Previously, ordinary people have been discovering extraordinary abilities. In search of the meaning of their lives and in conquest over their abilities, these ordinary people have had to make hard decisions. Alec Lions chose to stay in prison to account for his sins. Sarah Walker departed from the people she cared about. David Donner joined forces with The Rogue Agent to save a friend. The story continues…
And the training begins.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE "RUSH"
(The Safe House)
David walked down the white hallway. Jessica held his hand and walked with him. Will and Dawn brought up the rear end. Their footsteps made alternating taps that softly resonated into their ears when they walked against the cool white tile. He took a deep breath. It calmed him slightly. There was something about following the man known as Scott Martin, the Rogue Agent. David still didn't trust him completely, but he needed to find Wayne, and he was willing to form an alliance to do that.
"I've never been down this hallway before," commented Dawn.
Scott stopped at the end of the hall where there was a white wall, exactly the same as every other wall in The Safe House. "I've only taken those who are worthy to this place."
He pressed a button, opening a doorway, and extended his arm to show them the way.
(Alec Lions – U.S Maximum Security Prison)
Alec sat on his bed, watching Tyler perform the same morning ritual he did for the last two days. The inmate went into the corner and took a good five minutes staring at the wall. Then he would stand on his hands, back pressed up against the wall, and did two sets of fifteen push ups upside-down, after which he went back onto his bed and waited for breakfast.
"So what exactly do you do?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Your eyes glowed. What does that mean?"
Tyler laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know, Lions?"
Alec got up and placed his hands on the top bunk. "I would, Tyler. I would like to know."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. There was a brief pause as the man decided whether or not to tell him. He gave a hesitant look at the young and curious man before turning his head to the far wall. His eyes glowed red once again and two tiny red lines shot out, burning two small holes into wall opposite.
Alec's jaw dropped.
"As you can see, nobody messes with a guy who can burn holes into their brains."
"You're – you're special too," he couldn't contain the excitement in his voice.
"Too? You mean, you're…?"
He nodded his head.
"Well…" Tyler grinned. "What can you do?"
(Casey and Justin – New Jersey)
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"My feet hurt. Will you carry me?"
"No."
Danny playfully pranced around the tired and disgruntled Justin. Like many young boys at that age, they would like nothing better than to annoy him. Casey silently walked next to Tara, who became enthralled into it as well. They walked side by side, not saying much, behind the two boys, who were louder than usual.
"So what're we gonna do now, huh?"
"I don't know."
"When's my dad coming back?"
"I don't know."
"Are you-"
"I don't know! God, will just shut up for a few seconds?!"
The young boy stopped prancing in place. He glared at Justin. He was about to say something defiant when an angry glare was directed back. Danny closed his mouth and began walking again.
Casey quickened her pace to catch up. "Justin… what's wrong with you?"
He shook his head, shaking the question off.
"I know something's wrong. You don't normally act this way."
He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Casey. I – I don't know." He threw his hands up, obviously tired of keeping what he wanted to say inside. "It seems like ever since Alec got left behind I've been on edge."
"Oh."
"I mean," he paused. Shaking his head and sighing once more obviously frustrated out of his mind. "Nevermind! I don't even know what I'm saying."
"No, Justin, I know what you mean."
"That makes one of us."
"Alec is gone and now Sarah is gone. You don't know what to do now."
"Plus," he added with an irritated edge to his voice. "We have to baby-sit those two."
Casey laughed. "Tara's not that bad."
"I was talking about Danny."
She laughed and they continued down the road with the two youngsters behind them, slowly swaying back and forth as their feet took them closer and closer to the Starlight Diner.
"This is so exciting."
Dawn stood in line, shoulder to shoulder, with the three other people who, over he last couple of days, she got to know and even appreciate. Happily she peeked at the stern expressions of each person. She smiled from ear to ear, trying to get the same reaction from the other. When no one would smile back, she pouted her lip and repositioned herself in line.
Scott Martin, the former Rogue Agent, stood in front of them. A raised eyebrow, squinted eyes, and a powerful voice that echoed in the hollow white room gave an awesome presence. David, Jessica, Dawn, and Will. They were under his tutelage. His words were reminiscent of a sensei, churning their emotions, manipulating their mind so that they believed what he believed.
His posture was erect to show them that he was now in charge. He relished the idea. Scott laughed on the inside. He was back in charge and things were going to go correctly this time. Silence was going to pay. And maybe, along the way, he would meet up with a certain James Lee. There was revenge in his heart. Anger burned into his eyes.
"Dawn! Are you listening to me?" Scott asked rather harshly.
She straightened her posture. "Sorry, Sir." A proper salute in a humorous fashion didn't help the man's temper.
"Is this a joke to you?"
"Uh…no, Sir."
"Do you realize that we, the five of us, are the only ones now that can stop Silence? They have done terrible things. Atrocities that I don't even want to speak of." He narrowed his eyes and looked into the face of each person. "We are the only ones left to bring down Silence."
David coughed into his enclosed fist to remind Scott of the other reason why they were there.
"Oh, right," Scott said getting the hint. "And we are the only ones left that can save Wayne Rockwell from the clutches of Silence!"
Dawn leaned over to Will. "He's kind of like a cartoon character, huh?"
"What?"
"He said 'clutches'. No one says that anymore."
Will chuckled.
"Why are you laughing?!" Scott yelled.
