Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
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"I was just thinking about the last time the three of us were together.
I should've known better than to play paintball with you two."
- Jedikiah
"Modus Vivendi"
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8 Years Ago
"Come on, Jed," Roger pleaded with his brother. "It will be fun."
"No," Jedikiah said firmly as he continued to work. "I've got too much work to do. The Founder needs this report by the end of the day tomorrow."
Jedikiah's mention of "the Founder" made Roger flinch.
"We could take John," Roger said, casually glancing at his brother. The man knew his brother's weak spot. "Get the kid out of this place for a little while ... get you both out of here."
Jedikiah sighed. His brother had a point. He was actually ahead of schedule, so it could wait and he could use a break.
"Okay," he grudgingly agreed, then pointed at Roger. "But no powers!"
"Absolutely," Roger grinned. "I'll drive."
"We'll meet you in 15 minutes," Jedikiah got up from his desk and left with Roger trailing behind.
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Jedikiah knew where to find John. He was in the training room working out. Being the youngest and the smallest always drove John to work harder. Although these days, he wasn't necessarily the smallest. He was still a skinny kid, but had grown a few inches. The hard work John put in was to earn the respect of his peers, but, more importantly, to make his mentor proud.
"John, time to take a break," Jedikiah called to him. "We're going on a field mission, so get changed and meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes."
"Yes, sir," John replied giving a nod then teleported to the locker room to get changed as fast as he could. He was excited to be getting out of the building. Even with all that Ultra has provided for him, he did enjoy the times he was able to get out and see the city, especially with Jedikiah. Every once in awhile, the man would take him on errands or "field missions" as he called them. It made him feel special and he appreciated the lessons given to him at these times ... those lessons that a father would teach his son.
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"Reporting for duty, sir," John said as he walked up to Jedikiah and stood at attention.
"Good," Jedikiah said. "Follow me."
"Where are we headed?" John asked. "What type of mission is this?"
"Where we are headed is a surprise," Jedikiah responded slyly. "The type of mission will be mainly … 'training' and you'll find out what kind when we get there."
John looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged and followed his mentor.
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They were finally on their way. Roger was driving, Jedikiah was riding shotgun and John was pouting in the back seat behind Roger. He had called "shotgun", but Jedikiah insisted that he had to sit in the back. John didn't buy Jedikiah's excuse that his legs were longer and he couldn't squeeze into the backseat of Roger's car. John was now almost as tall as Jedikiah.
"So, John, how's my brother been treating you?" Roger asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"Fine," John responded halfheartedly. He continued to watch the scenery fly by the window.
"Well, you let me know if he gets out of hand," Roger said as he watched the road. "I'll get him back in line for you, if he does."
John gave a short snort of laughter at that.
"Hey," Jedikiah objected. "I'm the big brother here and you couldn't get me in line, even with your powers."
"Uh huh," Roger replied skeptically.
"Besides," Jedikiah continued. "John doesn't need it, he's a fast learner and keeps out of trouble. It's Killian who has a hard time staying in line and better watch his step around me."
"Hmmm," Roger responded. "How is your training, John? Getting the TK under control?"
"I'm working on it," John said. Truth was, it was the one power he was having the most difficulty with. He loved teleportation and used it whenever he could. It was always his favorite power and had served him well from the start. Telepathy was alright. He wasn't the best at it, but he was by no means the worst either. It was just telekinesis that gave him issues.
"Just remember to focus," Roger offered. "Don't let yourself get distracted. Once you have a good handle on it, then it will come easier and you won't have to work so hard at it."
"Uh, Roger," Jedikiah interrupted. "Don't pass the place, it's just up here on the right."
Sliding to the other side of the car to get a good look at their destination, John said "Cool! Paintball!"
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The car barely came to a stop before John jumped out of it. Paintball. It was always something he wanted to try. It sounded cool and he wanted to try his hand at shooting. With being a TP, he never really thought it would be possible because of the Prime Barrier. But this was a game, so it provided the perfect opportunity.
They agreed to play four games and a tie-breaker, if necessary and if they had time. It was going to be every man for himself and only direct hits to the chest or head would eliminate a player.
The first round started out pretty evenly matched, everybody getting into the groove of the game. Once they got comfortable, though, the kid gloves came off. John proved to be quite adept at handling the gun and won the first game, surprising the older duo. It turned out that his youthful agility helped him avoid a couple of "kill" shots. No powers were used ... this time.
The next match ended up pretty close between Roger and Jedikiah, but Roger took the win. They may have ganged up on John ... just a little bit ... this round to knock him out of it early. They didn't want the kid to get a big head. After that, it didn't take Roger long to get Jedikiah. The human protested, insisting that Roger must have used his powers but after a few minutes, he just vowed to get his revenge next time.
Round three ended up with Roger and John battling it out. Jedikiah hadn't quite settled down from the last battle, so he was distracted and an easy target. When it came down to the two paranormals, they couldn't help themselves and started to telepathically taunt each other. John tried to sneak up behind the man, but Roger was just a bit faster on the trigger, taking the win.
The fourth and what turned out to be the last go-round was a challenge for all three of them. Surprisingly, it came down to John and Jedikiah. They played an epic cat-and-mouse game for quite awhile until John was able to successfully use the move he tried on Roger with Jedikiah and win the round.
Of course, John wanted a tie-breaker round to see who would be champion, but Jedikiah insisted they get back to Ultra. They had already stayed an hour longer than he had planned. Jedikiah avoided the triumphant duo as they all headed to the locker room to get out of their filthy paintball gear and change back into their street clothes.
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The victors exited the arena still congratulating each other on their wins. Meanwhile Jedikiah gruffly followed them out then cut between them saying "next time I'm slapping a suppression cuff on you." He turned around to face them as they continued walking and said "on both of you" pointing to each to emphasize it. He then turned back around and jumped in the car, slamming the door shut.
"Somebody is just being a sore loser," Roger said to John as they got in the car.
"There is no way either of you could do that well without using powers." Jedikiah was in denial.
It was a quiet ride back to Ultra with Jedikiah ignoring the other occupants. They tried to tease him a bit about losing, but he would have none of it. So they sat quietly, satisfied with their wins for the day. With Jedikiah being in charge at Ultra, it was nice to have the upper hand for once.
Arriving at Ultra, John got out of the car and walked to the driver's side. He leaned down to the open window and said, "Thanks, Roger. I had a blast. We need a re-match ... see you later."
John, still smiling, waved goodbye as he walked away from the car then entered the building. Seeing how happy the kid was helped Jedikiah get over the bitterness of losing.
"He's a good kid, Roger," Jedikiah said as he watched John leave. "Did you notice his accuracy? Wow! Other than using his powers, it's the only way he could have beat us."
"Well, you," Roger unnecessarily reminded him. "I beat him twice."
"Whatever, well, guess I'll see you tomorrow," Jedikiah said as he started to get out of the vehicle.
"Jed, wait," Roger stared at the steering wheel dreading this next conversation, then looked up and said, "We need to talk."