The restroom door opened and Experion stepped out of the building. The squad had been on stakeout duty for several hours waiting for one of them to show, without benefit of any advanced survailence technology. With his magnetic powers, Experion would have noticed any electronic device usage, they could not take such a risk. The squad rushed forward, the four men with non-lethal weapons firing those. Four streams of plasticised aluminum foam struck him, smothering his body in a quickly solidifying mass of metal sponge. He toppled over, unable to balance or catch himself.
Captain Galahad and the squad's sargeant approached, their laser rifles aimed at the uncertainly secured prisoner. The two men inspected the trapped villain, rolling him over to be sure he was fully contained. "Prisoner secured, sir," the sargeant reported. Galahad nodded. Experion was silent, his face a mix of anger and fear.
"Alright Sargeant, call for pickup. You and Parker remain with him. After he's been removed, take up positions guarding this entrance. The rest of the squad will accompany me into the lair. If Annihilator's there, we will attempt capture. If that's not possible, termination. If he isn't present, we will search for evidence of his location."
"Yes, sir. Good luck, sir."
The captain entered the building with his three soldiers, moving to the wall the tech team had identified, and tapped out the sequence they had decoded. The four men entered the elevator car which automatically decended. The door opened and they exited as two groups of two, moving fast, keeping low. The lair was quickly determined to be unoccupied, and a search for intelligence began. Galahad tapped his communicator, built into his fatigues, and on the surface the sargeant's communicator silently vibrated. He tapped, establishing the connection, and kept silent, not knowing the situation on the other end. "Dry hole, sargeant. Keep aware, the Annihilator is closer to you than us."
"Yes sir. Pickup complete, nothing to report."
. . . . .
"Boys, I just spoke with Captain Galahad. There's still no sign of the Annihilator, he must have seen the assault on his lair and skidaddled."
Kaz and Oliver clearly didn't know that term, but understood it's meaning in context. "So he's just out there somewhere," Oliver said, "knowing Experion is back in prison, and that Skyler is his only chance for assistance? She has to be made not evil or he'll try to take her again."
"Yes," Horace said, "and I believe we're ready to do that. After consulting with Thoughtress I think I've determined the correct setting for the Dememorizor ray."
Oliver could barely contain himself. Skyler, real Skyler, back again. "When can we do this?"
"The orderlies are setting up the equipment now. Boys, I have to say this was a very difficult problem. The Annihilator was rushed in what he did, but he was thorough. He reached well into her mind. I'm going to have to remove more memories than I'd like, but I have to be sure all the evilness is expunged."
"So you mean what," Kaz asked, "a week, two weeks?"
Oliver looked Horace in the eye. "A month? Two months?"
"I'll have to erase sixteen months. It's the only way to be sure."
Sixteen. Oliver's heart crashed to his feet, continued down into the earth. Every word. Every laugh. Just last week they had been studying together, she butting her shoulder into his, innocently but flirtatiously. Gone. He noticed Kaz, looking as stricken as he must also. This can't be about us, Oliver thought. This is Skyler's life. "Let's do this," he said.
. . . . .
"Your plans will fail," evil Skyler said. They were in Treatment Room B, Skyler still imprisoned by the forcefield. Present were Horace, Oliver, Kaz, Captain Galahad, and two security guards. The Dememorizer also was there, looking to Oliver dangerously aggressive.
"I can't do this through the forcefield. Guards, take her as soon as I shut it down," Horace said.
She attempted to fight them but the coal still affected her powers. "Hold her steady," Horace said, and aimed the Dememorizer. He double-checked the settings and started the device. A bright pink ray emanated from the focusing barrel and lit up Skyler's head. She ceased struggling as her immediate memories were erased. The guards had to hold her up as the treatment continued, she losing consciousness as her memories faded away.
"Six months gone," Kaz reported, studying a display on the machine. "Seven." Oliver watched, noting how peaceful she looked. And that the green streak in her hair had faded away. Kaz called out each month-milestone as her red streak returned. He ended with sixteen, "...and two weeks," he added.
Horace shut down the machine. "Bring her here," he said to the guards, "sit her down on that chair." He took a light pen out of his pocket and checked both her eyes. "Everything seems fine, we'll have to wait for her to wake up."
Skyler began to stir, and opened her eyes. She looked around, a confused look on her face. She jumped to her feet and took a fighting stance. "Who are you people and where am I?"
"You are in Mighty Med. I am Doctor Horace Diaz, chief administrator of the hospital. This is Captain Galahad of Mighty Military, and these are Oliver and Kaz, two members of my staff."
"Mighty Med? Why am I here? I was at home, eating dinner. I'm on Earth?"
