It’s eight o'clock in the morning and the notification from the StarForge app, informs me my fleet was attacked by a rival faction. My defenses held but in the process, two of my frigates were taken down and needed to be salvaged. I roll my eyes and cock my head back. It’s been a long, grueling two week recovery. Being trapped in the ABI infirmary with little to do other than watch TV and play on StarForge became mind numbingly dull after the third day. I did my best to keep myself occupied, but I itched to get back in the game to finish the hunt for Veronica and Luke whose trail gone cold since their escape from the club.

The door to the infirmary opens. I glance over half expecting Keith to waltz in with his morning mocha but to my surprise Jorge enters holding two full trays of food from the cafeteria.

“Goooooodmorning, chino,” he drawls joyfully.

“Mornin’, Jorge,” I reply, sitting up on the bed. “You seem pretty cheery. How was Dawud’s services yesterday?”

“Eh, it went how a funeral should; quick and quiet. Finally glad to have his body laid to rest,” he replies. He sets one of the trays down on tray table and slides it towards the bed over my lap.

“Oh, for me?” I ask with valid surprise.

“Yeah,” he mutters as he glances around the room for a place to sit. He finds a stool on the opposite end of the room. It’s small in contrast to him but he knows it’ll have to do. He finally settles in then regains his focus on the conversation.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got you whatever...” he says with a shrug. I observe my tray of food, recognizing only two strips of bacon and soggy egg whites alongside an unidentifiable mass of gray slop over what looks like two biscuits. I glance over to Jorge’s tray, envious by his stack of golden pancakes, and seemingly endless pile of mini sausages beside it.

“Thanks,” I say, tearing off a piece of bacon and eating it.

“Don’t mention it. It’s the doctor’s orders. He wants to try and get you on your feet but he asked me to make sure you’ve eaten well beforehand.”

“Thank god,” I say with a breath of relief. “He’s had me stuck to this bed for far too long.”

“I have a question for you by the way,” says Jorge almost too casually.

“Yes?” I reply, wondering what his question could possibly be.

“Are you and the doctor fuckin’ or what?” Jorge blurts boldy. I stagger to respond, baffled by his blunt question.

“Yeah, I mean—he’s my boyfriend if that’s what you mean…” I reply awkwardly.

“Oh, so it’s like that,” he says with an intrigued pout.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh, Pyrrha picked up on some subtle energies between you two, but she was too timid to bring it up so she asked if I could confirm.”

“Pyrrha,” I scoff. “How is she doing by the way? Normally she comes down here to visit me but yesterday she didn’t.”

Jorge shrugs. “She’s been a bit quiet since the services. I think she needed a little space is all.”

Keith enters the through the infirmary double doors. In one hand, a cup of coffee from the local cafe and in the other his holo-phone.

“Good morning you two,” he says. “Thanks for picking up some food for Ayden, Jorge.”

“It was no sweat,” he replies, bouncing his eyebrows playfully. Keith squints suspiciously, then quickly shrugs off his action. He places his cup of coffee and phone down on my tray table temporarily so he could remove his satchel. I glance down at his screen which is left on the ANN newsletter app.

‘Cain ahead of Senator Guzman by three points according to new popularity poll’ reads one of the articles. I try to read more but the overuse of political jargon confuses me, and I lose interest after the first few sentences.

“So you’re going to get me off this bed today?” I ask Keith.

“All depends,” he replies, settling in at his desk and taking out his medical tablet from his satchel.

“Well, I’ve been ready to go over a week ago.”

“I’m sure you thought…” he replies with a playful roll of his eyes. “You were barely recognizable when they brought you to the surface. For a minute, I legitimately thought Jorge was carrying your bloody corpse that night.”

“Yeah, man,” reconfirms Jorge. He smacks my arm with the back of his hand. “You can’t scare the doctor like that. He was worried about you.”

“Well not just him, I was worried about you and Pyrrha as well. None of you came out of that club looking the same from when you entered.”

