Chapter Three

I'm floating. Nothing seems real. Where am I? What was I doing? Something important I'm sure. Wait, where is everything? All is darkness. I can't be sleeping, can I? This disconnection, feels almost like coming down from anesthesia. I need to wake up, so focus. Concentrate on one thing, then make it happen. Say a word.

"Hhhhuuuuurrrnnnnnn."

Well, I heard that and thinking is getting a little easier. It seems like something is fighting me, actively fighting me. This isn't sleep paralysis, I've felt that before and it doesn't fight back. Ok, time for something new. Look around, what doesn't make sense? Hmmm, that void looks slightly darker than the rest, and what are those tentacles coming off? Pushing me down. That has to be what is forcing me to sleep, but how do I fight against it? Well, if this is my mind, it has to behave by my rules, and here I am king. Visualize, focus my energy in my hand. Concentrate it, but hide it behind my back. Someone's going to have a very nasty surprise in a bit. Putting my head down, right hand behind my back, I dig into the darkness at my feet. I lean forward, shoving with my shoulders. The closer I am to the darkness, the better my surprise will be. I struggle, every step painful. Suddenly, instead of tentacles it changes to a flood of darkness, firing from a hose. I slip a little bit, but there's an easy counter to this. A shield of darkness coalesces in my left hand, deflecting the stream. Sitting still, I wait for the right moment. There! My right hand is tingling, any more energy in it and I might hurt myself. Rising to a sprinters position, I anchor the shield to the darkness in front of me. I rush to the right of the shield and sprint all out at the darkness, you're mine! Too late it realizes my deception and tries to alter the direction of its hose, but I'm far too close for that. Bellowing a battle cry, I shove my right palm forward and release everything in one burst.

"HIIIIYAAAAA!"

With a flash of light, the darkness is obliterated and I blink my eyes against the pain.

"Jane? Jane! What happened, your nose is bleeding? Are you ok?

Slowly the world comes into focus, and it has to be some sadistic room meant to break people. I'm sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair, with one leg shorter than the rest. The walls to my right and left are a neon green that somehow seem to give off more light than the bare bulb dangling above the table in front of me. Across the table is a woman, Jane must be her name because she has a nosebleed. Face pale, raven hair, her hands shake as she gazes straight ahead, eyes glazed. If I didn't know any better, I would say she is in shock. There's a middle aged guy to her left, it seems like life has gotten the better of him. Crew cut sandy blond hair, he is starting to go a little soft around the middle. Behind them is the reason this room must be to break people. A mirror on the wall reveals both the wall behind me and the one across from me is a shade of bright orange that clashes horribly with the green. A door is across from me, but the manacles holding my arms to the chair ensure that I'm not going through there anytime soon. My inspections of the surroundings are interrupted by Jane apparently coming around.

"Ow, ow that hurts. I've never seen someone overpower me that forcefully before. Relax Trevor, I'm fine. Just hand me a kleenex for my nose."

Trevor visibly relaxed at this, and proceeded to turn his attention to me. "Jane, you're the strongest waterbrand on the force. If he overpowered you, are we in danger? I know everyone says waterbrands can't hurt someone, but in all my time on the force I've never met someone incapable of violence."

Shaking her head, Jane replied, "He just caught me off guard, but if you want why don't you call in Dr. Minton. He trained me, and is the strongest waterbrand I know, possibly in the state. It should only take him a half hour or so to get here. This guy will be just fine cooling his heels until the doctor can get here."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll call in the doctor, why don't you head down to the infirmary."

"Trust me, I'm fine."

"You were overpowered and are now bleeding from your nose. For my sake, head to the infirmary." Bickering as they headed out the door, I was left to my own devices. Well, apparently I had a half hour to get everything sorted out. Shifting to try and get balanced and relaxed in the chair, I had somehow gotten to the front portion of the seat. Strange, I hadn't been moving enough to slide forward. Planting my feet, I leaned back for a second then relaxed my legs as fast as possible. Sure enough, the chair clicked back down. So both front legs were shorter than the back legs, and neither one matched the other. I would be perpetually sliding forward and to the right. For at least a half hour, then longer while being interrogated. Lovely, this was straight out of some bad cop show.

