the Gauntlet only hunts mutants, anyway.”

Donna thought for a moment. “B-But I’m not a mutant!”

“Really?” the girl said. “Why don’t you tell them that and see if they care? You’ve got powers, and that’s good enough for them. Face it, Darkstar, you’re in the same rut as the rest of us.”

The girl paused and shook her head. “Sorry, didn’t mean to come off so rough. My name’s Angel.”

Donna nodded. “I’m Donna.”

Angel pointed to the boy next to her. “This is David, but he likes to be called X-treme.”

David lifted his head. “Quiet, you two, I’m trying to concentrate.” He closed his eyes and then cursed.

Angel looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

David sighed and said, “I made brief contact, but--I lost the connection.”

Angel shook her head. “Leave it to Grey to be preoccupied when we need him the most.”

“Who’s Grey?” Donna asked.

Angel looked back at Donna and replied, “Only the most powerful psi on the planet, as well as David’s brother, and my little sister’s boyfriend.” Donna was clearly confused, so Angel went on. “He has a talent for getting people out of tight spots, and,” she said, “they don’t get much tighter than this, if you know what I mean.”

* Super-Powered Beings