"My mother's in an insane asylum?" Kuai Liang blurted out as he looked at the Ranger, his anger and confusion swirling through him like an angry blizzard. "Why didn't Jax tell me?"
"It's not on this print-out," Sonya said apologetically. She immediately showed him the paper that Jax had printed out earlier. Above the address in the top left corner, it only read Rockford Hospital. "Whoever punched in these records must've made a mistake. They accidentally omitted the word 'Psychiatric.' I'm sorry."
It wasn't really her fault, but it didn't make him feel any better. He had really hit the Trifecta these past few weeks. First his brother died, then Tomas got captured and automated, and now he'd just learned that his mother was crazy. He felt a migraine coming on. Part of him wanted to throw up a white flag and surrender. But instead, he set his jaw in stubborn determination and climbed out of the GMC to meet this Dr. Anderson, who was trying to look into the tinted windows to see the visitors.
The man frowned at Kuai Liang as he stepped out. Wispy strands of white hair fringed the broad bald dome of his forehead. "This is quite unusual," he began as Sonya approached him.
She flashed her credentials at him. "Times are unusual," she replied cryptically and then nodded to the Cryomancer. "His mother is here, and it is crucial that we speak to her immediately."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Dr. Anderson asked him as he now led them both inside. The building smelled of cleaning chemicals, antiseptic, and must. "And what happened to your face?"
Kuai Liang swallowed. He didn't want Sonya to know more about him than she already did, but he didn't see a way around it. "My name is...Connor," he said, and felt odd calling himself that. He knew that was his given name, but the only name people had ever called him was Kuai Liang. "Connor Sullivan. My mother is Magdalena Sullivan. And as for my face, I've had a rough couple of days."
Dr. Anderson immediately stiffened as he frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you think she can do to help you. She's very sick," he said. Just past the foyer and the grand staircase leading up to the next level, he hung a left into a large workplace framed by glass and stainless steel. He swiped his badge through the lock, prompting the red light to on the black box to flash green, granting them access to his personal office. Then he settled into a fancy leather chair behind the desk. He motioned for Sonya and Kuai Liang to sit in the equally exquisite chairs on the opposite side.
"What exactly is wrong with her?" Kuai Liang demanded to know.
"I'm sorry, but I can't share that information with you due to patient confidentiality laws," he firmly replied, folding his hands together and resting them on his desk calendar.
"I'll show you 'patient confidentiality'," Sonya snapped.
"Sonya, please," Kuai Liang told her as he held up his hand to silence her. Then he looked back at Dr. Anderson. "I'm her son," he insisted.
"So you say," the doctor shot back. "However, her son has been missing for over twenty years. And unfortunately, you're not the first one calling himself 'Connor' to come looking for her."
Kuai Liang frowned. Someone had tried to pass himself off as him? "What are you talking about? Why would someone do that?"
"Is she rich?" Sonya interrupted.
"Sonya!" he coldly snapped just as the doctor said, "I beg your pardon?"
"Well, that would be my first guess as to why others have faked their identity just to see her," she explained, and it actually made sense to Kuai Liang. He expectantly looked from her to Dr. Anderson. "So, answer the question. Is she rich?"
"That's really none of your concern."
"Yeah, but I have the resources to find out on my own," she retorted. "But you know if you make me do that, I could have you arrested for impeding a top secret military investigation. That's hard time, doc. So wouldn't it just be easier for you to answer my questions?"
He grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, but he answered. "I fail to see how Maggie Sullivan could be involved in an issue of national security."
"Why don't you let me worry about that?" she replied.
"I-" he started to argue again, but this time Kuai Liang cut him off.
"Just answer her damn question," he snapped, his anger rising to the surface.
The middle-aged man bristled in annoyance at that, clearly unaccustomed to being talked to like that. "Yes, she's rich," the doctor finally answered. "Her father became a millionaire when he came to New York and opened a very successful clothing chain. He left her everything when he died, so her children, naturally, stand to inherit a fortune. That's why we're so skeptical of visitors. They only want her money."
"Very good," Sonya chided. "Now was that so hard?"
"I swear to you that I'm her son," Kuai Liang said once again.
"Do you have any proof?" Dr. Anderson challenged. "Photo ID, something that belonged to her? Anything?"
"No." The Cryomancer sighed. "I have none of that stuff. Only my word."