“Well, having to kill your close friend tends to change people…” Jorge replies without missing a beat. Keith remains quiet, baffled by his comment. Jorge bows his head and blinks a few times, having realized how off-putting his statement is.

“Ah, I’m sorry you two…” he apologizes with a slight sniffle. “I’m gonna go now.”

“Wait, Jorge—” I begin to say, but he tunes out my voice, collects his tray, and barges out of the infirmary with a solid kick to the door which leaves a fairly noticeable dent in the steel.

“Dammit…” I swear under my breath. I turn to Keith who shares the same look of concern as me.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” he says regretfully.

“It’s okay, it's not your fault,” I reassure him. “I think everyone’s a little one edge right now.”

“Well, let’s try and get you out of bed. Give the team something good to think about.”

He scans my entire body with his medical tablet then helps me sit up. I stretch legs before hopping off onto the floor.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“Great!” I answer, kissing him firmly on the lips.

“Gosh, you made it seem like you were tied to the bed,” he chuckles.

“With chains and locks…” I reply. “I’m going to go and shower and get out of these scratchy scrubs.”

“Alright, I’ll be here—so come back soon,” Keith smirks. He strokes the side of my cybernetic limb and bats his eyes flirtatiously. An involuntary, pleasurable chill runs down my spine. I reach around to his backside and give it a good squeeze.

“Alright, doctor,” I grin. I leave the infirmary into the corridor. The locker room isn’t far but I detour to the barracks to get some fresh threads. As I continue my walk down the hall I get another ping from my cybernetic. I check the notification. It’s StarForge again, two more rival factions attacked my base and this time my fleet didn’t hold up. I cave, and open the application. I quickly tend to the needs of my fleet. Ordering my depots to construct more battlecruisers then sending a salvage team to collect the remains of my destroyed ships to offset the cost of materials it will cost to replace them. From the corner of my eye, I see the Captain walking in the opposite direction checking her cybernetic.

“Morning, Captain,” I say. She looks up.

“Hello, Ayden. It’s good to see you,” she says with a half-smile. She toggles her cybernetic off but before the screen closes I catch a glimpse Dawud’s photograph beside a lengthy chart.

“What were you reading?” I ask, subtly gesturing to her arm.

“Oh… um, just a report on Dawud,” she replies, she glances around the hallway. “Why don’t we step into my office? We can talk there.”

I raise an eyebrow with skepticism but follow her to her office nearby.

“Close the door behind you,” she says as we settle in. I take a moment to gaze at her decor and organizational skills. It’s no wonder the Captain always kept her office locked. Everything in the room from the paintings on the wall to the pens on her desk are placed symmetrical with one another. If you were to cut the room directly in the middle starting from the door, you would get two identical halves. Elnora takes a seat at her desk but I stand nervously with my arms close to my body.

“It’s okay you can sit down,” she says. I carefully pull out the seat opposite of her and sit in the leather surface. She then opens the hidden file from her cybernetic and displays it to me to see. At first glance it looks like Dawud’s dossier with his current description at the top but as I continue to read, I realize it is an autopsy report from an EvGeni pathologist. My eyes narrow and I look to the Captain for an explanation.

“Why do you have this?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“Doctor Summers reached out to me shortly after Dawud’s death. She had requested an autopsy on the downlow to confirm a suspicion she had,” she replies. “Apparently she’d been observing his mental health along with other Kinetics for quite some time and suspects that Dawud’s bipolarism were stemmed by an overuse of the antidepressant, Serodyx.”

She points to a small snippet of information towards the bottom of Dawud’s autopsy report. It’s the toxicology analysis. According to results, Dawud was taking fifty times the recommended dosage of prescription SSRI antidepressants and had a point zero three blood alcohol content.

