Volume 1: The Battle for John Young

Chapter 1

Jed appeared on John's screen.

"So, you've been tailing them for a few days now. What do you think?" Jed asked.

"Russell is a wildcard," John reported. "I can tell that Stephen and Cara want to like him again, but there is still a distance there. Russell is isolated and I think he'd be easier to engage first. If there are still trust issues, though, him joining us first might turn the others away from us."

"Stick with the original plan, then," Jed replied. "Talk to Cara first, though I suppose if you talk to Cara and Russell together, that'd still work."

"I'll head over there now. I'll be direct, open, and honest, just like we rehearsed. Are you sure you even want Russell?"

"Yeah."

"Roger's dead because of him."

"I'll use his guilt to convince him to join us. You should use their feelings to help you, too."

"That's my plan," John stated.

"Did they ever notice you?"

"No, I was able to mask my presence and my powers."

John noticed a look of trepidation on Jed's face.

"I'll be fine." John tried to assure Jed.

Jed nodded. "I'll be back in New York tonight. I should've had you come with me."

"It'll be fine, really."

John teleported to the roof of a building across the street from The Refuge and felt for Cara. After a few seconds, he finally found her.

"Cara," John thought.

In her office, Cara felt the thought and turned around. She saw the vague outline of someone, obviously the source, facing her. She teleported to the rooftop.

"John?" Cara said, shocked at the sight. She quickly approached John with her arms out for a hug.

"Hi, Cara. I've been told we know each other well."

John's statement stopped Cara cold. "What?"

"Jed told me that we have a long history. We protected the TPs in the lair and even dated for a while."

"Wait, I don't understand. 'Jed told you?'"

"I'm missing some memories," John simply stated. "Jed filled in the gaps that he could fill."

"How much is gone?"

"Six years worth. The last thing I remember was being a test subject for Annex. Then, I woke up last month at Jed's."

"You . . . Six years covers us, John. You were at Ultra six years ago."

"I was."

"You don't remember me at all, do you?"

"I only know what Jed has told me. I'm sorry. I realize this might be difficult," said John.

"'Might?'"

"Cara, I'm here now. Isn't that what's important?"

Cara nodded and hugged John, not caring that John wasn't hugging back.

"I'm taking us to my office. Are you ready?" Cara asked.

"Yes."

Cara and John reappeared in The Refuge.

"Wait here," Cara requested. "I'm going to get Stephen and Russell."

Cara marched to Stephen's office, and ran into Russell along the way.

"Come with me," Cara brusquely said.

"What's going on?" Stephen asked when Cara and Russell burst into his office. He saw the stunned look on Cara's face.

"John's back. He's in my office. I was right. He has powers. Jed's involved."

"That's awesome!" Russell said, heading back out.

Cara blocked him.

"Did he tell you where he's been the past month?" Stephen asked.

"Something's wrong," Cara said to Russell to stop him from leaving. "He doesn't remember us."

"What do you mean?" asked Russell.

"He said the last thing he remember is Annex. That was six years ago."

"When he was an Ultra agent?" Stephen asked. "When he worked here?"

Cara gestured to indicate that Russell and Stephen should proceed to her office. When they arrived, John was sitting, patiently waiting for them.

John stood up when he saw his former friends.

"John," Stephen said.

"Hey, buddy!" Russell said as he gently smacked John's left shoulder.

"Stephen, Russell," John acknowledged.

"You know who we are," Stephen realized.

"Jed has files on many of you."

"Jed got you your powers back?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. I've never felt stronger."

"But you don't remember us," said Russell.

"It's okay," Stephen said. "If you let her, John, Cara can go into your mind. Together, the three of us might find a way to help you."

John stepped back. "Wait a minute. I'm not interested in getting my memories back."

"What?" Stephen and Cara asked simultaneously.

"Jed said I'm better off without them."

"And you believe him?" Cara asked.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"John, it's great to see you and we were all worried after you disappeared, but if you don't remember us and don't want to remember us, what are you doing here?" Stephen asked.

"I came to talk about what Jed's working on."

