Chapter 36: What is, what was, what will be.

Jack‘s vision was as dark as night. Melissa’s hand covered his eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked again.

Jack tried to pry her fingers loose, but she clutched his face with a force that only a Reinforcer could manage, almost to the point of pain. Jack tried to remove her hand, using both of his own in an attempt to lift her one, but all he did was make her grab at him tighter. He even tried to duck and squirm, but she followed along with his motion, handling him like a child.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” the voice of Cemmera said. Jack could hear her just fine though, and from the sounds of things, she was walking towards where Andy was secured with the other two Psychs.

“Paro!” Jack yelled. “If you really want me to be part of this team, then stop trying to baby me. Tell Melissa to let me go.”

There was a moment of silence, and all Jack could hear was the occasional shifting of feet, his vision still covered in darkness.

“Let go of him, Melissa,” Paro commanded.

The hand on Jack’s face pressed tighter. “Jack’s not ready to see this, we can’t let him—”

“That’s an order,” Paro interrupted. All at once Melissa removed her hand and let go of him. She didn’t look happy, but neither did the rest of the team for that matter. Sarah was once again sitting on the floor, weeping quietly into her sleeve.

“At least we saved one,” she said with a resigned sigh.

Cemmera, Neil, and the Kinetics were hovering over the pinned Ruin and Requiem. The two Psychs had a look of fear, though overshadowed by a tremendous glare of defiance. They did not avert their eyes while the four peered down at them.

“I won’t hold them in place,” Paro said. “If you’re going to do this, you do it alone.”

One of the Kinetics, Joseph, if Jack recalled correctly, seemed to grow excited upon hearing this. “Good,” he said. “It looks like my brother and I get a small taste of the kill after all.” He licked his lips, kneeling down with his brother, carrying a look of hunger mixed with lust.

“Melissa,” Jack said. “What do they mean by that? He said he’s gonna get a ‘taste of the kill.’”

“Do you remember what we told you about the Op. teams, Jack?”

“Well, yeah, but we captured the three of them. They’re not really going to kill them, right? They were too late, so now we gotta take them back to H.Q, just like we said we would.”

Michael walked over to Jack on unsteady feet. He wasn’t limping as bad as Paro, but he was definitely not at ease. He put a reassuring arm on Jack’s shoulder. “This is the way it works sometimes, bud. Are you sure you wanna watch this?”

Jack shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the growing confusion. “Wait, we’re going to allow this? This is just a joke to scare them, yeah? We’d never actually let these creeps kill them, right?”

Sarah stood to her feet and joined Michael in embracing Jack. She rested her chin on the back of his neck and hugged him with tears moist in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We saved Andy, but we were too late for the other two. They’ve got signed kill orders. There’s nothing we can do at this point. The only reason we’re still here is to ensure they aren’t tortured. It’s against the law, but Op. teams do it anyway.”

Jack felt a tremor of nausea travel the distance from his feet to his eyes, creeping along his body in a cascading wave. It had nothing to do with the power he still held—it was a sickening feeling of realization, as he allowed Sarah’s words to dawn on him.

“I still don’t understand, Sarah. We captured them. How can they be killing them right in front of us? You told me that if we captured them then they wouldn’t have to die!”

Jack felt the back of his neck grow moist from Sarah’s tears. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do anymore. It’s the law, and it’s one that we don’t have the power or authority to change. We can’t stop these four now. The fate of their lives is up to the discretion of the Op. team now.”

“So you’re saying it’s their choice?”

“Yes, Jack. It’s their choice, and they’re intent on killing those two.”

Jack gently leaned away from Sarah and looked at the four Psychs of the Op. team. They were smiling while they prepared to slaughter their two captured victims.

“Hey!” Jack called to them. “You, Cemmera, answer me!”

Cemmera turned to Jack with a look of annoyance. “What do you want now, Harris? I’m not sharing the kill with you—you can forget it. If you want a piece of this you need to join our Op. team. We’ve got a spot open for a Path, and seeing as how you can technically be anything, I’d take ya. Hell, if you’d sign a contract right now, I’d even give you the kill of your choice. One’s still mine, though, hopefully the boy.”