“At first I was unsure but then I did the research. I pulled up everything I could find about Mnemokinetics, studied influenced behavior, and rewatched hours of security footage. Dawud definitely wasn’t influenced when I saw him attack you and Pyrrha that night. He was fully conscious. Had he been influenced, he would have simply snapped your neck without hesitation.”

I mull over her words carefully. Even with the evidence right in front of me a gut feeling tells me this is all just mad speculation and to trust Connor’s statement. Elnora furrows her brows.

“Why are you looking to me like that? Like I’m bat-shit crazy or something?”

I shrug. “I don’t know... I thought the same thing too but what about Connor's statement?”

“Fuck Connor’s statement!” says the Captain. “It’s obvious he was lying!”

“Lying? What possibly could he gain from lying now that he’s in custody?”

She pauses briefly, takes a deep breath to simmer down and then exhales. “Ayden, I’ve been researching this for a while now. I’ve watched Connor’s interrogation at least a hundred times. You of all people should understand, especially since you took Serodyx because of your vivid nightmares.”

Pyrrha’s advice two weeks ago comes to thought and I sigh with dread. “It’s funny you mention that...”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“I had my memories of Red August wiped days before joining the task force. Since then, I’ve been recollected little moments of that day. My mother abandoned me, and when I went after her I found her wearing the mask of Lupo…”

“But it was never discovered who detonated the bombs on Red August...” the Captain comments.

“I know! That’s why it’s been troubling me for these last two weeks!” I say hysterically.

“Well, what do you believe?”

“I don’t know!” I reply. “I don’t want to believe it was her but…”

Elnora shoots a look of concern. I can see the cogs begin churn in her head. She quickly opens her cybernetic. Hours of footage of the old Metro Station project from her arm.

“What’s the matter?”

“You said that you saw your mom wearing the mask before blowing up the explosion. Where were you before she left?” she asks.

“The main terminal... I think…”

The Captain filters through the footage reels, selecting only the ones relevant to her search.

“What did she look like?”

“My mom…” I say softly. “She had bright red hair that day. She was wearing a black dress.”

“I found her. I think…” says the Captain with a hint of uncertainty. “Take a look at this.”

She turns her cybernetic to me. On her display a security footage still of the Grand Metro Station terminal. There among the hundreds of bystanders is a clear video of my mom standing by the FNBC ATM. My heart drops. It’s exactly how I remember it.

“You recognize this don’t you?”

“Yes…” I shakily reply.

“Tell me what happened next.”

“My mom sent me to the vending machine over there to get a soda. Then when I came back she was gone and heading back to the platform.”

The Captain forwards the video footage. I watch my mom rapidly pace back and forth, her hands waving aggressively in the air as she likely argued with the person on the phone. I see myself in the background, reaching for the vending buttons. Then all that fury within my mother disappears. Her body becomes relaxed, she rests her phone to the side then power walks straight for the platform before disappearing off screen.

“Hm,” says the Captain curiously. She rewinds the video and rewatches my mother transition from flustered to relaxed once more. I quickly pick up on her astute observation.

“She didn’t forget about me… she was influenced...!”

“Yeah… that’s definitely influenced behavior...” the Captain confirms. “It’s obvious Veronica couldn’t do this. So this means there is another Mnemokinetic amidst using Veronica as a front to carry out their deeds.”

“Why kill all those people just to fake one little girl’s death? It’s excessive! And how did my mother get involved in all this?!” I exclaim hysterically. My heart aches.

“Well let's focus on what we know,” the Captain says calmly, sensing the distress in my voice. “We know there’s another Mnemokinetic. We know this person older, since they’re able to orchestrate the bombing. This person also knew about Veronica and her powers; and were able to easily acquire her medical bracelet to plant in the platform. There has to be another reason why the bombing took place other than her. It’s relatively easy to fake your own death, and it can be done without blowing up a train station.”

“I can’t think of anything,” I grunt. “The more we talk about this, the more my mind drifts back to Connor…”

Elnora raises an eyebrow. “You seem pretty fixated on Connor's story despite the evidence I’ve provided.”