Russell rolled his eyes and Cara suddenly felt very uneasy.

Stephen crossed his arms.

"I thought things were better between you two now."

Stephen glared at John.

"It's a gray area," Cara quietly said.

"Where is he?" asked Steven. "I want to talk to him."

"He's in Los Angeles dismantling the last Ultra branch and getting new recruits."

"For what?" Russell asked.

"That's what I wanted to tell you. Jed wants to train TPs to work with the U.S. government. The term he used was 'paranormal super-soldiers.'"

"You've got to be kidding me," said Stephen.

"Cara, Russell, he wants you two to be his first recruits. At least, that was the plan until he came across a few old Ultra agents in L.A. that he wanted to hire"

"You want us to work with Ultra?" Cara asked.

"It's not Ultra anymore," replied John. "His new organization is a training center."

"And?" asked Stephen. "There's got to be more with Jed."

"He is keeping an eye out for TPs that cause trouble."

John noticed the disapproval on the faces of his former friends.

"There needs to be enforcement. We're going to stop TPs who use their powers in public or use their powers to harm," said John.

"But playing soldier is okay?" said Stephen.

"Missions with TPs would be very classified."

John realized he wasn't making progress.

"What are you going to do?" asked John. "Are you going to keep on housing TP refugees for the rest of your lives?"

"We're not working for Jed," Cara said. "Please go tell him that."

"Fine." John teleported away.

"Why did you just let him go?" Russell asked.

"He's not our John, anymore," Cara answered.

"He's an Ultra agent," Stephen asked.

"You're just going to give up on getting him back?" asked Russell.

"No, I do want our John back," said Cara. "We just need to be patient and work on it carefully."

"How?"

"However we do it," began Stephen, "we have to consider the fact that Jed will be prepared. I doubt he would have let John talk to us if he wasn't sure that he wouldn't lose him."

The next day, Stephen tracked down Jed's new office. He immediately saw a receptionist and a security guard, both presumably human.

"Hi, I'm Stephen Jameson. I'm looking for Jedikiah Price."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, sorry, but I'm his nephew. Could he find a few minutes for me?"

The receptionist conferred with Jed on the phone before returning to Stephen.

"Take an elevator to the top floor, then make a right until you get to the end. Dr. Price's office is the large one on the left."

"Thanks."

Stephen followed the instructions and upon arriving at the top floor, saw that Jed's new organization was slowly coming together. There were staff members who had already been hired, but there were also empty boxes and furniture that hadn't been set up yet. Stephen saw two large offices; the one to the left was occupied by Jed and the one to the right was occupied by John, currently on the phone. He approached Jed's.

"Hi, are you Stephen?" an assistant outside Jed's office asked.

"Yes, hi. What's your name?"

"Marcy. You can go right in."

"Thanks."

"Stephen," said Jed. "I heard yesterday didn't go so well with John."

"What did you expect?"

"Actually, that is what I expected. I told John it would take a couple more conversations."

"We're not going to work for you," said Stephen.

"So what are they all going to do, instead? How many refugees do you have there, Stephen? Are you going to provide for them all? Are they going to steal food when they get hungry? They need jobs. I can give them all jobs that will let them use their powers. In the meantime, I'll keep footing the bills."

"What?"

"Electricity? Water? Property taxes, eventually? Don't tell me you didn't think of that. Of Ultra's three legal partners, I'm the one who's still alive. The building belongs to me. I'm letting you stay there, utilities and taxes paid. The least you can do is let me talk to the TPs so they have options beyond the Refuge. Give me an audience with them."

Stephen remained stone-faced.

"This isn't Ultra. This is an organization that will help TPs. The TPs under your care should have a choice. Otherwise, it just seems like you're trying to contain and control them."

"Fine," Stephen said after a brief silence. "You have to bring John when you come and speak. And speaking of John, what did you do to him?"

"I just gave him his powers back."

"How?"

"I developed a serum based on your dad's DNA."

Stephen's mouth dropped.

"Don't judge me. You know very well that your dad and John had a history, and that your dad would approve of me using his DNA to help John, especially after what we did to him. I honored your dad by doing this."