It took Jack a moment to take in her words. He wasn’t sure if she was being serious. Realizing that her words were genuine, Jack filled with disgust.

“These are people we’re talking about, Cemmera. They’re not animals. Why are you going to kill them? They can’t hurt anybody anymore, we’ve captured them.”

Cemmera looked at him as if his question was among the dumbest ever asked, which was almost funny to Jack, because in his life he’d asked quite a few of those.

“I’m sorry, what?” Cemmera asked. “I don’t get the question. You’re saying why we shouldn’t kill them, or why we should?”

Jack tried to hold his temper. “I’m asking you why you’re going to kill them. I don’t understand it. They’ve already been stopped.”

Cemmera scratched her head. “Well, because if I don’t kill them, then I’m going to have to go yet another day without a kill … Did you hit your head or something, Harris?”

Only then did it dawn on Jack. Standing before the four members of the Op. team, he came to understand the truth of what these people were. “You … you enjoy this?”

Cemmera tilted her head to the sky and laughed. “Of course! We live for the hunt. We would even die for the hunt. Get with the program, kid. Now, my offer still stands—do you want in on this or not?”

Jack’s only response was to raise an extended palm and ready himself for yet another attack on Cemmera. Before he could so much as lift his arm above his waist, Melissa was already standing beside him with a firm grasp on his opened hand.

“Don’t even think about it,” she hissed. “You’ll be sentenced to death for something like that.”

“You attacked them earlier,” Jack argued. “All of a sudden they’re good guys now?”

“That was different, Jack,” Sarah said. “What happened back at your house will probably turn into an unresolved dispute, one that will carry on into our higher courts for years before being chalked up to error on both ends and discarded. If you attack them here and now, while in the middle of an operation in progress, with targets only inches from them, then you’ll be in more trouble than we can get you out of.”

Jack moaned with the emotion building inside of him. “So we have to just stand here and watch? We’re going to let them just kill people for no damn reason!”

“No one said it was going to be easy,” Paro said. His eyes were downcast and he had a look of defeat on his face, one that had nothing to do with the beating he’d received from the roof-beams collapsing on him.

“Alright, I can’t wait any longer. You got em pinned, boys?” Cemmera beamed delight when the two Telekinetics nodded.

The change happened in an instant. One moment, Ruin and Requiem were gazing at Cemmera in defiance, their eyes declaring a wordless challenge. An instant later, with almost no transition, the reality of the situation finally dawned on them. In the time it takes for a balloon to pop when pierced or the light to fade after flicking a switch, their eyes changed from defiant to terrified, knowing their lives were only moments from ending.

“Ruin, Darling, they are serious, aren’t they?” Requiem asked.

Ruin did not answer. His maddened and twisted expression faded in its entirety, leaving like it had never been there. Jack had only ever seen two looks on the young Kinetic. He’d seen his carefree and cheerful side, and more recently, he’d seen a madness that rivaled his sister’s. Now, there was none of either. There was only the face of a young man, likely only a year or two older than Jack, coming to realize that his life was about to be snuffed out of him.

Requiem struggled against the force of the two Telekinetics holding her down, unable to so much as wiggle a finger.

“I see what she’s trying to do,” Cemmera said. She laughed. “Jason, Daniel, let her, please. It will make this so much more fun.”

The Kinetics grinned and Jack thought he could see the way their Telekinesis shifted, allowing Requiem to move her arm. Reaching out, she grasped her brother’s hand, holding it deep into her own, gripping it tightly.

She looked past the four members of the Op. team, past Paro, past Melissa, past Jack and Michael, to land her eyes on Sarah’s. Her madness was not gone, but it did seem to fade a little, making room for her own terror.

“Darling,” she said with a shaking, fear-ridden voice. She even seemed to be panting as she spoke, her words coming out in small shivers. “D-Darling, didn’t you s-say that we could surrender, yes? Please, I am s-sorry, th-that I did not listen earlier. We can go now, yes? Please, yes? We can go, Darling, yes? You will take us home, yes?”