“Yeah, the Prime Minister insisted that was the truth. It’s what he told everyone...”

The two of us look at one another with sudden revelation.

“It’s Cain…” says the Captain. “He influenced you three to believe Dawud was brainwashed. That’s why you can’t shake that gut feeling about Connor. Cain was covering his ass to preserve his reputation. If the truth about Dawud surfaced, it would’ve destroyed his credibility.”

I tremble within my skin, speechless and appalled. A hollow feeling forms in my heart. I can feel it expanding, numbing my senses. I make a fist. All I can think about is wrapping my hands around Cain’s fat neck and squeezing until his eyes burst from their sockets.

“Ayden, I know that look. I know you’re hurt but we need to move. It’s not safe to talk here further.”

I blink and take a deep breath. The two of us leave her office together. The Captain locks her office door, then we walk down the hallway towards the elevator. I cut a quick glance to the infirmary as we pass it. She shakes her head.

“There’s no time...”

We take the elevator up to the parking garage. Captain Elnora summons one of the parked SUVs and the two of us travel out of the ABI Headquarters.

“What are we going to do?” I ask as we enter the freeway on ramp towards downtown Capitala.

“We can’t trust anyone. We don’t know how deeply rooted his influential network is. For now we need to lay low until we come up with a plan and find someone we can trust.”

“What about the DSSO? I doubt he has any rapport with them.”

“Yeah, let me just contact the Fleet Admiral on his private comm channel right now,” she replies sarcastically. I pull out my cybernetic and access my contacts list for Doctor Hsu’s number.

“Don’t worry. I got the next best thing,” I say as I call her.

“Hey, Ayden. Is everything alright?” answers Doctor Hsu.

“Not really,” I reply. “It’s important that Captain Elnora and I speak to you ASAP. Can we come by your office?”

“Sure, but you’re worrying me. What’s going on?”

“We’d rather talk about it when we get there. We should be there in about twenty minutes maybe.”

Elnora floors the pedal and recklessly cuts over two lanes into the fast lane. I clutch the strap to my seatbelt, hanging on for dear life.

“Maybe sooner,” I say and then disconnect.

The Captain and I meet with Doctor Hsu at the front desk, and the three of us travel to her office.

“So what’s going on? Why the urgency?” asks Doctor Hsu as she takes a seat on her lounge chair.

“Ma’am, we have reason to believe the Prime Minister is secretly a Mnemokinetic who staged the Red August bombing and is using Veronica to carry out more attacks,” she replies in one breath. They exchange silent gazes briefly.

“I suppose you have the evidence to support these claims, correct?”

“Not exactly compelling evidence but we have pieced together enough to suspect the Prime Minister is a Mnemokinetic who has tampered with evidence, starting with Dawud’s death.”

Elnora opens up the autopsy report on her cybernetic and shows them to the doctor. She skims over the file then thoroughly reads the highlighted footnote summarizing everything we’ve discovered.

“Hm, who’da thought Doctor Irish coffee would be the one to uncover a conspiracy such as this,” says Doctor Hsu with a shrug. “I’m convinced, but we’ll need more concrete evidence to support these allegations.”

“We understand, but with the DSSO’s support we could bring Cain into custody for questioning and get the truth out.”

“Except the DSSO has no jurisdiction on this planet anymore, remember?” replies Doctor Hsu with a condescending tone. I can see Elnora physically bite her tongue inside her mouth.

“But I’ll help you anyway, we’ll consider it an anonymous tip. If you two get everything started, I’ll ensure the DSSO gives you full support. Do you have a plan of action?”

“It’s nothing fancy. I was going to go straight to Cain’s office and make the arrest. My cybernetic brain should prevent any potential influential attempts.”