"Does John know what you did to him when you were at Ultra?"

"Yes, I told him everything I could about the last six years, even the bad things."

"And why did you even have to do that?" Stephen asked with an edge in his voice.

"The memory loss was an unintended side effect. I couldn't prevent it."

"But you'll take advantage of it."

"If John wants his memories back, I will do everything in my power to help, though I did advise him against it."

"That's not your call."

"You're right. It's John's call, and right now, his call is to take my advice."

Stephen sighed. "Most of us at the Refuge have lunch together. Tomorrow would work if you want to come by with John. Noon. I'll give you five minutes."

"Thanks."

Stephen left and passed by two people. Jed moved to intercept them.

"Bethany, Jared, welcome," said Jed. "This is Marcy."

Marcy shook Bethany's and Jared's hands.

"Everyone here knows about TPs," said Jed. "You're free to use your powers here."

Jed led Jared and Bethany to John's office, just as the latter was ending his call.

"John Young, meet Bethany Mason and Jared Gonzales."

John shook their hands.

"They're from the old L.A. location." Jed said. "Bethany's particularly good at telekinesis and Jared is particularly good at telepathy. Having said that, they could benefit from additional training to be suited specifically for our work. John, that'll be your responsibility."

"Sure thing."

"You can start today, but give them some background first, and then a tour."

Word about John spread throughout the Refuge among those who knew him. The next day, Astrid made a point to contribute to the Refuge's lunch so she could join others in listening to Jed's pitch.

Jed arrived with John and the TPs and Astrid congregated in the lobby.

"Don't worry, I can hold back," Astrid quietly told Stephen. She stood at the back with Stephen.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Jedikiah Price, Stephen's uncle. This is John Young, whom some of you know."

Cara looked at Charlie besides her. They also stood at the back.

"Just be patient, Charlie. You'll get a chance to talk to John later," Cara quietly said.

"I have found a new organization dedicated to maintaining order and advancement among the Tomorrow People. We have two goals at our company. First, we police TPs. We make sure that no one is using their powers for illegal or hurtful purposes. We make sure that no one is using their powers publicly. That might mean our paths could cross if any of you wander into that territory, but I'm sure Stephen and Cara have their own similar rules. The second purpose is for Tomorrow People to serve as soldiers for the U.S. government. To that end, we focus on training Tomorrow People so they can learn to master their powers. We have a state-of-the-art facility nearby that we'd use so you all can reach your potential. I invite all of you to join us so you can have jobs, paid jobs. You get to see some of the world, too. If you just want to check out the place first, you're definitely welcome."

"Weren't you one of Ultra's heads?" someone asked.

"Yes, but I was working against the Founder the entire time. I know that I've done bad things nonetheless, but I'm trying to make it up to TPs now. This building here belongs to me. I'm letting you stay here for free and I'm paying the bills in that spirit."

"I heard you can make TPs kill. Are you going to do that to us?" a different person asked.

"No. Someone once suggested to me that there is a reason why Tomorrow People can't kill. What it does to your souls is irreparable. I'm not going to mess with mother nature on this one."

"How do we fight wars, then?" asked a third person.

"You'd be armed with stun guns. Let the homo sapiens handle the bullets."

"You're not even one of us," said a different TP.

"No, but I am an evolutionary biologist who understands the science of Tomorrow People. I've worked with many TPs before and trained them, including John here. My brother was a TP, along with my sister-in-law and nephew there. My other nephew will probably break out soon."

Jed caught a signal from Stephen to wrap up. "Well, I know you all have a lot of thinking to do. I'll let you get back to lunch. Thanks for listening."

Stephen approached Jed. "Actually, Uncle Jed, I'm sure these people still have questions. Maybe John could stay here and talk to them. They might feel more at ease with him."

"Sure, okay."

"I'll take you back to your office," said Stephen. "Are there D-chips there?"

"No. I told you, this isn't Ultra and everyone who works there knows about Tomorrow People."

Stephen teleported Jed back to his office.