Sarah shook and turned away from the girl, grabbing Michael and weeping. “Don’t look, sweetie,” he said holding her tight. “Don’t look.” It was almost the exact same words Melissa had said to Jack earlier.

Jack did not move or speak. He was too shocked to do either. The sounds of Requiem’s pleas grabbed at him, tugging on his heart far more tightly than Melissa’s grip on his hand.

Is this really happening? Jack thought. Are we really allowing this?

“Flip him,” Cemmera commanded. Ruin was lifted into the air, spinning over, and coming to land on his back.

“Sister,” he whispered. “Sister!” he yelled. “SISTER!” he screamed.

Cemmera sat on his chest and Jack realized that at that moment she looked far more mad and twisted than the two Psychs ever could. Her grin spread across her entire face, enveloping her. Cemmera’s pleasure was evident in her moaning sighs, while she removed a knife of her own from her pocket. “I’m getting personal with this one.” She let out another laugh.

Requiem cried as her face was kinetically turned and she was forced to watch. The sound she made was sickening. Jack felt, more than he heard her cries. It pierced his heart, stabbed at his soul. “Ah! Ah!” Requiem cried, and Jack assumed she was no longer able to form words. Tears began to fall from her face.

“AH! AHH! No, p-p-please!” Requiem begged. “I’ll stop, we’ll stop, I promise. Please, we’re sorry. Sarah!” she called. “Sarah, we’re sorry!”

“Aww,” Cemmera teased. “I wonder how many people asked you the same thing. Stupid kids, thinking you’re so powerful just cause you’re Psychs. Now look at ya, sucks don’t it?”

With that, clutching the knife in both hands, she brought it down on Ruin’s chest. Blood splattered out of his open wound. The man—no, the boy—gurgled a cry. He kicked once, then twice, and then stopped moving. Just like that, he was dead. There were no last words—there was no last anything. In the blink of an eye, his life was extinguished.

“NO!” Requiem howled, “No, No, Oh no!”

“Let her go,” Cemmera said, still straddling the lifeless Ruin. Requiem stood to her feet and jumped on top of her brother as Cemmera got off him. “Good work, boys.” Cemmera said, licking the blood off her knife. She sang and danced. “We got him, we got him, oh yeah, yeah, we got him. Go team!”

Requiem grabbed her brother by the shoulders. She spoke fast, almost too fast to understand her frantic words. “Oh, you’re just pretending, right, Darling?” She patted her brother’s head. “Of course you are, stop sleeping, Darling. Open your eyes now, okay? I’m here, that’s it, that’s it, that’s it, yes now, yes, okay yes, okay, Darling, open your eyes. Ruin … My brother! My friend! Oh, please, Ruin, please, open your eyes! Stop sleeping now, Daddy’s going to be home and he won’t want to see us. Please, Ruin, please just open your eyes one more time for me, Darling. Oh, Ruin, oh please!”

There was a shriek, an inhuman wail of the purest agony and pain, so loud that not even a bomb could overpower its massive sound. She rolled over on her back, and for a moment Jack thought the Kinetics were pinning her down again, but looking into her eyes, Jack could see he was wrong. They were watching her like she was some kind of circus animal, enjoying every moment.

“NO!” Requiem howled, “MY BROTHER! YOU KILLED HIM!”

She trembled, rolling around, back and forth, clutching at her heart, flailing her arms, and then grabbing at her sides, “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I LOVED HIM! GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!”

Tears escaped from her eyes, so many and so fast, that her shirt became soaked and her eyes grew red with misery. She tried to stand, but she tripped over her own feet. She began to crawl, screaming with such intensity that both of the Kinetics had to cover their ears.

“MY BROTHER! MY FRIEND!”

Cemmera stopped her dancing. “Will you shut up already, tramp?” Cemmera placed a boot on her back, and Requiem was pinned to the ground, water falling from her eyes like an overturned glass.

She looked around the room until her gaze settled on Jack. There was something off about them, something odd. It was something that Jack should have seen sooner.