“That’s not going to work,” says Doctor Hsu with a huff. “If Cain is truly a Mnemokinetic, a direct assault isn’t going to work because he’ll always be a step ahead if he goes in for interrogation. We need to target his network. A man with power like him is bound to have friends who are not subjugated by his will.”

“So take Director York in for questioning?” I ask.

“No. Not him. I’m talking about Doctor Carrington. They’ve been close since Cain was first elected.”

“Why him?” asks the Captain.

“I know what makes him tick,” replies Doctor Hsu with a confident grin. “He’ll crack like an egg before we even ask him the first question.”

We travel to the Wharf District on the West side of town where Doctor Carrington lives. Tension runs high between the three of us. Doctor Hsu contacts the Fleet Admiral and fills him in on her intentions. Without doubt, the Fleet Admiral agrees to our claims, offering his support if things fall through. Doctor Hsu parks her SUV on the driveway leading to his luxurious coastline manor.

The three of us approach the front patio. Doctor Hsu peeks through the side window before pounding on the door with her fist. We wait. A few moments pass with no response. Doctor Hsu rings the doorbell and knocks on the door again. It opens slightly and a young woman’s head pokes out timidly.

“Hello, I my name is Jennifer Hsu. I work with Doctor Carrington. I need to speak with him urgently. May I come in?”

“He’s busy and not accepting visitors at this time,” the young lady replies. She goes to shut the door but Doctor Hsu abruptly stops her.

“I’m sure he isn’t, but this is important.”

“We’re with the ABI,” interjects the Captain. She flashes her badge. “We just have a few questions to ask him.”

The young woman stares at Captain Elnora with clear reluctance, then opens the door. We enter the manor’s elegant foyer. In the center of the walkway is lavish oak table with a bouquet of carnations resting on top in a ceramic vase. Illuminating the pink flowers is a gorgeous crystal chandelier. The young woman shows us to an entertainment room nearby.

“Take a seat here. I’ll get Doctor Carrington right now.”

With a bow, the young lady leaves into the next room. We’re all too anxious to sit. I keep myself occupied and view Carrington’s photographs displayed on a shelf near a vintage music disk player. A lot of the photos were of the doctor beside powerful looking figureheads; none of which that I recognized except for a few with Doctor Hsu and one other with Keith’s mother and him. In another photo is the same background but instead of Kim and Keith it’s two older people who closely resemble them in some familiar way.

“Those are Keith’s grandparents, Amber and Kyle Rae,” Doctor Hsu says from behind me. “Though you may have heard Keith call them by G-ma and G-pa. This photo was taken at the sixth annual Gifted Veterans Gala. Kim Rae was our guest entertainer for that night and helped raise the hospital five hundred thousand credits for our fundraiser.”

I hear the young woman’s footsteps and we all turn around. She returns balancing a tray with a silver kettle on top. I notice her awkward method of holding the tray. Rather than use both provided handles, she instead holds one while supporting the other side at the bottom while using a white cloth to cover her hand.

“He’ll be down in a moment,” she says. “Please, help yourself to some tea while you wait. I hope you like Arcathian Marigolds.”

I look to her with a suspicious gaze and she notices. She adjusts her grip on the tray, and then I hear the faint sound of a priming energy gun. She flings the tray and kettle at the unsuspecting Doctor Hsu narrowly missing her face then fires her concealed weapon. The Captain quickly fires back with her sidearm. The bullet rips through her shoulder and she collapses to the ground writhing in pain. The Captain kicks her handgun aside, before cuffing the young woman.

“Are you alright, Doc?” I ask. Doctor Hsu gazes at the dark stain on her white lab coat as if it were the last coat in the entire world.

“I’m fine,” she replies. “She fired. Anyone see where…?”

Her face becomes pale white. I look down to my arm and I notice a faint trail of smoke rising from my shoulder. I stare at the hole in my flesh with paralyzing astonishment.

“Ayden, stay calm,” says Doctor Hsu.

