A/N: Thanks to all who have given their insight and thoughts on the story so far. Although I have had to make a few revisions, I think that I am happier with this draft than the original one. A few shout-outs: Draco's Secret Lover...thanks for the time spent reading and your thoughts...Marah, please, stick with this one...it doesn't actually focus mostly on the college aspect...that's just for the time frame reference...TT012, thanks for the great review...hope you continue to like what you read. Again, constructive criticism is welcomed and taken into consideration...any thoughts about where you would like to see this go will also be taken into conisderation...with that in mind, please be fair and happy reading! arianna05


Reid's powers hit Carmen with such force that it knocked her at least fifty feet. She stayed down for a few moments, then Reid and Tyler saw her begin to move.


Tyler watched from a distance, after Reid hit Carmen with an energy ball, to see what she was going to do.

Then, right before his eyes, Reid and Carmen disappeared. Just vanished, like into thin air.


Reid could see everything going on even though he was using. When he saw the edges of reality begin to blur, he stopped; his eyes returning normal.

"What the fuck?" he yelled.

It took Carmen a moment to recover. It always drained her when she had to block out reality.

As she got up, Reid rushed over to her and grabbed her by the throat.

"What did you do?" he wanted nothing more than to see her suffer at this time.

"I suggest…you…let me go…now," Carmen choked out, trying to catch her breath.

"And if I don't?" Reid threw back.

"I would suggest you do," Carmen retorted.

Reid started to feel dizzy all of a sudden. He stumbled for a split second, his grip loosening, allowing Carmen to recover and get away from him.

Everything hit him like a round of punches to his gut. He saw his father in his younger days, before his powers had killed him—using --- battling the Putnam family. He saw Caleb's father also, then Pogue's, and lastly, Tyler's, as they all came together to destroy what was left of the Putnam's. Then, black—nothing—total darkness.

Another flash of light and he saw Caleb and Chase in the old Putnam barn, two years ago. He watched as Caleb lay, near death, as Chase tried to get him to will his powers.

"I…will…you…nothing," he heard Caleb say through the rain and wind, as if he himself were there. Then, black, once again.

Another flash of light; this one bringing him to his knees. A mother, giving birth to a baby boy, then another, both with blonde hair and blue eyes. One—taken before the mother even knew—the other, given the name Reid Monroe Garwin and raised as such.

He lost it. Now knowing how to react to the visions he was being shows, he blacked out.


Carmen released her powers and reality came flooding back in. she fell to her knees herself, physically and mentally drained from showing Reid what she knew he needed to understand his purpose—and her presence.

Knowing that she would recover before Reid, she made her way slowly to her feet.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Tyler growled, speeding past her to Reid's side.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine; he just needs a minute," Carmen explained.

"The hell he is!" Tyler yelled back.

"Trust me, Sims. You WANT to leave him alone right now. He's still taking everything in. just give him a moment," Carmen explained.

As she continued walking towards the SUV, she yelled back to Tyler, "Oh, and you may want to drive."

She opened the passenger's side door and slowly climbed back in, closing the door behind her.

"You okay? You look a little drained, Car," Kristine commented.

Realizing that Kris had never seen her use her powers, she quickly spun around in her seat, her head spinning momentarily.

"Kris, I'm so sorry you had to see that," Carmen started, but stopped, seeing the confused look on her face.

"See what? The last thing I remember is Reid and Tyler arguing with you, then I guess I must've hit my head on something, because I just woke up a few minutes ago and my head is killing me," Kris said, rubbing the back of her head lightly and wincing.

Carmen took this information in. It couldn't have been her—she was too busy dealing with Reid to have been able to shield Kristine, and Reid's powers were focused on her, so it couldn't have been him, either. That only left one person…

She practically jumped out of the vehicle and ran over to Tyler, who was helping a still recovering Reid to his feet.

"You shielded her," Carmen stated, knowing he would know what she was talking about.

"NO," Tyler retorted. "I shielded US. I couldn't risk exposing us—our powers, our true selves—to someone when I don't know if they can handle it. So, no, I wasn't protecting you, I was protecting the Sons. ALL of them," Tyler protested.

"Still, I appreciate it," Carmen said, honestly, having gained a newfound respect for Tyler.

"Whatever. Just help me with Reid, k?" he answered.

The two of them together were able to get Reid into the backseat of Tyler's SUV, where Kris gave them a questioning look.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"He fell," Tyler and Carmen responded simultaneously.

Confused, Kris just shrugged it off.

After closing Reid's door and beginning to walk back over to the passenger side, Tyler grabbed Carmen's arm, stopping her.

"You gots a lot of explaining to do, woman," he growled under his breath.

"In time, Sims, in time," Carmen answered.


Pogue, Caleb, and Kate were already at Nicky's when the other four entered.

Caleb almost bowled over from the energy emanating from the corner of the room. Turning around, he saw Tyler and Reid, followed closely by a girl that he had been seeing Tyler with and the new girl. His eyes flashed for a second as he caught her gaze. He hadn't meant to do it—after all, he was the one always telling the others to watch it.

He saw her eyes narrow and flash green in response to his. For a second he could've sworn he saw something else, but shook it off.

He tapped Pogue on the shoulder, causing him to turn and look in the same direction as Caleb. Pogue scoffed. Caleb and Pogue began making their way through the crowd, sans Kate, to where Reid, Tyler, Kris and Carmen all stood.

"Hey, bro, you okay? You look a little preoccupied," Caleb said to Reid.

"He's fine," Carmen answered, her voice slightly commanding.

"I was talking to my brother, thanks," Caleb shot back.

'Not here,' he heard somewhere in the back of his mind.

"Excuse me?" he asked aloud.

'I said, not here,' again he heard, this time louder, more assertive.

He was unaware that any of the Sons could speak to each other's minds, so it couldn't have been any of them. That only left one person. Carmen.

Before he could make his way to her, he felt himself being shoved to the side and saw Pogue grab Carmen by the wrist.

"We need to talk," he said in his lowered voice.

"No, I don't think we do," Carmen argued back, pulling her arm free.

"I beg to differ," Pogue continued to argue, grabbing her arm itself this time.

"I don't. And while you're at it, why don't you let me go," Carmen continued to fight back.

"Not until I get answers," Pogue wasn't going to let her disappear. He had too many questions.

"Later," she responded with forcefulness in her voice.

"No, now."

Reid stepped in at this point, having heard enough bickering between the two of them.

"She said later, Parry," was the only thing he said.

"Don't tell me you--" Pogue started, but Reid cut him off.

"I have plenty of questions myself, Pogue. But Carmen's right, Nicky's is NOT the place," Reid had lowered his voice and stared Pogue right in the eyes.

Pogue let go of Carmen's arm and stormed off.

"Thanks for that," Carmen said, turning to Reid.

"Don't think you're off the hook. We ALL have questions, and we ALL want answers," Reid answered, then walked off to the pool table where the others were, leaving her standing alone.