How could I not have known? All this time, and I didn’t see it.

“Jaaaaaaaaaaackk,” Requiem cried. “Please, don’t let them kill me! My brother! Jack, they killed him!”

Those are my eyes, Jack realized with an almost heart-stopping epiphany. At one time, her eyes were the same as mine. At one time, she was just like me. What happened to her? Why has she become what she is now?

“Alright pin her down again, boys. This one’s becoming an issue. It’s like fishing, ya know? Gutting them is my favorite part.”

Melissa’s grip tightened on Jack’s hand. Now she too began to cry. Jack, Paro, and Kazou, were the only in the room dry-eyed, watching the scene with a horrified fascination.

“Melissa,” Jack whispered. “This is … awful.”

“Jaaaaaaaaackkk!” Requiem cried, being flipped over. “Jaaaaaaaaackk!” She held out a hand, unable to move, trying to reach for him.

He couldn’t take it anymore. This was the last straw. “Cemmera!” Jack shouted. “Get your hands off of her—now!”

Before Melissa could react, Jack pushed her off him and charged at Requiem, diving to the ground and grabbing her hand. The moment their fingers intertwined Jack’s mind exploded. It felt like a million volts were shooting through his brain. The room spun and shook, the terminal revolving around him.

Faster and faster it spun, until the dizziness was too much to bear. Then came the darkness.

****

It took Jack a moment to realize he still existed. He took in the scene. It was snowing, and all around were the signs of a beautiful Christmas Eve. Houses lined the wide street on both sides, with decorations and snowmen, Christmas lights bloomed in the otherwise dark night. There was cheer in the air, surrounding him, the very spirit of Christmas. It wove around him, thick in the air, from one house to the next. Happiness filled the world, everywhere except one place. In front of Jack there was a home. It was different from the others. There was darkness around it, an intensity that Jack could sense, separating it from all the others.

Where are we? It was a voice in Jack’s mind. It was her voice. It was the voice of the one who once held his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Jack said aloud.

Can we go home?

“I don’t know how to take us there,” Jack answered.

The darkness returned, casting them into a void, only to reappear a moment later, this time inside of a home. Jack suspected it was the one carrying the feeling of darkness, the one he’d seen from the street.

I don’t want to be here, Requiem said.

“I don’t either. I don’t know how to go back.”

The home was rundown and filthy. There was trash everywhere and a stench of alcohol. Dust and grime were as much residents of the home as the people that lived there. It was a small place with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a den. There were pictures on the wall with faces of a woman scratched out.

Our mother, Requiem said. She left us.

There was a whimpering sound, and Jack reeled in surprise at the sight of the two small children huddled together behind him. They were tiny, perhaps no older than five or six years of age. They were sitting against a wall, almost hidden behind the thick layers of dust that covered them. Their clothing was torn, nothing more than scraps on unwashed bodies.

“Let me go,” one of them begged.

“Never, Sandra,” answered the other.

“But why does it always have to be you? Anthony, please, I don’t wanna let you do it again. I can do it too.”

“He doesn’t like you,” Anthony answered. “I’d never let him hurt you the way he hurts me, Sandra. Never, ever, ever. I promise you.”

“Who are you two?” Jack asked them.

I don’t think they can hear you, Jack.

“That girl, is she you?”

Once upon a time.

Jack knelt before the small child and looked into her eyes. There wasn’t much madness in her face, just deep dark eyes, filled with life and wonder. They were strikingly similar to Jack’s, but they were not his own. No, they were already changing. In them he could see the beginnings of madness, spreading along the corners of her pupils.

From outside the home Jack could hear the sound of keys being dangled, and the two siblings embraced each other in a hug.

“Not again,” Sandra begged. “Please, don’t let him do it anymore, Anthony. Let me go, let me take some of the pain.”

“Never,” Anthony said, kissing his sister on the forehead. “I’d never let that happen to you.”