“I am calm!” I reply, my voice cracking slightly. My damaged nerves finally register the pain and I become light headed. I take a seat on an ottoman. Doctor Hsu gets to work gathering the necessary first aid items from her medical kit attached to her waist. She tears off my sleeve to gain better access to my entire arm then cleans the outer part with an antiseptic wipe then slaps a glob of mediform after.

“You’re gonna be alright. It’s not as bad as it looks,” Doctor Hsu says encouragingly.

“Where’s Carrington?” asks the Captain to the young woman.

“I… can’t… tell you…” she grimaces. The Captain huffs and then cuffs the young woman’s ankles together.

“Lets search this place and find that bastard,” says the Doctor. “I know he’s still here hiding somewhere.”

We split up in the large manor. Captain Elnora takes the lower level while Doctor Hsu and I divide the upper level. I stroll around the empty unfamiliar hallways, searching within rooms that all look alike. I look to a door at the end of the hall, it’s the last one to search. I grip the crystal doorknob but before I give it a twist, I recognize faint opera music from the other side. I open the door cautiously to a small studio. Mounted on the walls are lots of old fashioned records and disks posted beside their associated album covers. Off to the side is a towering in-wall display shelf stacked to the brim with Carrington’s collection of albums and assorted music disks. I open the door further and my eyes fall upon a horrific scene. I found him, slumped over in a leather lounge recliner with an energy pistol lying on his lap. I take a deep breath of air.

“I found him!” I shout. Rage consumes me. The guilty bastard knew something and he took the easy way out. I want to bring him back just to kill him myself. Doctor Hsu comes up from behind and gasps in disbelief. Elnora catches up then expresses her own disappointment after seeing Carrington’s corpse.

“What the fuck do we do now?” I ask.

“We search for evidence,” replies Doctor Hsu. “Captain, I found a terminal in his office down the hall. Want to go and take a whack at it?”

“I’ll do more than just that,” she sneers then heads down the hall in the opposite direction. Doctor Hsu carefully inspects Carrington’s body.

“The pistol is still radiating heat. He did it when we were downstairs.”

She bows her head and rubs her eyes into her sleeve.

“You okay?” I ask.

“I joined Richard on his dream to help make the world a better place for the Gifted. To provide healthcare to a vastly growing population and help aleve the stigma against them. I can’t help but feel responsible in some way. Maybe I’d paid attention more… I could’ve seen this coming...”

“It’s not your fault. No one could have seen this coming,” I console her.

The music player transitions to the next song. The song gradually builds up slowly with a duet of impressive vocals. Doctor Hsu shakes her head.

“Can you turn that off? Please? I can’t hear myself think.”

“Hold on a sec,” I say. “I recognize this song.”

“Yeah, it’s Flower Duet from Lakmé. It’s the cliché of cliché of opera music…”

“No… from something else... I think Veronica was humming this song at the nightclub.”

My heart begins to pound I my chest from the sudden rush of adrenaline. I frantically look around the room in search of something but I couldn’t tell what.

“Ayden what are you looking for?”

“Veronica’s here. I feel it,” I reply. I continue to search the room for any sign of her. My eyes fall upon the display shelf and near the middle level are two miniature wolf statuettes seemingly out of place amongst the rows of albums. I take a closer look. Both are welded from a worked metal and perched on a glossy wooden stand on both ends of the same shelf.

“Ayden, what are you talking about?” Asia Doctor Hsu.

I don't know how to explain what I’m feeling. It’s almost instinctual like breathing yet strangely foreign at the same time. It’s like a reliable hunch. I know Veronica is in this room. I inspect the wolves closer but as I go to pick one up it barely budged, connected somehow. I notice slightly curved scratches beneath the wooden stand that form a near perfect circle. I twist the statuette one hundred eighty degrees until it stops then the same for the other. The wall creates a churning sound that travels through the room. The shelf moves into the wall to reveal a hidden metal doorway.