The man shrugged indifferently at that, and there was a long, awkward silence.
"Why don't you tell us why she's in the hospital?" Sonya abruptly changed the subject. "We're not interested in her money."
"Again, I can't reveal that information to you," he said. "It's strictly confidential."
A storm cloud crossed Sonya's face. "I am about to shove my gun up your ass sideways and fire," she growled. "You are obstructing an official investigation, and it's starting to piss me off."
"You can get a warrant," he challenged her in irritation. "But until then, my hands are tied."
The Cryomancer rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Please," he begged. "I swear to you I'm her son. My father took us to Tibet when I was very small. I haven't seen her since then. And I need to see her. I barely remember her."
Dr. Anderson closely studied Kuai Liang as if trying to decide what to do. With a heavy sigh, he finally said, "If anyone finds out that I told you this, I could get into serious trouble," he began. "So this conversation never took place. Agreed?"
Both Champions nodded yes. "Agreed," they said as one.
He inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. "Maggie has been in and out of this hospital for years," he began. "Twelve times, to be exact. She first came here after her children were kidnapped. She lost her mind from grief, and she slit her wrists so deep that there was terrible nerve damage to her arms. The doctors, I understand, were barely able to save her. After that, she would be fine for a while, but every so often she'd try it again. She's poisoned herself, hung herself, even electrocuted herself by throwing a toaster into the bathtub. She's been very lucky that she hasn't succeeded. But I don't know how much longer her luck is going to last."
At first, Kuai Liang absorbed this information slowly, unable to process it. Then hatred for his father welled up inside of him, and boiled from his eyes. An Zhi did this to her! He destroyed her, crushed her into nothing. Just like he did to everything. His poor mother...The Cryomancer quickly wiped away his furious tears in embarrassment and then looked up, meeting the psychiatrist's intent gaze.
"What did she do to herself this time?" he asked, his voice now strained with barely suppressed rage.
"She tried to swallow a bullet," he answered simply.
"Oh, my God," Sonya muttered. Sub-Zero looked to his left and saw uncharacteristic shock and horror fill her eyes as she covered her gaping mouth with her hands.
"How'd she survive that?" he asked incredulously, now feeling equally as upset as his companion.
"She wasn't prepared for the pistol's kickback, and so the bullet went through her cheek instead of her brain," he began. "She's going to have a scar, but the plastic surgeons did a fantastic job reconstructing her face. Like I said, she's exceptionally lucky."
The comment pissed him off. "I don't think a woman driven to this level of grief is 'lucky'," he hissed, slamming his hands on the table as he jumped to his feet. His icy powers began to surge into them, but he forced them to stand down with tremendous difficulty.
"You're right, of course," Dr. Anderson agreed, holding up his hands deferentially. "I only meant that she should be dead now. I'm sorry you mistook that."
"Where is Sarah in all of this?" Kuai Liang coldly snapped, ignoring the doctor's apology. "Where is my sister?" He realized his voice was rapidly rising and that he was on the verge of shouting.
Now it was the psychiatrist's turn to be stunned. He looked at him in surprise. "She wasn't with you and your brother this whole time?"
"No," he said slowly, angrily. "My father only took my brother and me. He raised us in a Temple in Tibet."
"Sarah disappeared the same night as you two," he uttered.
Kuai Liang's heart sank. If not with their mother, and if not with them, where the hell was she? What did their father do to her? Knowing An Zhi's propensity for needless cruelty, he could've done anything to her, and probably did. The Cryomancer didn't want to think about all the likely possibilities. His legs suddenly felt weak. They collapsed beneath him and he flopped involuntarily in his chair.
"I don't even know what to say," he mumbled.
"I'm so sorry, KL," Sonya softly said as she tenderly patted and rubbed his shoulder. He looked at her, and her compassion was genuine. She was a hard-ass on the outside, but when he saw her pale green eyes stare back at him with complete empathy, he realized there was more to this gruff Army Ranger than just a tough-as-nails attitude.
"I am too," Dr. Anderson echoed. "You really didn't know?"
"No," he mumbled. "My brother and I...we thought she, at least, was safe." After a long moment staring out the window, looking at nothing but empty space and completely lost in horrible thoughts, he finally met the man's gaze again. "I need to see my mother. Now."