The door opened and a large, hairy man entered. His face was wrinkled, his breath reeking of alcohol. Jack could smell it from across the room. Though, even without the scent it was obvious. In the man’s hand, he clutched a bottle of whiskey for dear life, some of the liquid still falling down his mouth like drool. He had a sickening grin, and he allowed himself a hearty laugh.

“I’m home, Darlings,” he announced. “Where’s my special boy?”

Ruin—no, Anthony—tensed, grabbing his sister tighter. “He looks like he’s had a lot tonight,” he whimpered.

The man knew exactly where to look. Somehow, Jack knew that they’d always hugged the same wall.

I don’t want to see this, Requiem said. Please.

“I can’t make it stop.”

The man walked up to the two shivering children and bent down, his disgusting alcohol-breath bearing down on top of them. “Anthony, daddy’s home. I’ve been waiting all day to see my boy.”

“No!” Sandra shouted. “Let me go.”

The man looked at her in disgust and slapped her across her small face, making the child bleed. Jack forced himself to watch. He needed to understand.

“Don’t hurt her! I won’t fight you, Dad.” Anthony held out his hand, and the father grabbed it. Pulling him into the nearest room and slamming the door behind him, all the while humming to himself.

No more, please!

It wasn’t long before the screams started, and Jack wanted to be gone as badly as Requiem.

Again there was darkness, and again it faded. This time, the children were older. Already, Jack could see the madness in Requiem’s eyes taking form, growing, and a prelude to what she’d become. They were in a park, with jungle gyms, slides, and see-saws. They were sitting at a table together, and across from them sat a man.

Redemption, Requiem said. Our only true father.

“Do you two understand?” the man asked. He was covered from head to toe in brown garb. Only his eyes were visible, and Jack was taken aback by them. They were the most powerful and commanding eyes he’d ever seen.

“Yes,” Anthony answered. “Everything that’s happened to us, it happened because we weren’t strong enough to make it stop. Things are only right and wrong because the people in power make them so.”

“And what will you do?” the man asked.

“We are going to rip out our father’s still beating heart and show it to him. What else would we do?”

“Your choices are your own,” the man said. “Make them wisely.”

Yet again darkness enveloped Jack, only to fade and again Jack reappeared inside the home. This time, it was different There was blood everywhere—on the walls, on the floor, even on the ceiling. Lying on the ground, covered in a pool of blood, was their father. He had been tortured, to the point of absurdity. His eyes absent from their sockets, his skin flayed, and his heart removed. Jack tried to feel pity for the man, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel even a drop of it.

There was a splash on the blood-stained floor—it was a single tear from Sandra. Anthony turned to her. “Let this be the last tear you ever have to shed, Sister.”

The sadness left her eyes immediately, replaced with the madness Jack had come to know as her current self. “Never again, Darling. I’ll never cry again.”

She laughed, and so did her brother. The two stood in a puddle of blood, and for close to ten minutes poured out years’ worth of missed laughter. The only tears they shed were ones of joy. “Anthony, such a pitiful name. Call me Ruin from now on, Sister.”

“Sure, if you call me Requiem, Darling!”

They held hands, and they laughed. “We are amazing,” Ruin said. “Look at the things we can do. Sister, what say you and me change the world together? We can do things no one else can. Why don’t we tear this world down and rebuild it from scratch?”

“Sounds lovely, Darling.”

“Don’t ever forget our promise,” Ruin said.

“I won’t, Anth—Ruin. Never again. We will never cry again.”

****

Jack opened his eyes, his hands still clutching Requiem’s in a tight grip. Only a moment had passed, and it was a moment that felt like hours. Requiem cupped Jack’s face and looked at him with pleading eyes. “How? How did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I understand now. I’m so sorry, Sandra.”

Everyone in the room turned to give Jack a confused stare. “Sandra?” Paro asked. “What are you talking about, Jack?”

Cemmera shrugged. “I don’t even care. I don’t know what just happened between you two, but it’s killing time. Out of my way, Harris.”

Jack looked down at the dead form of Ruin—Anthony—and into the maddened gaze of Cemmera. Much in the way that Sandra once shared the same eyes as Jack, Cemmera held the same eyes as their father. It was a look Jack would never forget. It was the look of a predator, the look of evil.