“What in Fortuna’s name…” gasps Doctor Hsu. Doctor Hsu takes a peek through a small, rectangular slot on the door. “Someone’s in there!”

“Is it Veronica?”

I take a look inside and see Veronica lying motionless on a bed in a small concrete room. I shake the door to get her attention but she doesn’t seem to notice us.

“It’s locked by a key panel. Let’s get—”

I impatiently fold the door in half like a taco with my mind then climb over.

“Veronica!” I exclaim.

“Ayden! Be careful!” exclaims Doctor Hsu. I observe my surroundings, faint details come to recollection from the recesses of my mind. I vaguely remember seeing this place before. Then a baby’s coo brings both Jennifer and I to silence. I look over to a bassinet placed on the other end of the room away from Veronica. There is an engraving on the side of the wooden frame.

“McKenzie…”

My heart races. I remember that name. It was the Prime Minister’s daughter. At first it doesn’t make sense, then it hits me as I gaze upon the infant's dark hair and blue eyes. It is the ulterior motive behind the Red August bombing that the Captain and I were searching for. Cain couldn’t bring his family back from the dead, so he created another in its likeness. I feel awful for her. To be locked away for all these years at the mercy of that fat bastard. I have to get her and her child out of here. I reach into the bassinet and carefully lift the baby out. She becomes fussy, crying bloody murder directly into my ear.

“Put the baby down now,” says someone from behind. Their voice is smooth as silk and I immediately know who they are.

“Director York,” I snarl. “I’m not surprised you’re involved in all this too.”

“Shut up. Do as I say or I’ll kill the doctor,” he threatens. I hear the sound of a priming gun then a disgruntled grunt from Doctor Hsu.

“That’s it. Nice and slow,” says Director York as I gently put the baby back in the crib. “Now keep your back turned to me. I know how your powers work, Kinetic boy.”

“It’s safe to assume you’re not like the influenced, are you?” I ask.

“You don’t get to ask questions, kid. If you as much peep or make any sudden moves, I’ll redecorate the walls with her brains.”

“Now now, York. You shouldn’t let anger consume you,” says the Prime Minister from afar. The floor freaks under his immense weight and suddenly the air fills with his uncharming aroma. “We have them where we need them.”

I hold my tongue, resisting the urge to kill them both.

“Ayden, my boy. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“About what exactly? The fact you’re a Mnemokinetic? That you staged the bombing? Or that you held a little girl captive against her will so you can play house?”

“It wasn’t just for Veronica. It was about getting ahead. The planet needed a leader, one who wouldn’t fail like mine did during the invasion. So I did what I had to do to get the support from the people.”

“By fear mongering?” scoffs Doctor Hsu.

“Absolutely. With the mega corporation, Hauteclaire Steel, out of the picture, the people had nothing to fear and got too comfortable with their easy way of living. So I created Lupo to shock the people back into reality, and remind them monsters still lurk in the shadows.”

“You should probably tell them you’re the monster in the shadows…” says Doctor Hsu.

“And I guess what Veronica was saying about you being a wolf in sheep skin wasn’t far off at all…”

“Of course it wasn’t. It is easy to deny the truth when shouted from the rooftops by a madman. Which made selling Lupo as a terrorist most effortless.”

“So how’d you manage to keep your gift a secret all these years?” asks Doctor Hsu.

“Interesting question, Doctor. My gift is virtually undetectable. It was discovered later in my life moments after the invasion when I had used my newfound powers on an unsuspecting pilot. The drawback is any command I give must be oral and my victims may experience mild fits of anger. Watch. Oh, Veronica,”

From the corner of my eye I see Veronica sit up from her bed.

“Be a good girl and get baby McKenzie for me.”

“Yes, daddy,” she replies obediently. She passes me to retrieve the baby from the crib. I can see the tired, dead look in her eyes. A husk of a human who never got to experience her own life.

“It took years to mold her into the ideal woman. She’s had some slip ups in character now and then but nobody’s perfect.”

