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When the killer robot dropped in front of her and ripped open a black hole, Fade knew she was screwed. Nightmare, her radiant companion, was stripped from her control, seemingly sucked into that blackhole. She didn’t have any weapons but a knife with her⸺ she had always relied on Nightmare and that never failed her. But a knife wouldn’t be any good against a robot designed to withstand even the strongest Radiant.
Fade was quickly subdued by the strike team, a bag thrown over her head and her hands tied up behind her back. She struggled, she kicked and she yelled, but there were just too many people to overpower physically especially when she was restrained.
“LET ME GO!” She screamed, only to be met with a hard metallic impact hitting her over the head. She barely had time to think: well this was unexpected. Before getting knocked out cold.
“Little bitch…” Breach grunted as he watched Cypher tie up her legs as well. The ex-criminal heaved the unconscious girl over his shoulders, and followed the rest back to the Vulture where Chamber was already waiting for them. On the ride back, Neon and Cypher seemed to be discussing something, malicious tones clear in their voices. Chamber quietly polished his Tour de Force, while Breach was silent for once.
It wasn’t obvious, but none of the strike team emerged from the mission without some new mental scars. Fade’s Nightmare had traumatised all of them, not to mention all the dossiers she had spooked them with in the past month. Neon had a hard glare on her face as she exited the vulture, she and Cypher headed straight for his lab.
Breach and Kay/O lugged Fade to the interrogation room, removing the bag over her head and replacing it with a blindfold. Shortly after, Cypher and Neon came in and the latter replaced the ropes restraining Fade’s limbs with something else. Cypher sat in the chair opposite their captive while the others positioned themselves around the room.
Soon enough, she began to stir.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Cypher cautioned, “I’m sure you feel it too, your bonds have been changed to something much, much more dangerous.”
“Where am I?” She asked after a brief silence. The info broker leaned back into his chair, “I thought you knew everything about us, why not answer that question yourself?” The woman didn’t speak, she turned her head away from the sound of his voice.
“What, cat got your tongue? You sure had a lot to say when exposing us in the dossiers, Hazal.” Cypher hissed, the venom in his voice as deadly as Viper’s poisons. Fade flinched at the sound of her name, the involuntary movement causing a shock to be sent through her whole body from her bonds.
“What… was that…?” She forced out through gritted teeth, the pain clear in her voice and hunched figure. Cypher chuckled, but it wasn’t the lighthearted teasing chuckle the other agents are used to.
“A special gift Neon and I prepared for you. She coated my wires in electricity. Now, tell me, what do you know about the VALORANT Protocol?” Cypher questioned, leaning forwards. She refused to speak, careful to not move in case of triggering another painful shock, but she didn’t open her mouth as well.
“Keeping silent? We’ll see how long you can keep this up.” Cypher motioned to Neon, her cue to send an electric shock down Fade’s spine. The hostage screamed in pain, the movement caused the wires to trigger again. It was a vicious cycle. Fade could very much feel her nerves frying with every current. Neon touched a finger to each of Fade’s temples, sending a small electric wave through her brain.
It was the worst thing Fade ever experienced. Not enough to kill her, but just enough to make her want to die instead of enduring this pain. She had never been in such great pain, even her body felt numb compared to her head. Cypher lifted up a hand, signalling for Neon to stop. Neon replaced her bonds with normal ropes again, but there were still remnants of electricity all over Fade’s body.
“Want to speak up now?” Cypher offered, knowing that any more electrocution and Fade might very well lose her life. Being a Radiant gave her some natural resistance, but she could still only take so much. Fade’s breathing was erratic, her hair a mess, electrical burns were visible all over her skin. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
“How about I share a little of what we know about you while you recover,” Cypher started, “your name is Hazal Eyletmez, born in Turkey about 22 years ago. A year back or so you’ve somehow gained control over an entity which you have dubbed as Nightmare, and with it you have power over fear. At some point you were engaged to a man who then got abducted 2 months back. You started blackmailing us because you caught wind that we were the abductors, and you harassed us continuously by doxxing us and our private lives.”
Fade thought she had just recovered enough to speak, but what Cypher revealed knocked the wind out of her again. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to know everything about them, not the other way round. She was supposed to be the one interrogating them, not the other way round. Her heart pounded as panic rose in her, she had never had anyone reveal so much about her personal life without missing a beat.
“Still quiet… should I go on?” Cypher drawled out lazily.
“No! No… don’t say anymore. I’ll tell you what I know.” Fade cried out weakly. She was afraid to hear what else this man knows about her. Behind his mask, Amir smiled.
“You made the right choice. Now, what do you know about the VALORANT Protocol?” Cypher repeated his earlier question. She took in a long shaky breath before divulging what she knew.