Jack let the anger take hold of him. He let it grow, allowed it to seep into every fiber of his being. When it was too much to handle, Jack felt his emotions fade, he felt them recede within himself. It was fine. There were things in this world Jack didn’t want to feel.

“What’s with the Harris-boy’s eyes?” Cemmera asked.

All at once the members of Paro’s team, still situated behind Jack, rushed over. “What did you just say?” Michael yelled out. “Cemmera, did you just say that there’s something wrong with his eyes? God help us all.”

Jack stood and turned to face the members of his team. Michael stopped mid-run and fell back on his rump. Sarah paused and eyed Jack with fear. Kazou stopped moving and took a step back. Only Melissa and Paro came closer. Jack walked across the room to meet them.

“Jack, are you okay?” Paro asked. “Please, talk to me.”

“I am fine,” Jack said. “And you?”

“J-Jack,” Melissa said. “What are you feeling?”

Jack thought about the question for a moment. Just what was he feeling? Jack wasn’t certain he felt anything. He remembered being this way before.

Ah, Jack remembered. So that’s what I did to Andy. I wonder why I can’t seem to remember these things later on? I suppose I should feel disappointed in myself, but I’m not sure I know what disappointment feels like.

When Jack spoke to them, his voice was plain, robotic, lacking of any emotion. “I don’t feel anything, Melissa.”

“What do you mean? Jack, what’s going on?”

Jack shrugged. “I’m supposed to save Requiem. I think I wanted to do that. Though, now I’m no longer sure I care. When I’m like this, I don’t understand why human life is so important. Guilt, sadness, these things have no meaning to me anymore.”

Michael and Kazou backed up even farther, but Paro and Melissa went towards him. “Jack, tell us, what’s happened to you?”

“I’m not really sure. I remember this happening to me before. I don’t know, I guess I’m on autopilot. I mean, I’m still me, I’m just a better me, I guess. I don’t feel anything. Yet, I know that I can’t stay like this. It’s weird, you know? I know there’s something I really want to do, but at the same time I wonder if I should still do it. It doesn’t matter to me either way, but I know that it will later on. I guess I only have two choices. Do what I wanted, or don’t. I might as well, I mean, from what I can see, it’s the only logical choice. I know that if I don’t do what I wanted, I’ll feel disappointment later on, even if I’m unable to feel any right now.”

Neil whispered something into Cemmera’s ears and she nodded. “Look, Harris, I don’t know what in the hell is going on with you, but you can take your Carebear drama somewhere else—you’re killing the mood. As for you, sweetie,” she said, looking down at Requiem. “I’m going to have fun with you. Did ya like the way I killed dear old brother?”

Jack kicked off his back foot, and in a single leap, he crossed the distance of the terminal and landed between Cemmera and Requiem. “We never got to be properly introduced, did we Cemmera?”

“Kid’s eyes are freaking me the hell out,” Joseph murmured.

Cemmera ignored the remark. “What are you playing at, Harris?”

Jack spoke. His voice was robotic. There was neither inflection nor emphasis on any of his words. “Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Jack Harris, and I’m sixteen years old. I love popcorn, and my favorite movie is ‘Back to the Future.’ Oh, yeah, and can you please do me a huge favor and die?”

Cemmera chuckled at his words. “Wait, what? Harris, get lost, before I add you to my kill-list on the grounds of interference. Damned kids these days.” She knelt down with the knife, intent on ending Requiem’s life. Jack grabbed her arm, hard enough to break bone. Cemmera howled in pain.

“Ouch!” Cemmera screamed out. “Help, I’m being attacked by a rogue Psych! Neil, he’s using reinforcement.”

Paro and the rest of the team remained motionless as Neil charged at Jack. “Harris!” the man yelled. “How dare you attack our team-leader?”

Neil drew back his arm, an attack meant to take Jack’s head off. Jack knew he would be amazed—if he were capable of such a feeling—at just how weak the Reinforcer was.

Did I really think these people were powerful? They’re like little insects.