At least I still had my clothes on, and was out of the clutches of Tank and Greasy. Then I couldn't help but remember poor Sarah with the pipe sticking out of her chest. Tears running down my face, I sniffled a little and pushed the memories away. Can't have that distracting me until I figure out where I am and how to get out. This room and chair, coupled with the mirror and how Trevor talked couldn't be anything but a police station. Who else tells someone to head to the infirmary? Ok, so I'm in a police station in a weird world that has moonshiners. I'm assuming they can make one way mirrors from the reflective mirror across from me. Apparently I can control water with my mind, weird but evidence is rather conclusive that it is entirely possible. Judging from Jane's reactions, it is a common ability, but people only use it for good. Yeah, right. Call me a pessimist, but Trevor is right. Everyone has the ability to hurt others. Except maybe the Dalia Llama, but I'm definitely not him. Hey, maybe I can use this to fix this damn chair? Sliding back up, I try and hold my position while concentrating. Closing my eyes, I take a few deep breaths, imagining I'm breathing in calm and out frustrations. Ignoring the ache starting to form in my thighs, I start to feel that tingle in the back of my head again. This time I'm just searching for water that I can use. It's there, but spread out. Water vapor. It's everywhere, and just frustratingly out of reach. I can send it swirling around the chair legs, but it isn't doing much else. Wait, I don't want to swirl it, I need to concentrate it. Even more, I need it to be solid.

"WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, KNOCK IT OFF!"

The chair clicks down as I lose my concentration. Searching for the source of my interruption, how did I miss the intercom unit on the wall by the door? Well, I guess that confirms the one way mirror. Well, if they are listening, might as well try and get something out of it.

Licking my lips, I ask, "Hey, any chance of me getting something to even out this chair? It doesn't have the best of construction."

Silence.

"No? That's fine. I can work with this I guess. How about a glass of water? I promise it is not for anything more nefarious than relieving me of a parched throat."

More silence.

"No sense of humor? Seriously though, I would absolutely love a cool glass of water. Or really anything to drink." Not really expecting anything, I got myself as comfortable as possible and settled in to wait.

Not having a watch sucks. Especially when you are sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a room that is trying it's hardest to be as offensive to the eyes as possible. At least at places like the doctor's office, they have a magazine or two for you to stare at.

Eventually, Trevor and another guy walk in. Dark brown hair and eyes, with a rather worn suit. I wonder which one is the good cop?

Trevor spoke, "Well, in case you didn't pick it up earlier, I am detective Trevor. This is my partner, detective Derring. We specialize in the Malias family. So, care to tell us how long you've been working for them?"

"I have no idea who the Malias are, and I definitely don't work for them." I replied.

"Oh, come on now. You were picked up at one of their moonshine sites. Along with the bodies of two of their known associates, and one unknown female." Something in my face must have given me away. "You know her." Trevor said the last as a statement of fact rather than a question. I figured it wouldn't hurt to admit it.

"Her name was Sarah, and she was my fiancé."

"Ok, so how long have you and Sarah worked for the Malias?"

"I don't work for them. Am I under arrest?"

"Not yet."

"Great, then I would like to leave."

"Sorry pal, we can't release you just yet."

I hated to admit it, but the entire time detective Derring was just leaning in a corner with a smug look on his face. I really wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, so I decided to be just a little less cooperative. "Ok, if I am not under arrest, but I still can't leave, I would really like to talk to a lawyer."

Glancing at his partner, I saw Derring's smirk falter. Then a little malicious spark lit up behind his eyes. "Well, we would just be more than happy to get your lawyer," he said while sauntering forward, "Just tell us who to get."

"I don't know any lawyers, I need you guys to contact one for me."

"Ah, well we can't be doing that. So, just as soon as you tell us your lawyer's name, we will be more than happy to get them for you."

"Listen, its Derring, right?" Seeing him nodding his head, I continued, "I can see you're a right bastard. Congratulations. Now, can we drop the snarkiness and get me a lawyer? This goes completely against my Miranda rights." I saw the confused looks between partners, and my hopes dropped.

Trevor looked back at me and asked, "Who is Miranda and what rights does she guarantee you?"

