Saying goodbye to Walter had been the hardest and saddest thing Emma had ever done. After he had disappeared into the night, she slowly walked home, the pit in her stomach growing larger. When she arrived at her house, she saw the police outside of Walter's house. A cop was talking to his mother, writing things down in a notepad. They didn't notice her as she went inside. She trudged up the stairs and collapsed onto her bed. Michael was sleeping across from her, his breathing even and peaceful. She envied him and his innocence.

At school the next day, students and teachers alike were talking about Walter and what he did to Royce and Billy. Nobody even stared suspiciously at her. During class, she couldn't help but stare at Walter's empty desk as if it were on fire. He would never occupy that place again. Her teacher had to ask her several times to pay attention to the front.

She walked Michael home at the end of the day, silently moving along the sidewalk. When they arrived home, she saw Ms. Kovacs putting the trash outside. She glanced at her and Michael with a blank expression and retreated back inside. Emma felt scorn towards her for treating Walter like he was nothing. She was probably glad he was gone.

Every day went by the same way. Emma tried not to think about Walter, but it was hard. She saw little things that reminded her of him, and she heard the things people said about him being taken away. Eventually, talk about Walter Kovacs vanished, and everybody moved on.

The words Walter had said to her echoed inside her mind. Don't stop fighting. She treasured them. She quickly grew to realize that he was right. No matter how tough her life got, she could not stop fighting. Emma promised herself to fight for her brother and their freedom. No matter what, they would escape.

25 Years Later

Emma was reviewing the psyche profile of one of the prisoners when someone knocked on her office door. "Come in," she said without looking up.

"Geez, must you always be working?" said George, Dr. Long's assistant. "You're turning into a workaholic there, Em."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Prisoners can't help themselves, now can they?"

"Very true."

"Is everything okay? Does Dr. Long need me?"

George shook his head. "No, but I thought you'd want to see who he's mentoring right now."

Emma looked up and saw excitement his eyes. "Who is it?"

"Haven't you been watching the news?" he exclaimed. "They got that vigilante who's still active."

"You mean Rorschach?" Emma said confusingly. "They got him?"

George nodded. "Yeah, and Malcolm is with him right now. Come and watch."

Emma, now excited about this new development, set the folder aside and followed George towards the interrogation room. I wonder who's been hiding behind that mask for all these years, she thought as they approached the room.

To be continued…