Melissa cried out to Jack in warning. Neil’s fist crashed down on Jack’s face with all the power he was capable of using. Jack didn’t move—he didn’t even raise an arm to defend himself. He allowed Neil to attack him with every bit of power the man had.

Neil’s eyes widened and his arm trembled. Jack was not moved by his punch. He didn’t even feel it. Using a sense he didn’t know he had, Jack saw the bones in Neil’s wrist explode. It was the result of a fist colliding with an unbreakable object.

Neil dropped to his knees and let out a bloodcurdling howl. “Ahh! Cemmera, my arm, my bones have been shattered!”

Jack knew that the man was done for, no longer a threat to him. There was no longer a reason for him to attack the Reinforcer. Had he been his normal self, he’d know that it’d be wrong to continue to attack the man. Yet, he was not his normal self. Jack gave the man a punch of his own, for no other reason than it seemed an interesting thing to do at the time.

The man’s cries were silenced as Jack’s fist knocked out the other half of the teeth that Melissa had missed. Neil was sent flying across the room, landing in front of Paro. Jack turned, ready to finish him off and end his life.

Melissa blocked his path. “No!” she yelled. “Jack, he’s down for the count. Listen to me, please. You don’t want to do what you’re about to.”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t really want to do anything,” he said. “I guess I’ll just do what I think I wanted.”

“Be careful,” Melissa warned. “It looks like Cemmera and the Kinetics are getting ready to attack you.”

“Who? Those three?” Jack asked, pointing. “They’ve been trying for a while now, look closely.” The three of them were sweating, panting, and exerting a great deal of force against Jack.

Requiem was looking at him like he was some kind of God, her eyes sparkling in wonder. Jack bent down and picked her up, cradling her in his arms like she was a small child. Jack drew power into himself. He erected a barrier around them. No one would be able to pass, he was certain of it.

I shouldn’t stay like this, Jack realized. But I can’t forget everything, either. I need to make sure I remember just enough to understand my situation. It’s dangerous, but I think I know how.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, he looked around in confusion. All at once he felt the weight in his arms, and he peered down at the face of Requiem, looking back up at him. She was worn, tired, but she seemed to understand her situation.

“You saved me, Darling,” she said.

Melissa turned around and called out to Sarah. “He’s back!” she said with cheer. All at once they came running, every member of the team.

“Wait!” Jack shouted. “I’ve put up some kind of barrier, and I don’t think anyone can get through. Not sure how I did it.”

Cemmera was getting back to her feet, her face covered in a blinding fury. “Harris,” she hissed. “For assaulting an Op, team during the removal of targets, I now exercise my right as a Captain and Team-leader of the Operations Department to execute you for treason.”

Cemmera charged at Jack and screamed out in pain as she was thrown back almost ten feet then sent rolling across the ground. She stood back up. Blood dripped from her lips. She charged again, only to meet the same result.

“You two!” she screamed at her Kinetics. “Knock down whatever barrier he has and kill him!”

“We don’t know how,” answered Joseph. “I don’t even know what he’s done.”

Jack ignored the commotion going on around him, knowing somehow instinctually that he was safe. He felt the warmth of the girl in his arms, her face red from the tears that were still falling.

“He was my everything, Jack,” she said. “Ruin … Anthony was my everything.”

“Can you do something for me, Sandra?”

“What is it, Darling?”

“Just for once, just for me, I want to see you.”

“But you’re looking at me right now.”

“Without the mask, Sandra. I want to see the real you. Please, just this once.”

She nodded, and for a moment, however brief, the madness left her face. She looked up at him, with her fiery red hair and the most beautiful blue eyes Jack had ever seen. For a moment, she was an angel, a thing of beauty, a Goddess.

Jack pulled her in, still cradling her in his arms, and he kissed her. He knew Melissa was watching, and he knew he’d feel guilty later on, but for the moment it was only him and the girl that could have been like him, had the world not turned its back on her.