"Isn't this cops 101? Miranda v. Arizona? Landmark case about people's rights? Stop me when it gets familiar." Seeing blank looks on their faces, I continued, "You know, the right to remain silent, right to an attorney..."

Derring broke out laughing. "Ha! Never had a suspect make up rights and an entire court case before, how 'bout you Trevor? Ha ha ha ha."

Frowning at his partner, Trevor nonetheless replied, "No, I've never heard it before either. Sure, I've heard some whoppers with my time on the force, but look at him. I've never seen a suspect look that crestfallen and fade off in the middle of a lie before. Especially when he started out so confident. We didn't even try to break his story, absurd as it is."

Crap, if there was no Miranda case in this world, I had a bad feeling my chance at getting out of here just hit rock bottom. What could I do to convince them that I was innocent? Hanging my head in despair, I didn't notice the third person silently entering the room.

"Taking an awful chance in here with him without me, weren't you detectives?"

Looking up, I caught sight of the speaker. Short, around 5 and a half feet tall, I still don't know how he managed to look young with silver hair. Slacks and a button down shirt and glasses, I could see four different pens poking up from his chest pocket. This must be doctor what's his name, Morton or something.

Trevor, looking relieved, replied, "Hey doc, we figured a little bit of questioning before you got in here wouldn't be too bad. He seemed rather calm, and stopped immediately when we figured he was trying something. Besides, Derring here was ready to knock him for a loop the entire time."

"Knock him for a loop?" the doctor inquired, looking at Derring with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. Ever hear of an air hammer? I'm the departments resident expert on it. Instead of a blade like most windbrands use, I take a block of air and compress it as high as I can, then fire it off at the target. Instead of a small slice like a cutter, it hits like a sledgehammer. Leaves a few bruises, might crack a bone or two if I hit it just right, but it's the best for breaking someone's concentration."

"Interesting. What's your best range on it? The best cutters I've seen can go for 15 to 20 feet." The doctor truly looked interested in it. Come to think of it, I was too considering it had apparently been aimed at me.

"Haven't rightly tested it to be honest. I suppose it would depend on what I was trying to do with it."

"Well, let's put that aside for now, we do have a story to figure out. So, Trevor, you called me in. Want to catch me up to where we are at?"

"Sure. Our guy here was found passed out in the lap of an unknown dead female at a moonshine camp probably run by the Malias family. Judging from the scene, someone didn't seal up the tank too well and there was an explosion. Two others, well known for working with the Malias, were found dead there as well. We got there and managed to keep him sedated until we got him hooked up in the chair, then he started to come out of it. Jane tried to keep him down and apparently he fought back hard enough to give her a nosebleed. She suggested we call you in and here we are."

"Succinct as always detective." the doctor replied, a thoughtful look on his face as he studied me. "Jane is ok?" At the detectives nod, he relaxed a bit. "Ok, sounds like he is pretty powerful, and I think it best if we determine just how powerful before we go into anything else. Derring, would you bring in a bowl full of water? It isn't that big of a risk, especially since I'm going to have Trevor stay outside to observe. If he tries to make a break for it, you can handle him. That is, if he manages to subdue both me and Derring here while chained to a chair."

A few minutes later and we were apparently ready to begin. The doctor and Derring were sitting at opposite corners of the table, I guess so that I couldn't target them both at the same time. Right in front of me was a bowl of water, about 3 inches high and as wide as a dinner plate. I looked at the bowl, then up at the doctor and raised an eyebrow at him. "So, what would you like me to do?"

"Anything you want, short of harming us. Show us just how strong you are, how much control you have." The doctor replied with a soft smile on his face.

Getting as comfortable as I could in a slippery chair while suffering a major case of glass ass, I wondered what the trained monkey could do to impress his masters. Smirking, I turned to look at Derring and said, "Since my hands have been tied, I couldn't do this before. Maybe I'll be able to show you just how much I really don't care for you." Turning back to the bowl, I concentrated on that tingle in the back of my head and tried to visualize exactly what it was I wanted. Slowly, small ripples started in the bowl, and a bulge came up right in the middle. Elongating it so I had a small ball on top of a pillar of water, I started "sculpting" as best as I could. Three vertical indentations formed along the top, with slight bulges in the sphere taking shape at the base of the four cylinders taking shape. On my side, a fifth cylinder, smaller but thicker than the others appeared, running parallel to the tabletop. Adding in knuckles and my facsimile of a fist was as good as it was going to get, and I slowly extended the middle finger and turned the entire fist to display it to Derring.