"Very well," he agreed. He pressed a few buttons on his phone, and when a cheerful female voice asked 'Yes' he said, "Annalise, please come here. I have a couple of visitors here to see Maggie and I want you to introduce them."
There was a pause. Then the voice, which instantly changed from cheerful to angry, said, "Alright. I'll be right there."
"Thanks, honey," he said and then pushed a button on his phone to end the call.
"Is that standard protocol?" Sonya demanded to know as she glared at him. "Calling your female employees 'honey'?" Her green eyes were hard and furious.
"Only when those employees are my daughter," Dr. Anderson replied with a slightly amused smile. He then looked at Kuai Liang. "Annalise is an RN here, and she's been taking care of your mother since she first started working here three years ago, fresh out of college," he explained. "They've gotten very close, and my daughter just loves her dearly. She's come to think of her as a second mom. You see her mom, my wife, died when she was a teenager. A drunk driver crashed into her. So Annalise is very protective of Maggie. This is why I feel like it's prudent to tell you that she hates it when anyone visits her because the only ones who ever visit are the scam artists. So she's probably going to give you hell. Be forewarned."
"Daughter or not, you have no control over your employees?" Sonya growled.
Dr. Anderson laughed. "Not when it comes to Maggie Sullivan," he replied. "Annalise has a strong maternal instinct. If she ever has children someday, I pity the fool who decides to pick on them. She's a mama bear, and don't you forget it." He glanced up. "And look, there she is," he said as he nodded towards the hallway.
Kuai Liang's heart lurched as she walked to the doorway, slid her badge through the lock, and entered, prompting strange butterflies in his stomach to take flight. The Cryomancer immediately got to his feet, followed by Sonya, and he now stood face to face with a woman whose brilliant, burning gaze poured into his worthless soul like boiling tar.
He had seen plenty of beautiful women in his life. Sultry Sareena was the first example that came to mind. But hell, Kitana and Jade were beautiful, extraordinarily so, as was Sonya in her tomboyish way. But this young lady, Annalise, put them all to shame. Annalise was a tall woman with a regal posture, a fierce face, and lavender eyes that seemed to flash and glitter with savage laughter. It was a face to be dominated by or to fight: never a face to patronize or pity. All her movements were large and graceful, and when she stood in this office, she seemed like a wild animal held in a cage too small for her.
Once again, Kuai Liang felt like falling into his chair, but this time his weak knees were compelled by humility rather than grief. He couldn't stop staring at her, and when she raised her eyebrow at him in response, he felt pathetic and stupid.
"You remind me of Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra," Sonya commented, sizing her up.
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Annalise said coldly. "If I ever find myself a guy who looks like Richard Burton, we could go on the road together as celebrity impersonators."
"Honey," her father abruptly cut in, looking up at her from his desk, "this is Sonya. And that's Connor. Maggie's son."
"Uh huh," she said skeptically, crossing her arms in disbelief.
"Will you take them to meet her, please?"
For the longest time, Annalise refused to answer, and Kuai Liang thought she might refuse. But then she shook her head and sighed loudly. "Yeah," she grudgingly agreed. "But I want to say for the record that I do so under protest."
"So noted," her father replied.
"Come on," she motioned for the two Champions to follow her. "Connor."
As the two Champions walked behind her through the maze of offices on the first level, Kuai Liang now noticed that Annalise's attire was decidedly ordinary - she wore form-fitting scrubs printed with a yellow cartoon sponge-man and a pink blob that resembled a starfish, yellow plastic shoes, and a delicate gold cross around her neck that she kept fingering – but she carried herself as regally as a queen so the Cryomancer hardly even noticed. He did notice, however, that his breathing had oddly quickened and that the skin on his palms had grown quite sweaty. He kept wiping them on his pants to dry them, but that didn't help him very much. Covertly, he allowed just enough of his powers trickle into his hands to cool them down, and only then did the sweating stop. Blessedly, neither woman noticed his struggle
They now trekked down a long hallway towards a set of elevators, and as they did, she asked, "What happened to your face?"
"What happened to yours?" Sonya hissed in his defense.
"Sonya," he gave his companion a warning look. Then he shrugged and met the nurse's ferocious gaze. "Like I told your father, it's been a rough couple of weeks."
"Bar fights?" Annalise jeered.
"If only," he tiredly replied.
"It's a matter of national security," Sonya cut in, shooting the Cryomancer an evil glare. "So we'll thank you to mind your own business."