"Russell is thinking about taking you up on your offer," Stephen said. "He'd like to make amends after betraying my dad, but he wasn't sure if you'd be willing to take him."

"I will take him so he can make up for it," replied Jed.

"I'm not joining you. Don't be push me on this."

"I wasn't going to ask," said Jed.

"What?"

"When John first visited, he only mentioned Cara and Russell, right? Are you complaining that I don't want you?"

"No, I'm just surprised."

"I am not putting myself in your mother's crosshairs again. I'd love for you to join, but it has to be your decision and none of mine."

Back at The Refuge, Cara broke John away from conversing with some TPs.

"John, this is Charlie. I assume Jed told you that you helped rescue her from Ultra, but there's no way he could have known how much you meant to Charlie."

"Hi, Charlie. I have definitely heard a little about you."

John and Charlie shook hands.

"Just a little?"

"Sorry, I don't know what happened in the lair between us," admitted John.

"You took care of me. You helped me when I was upset and when I couldn't control my powers. You were my mentor and the best friend I had there, John."

"That's not who I am anymore. I'm sorry, Charlie."

"Can't you try to restore your memory?" Disappointment was evident on Charlie's face and in her voice.

"I'm sorry. Everything's a lot more complicated than that."

"Okay. I understand." Charlie looked despondent and walked away.

John glared at Cara.

"You made her feel bad and unnecessarily," John told Cara. "Was that just to manipulate me?"

"No, she wanted to talk to you, John. You were important to her."

"John?" Astrid asked, approaching the pair.

"You're Astrid," John said. He looked back at Cara.

"Don't look at me," said Cara quietly. "She wanted to see you too and if you remembered her, you'd know she couldn't be stopped."

"Is this going to get awkward?" Astrid asked.

John sighed. "No, let's talk, but in private."

Astrid led John into an empty office.

"Are you going to try to change my mind?" John asked.

"I don't suppose that will do any good," responded Astrid.

John shook his head.

"I think I just want to know why you don't want to remember."

"I know those six years were difficult. I don't want to relive being hunted or being shot at. I know I was a prisoner at Ultra twice and that I've killed. Why would I want to remember that?"

"It wasn't all bad," said Astrid.

"I know. You're radiating feelings so strongly, it's difficult to not notice them."

"Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"It does, and I'm tempted to reach into your mind and relive our past through your memories, but it's a slippery slope. I'm sorry, but this will have to be another sacrifice in a long list."

"Is everything okay?" Stephen asked by the door. He noticed that Astrid had tears in her eyes.

Astrid left without saying anything.

"You have 18 new recruits," Stephen told John. "One is Russell, the others are new breakouts that you've never known. They'll need more training."

"We'll do a good job with that."

"There are also around two dozen more people who are undecided."

John handed Stephen a small stack of business cards.

"They can call me anytime if they want to discuss it further," said John.

While Stephen consoled Astrid, John returned to the lobby, where the 18 new recruits were standing by the door.

"Are you all set?" John asked them.

"We're good," Russell answered. "What's the best way to get there?"

"Just hold hands and focus on me. All of you, open your minds to me."

Everyone did as John instructed. John then put a hand on one of the recruits' shoulders and the nineteen TPs disappeared.

Stephen later sought out Lorne, the TP who questioned Jed's history with Ultra.

"Nice job putting Jed on the spot there," Stephen told Lorne.

"I'm just concerned that he's going to end up resurrecting Ultra, and with the government's support."

"We all are. We do need to be careful."

John later visited Jed in his office.

"Everyone's settled. They have their ID badges, too," said John,

"Good. The rest of the recruits from L.A. will arrive tomorrow night. And you were right. Russell is a wildcard."

"He's here to spy on us, isn't he?"

"Yes. They probably got that idea from you. Let him play the spy. He'll report back that everything is legitimate. Then, we'll get more recruits."

"That means Russell would be here, instead of the field. Are you going to be okay with that?"

"I can make peace with it for a little while," Jedikiah said. "I waited years to have you back with me. I can wait a little while for everything to play out as needed."