[b][i]Ashton Andrews, the Chosen of Stories[/i][/b]

[i]Sixteen years old and my life is basically over,[/i] Ashton thought as he allowed the prison guards to drag him out and cuff him as they led him to breakfast. The boy didn't resist, except to observe that they had allowed him to keep his ordinary Earth clothes; was he that unthreatening without his book? Then again, it probably was to make him look more distinct as a trophy should look; Ashton already had several ideas of why he'd be kept alive after all was lost.

The first idea, the boy thought as he sat down on the cafeteria table and submissively ate his gruel, was that they'd be slaves for labor and torture. But as nothing has been done to them beyond the usual humiliating treatment, that possibility was slowly fading.

The second, also obvious idea, was that they'd be kept as trophies, which he had already thought about. Perhaps as part of a victory parade for King Kazzok's forces? Or just for the Dark Lord to look at whenever he wanted to remind himself of past triumphs? Egoes needed massaging, after all.

[i]Or,[/i] the third possibility occured to Ashton, they were going to be used as sacrifices at some point, to increase King Kazzok's power. Or just interrogated in due time about how their powers and technology worked. Or maybe they'd be used as power sources for... No, those possibilities are wrong; the prisoners would have gone through that treatment already if that were the case.

A sudden chill went through the boy's body as yet another possibility went through him. Kazzok needed them for something. Something that he wanted them to willingly give. It was possible that the Dark Lord was trying to get them to work for him somehow without using [i]too much[/i] mind control; perhaps he's going to tell them that there was a greater threat to the Multiverse than he was and he needed the heroes to act as his 'Suicide Squad'? If so, that will be a hard choice to make; Evil or More Evil. He wasn't prepared to make said choice, especially if it sounded like a betrayal to his fellow prisoners.

Speaking of said fellow prisoners, the redheaded adult male was easy on the eyes; too bad he was too old and probably married to someone also hot (male or female) already. Same for the adventurer in leather with a golden-circled necklace; they were allowed to keep golden items here? Wait, no, the adventurer in leather looked like a bachelor; he can tell. [i]Stop ogling hot guys and the occassional lady, Ashton![/i] His mind said. [i]And he's too old for you anyway![/i]

The boy decided to observe the guards for once this time; what could have driven them to join an Evil Overlord in his conquests; money and power? Neverthelss, he was perceptive enough to know that their watch was laxer than before.

Good; he wanted to talk to someone - break the ice with his fellow prisoners. Turning to the redhead, Ashton whispered, "Hey, what's your name? Mine is Ashton Andrews." A pause. "It's hard, you know, to know that you're spending the rest of your life as a slave or prisoner or whatever. As a sixteen-year old who once had a life ahead of me, I think it'd be even harder than for someone who's at least experienced life."

[i]That and you, Ashton Andrews, accidentally killed your friends, too. All because you couldn't resist trying the Dark Lord's powers for yourself,[/i] part of his mind nagged. But Ashton was fast wondering... Did King Kazzok actually tell the truth about that, or was he lying?