"Whatever," she said, unfazed by the woman's curtness. She had plenty of her own to shield her. "I don't actually care."
Annalise soon led them to the elevator, and when they were on board and out of earshot, she scowled at him with her piercing eyes. "Look, I don't know what bullshit story you two have concocted to weasel your way in here, but that poor woman has been through enough. So if you have any shred of decency, you'll leave now and find someone else to scam."
Kuai Liang felt a surge of admiration for her swell in his heart. He was impressed that Annalise cared so deeply for his mother. "I'm not here to hurt her. I swear," he tried to reassure her.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she replied, clearly seething. She fingered her cross anxiously.
They exited on the fourth floor a few moments later, and she brought them to a security checkpoint. More glass and steel walls divided the unit into a funhouse maze. Annalise bantered a moment with the guard on duty, a decent-looking man in his twenties and a drab gray uniform, and the man's semi-flirtatious remarks annoyed the Cryomancer. It was unprofessional, and he scowled at him as he pulled a clear tub from behind his desk and handed it to the nurse. She flashed a pretty, sweet smile at the man and then turned to face the visitors.
"You have to leave everything loose here," she instructed. "Wallets, purses, pens, everything," she said as she held out the large plastic bin.
I don't have anything on me but my pictures," he told her. "Can I keep them? I don't want to risk losing them."
"Let me see them," she said. He obediently fished his pictures from his pocket and handed them to her without argument. She examined the photos carefully, and then looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face. "Who's Bi-han and Kuai Liang?" she asked, mispronouncing both.
"What?" he asked stupidly, confused by her question. How'd she know their names?
"The names that are written on the back," she flipped over the picture of the brothers as children and pointed to Bi-han's hasty handwriting.
Yes, now her question made sense. "My brother and I," he answered. "When my father kidnapped us, he took us to Tibet and gave us Chinese names."
"Oh, really?" The skepticism oozed from her voice.
"Honestly, I don't even remember being called 'Connor'," he blurted out, unsure as to why. Annalise didn't need to know that. Neither did Sonya. But he couldn't stop himself. "The only reason I know that's my real name is because my brother made it a point to tell me. A lot."
Her icy mask softened and she frowned, not out of anger but out of uncertainty, like she couldn't figure something out. She said nothing, though, as Sonya unloaded two pistols and five guns including a couple from her boots into the bin. When she saw both Kuai Liang and Annalise staring at her in amazement, she shrugged. The nurse immediately snatched her wallet and frowned as she studied her identification. It was unclear what she was expecting to see. But she soon tossed it into the bin with the other stuff while glaring at the Ranger.
"What?" Sonya asked.
"Are you planning on going to war here?"
The Ranger didn't dignify that with a response. So Annalise continued glaring as she returned Kuai Liang's pictures to him. "Let's go," she said drily.
Now she led the pair through a metal detector and a series of magnetically sealed sliding doors. Finally, they stepped into a long, dim corridor with small hospital rooms lining each side. They walked down the hallway until it emptied into a large room painted sky blue. Some artist had created acrylic frescoes depicting a tranquil sky swirling with fluffy clouds on the walls. It was undoubtedly an exercise to keep patients calm. Kuai Liang couldn't help but notice the lightweight tables and chairs situated on the left side of the room, and the couches and recliners situated on the right. Patients milled around – doing puzzles, playing cards, talking to their imaginary friends – in sweatpants, t-shirts, and the same yellow and white bracelets on their right wrists. Suddenly, an old man with white hair and wild eyes stepped to them from nowhere.
"Do you like pie?" he demanded to know as he stood within inches of Kuai Liang's face. His breath smelled like death. He looked up to meet the assassin's gaze. "I like pie, but I don't like anyone who doesn't."
The Cryomancer, bewildered, raised his eyebrows. "I've never really had pie before," he stammered, startled and mildly unnerved.
"Then I don't like you!" he yelled.
"Calm down, Edward," Annalise said gently as she touched his arm. Her voice had a soothing, hypnotic effect on the man because his body immediately relaxed. "Why don't you go play cards with Mel?" She nodded to another patient playing Solitaire at a nearby table.
"Yes, I think I will," he said as he shuffled along.
"That was funny," Sonya sarcastically said to Annalise.
"Well, it's not called the funny farm for nothing," she shot back.