"Cute" Derring replied at the same time the doctor whispered, "Amazing."

"There anything else you want me to try? I can't really jump through any flaming hoops, it might damage this lovely chair you guys are so proud of."

Composing himself, the doctor looked at me as if he could dissect me right then and there in order to figure out all of my secrets. "Can you phase change it?"

"Do you want gas or solid? I'm not sure I can do it, but I guess I can give it a try."

"Whichever you want to attempt. It might be easier to let your fist, as it were, return to a bowl of water."

Turning the fist into a thumbs up at the professor, I let it slip into the bowl like the ending of Terminator 2. Now I had a choice. Freezing such a mass of water doesn't seem like much, but there are a lot of things to consider. I would have to slow down the molecules, and "nudge" them to help form the crystal structure for ice. Since I was starting to get a headache, I decided to go the opposite and try and make it into a gas. Remembering some bits from chemistry, the first thing I did was concentrate on moving any gaseous water away from the surface and keeping it that way. Then I only concentrated on the top half inch of water, since I couldn't instantly convert the entire bowl. Visualizing the molecules in my head, the red sphere connected to two white spheres, I started shaking them. Harder and harder, moving them around in circles, spinning around any axis available, until I felt that they had the right amount of energy. The tingle was getting downright painful, so I flung the molecules up as hard as I could and cried out in agony. Have you ever felt like someone put a thumbtack at the back of your right eye and is trying to force it through your eyeball? Yeah, that's about what it felt like. When I could think straight, I looked up to see the bowl was missing about half of the water in it. Whoops, looks like I overdid it a bit there.

Slack jawed and pale, Derring looked a little worse for the experiment while the doctor was ecstatic. "I guess this isn't what usually happens doctor?" I inquired mildly.

"No, this almost never happens as you should know. Son, this puts you into the top 3% of waterbrands. Even I can't do a phase change. What did you say your name was again?"

"Name's Larry. Larry Davidson. Nice to meet you."

"Oh I assure you Larry, the pleasure is all mine. This is rather unprecedented. Strong talent usually runs in families, but I can't say Davidson is one of the major waterbrand families. You wouldn't happen to belong to one of the major ones would you? What were your parents elements?"

Looking at how earnest the doctor was, I decided to take a gamble. As inquisitive as he was, surely I could convince him of the truth. "Well, my parents didn't have elements and I'm sure I am not descended from one of your major waterbrand families. You see, I'm from another world." At that, both men flinched and stared at me. "I know it's hard to believe, but do you guys have anything that could be a lie detector? I will voluntarily submit to whatever test you need me to."

Both men just blinked at me and didn't really say anything. After about a minute, the doctor blinked rapidly and managed to collect himself enough to answer. "Not necessarily a lie detector, but a skilled waterbrand can monitor someone's responses while they speak. The only danger is that physical contact is required. If you promise not to try and hurt me I will take the risk. Detective Trevor, would you like to try it as well? Multiple people monitoring helps determine more subtle mistruths." As he was speaking, the door opened to admit both detective Trevor and Jane, apparently recovered enough to sit in.

Jane spoke first, "Even though Trevor here is against it, I think I'm recovered enough to join you doctor. Despite his misgiving, I am also the more sensitive of us." Staring me in the eye, she demanded, "You won't be trying to force me out this time, and if you even try it I won't be the only one going to the infirmary, capiche?"

Taking her at her word, I merely nodded. No sense in antagonizing the woman, I was already in trouble with her for earlier. Probably better to extend the olive branch before the bridge burned completely. "I really am sorry for that, I had no idea what was going on. I just knew I needed to wake up, but something was forcing me down. Fighting back was the only option."