The kiss lasted a lifetime, a perfect moment between Jack and the misunderstood girl. He heard screams from his team, screams from the Op. team, and screams from what sounded like a thousand recon officers surrounding the two with weapons drawn. None of that mattered. There was only him, and Sandra. Never again would he call her by another name.

She gripped him tighter, pulling him in from his shoulders. Jack knew she felt secure in his arms. He had taken her away from those disgusting animals that hunted her, the animals that were no different than the one who had destroyed her life.

When they finally separated, Sandra looked into his eyes, and Jack was relieved to see that the madness did not return. “If you live, Jack, I promise that I will too. Darling, I love you.”

Jack felt his heart beat faster at the words. No one had ever told him that before. “How can you love me? You don’t even know me?”

“I knew you the moment I saw you, Jack. I was passing by the day you made the fire, and I knew it was you, I knew the moment I saw your beautiful eyes, the ones that I used to have.”

“They can be yours again, I promise.”

“How? Look around you. Your friends are surrounding us. By the way, Darling, why is that woman grinning?”

With great effort he tore his eyes away from the beautiful Sandra. Standing at the edge of the barrier, four feet away from him, with one of the most amused, devilish grins he’d ever seen, was his mother.

“Sweetie, show a little modesty. You’ve been kissing that girl for over twenty minutes.”

Jack blushed, embarrassment spreading over him. “Is that you, Mom? Gah! What are you doing here?”

Paro’s team—his team—stood around the barrier. There were now over two-hundred men swarming the room, and outside there were sirens and police cars surrounding the building. Standing closest to him, Jack saw his mother with a man he didn’t recognize. He was a tall, muscular black man, with a kind face, and a look of deep, complex intelligence.

“Mr. Harris, my name is General Deven Moore.” The man wore a white uniform with the emblem of a crow on the left shoulder. Come to think of it, his mother was wearing the same thing.

“This is quite the barrier you’ve put up, hmm, I’d say one part Manipulation, one part Telekinesis, but …” He reached out a hand, and Jack tried to scream a warning. Nothing happened, and the General was able to put first his hand, then his entire body inside of it. “Two parts Telepathy,” he finished.

Jack backed away from him. Sandra held him tighter, shaking with fear. “I won’t let you kill her,” Jack growled.

Deven smiled. “I’ll do no such thing, Jack.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Just look into my eyes and see for yourself.”

Jack did as he was asked, and looking into the older man’s face, he could see the kindness that was within, the sincerity, and the hope. Jack did not know who this man was, but at once he trusted him implicitly. Jack set Sandra down, and she ran behind him, hugging his waist.

“Darling, I don’t want to go,” she said.

Jack spun around and made her meet his gaze. “You have to, Sandra. I promise you, I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever again.”

Deven held out his hand, but did not make any attempt to approach the girl. “Your name is Sandra, yes? If Jack likes you, then I like you. Come on, why don’t I take you to a nicer place?”

Sandra took one step, and then two, before crossing the third step, and holding the General’s hand. “That’s a good girl,” he said.

Alana took a step forward. “Did you take down my son’s barrier? Wow, that’s a weird thing to ask. I never thought I’d ask that in my lifetime.”

Deven laughed. “It’s down,” he said.

Alana took Sandra’s hand and led her away.

“So, what do we do now?” Jack asked. “How much trouble am I in? And why is my mom wearing the same clothing as you? Also, what time is it? I think I might have missed Dancing with the Stars.”

Deven’s face filled with mirth. “I’ll tell you about your mother later, but for now just know that she’s a General. And as for you being in trouble, well, consider yourself lucky this time. The moment that Op. team attacked your mother, they were no longer operating under an official capacity. All you did was beat up a bunch of rogue Psychs.”

“Umm, General, sir, can I ask you a question?” Jack had no idea why he was about to ask this to a complete stranger, yet something felt right. Something told Jack that if he didn’t say what he was only moments away from saying, then something horrible would happen.

“Why of course, Jack, go ahead. What is it?”

“Does the name Redemption mean anything to you?”

Deven’s lips quivered, and he seemed to twitch, but those were the only indications he gave that he was troubled. “It might. Let’s get you home.”