Kuai Liang softly chuffed. "You handled him well," he praised.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's because it's what I get paid to do," she said, and he inwardly scowled in frustration.
"Why do you do this job anyway?" he wanted to know, hoping that showing an interest in her life would cool her temper. "I wouldn't think an insane asylum is a nurse's first choice as to where she'd like to work."
Annalise looked at him and Sonya pointedly, crossing her arms. "There is a terrible stigma in this country regarding mental illness," she began. "It's like, if you wind up being crazy, then society doesn't want anything to do with you. But I'm of the notion people shouldn't be punished simply because they have problems and need a little bit more help. They're not trash that you can simply throw away. Their wiring is just a little off, so it needs fixed. These are good people. I know it. So I chose to specialize in mental health in nursing school because I hope that someday, everyone else will get their heads out of their asses and realize it too."
"A tad touchy, are we?" Sonya chided.
"Just a tad," Annalise shot back. Then she looked at Kuai Liang. "Your mother's over here," she said, nodding her head over her right shoulder.
Sonya patted the Cryomancer's arm. "If it's all the same to you, I'm going to hang back here, KL," she said. "I don't want to get in your business any more than I already have."
"Thank you," he told her as he set off after Annalise, who'd started walking further into the room.
The nurse wove a path through the patients and furniture until they reached the front of the room where a barred bay window arranged in three segments overlooked a mountainous hillside full of leafy trees. On the bench beneath it, a silhouette of a woman stared out intently at the landscape. As he stepped closer, Kuai Liang recognized his mother's profile. She had aged – streaks of white swept through her shoulder-length hair and wrinkles marred her face – but she was still the woman from the photograph and his distant memories. When she sensed them standing there, she slowly swiveled her head around to face them. When he saw the thick padding and bandages on her cheek and neck, he didn't know whether to hug her or run away. A mournful expression weighed heavily on her face, and she regarded him with a deep, sorrowful look.
But when she saw Annalise, her green eyes brightened and the heaviness around her fled. "Anya," she greeted, the word strained from the injury. She murmured, "I missed you. Where have you been?" Though her voice sounded slurred and impaired, it was colored by a very faint Irish brogue, and Kuai Liang thought it was the most wonderful sound in the world.
Annalise, who evidently went by Anya for short, immediately wrapped her arm around Maggie's shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I know, I missed you too. My dad had me working downstairs today. He knows it's hard for me to catch up on my charting when I'm with you because he knows we'll do nothing but talk." She paused. "You have a visitor," she said a moment later.
"Do I? Who is he?" Maggie looked up at Kuai Liang, cocking her head at him as she studied him up and down.
"Sweetheart, I'm going to let him tell you. But if you need anything, I'll be over there with that blond woman, okay?" She pointed to Sonya. "Just say the word, Maggie, and I'll throw him out on his head."
"Oh, dear, I don't think that will be necessary," his mother said, faintly smiling around her bandages. "He looks as harmless as a dove."
"Sure," she grumbled doubtfully.
Annalise started to leave, but as she walked past Kuai Liang, she yanked his ear down so she could whisper in it. "If you hurt her," she snarled, "I'll...well, let's just say I work in a mental hospital. I know plenty of crazy people who'll help me bury a body!"
Kuai Liang should've been angry with her threat, but her hot breath pleasantly tickled his neck and he almost laughed instead. He liked her spunk. And then he felt stupid again. What was the matter with him all of a sudden?
"Understood," he whispered back, barely containing his smile. She harrumphed loudly and then walked towards Sonya, fingering her necklace once more.
That left him to face his mother. Swallowing a hard, nervous lump in his throat, he knelt before Maggie and took her hands in his. He looked up at her pleadingly, trying to find the words to speak but unable. Instead, he drowned in her curious green eyes. She studied his face for a moment, and then the serene smile he'd seen her make for the family portrait appeared as she gently traced the curvature of his face. Then she ran her fingers through a lock of hair above his ear and smoothed it back so it fell more neatly into place. She touched his nose, and then his lips, and finally his scar. He expected pain as she pressed the bruises and cuts from his recent battles, but instead, her soft fingers alleviated the dull aches.
At last, she said, "I know you." Maggie pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Your face is a little worse for the wear, but I know you!" she exclaimed, now crying.
