Abandoned House

On the end of 12 Batson Street, there is an **Abandoned House**. Not many people think to check it out, which makes it an ideal private spot for those who know about it.

## Description

The house appears to be situated at the edge of a forest. There is a wooden fence surrounding the premises. The yard has mostly been paved over, though an overgrown garden remains adjacent to the front of the house. The building appears to have been empty for some time. The interior is dingy and dusty. The only piece of furniture inside is a folding chair which may have been brought in by the students. There appear to be three stories, including the attic. As of Chapter 130, there is no staircase to access the second floor.

## Plot

### Capture

Seraphina was dragged to the abandoned house by her classmates to be tortured. Illena, the ringleader of the group behind this abduction, starts by destroying Seraphina's phone so nobody can contact her. When Seraphina demands a new phone, Illena punches the former Ace in the stomach using her Strength. Illena then reminded her captive that she was no longer the Seraphina she once was. The torture continued, and the group was astonished that the bound and bleeding Seraphina still acted as though she could order them around. Seraphina called the lot two-faced for sucking up to someone only to kick them when they're down. Illena revealed that nobody actually liked the high-tier students. All the kissing up and bowing down was done to avoid getting punished. Fed up with being treated like dirt, the students saw Seraphina's ability-loss as their gift. Now they were able to give her a taste of how they feel. Illena kicked Seraphina to the floor, to the amusement of the others. Seraphina vowed she would make them all pay when she recovered, but Illena doubted such a recovery would occur.

Desperate, Seraphina thought of what John advised to do in situations like hers. She accused the bullies of cowardice for ganging up on a cripple tied to a chair, and challenged them to a real fight. Illena didn't see the need to give into demands, but relented after Wenqi advocated that the idea would teach Seraphina her place. Illena promised that if Seraphina could defeat even one of the gang, she was free to go. Seraphina asked for a guarantee on this deal, which was refused. Illena was her first opponent, whose kick hurt Seraphina when she tried to block it. The brief fight ended with Illena as the victor. Next was Misa, who not only feigned regret for insulting Seraphina a while back, but wanted the satisfaction of slamming her into a wall as well. Barely able to stand, let alone fight again, Seraphina thought back to all of John's lessons. Then she was swiftly forced backwards and hit a wall courtesy of Misa's Repulsion, and knocked unconcious. Hower approached the fallen Seraphina and warned her to never to step out of line again. The bullies tied Seraphina up and left her there for the night, planning to return the next day.

When Seraphina's friends realized she was missing, Arlo organized a search party while John searched alone, eventually donning his new black mask and attacking students for their abilities. Arlo eventually got a tip from Evie that led him straight to Hower. He forced Seraphina's location out of him, which was overheard by Cecile and passed onto John.

Back at the abandoned house, half of the gang involved in the abduction had cut class to return to torment Seraphina some more. They waited until she finally regained consciousness. Looking around, she asked if she was still at the house. Illena slapped Seraphina for asking such a question, as she thought it should be obvious that Seraphina would remain their prisoner after her performance the previous night. Grabbing Seraphina by her hair, Illena attempts to break her spirit by telling her there was no hope of anyone coming to her rescue. Tearing out a handful of hair, she tells Seraphina that her classmates, friends, and even her family have abandoned her now that her ability was gone. This brought back painful memories of Leilah's departure for Seraphina, and her silence was considered by Illena to be an acceptance of reality. To end things, Illena picked up Seraphina and told her to admit her own worthlessness. Seraphina remained silent, which angered Illena into slamming her against the beam she was tied to. Krolik and Misa told her things were going too far, but Illena reminded them that what they were doing was nothing compared to what they had to suffer. Wenqi agreed with this point of view, and told them this could be their only chance for payback against the high-tiers.

While all this was occurring, Arlo had arrived to the house with Elaine in tow. They entered the decrepit building and surprised the bullies who had returned. Elaine ran over to Seraphina and began to heal her extensive injuries, while Arlo confronted the gang. Disgusted, he told them all they had crossed the line and he would be reporting this incident to the Headmaster. Baffled by what she saw as hypocrisy and self-righteousness, Illena called Arlo out for intervening only because the victim was Seraphina. She claimed that, as a cripple, Seraphina was theirs to with as they pleased. Resisting Wenqi and Krolik's attempts to restrain her, Illena demanded to know why they had to worship the strong while getting nothing in return. Breaking free of her friends' grip, she rushed towards Arlo to attack him from behind. Arlo put up a Barrier around himself at the last moment to reflect the damage right back at her. Their mission accomplished, Arlo and Elaine left the house in order to bring Seraphina to the infirmary. Meanwhile, the bullies remained behind fretting over their situation and trying to pass blame. Illena declared that all they could do was return to school. As she was leaving, Illena found her path blocked by an intimidating student with a black mask.

Before she could even react, Illena was kicked in the stomach with enough force to send her flying into a wall and knock her out cold. The masked attacker approached her and picked her up, prompting Wenqi to use her Speed ability to run to her rescue. The attacker dropped Illena and halted Wenqi's momentum by grabbing her by the face, slamming her into the floor and knocking her out as well. Such a fearsome display of power scared the remaining three bullies to attempt a retreat. The attacker used an exploding missile to destroy the stairs, trapping the bullies in their own house of torture. Krolik declared they had no choice but to try and fight back, and he fired his Lazor at their assailant. The attacker blocked the beam with his arm, and the wound it left healed quickly. The attacker rushed with blinding speed to punch Krolik into the wall behind him, and he fell down the hole where the stairs used to be. Then he turned to Misa, and parried her attack and swiftly took her out with an Explosion. Only Crail was left, and he fell to his knees and tried to offer to do anything to make amends for what they had done. This fell on deaf ears, and he was beaten unconscious.

Outside the house, Cecile was waiting for John to return. When he finally exited the house, she asked if he went easy on the culprits. He did not answer, only removing his mask and declaring their business at the house was concluded.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 128
2. ↑ Chapter 121
3. ↑ Chapter 122
4. ↑ Chapter 128
5. ↑ Chapter 129
6. ↑ Chapter 130