"Figures, men always want to fight about things. Depending on how this goes, I might forgive and forget." Done with our showdown, apparently Derring was the next to earn her ire. "Do I really have to ask, or are you going to give up that chair so that I can sit down while we do this?" Blushing, he nevertheless vacated the chair and pulled it around for her as fast as he could.

"Crack that whip." I mumbled, never one to miss a jab at Derring. Apparently both Jane and the doctor had phenomenal hearing, as one gave me a glare that could set people on fire while the other let out a rather undignified snort.

"Careful son, you aren't out of Jane's crosshairs yet. There's a good reason Derring there was practically jumping out of his skin to give up his chair." Sliding his chair around the doctor put one hand on my shoulder while Jane put hers on the opposite one. They both took a deep breath and the doctor took the lead. "Ok, so for the first minute or so just sit there and relax so we can get a good baseline for you. I will squeeze your shoulder when it is time to go, and you can just start talking. At the end of it all, we will talk."

With my hands cuffed to the armrests, I couldn't twiddle my thumbs, so I just sat there and tried my best to relax. As I felt the squeeze on my shoulder, I started. "My name is Larry Davidson, and I'm a medical student at Vanderbilt University. Next year I should be starting my residency at the hospital. Nobody in our world can control elements like this. My girlfriend Sarah and I were at Edwin Warner park earlier today or yesterday, I have no idea what time it is right now. Either way, I proposed and she said yes. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and watched the sun set. As we were heading back, we both got a massive wave of disorientation and stumbled down a hill. We weren't hurt, but everything seemed.....off somehow. It was colder, and the trees had lost more leaves than they should have. As we were trying to get our bearings, some guy threatened us with a gun and took us hostage. He brought us to the moonshining camp, and we met his partner. They were threatening us, trying to figure out who we were when Sarah set one of their eyebrows on fire. She got knocked out and a bag over the head. I needed a distraction, so I somehow managed to use the water from the stream to weaken the pipe joint compound enough to make a hole. It exploded, killing the other two and Sarah as well. I cried over her until I passed out, and woke up here."

Sliding back on the chair from Hell, I waited for their judgment. I felt both hands fall away from my shoulders, and I couldn't help but feel despair for how I lost Sarah all over again. Bowing my head couldn't hide my tears completely, but allowed me to ignore the sliding of the chairs across the floor.

"By God, I think he's telling the truth. Jane?"

Sniffling, Jane replied, "Yeah. *sniff* Yeah, that seemed like the truth. Sorry, his depression over Sarah really hit hard."

Trevor spoke up then, "Well, I'm not inclined to argue with you two verifying his story. The only thing now is, what do we do with him? He obviously wasn't part of the moonshining, but doesn't have any place to go and no money I'm assuming. Thoughts?"

Doctor Minton was the first one to break the awkward silence, and his question was surprisingly directed at me. "You said you were getting ready to start on your residency. What is that?"

"It comes after school, and is required to practice medicine where I come from. Basically, school gives you a broad range of experiences and knowledge. Residency narrows that down and gives you an in depth look at medicine, but still has a licensed physician looking over your shoulder for better training."

"Would you be interested in continuing your education? We could enroll you in our medical program, and I would me more than happy to teach you how to use your power. The last year of school is focused on using your power anyway. If you want to help out in my general practice to earn some money, that could be arranged. Until then, I can pull strings at the university and see if we can get you a scholarship or something. Living room on campus is available too. What do you think Trevor? Larry? Is that a viable solution?"

Shocked at the generosity of the offer, Trevor was the first one to respond. "Yeah, that would be a huge help. Obviously Larry here isn't involved with the Malias family, and we really didn't have any evidence to hold him on to be honest. Just remember, stay out of trouble and away from the Malias family. They are powerful and hold grudges for a long time. We kept your name out of the paperwork, so they shouldn't link you to the incident. If they did, there's a very good chance your lifespan would measure in weeks."

"Sounds like these people are all sunshine and roses. Yeah, I'll steer clear of them, no problems there. I think I'll also be taking you up on that offer doc, and thanks for helping me out. If I can ever pay you back somehow just let me know."

With a gentle smile, Doctor Minton replied, "Oh, if you would let me pick your brain on things I think we could call it even. How often do you get access to knowledge from another world?"