When she kissed his head, he felt his own tears of relief spring to his eyes. He held her tightly back. For all his longing to go back home to the Temple, a startling revelation occurred to him: his mother was his home, as was Bi-han and Tomas, and without them, he was empty. And she had the power to sustain him in their absence.
When Maggie finally released him, she wiped her eyes and asked, "Where's your brother? And your sister? I've missed you all so much."
"He-" Kuai Liang trailed off.
How could he tell her that Bi-han was dead? Or that Sarah was God knows where in the world, if she was even alive? After suffering through the loss of all three children - wounds that Kuai Liang understood were a slow, poisonous burn and the worst thing any parent could ever endure - any additional blow to Maggie's soul would be unbearable. He couldn't do that to her, even though saving Bi-han's soul was the entire reason he was here. So he lied.
"We were looking for you," he said with the straightest face he'd ever mustered. "We split up because we had no idea where to begin. I was the first one to find you. So I'm going to get a hold of them and tell them where you are." The moment he lied to her, he knew it'd come back to bite him in the ass. He couldn't delay her finding out forever. But right now, it didn't matter because Maggie squealed in delight and threw her arms around him once more. This time he noticed the deep scars stretched vertically on her forearms. He winced at the sight.
"I thought I'd never see my babies again," she wept, and he cringed again.
But Kuai Liang pulled away and faked a smile for her. "I've really missed you." He was surprised when he said it, but he found it to be true. Even though he couldn't consciously remember her until recently, he suddenly realized that the ache for his home lived deep inside of him. It was the safe place he could go to just as he was and never be questioned. This is what Bi-han had always tried to make him understand.
The sadness returned to her face and she cupped his cheek in her hand. "Oh, my sweet Connor, I'm so sorry," she said. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Surprise flooded him. "Forgive you for what?"
"I tried not to let that monster take you. I would've died to keep that from happening. But I failed. An Zhi was just too strong." Now she burst into tears and started sobbing into her hands.
He gripped her hands in his. "No, it's not your fault. Mother...please don't cry," he pleaded, hating to see her like this. He realized this was the source of her suicidal depression. It wasn't merely the loss of her children. Even worse, it was the conviction that she was to blame for the loss. And she'd been shouldering that imagined guilt for twenty three years. He kissed her hands. "An Zhi is dead," he declared. "He can never hurt you or us again. He's dead."
Her tears finally subsided and she looked at him again. "He is?"
"Yes," he said. "For a few years now."
"How?" she wondered.
Kuai Liang stubbornly shook his head, not wanting to delve into the details right now. "He made the wrong person angry," he told her as he wiped away her tears with his thumb. "All that matters is that he's gone. He can't keep us his prisoners anymore."
"I've been so weak," she said apologetically. "I've done terrible things."
"Me too," he whispered, briefly recalling Oscar's gruesome death at his hands. "Things that would make you ashamed of me."
Her eyes widened and she pulled him close. "Oh, Connor. There is nothing you could do to make me ashamed of you."
"An Zhi made us just like him." He looked down in humiliation after he uttered his confession. "We got away, but not before he forced us to do horrible things for the Lin Kuei."
Maggie kissed his cheek and hugged him. "You're not like him, my son. You're different. I know it. I've always known it." She inhaled deeply. Then, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, she squeezed him tightly. "Why don't we make a vow, Connor, right this instant?"
"What kind of a vow?" he asked as he drew away and met her eyes.
"We're going to promise here and now that the past is the past," she said. "We can't change it no matter how much we want to. We have to deal with what's right in front of us. And we have to work towards a different future." Maggie looked at him expectantly. "Do you agree to those terms?"
"That sounds...nice," he agreed. "I think that's a very good philosophy."
"So do I," she said, and instantly, it was like years of turmoil lifted from her face. A happiness he only vaguely remembered from his childhood settled on her now, and he felt his own spirits lift. His father's oppressive influence was gone. And while he still mourned Bi-han and Tomas, he realized there was nothing he could do to change their fate. So now, he had to worry about his own. And it began with rekindling his relationship with his mother. He hugged her tightly.
"Is everything okay, Maggie?" Annalise now asked as she rejoined them.
"Oh, Anya! Anya!" she cried in excitement. "Have you met my son?"
"I have," she said, unconvinced.
"Connor, do you have a girlfriend right now?" she suddenly asked, gripping his hand and pointing at the nurse. "Because I think Anya would be perfect for you!"