"I know you must be confused, your memory has been affected by your medical treatment."
"Medical treat... no, I'm fine. What are you talking about?" Her voice now had an angry tone.
"Please remain calm. You have no memory of it, but you have been a patient here for over over twelve months. You were ambushed by the Annihilator, who stole your superpowers."
"No, you're wrong. I'm fine. Why are you lying to me? Wait- those boys. They can't be staff. They're- they're normos. I demand to know what you're up to."
"They are normos, and they are on staff here." Horace carefully explained what had happened to Skyler and she accepted the truth of it. Captain Galahad was persuaded of her cure and left to continue the search for the Annihilator, who had vanished without a trace.
"So I just go home now?" Skyler asked.
"No, I'm not releasing you just yet. We need to be sure you're fully back to normal, well, super-normal. It will be a week or two."
. . . . .
Skyler threw her head back, and tried to press together her shoulder blades. She had never sat or watched a monitor for so long. The two normos, who it seemed worked as a team here, had put together every video file involving her from her time at the hospital, so she could be informed of what she could not remember. She had viewed almost nine months of it when there was a knock on her door. "Come in."
"Hi, Skyler," Oliver said, but then stopped short. "I mean hello Mz Storm, I'm here to check your vitals again."
"You don't have to be like that. I know we were- are friends."
"That's nice of you to say, but it isn't really so. I'm a stranger to you."
"I'm not to you, and I know you were responsible for recovering my powers from the Annihilator. You don't even have superpowers and you made a frontal assault on his lair."
Oliver frowned. That hadn't worked out at all the way he hoped. "I wasn't alone, Kaz was with me."
"True, you make a good team, but you tend to take the first step." He made no response. "I've been here four days- that I can remember, and I'm already going crazy. How did I put up with it for a year?"
"You didn't. You were going crazy, Kaz suggested you come to our school carnival for a change. It didn't go perfectly but you liked it and decided to go to school as a normo student. Maybe you should come back until Horace clears you for release."
"I was going to ask- how did that work? Did everyone know about me?"
"They knew you, but they didn't know you." She looked confused. "You wore normal clothes and had a secret identity as a normo."
"A secret identity? And I made that work?"
"Pretty much; I mean, there were awkward moments, but it's high school. Everyone has those."
"I've seen the videos, I liked the clothing, but who was I there?"
"You were Connie Valentine. Your family was in the greeting card industry, mainly Valentine's Day cards. Horace came to school a couple of times as your father."
"Wow. Was I popular? Did I- did I have a boyfriend? I mean, between saving the Earth and schoolwork at home, I- I've never even kissed a boy. Romantically, I mean."
"You weren't super-popular, but that goes with the whole secret identity thing. And no, you weren't- uhh, weren't dating anyone."
"You're hiding something from me. Oliver- were we dating?"
"No." Oh goodie, he thought. She looks relieved. If she comes back to school, everyone will think different. I have to tell her. "And yes." She stared at him, clearly waiting for an explanation. "The Annihilator ordered evil Sky to keep an eye on me, she thought pretending we were a couple would be good cover for that."
"So we..."
"No, not we. That wasn't you. That was evil Sky, and it wasn't real. If you haven't yet kissed a boy, you still haven't."
"But everyone will think..."
"It's high school. When they see us being just friends, they'll move on to something else."
. . . . .
"We'll all miss you Skyler," Horace said. "You're welcome to visit anytime you want." He hugged his now former patient and pretend daughter, and she moved on to Kaz.
"I wish I could remember our arguments, the videos I've seen make them look like fun."
"They were, you and I make for good verbal sparring partners. Get home safe." They hugged, a bit awkwardly, and she paused for a breath before going to Oliver.
"I'm sorry I'm not staying," she told him. "I just need to go home, and try to understand what happened."
"You don't have to apologize, going home makes a lot of sense. It was wonderful getting to know you for a year, and wonderful getting to know you for a week, well, six days." He put his arms around her when she initiated a hug.
"I know you wanted me to stay, but I think I need to go home. I think I'll be back, I have unfinished business here."
"Annihilator. There's still no sign of him. Put him out your mind, you need to live your own life."
"I can't. I'm Skyler Storm. I fight to win. My fight with him isn't over." Their hug ended, they pulled apart, but not so far as to be completely separated. "You aren't telling me, but we were something more than friends. I can see that in the videos. I will be back. There are too many reasons to come back to not do that." Oliver nodded, she leaned toward him. She kissed him, sweetly, on the lips. "Now we both remember," she whispered. And then she was gone. Oliver could only wonder when he would see her again.
He looked to Kaz. "School tomorrow, let's go home."
