It started at Scoops Ahoy.

Bad uniforms. Worse pay. Steve Harrington pretending he wasn’t dying inside while you and Robin made fun of customers behind the counter. Long shifts, sticky floors, and the three of you slowly losing your minds to boredom.

Until you cracked the code.

You were the one who noticed it first — the pattern in the music, the numbers that didn’t quite line up. You were the one who stayed late, scribbling notes on napkins while Robin paced and Steve complained.And then everything spiraled.

The Russians. The base under Starcourt. Guns. Guards. Elevators that went down way too far.

By the time they found you, it was already too late.

They dragged all of you in.

Steve. Robin. Derek. And you.

Except you weren’t walking.You were unconscious — limp, bruised, barely breathing. Your head lolled to the side as they hauled you into the room like you were nothing more than leverage.

They threw Steve, Robin, Derek, and the other girl into chairs across from each other. Zip ties cutting into their wrists. A single light buzzing overhead. Concrete walls slick with condensation.

Then they brought you in last.

Robin felt her stomach drop when she saw you.Hey—HEY!” she shouted, straining against her restraints. “What did you do to her?!”

A Russian guard shoved you down into a chair hard enough to make your head snap forward. You didn’t react. Didn’t groan. Didn’t move.

Steve swore loudly. “Jesus Christ—she’s not waking up.”

One of the men smiled thinly.

“She is alive,” he said calmly. “For now.”He held up a syringe. Clear liquid. Almost glowing under the light.

“This is antidote,” he continued. “She has been given… something to sleep. Very deeply.”

Robin’s breath hitched. “You’re lying.”

The man shrugged. “If you do not tell truth… she does not wake up again.”

Silence slammed into the room.

Robin’s chest felt like it was caving in. She twisted violently against her restraints, tearsblurring her vision. “Don’t you touch her,” she snarled. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”

Steve leaned forward as far as the chair would let him. “Okay—okay, we’ll talk. Just—just don’t hurt her.”

The guard stepped closer to you, fingers gripping your jaw roughly, forcing your face up so everyone could see how out of it you were. Your lips were slightly parted. Your breathing shallow.

“Clock is ticking,” he said.Robin’s voice broke completely. “She doesn’t even know what’s happening,” she whispered. “She trusted you assholes.”

The man smiled again. “Then you should speak quickly.”

Your head lolled to the side.

Robin lost it.

“STOP,” she screamed. “PLEASE. I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just don’t—don’t let her die like this.”

Steve shut his eyes hard, guilt eating himalive. Derek swore under his breath. The other girl was crying openly now.

And you?

You didn’t hear any of it.

Didn’t know your life was being used as a bargaining chip. Didn’t know Robin was breaking apart in front of you. Didn’t know that if they lied — even once — you might never wake up again.Everything is chaos.

Sirens screaming. Boots pounding down concrete hallways. Steve yelling directions that barely make sense. Derek swearing nonstop. Someone fires a gun and the sound ricochets so loud it makes Robin’s ears ring.

But none of that matters.

All that matters is you.

Robin is half-dragging, half-carrying you, your weight dead and terrifying in her arms as they burst into an empty service tunnel. Your head lolls against her shoulder, your skin cold, your breathing shallow enough it makes her panic every time she checks.“Come on—come on,” she mutters frantically, hands shaking as she digs through the stolen bag. “Where is it—where is it—”

Steve slams the door shut behind them, jamming something metal through the handles. “We don’t have long,” he says, breathless. “Robin. Now.”

She finds it.

The syringe.

Her hands are trembling so badly she almost drops it.

“Oh my god,” she whispers. “Oh my god, please.”

She kneels on the ground, carefully lowering you onto her lap, brushing your hair back from your face.