My ears. Working. I can hear the endless creaking of the ceiling fan, and I can see it as well so my eyes are working fine too.

Wiggling my toes and hugging myself, I get reassurance that I can walk out of here at any time. That I can still move. My arm has healed at last, but I may have a limp on my leg from the shot in the thigh.

But regardless, I can move.

I breathe in, checking for life, for oxygen and I get confirmation that I am indeed alive and that I smell, the strong scent of antisceptics is pervasive. There’s little surprise in this discovery, I haven’t moved out of this room in days, not bothered to have a bath or even pursue a meal if it isn’t given.

This isn’t to say I haven’t been prodded out of here, there have been attempts. Attempts taken mostly by Rex, Austin, and I know it gets serious when Rey comes down for me.

For the most part, Rey only comes down to see me for selfish reasons, the Lieutenant has stayed up there with them, monitoring my recovery. And now that I have recovered enough to have a conversation with, he waits.

And I’m keeping him waiting.

It’s obvious what he wants to speak to me about and I know the fact that I’m keeping him waiting is only by his courtesy. If he wanted could have had me dragged out and thrown in front of him like a lump of meat.

This courtesy though, I’m not sure if it’s only because of what my answer might be, or how my powers make him and everyone else in the room vulnerable. I am not sure if he’s doing this out of respect to my name as a wanted, powerful meta-villain or if he’s only giving me the space I need after what happened.

It’s much harder to keep the sudden birth of an atmosphere in the basement when the Lieutenant is around a secret than it is to keep him waiting.

Fortunately for me, Austin was present so I wasn’t drilled too hard. Not any harder than I’d drilled myself into a mess of sobs and wails.

Holding onto the large man I told them all about it, all about Paige and her powers, all about our trust in one another.

And though I’ve long since run out of tears, I’m not done processing exactly what happened. She never mentioned it, she never even got the first sign did she?

And if she did get the sign and not tell me about it, what does that say? Why would she choose now of all times to hide the truth about what's happening? Because of me. It has to be. Because I put us in trouble. Because she knew I killed?

Shaking my head away from the thought for the hundredth time, I know it can’t be because of any of that. If she knew from the beginning what I’ve been up to, what I’d been doing to safeguard our security and safety here in Xoxia then she would have confronted me about it. Just like she did when she heard the news.

But it wasn’t even a secret I was keeping in the first place. She would understand that I got too preoccupied to tell her. And the truth is, I did get too preoccupied to confess my activities, but I get the sense that it doesn’t matter as much as the fact that I did them in the first place.

Ugh! This is getting away from me. Nothing makes sense!

But there’s the thought, the one thought that keeps me paralysed in bed.

What if...What if she never got any signs? What if that was the first?

I’ve given myself many reassurances even if this were the case, but it doesn’t hold up to what I observed. If that were the first sign it wouldn’t be so powerful, it wouldn’t crack the air, turn oxygen into ozone and streaks of lightning wouldn’t be present.

No, I’m sure of it. That moment, that was her jump to the future. Whatever time in the future that is, I’m in a hurry to meet her again.

But will I? If she had no signs before jumping then that would mean...she was running away from me.

Like she ran away from the war sixty years ago.

The only thing keeping me from running mad with anger now on that line of thought are her last words to me before the jump.

‘I’ll get stronger.’

I have little clue what she means by this, but it does sound like she isn’t running away from me. And as Austin suggested, it could mean she wants to protect me, protect me from…

I don’t need any of that. I just need her here with me, safe, sound, protected and in peace.

And to do that, I’m going to need my powers.

I still can’t put a vice on the flow of time around me, but at least now I know the reason. It’s something the Lieutenant foresaw simply from the newscasts and on meeting Austin and Rey to hear them talk about me.

On the news, the Captain’s initial address mentions that I’d gotten shot but still managed to overpower them. Unbeknownst to me or anyone around me at the time, that bullet was a delivery system for a gene manipulating chemical.

Specifically made for meta-humans. It’s the reason the world isn’t ruled by meta’s in brutal anarchy where power means all.

The Meta-gene Suppressant.

It’s classified intel on how exactly it works so all we know is that... well, it works. It makes some sense that a Captain heading an advanced squad like that would have it on hand.

The Lieutenant must have come here knowing that my powers would are suppressed and I’d be vulnerable. A good time to talk to someone you know to be cautious of.

Only he met Austin and Rey but no sign of my presence. As such, he chased after the potential powerhouse he could recruit for his gang in hopes of preventing me from leaving.

T.V must have had the same line of thought about the inactivity of my powers. Perhaps not, but for now, I can only thank the Lieutenant's greed for saving me.

I have to decide what to do next.

A familiar string of footsteps echoes through the basement. I can tell easily that Austin is coming down those steps, but I don’t predict the tall, lanky man with a cane to descend as well.

The Lieutenant.

Flanked beside him are the immediate subordinates, Rey and Austin. The man has his head facing the ceiling and a mask on as always.

The three approach me, a path is made among the injured within the basement. And like that, he’s upon me.

“Vern Braxwood.” He chimes coarsely, “I have waited enough for you to come to me, a shame that I must come to you now.”

What does that mean? A shame?

“I’m sorry.”

He raises a hand, “No, do not apologize, anyone who has something they hold dear would be sympathetic to your...loss.”

“She isn’t dead.”

He shrugs, “Oh well, the point is, I am patient, but now I must be self-serving and ask for your answer once again, what will it be, Vern Braxwood?”

Vern Braxwood. The way he utters my name….what will it be huh?

I receive no support in figuring out my answer from Rey and Austin, their faces straight and stoic. But it doesn’t matter what they think, all that matters is how I can make this place better for Paige when she comes back.

I’m not sure he can see me, but I nod. To my surprise, he answered as he would have if he had eyes on me, “Marvelous, you will need to meet with him then.”

“Him?”

Letting out a dry chuckle as he turns and walks away, he utters a single name, “Invincibill.”