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Waking up into total darkness wasn't exactly something Morgan was used to. Sure, Chad liked to pull some stupid pranks at times, but not waking up in their bed was vastly different from... well, this.
As they moved to sit up, Morgan quickly realised that something else was very wrong though. They could hear the jingling of metal, and as they tried moving more a pull on their wrist stopped them from going much further than a few inches upwards.
Were they... chained to the ground?
Now, that didn't sound like a prank their brother would pull - and not only because it seemed a little bit too complicated for him. It just felt... off.
Thinking back, they tried to remember what they had been doing before going to sleep, but... things were a bit woozy, the longer they thought about it.
They had... spent the morning dodging questions about when they would finally start as Chad's sidekick. Then they had gone into their secret lair - an abandoned trailer they had found some months ago in a close trailer park, but hey, they were working on a budget! - to plot their next heist, to finally get together enough money to move out. And then... Nothing. What the hell?
"Fuck..." they muttered quietly once they realised that this might be a bit more serious than Chad being stupid. Especially as even now they still couldn't see a thing. Had they... seriously been kidnapped? Their parents were superheroes after all, going after the kids would be a standard move... Though Morgan really thought they should have at least noticed an attacker. Ugh.
But well, for now there wasn't much to do but wait and plot... sooner or later someone would probably check on them... right?
Being rather good at measuring time usually was quite helpful in their day to day life, but right now it really was a pain in the ass to realise that whoever had put them in the current situation clearly didn't seem to care about checking on them all that much. The first few hours they were fine with plotting in silence after realising that really, besides the mattress they had awoken on there wasn't much around them they could reach, being chained to the wall as they were. But at some point not being able to see or hear anything really got to them.
At least being able to softly hum under their breath ensured them they had not actually gone deaf, but... they were confident to say that this situation sucked. Majorly.
Still, at some point they were there long enough to actually get tired. And of course, that was the exact point in time things did finally happen.
So when the door finally opened, the light flooding the room made Morgan shoot straight up from their uneasy sleep, potentially giving them a new bruise around their wrists after jerking their hands up too much.
They were still trying to orient themselves, blinking against the sudden brightness when a voice spoke up.
"Tell me: Aren't you the oldest Sterling daughter?"
Squinting their eyes to try and see anything more than a silhouette of their opponent, Morgan still managed an answer through grit teeth.
"You've got some outdated information. I'm their oldest child, sure, but I go by they/them pronouns now. The name's Morgan."
The other person, to their surprise, just shrugged nonchalantly, waving them off.
"Kid, then. But tell me, Morgan: What the hell are your parents up to?"
Looking up at the other person, Morgan tilted their head at the odd question.
"How am I supposed to know? Look, just to make things clear: If you kidnapped me in the hopes of getting information about my parents' plans or something, you certainly picked the wrong person. The only thing I know is that they'd really like me to be my brother's sidekick, and honestly, I'm not feeling that."
At least their eyes slowly got used to the light coming from the corridor, allowing them to take a look around.
Their mattress was located in a small, rectangular room, perhaps two square metres wide. Bare walls as far as they could see - really a perfect cell. Great.
Sadly their inspection got interrupted by the other person speaking up again a moment later.
"I don't really care about that - I was more wondering why I haven't seen any news about you missing yet. Like, I kidnapped you yesterday! How am I supposed to get ransom for you if they haven't even noticed you missing yet?"
Trying their hardest not to wince at the uncomfortable reminder of how their chosen lifestyle did not mesh with their family, Morgan tried to go for a shrug themselves.
"Send them a ransom note, I guess? Though I wouldn't necessarily bet on them paying it either."
That got them a stare. Or at least, that's what they assumed it was, for their kidnapper neither spoke nor moved for quite a few seconds.
They sighed.
"Look, can we make this quick? If you wanted to kill me if they didn't pay, let's just get it over with - if you didn't... well, while I have to say that being tied up in a dark room does really make for a great atmosphere... could I at least get some food, please? I'd rather be killed quickly than slowly starve to death in the darkness."
Another silence.
Great. Had they broken their captor now?
At least this time the other finally caught themselves after just a few seconds.
"Alright, you're definitely not what I expected."
Morgan shrugged. That at least was something they heard often enough. "Sorry to disappoint?"
The other person shook their head. "Oh, no, don't get me wrong, I think it's refreshing. When I kidnap people I usually only get the whiny ones, begging for their lives or the arrogant ones that think they've got any type of leeway over me - until they figure out who I am and turn into the first type. Pretty boring, really."
When thinking about it later, Morgan couldn't really answer why they had done it, but in this moment, only a single question came to their mind: "Ever thought about switching businesses?"
The other person tilted their head in question. "Elaborate."
"Well... Just saying, if you're not having fun with the kidnappings and stuff... I could use another hand for my next heist. A bank heist, that is."
Was it a bit weird to ask? For sure, but on the other hand, Morgan was still alive somehow, so probably they hadn't angered their captor too much yet. And it did sound like a pretty good way of getting out of this situation on their own.
Sadly, the other didn't seem to agree.
"Excuse me? Why do you think I'd use my powers for something as trivial as a bank heist of all things?"
Morgan stared at them. "Who was even talking about powers? I need another person to hold the flashlight for goodness' sake - just say no if you don't wanna do it, honestly."
"You- what?"
Alright, now Morgan regretted asking them.
"Never mind. Sorry for asking, just keep doing... whatever you wanted to do before, I guess."
"I think we should talk about the fact that you just asked a perfect stranger, one who literally kidnapped you not twenty-four hours ago, to help you with a heist. Holding a flashlight."
Yeah... when phrased like that it did sound a bit weird, Morgan had to admit.
"Well, I haven't eaten in about as long, so let's pretend any lapses of judgement are coming from there."
"Oh, right."
The other person snapped their fingers and suddenly Morgan felt the metal around their wrists vanish. Damn these people with their useful powers...
Stretching a bit, Morgan carefully got up after a moment. At least nothing seemed to hurt, which was good.
Meanwhile the other person turned around and walked towards the door, making a simple gesture that seemed like they wanted Morgan to follow them as they kept talking without a care in the world.
"Let's get some food into you, and then we can talk about why it's a bad idea to trust strangers you've just met. Deal?" They turned around once they were out of the door, allowing Morgan to catch a first glimpse of them. Taller than Morgan, the other looked rather handsome, especially as they shot them a cocky smirk. "I'm Alex, by the way. He or they, or whatever you want, really."
Morgan stared for a moment, but finally managed a nod.
"Right... Nice to meet you, then, I guess? Food sounds good."
They took a few cautious steps towards the other - well, Alex - just in case all this was a weird trick or something, but when nothing happened they just mentally shrugged and pressed on.
At this point, food really did sound like a pretty good plan.
Anything else could wait.