"Mother!" he yelped as his face flushed scarlet red with embarrassment. He'd been back with Maggie for all of ten minutes, and she had already mortified him. The remark clearly humiliated Annalise as well because her face turned tomato red.
"Um, Maggie, I'm not-" the nurse began.
"Oh, stop it, you two," she interrupted her. "Connor, are you single?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"And I know you're single, Anya."
"Maggie, I don't really feel comfortable-"
"So what's the problem? Connor, ask her out already!"
"But Mother, I'm-"
A sudden loud explosion broke through the air, followed by a roaring earthquake. The building swayed violently as ceiling tiles and plaster fell onto the frightened patients, many of whom screamed and ducked into corners or beneath furniture. Kuai Liang dragged both Maggie and Annalise from the window bench and yanked them beneath a table in the middle of the room. He pulled them close to him, and he did his best to shield both women's bodies from the debris. Then he noticed that Sonya had dived into the windowless hallway and had pulled out her walkie-talkie and pressed it against her ear to hear it better. Just as everyone took cover, the glass from the window shattered and sprayed jagged shards everywhere. A fire alarm went off and pierced the chaos with its shrill noise. He curled his arms around Maggie and Annalise even tighter, and rested his hands on their heads to keep their heads down.
A minute later, the quaking subsided and Annalise promptly bolted from her hiding spot and the safety of the Cryomancer's arms. Immediately, she began tending to her patients as Kuai Liang helped Maggie to her feet. Both were unharmed, though his mother was clearly shaken. She didn't say anything, however, and stood in silence as she surveyed the damage. Sonya, on the other hand, leaped across the room to him.
"We've gotta go!" she cried.
"What, why?" he asked. He had just found his mother. He didn't want to leave her again.
"You know that issue of national security?" she reminded him in code of the singularities. "The thing we were worried was going to happen?"
"Yes," he answered, tensing immediately.
"Well, the shit just got real. Jax just told me that our suspicions were correct." She was very careful how she spoke, and Kuai Liang knew it was to keep the threat a secret, but it was also to keep already delusional patients from having a fit over the news of invasion. "Um...the illegal immigrants are just flooding into this country, and we have to go deal with that now," she said.
"So what does he want us to do?"
"We need to meet up with everyone at Trinity Church," she explained. "So, let's get a move on while the day is still young."
"You can't leave!" Maggie cried, bursting into fresh tears. "Not yet!"
"I don't want to," Kuai Liang said to her gently, "but I have to go to work now. Remember our vow, Mother? To change our futures? This is something I have to do to change my future."
Tears streamed from her eyes but she finally nodded. "I understand."
"Well, I don't," Annalise snapped as she rejoined them. "What the hell is going on?"
"That earthquake caused a lot of problems in New York City," Sonya lied. "We have orders to assist."
"What are the Army Rangers gonna do?" she scoffed. "Isn't crowd control and search and rescue more a job for the National Guard?" she remarked sarcastically.
"Not this time, Princess," she drily remarked before she started towards the door.
"I don't like this," the nurse complained as she wrapped her arms around his mother to console her. "You can't do this to her. It's not right."
"I'm sorry, Annalise," the Cryomancer apologized. "But I have to go. It's my job. Just like being a nurse is yours. I'll come back just as soon as I can."
"I just knew you were lying!" she growled.
"I'm not lying," Kuai Liang argued. "I have my orders. Plain and simple. Now please. Lead us out of here."
The nurse looked as if he'd just told her the moon was made of cheese and Santa Claus was real. But quickly, she caved. "Fine," she huffed as she pointed the way they came.
Maggie walked with them to the unit door, and she held his hand tightly in hers. "I don't know what you're going off to do, my son, but please be safe," she said. "Be careful."
"I'll try," he replied as Annalise unlocked the door and let Sonya pass. He didn't even notice the Ranger dash off. "But I can't lie to you," he now said. "What I'm going to do is dangerous. I may not-"
"Don't even say it," she cut him off, immediately pressing her finger to his lips.
He sighed. "I promise I'll come back for you just as soon as this problem is dealt with," he said. "I won't be gone for long. Unless I..." he trailed off, refusing to address the elephant in the room.
Maggie stopped him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. "I love you, Connor," she said, sniffling. "Don't you dare die on me."