“You’re sick!” exclaims Doctor Hsu. Veronica takes the baby to the Prime Minister who coddles her with baby talk as if everything is normal.

“Call me what you will… titles do not bother me.”

He pauses momentarily, I can feel his gaze burning a hole in the back of my head.

“A tattoo to remember your mother and surrogate father?” he asks in a pitiful tone. “I hate to inform you but your mother was nothing but a wretched scoundrel who wanted nothing to do with you.”

“Ayden, don’t listen to him. He’s obviously influencing you!” exclaims Doctor Hsu.

“Quite the contrary, actually. His mother was fully aware of her role,” Cain replies. “I can read your mind, boy. I know you itch to learn how and why your mother was involved.”

“Fuck you,” I curse, though he couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Funny. You’re mother said those exact words to me before I sent her off to blow up the station,” he snickers deviously. “You were an unwanted pregnancy, boy. She told me that in confidence when we first met. You were the result of a home invasion by a serial rapist. Your mother wanted to terminate you but a lack of proper healthcare, and conservative laws prevented her from following through. I promised her changes if I were elected Prime Minister, and she ate it up. But she eventually became overconfident, thought she could extort me for more money to accommodate her new lifestyle. So I had to remove her from the equation and tie up loose ends. But fear not, my boy. Her death was not in vain. Her sacrifice helped me win the elections and she gave me the most resilient Kinetic I could ever hope for…”

It takes all I have to suck back the frustration boiling within me. I hardly know what’s true anymore and I become overwhelmed by a fury of emotions.

“...Don't be upset, my boy. You won’t remember any of this when I’m done with you. As for you, Doctor. You’ve been a thorn in my side for quite some time, but with Doctor Carrington having retired unexpectedly, I suppose I can make room for you as my family’s new private physician.”

“Rat bastard! I’ll—!”

“Sleep…” he says, then a loud thump as her body hits the floor like a rock. It happens so fast, a lot faster than Veronica could ever. I shut my eyes and brace for the inevitable blackout but a sudden defeating bang rips through the air. York gasps then falls to the floor with a thud.

“Who in the—ELNORA!” exclaims the Prime Minister. I seize the opportunity and whip around, summoning every ounce of mental strength for a kinetic push.

“This is for Petyr!” I exclaim and hurl the powerful surge of kinetic energy forward. The impact tears into his skin and shreds small layers of fabric from his clothes. He crashes through the wall behind him like a human wrecking ball and plummets into the Capitala bay below. When the dust settles only baby McKenzie’s distressed wails could be heard.

“Holy shit! Ayden, are you alright?” asks the Captain.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” I reply, catching my breath. She and I both rush to Doctor Hsu to wake her. Director York grovels on the ground, reaching for his dropped gun but I swipe it from him. He looks up to me, grabbing his bloody abdomen.

“He was trying to protect the people of this planet,” he says with a shaky breath. “He wanted to prevent another catastrophe like the invasion.”

“By killing his people? Sure,”

“Ayden! The Prime Minister!” shouts Doctor Hsu as she comes to.

“It’s alright,” I say. “It’s alright…”

Her weary eyes wander around the room, observing the devastation with awe. She looks to Veronica and her crying child.

“We need to get her help,” she says. “We need to get the word out. Tell the world what he happened.”

“Already done,” the Captain says with a wide grin. She taps the side of her head. “I recorded Cain’s little monologue to the ANN newspage. Everyone will know what he’s done.”

I take a seat on the floor, relaxed with my legs out. I admire the hole in the wall, listening to the tranquil crashes of the ocean tide and taking in the bay breeze. I finally feel at peace. Although, I can’t say I feel the same way about my mother. I glance down to my tattoo and reflect on what Cain told me.

It stings.

But rather than dwell and obsess over the past like Cain, I look ahead. I have people who care about me as much as I do them. They’re my family now, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without their love and support.