Will composed himself, a small smile squirming in the corner of his lips. "No reason, Sir. Carry on."
"All right." Scott took a few steps backward and crossed his arms. His eyes drifted back and forth over his new team. He was going to teach them all that he knew: martial arts and combat, weapons and tactics, and the complete control of one's ability. They needed to be prepared to face Silence. And they didn't have a lot of time to do it. After a confident nod of his head, he clasped his hands together. "Let's get to it then. David, you're first."
Tyler paced from one end of the room and back again. His right hand was clenched into a fist, placed behind his back while his left hand freely stroked the hair on his chin. He was in deep thought. Ever since Alec had told him about his certain ability, the inmate walked back and forth pondering about something. Alec sat on his bottom bunk, slowly moving his eyes as the man roved around the room.
"Okay," Tyler said finally. His finger pointed towards the ceiling to show that he had an idea that he wanted to convey. "I say we break out a little early."
"We?"
"I don't see why not," he began to pace once again. "We both know that you're innocent anyway, so, you'll be getting the freedom you want, and I'll… I'll probably get my money back from that two-timing son of a-"
"Wait!" Alec stood up. "You just want to leave? We're in a maximum-security prison! There's guards everywhere!"
Tyler grinned. "Trust me, Lions. I've been in and out of here more than once. I know what to do."
"That's right. I still don't understand why they keep bringing you back here. If you've escaped more than once, why-"
"They don't know it's me that starts it." He placed his hand on Alec's shoulder. "Trust me, Lions. I know what I'm doing."
Alec stood still. He didn't know what to do. He honestly did not know how to respond. He already made a conscious decision to stay in prison to pay for his acts as a criminal, even if a maximum-security prison was a bit harsh. But now he had a way to leave. It was staring him right in the face. Tyler presented something he never got a chance to think about.
Freedom.
He slowly nodded his head, a slow smile creeping onto his lips. "Okay."
"Attack me!"
Jessica threw a punch, but Scott blocked it, expertly twisted her body around and kicking her to the ground.
"Jessica," he shook his head. "You can't be afraid to hit somebody. You have to be willing to attack."
She got up, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. "I just don't understand why I have to be a fighter when I heal. Why can't I be the person who stands back and if someone is hurt I can go in and heal them."
"What happens if an enemy attacks you? Silence is not going to hold back anything just because you're the medic."
"Well, I can hurt people too. All I have to do want his heart to stop and then his heart will stop."
Scott smiled. "I like that. Stopping his heart, that's a creative use of your powers." He shrugged his shoulders and motioned for her to go back in line. "Okay, Jessica, you can be the medic. But you have to watch over everyone – if someone is in need of assistance, you go running. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir."
Dawn raised her hand. "It's my turn, Scott."
Scott nodded his head and she took her place in front of him. She winked at the spectators before taking a fighting stance. A joyous smile never left her face. "This is so exciting."
"Dawn, I want you to attack me using the techniques I taught you. Don't hold back… 'Cause I won't."
She nodded her head. Her hands clenched tighter into fists. Her feet moved beneath her, encircling the man she needed to attack. With a quick exhale she moved in, swinging her arm to his head.
Scott ducked, bringing his arm up for an uppercut, but Dawn parried the attack, deftly moving out of the way and attacking again.
She moved around him, punching as hard as she could, dodging the attacks she knew she could evade and blocking the ones she knew wouldn't hurt. But Scott was relentless. His attacks became more vicious. Quicker. Faster.
He punched and she blocked, exposing her stomach.
She noticed her mistake. So did he.
He spun around to kick her to the floor, but Dawn grabbed his wrist and transferred herself into him.
David was taken aback. "What… what just happened?"
Dawn, in Scott's body, smiled. "I possessed him so that I wouldn't get kicked. Pretty smart, huh?"
"Maybe you should leave him now."
"Right." She closed her eyes and reappeared next to him.
Scott fell to his knees, taking deep breaths, calming his mind from the transfer. Slowly, he brought himself up to his feet. He looked at her. "Very good, Dawn. Adaptation. Improvisation. Using your powers during a fight. You learn fast."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Let that be a lesson to all of you: Learn how to blend these techniques with your abilities. You'll become a greater adversary and a harder opponent." He pointed to Will. "You're next."
The Starlight Diner was a small restaurant for wanderers, for anybody who was running away or journeying could go to the Starlight Diner and find the solace needed for their tired feet. It was small, yet it always seemed to get filled with lowlife runaways or on-the-run criminals. Sometimes small mobs and gangs would congregate their plan their next hit. Of course, it had its share of people who just needed a quick pit stop. It was secluded, yet somehow, everybody knew about the Starlight Diner.
This is where Mike told his children to wait for him. This is where Casey and Justin waited for him.
Tara and Danny took a seat in a booth in the far right corner. Casey sat next to Tara on one side while Justin sat with Danny on the other. They didn't say a word to each other once they set foot on the cool, striped linoleum tile. They just kept their heads down until they found a place to sit.
Justin held his numb hands together and took a glance around. The diner was relatively empty. A single waitress stood behind the counter, tentatively wiping the counter with a dirty rag. A large man in a nice black suit with silver pin stripes sat at the bar chatting with the waitress. He had large hands that were covered with large rings of various sizes. Justin drew his attention back to the three other people with him and sighed.
Scott strode in front of them, arms held behind his back and head tilted slightly towards the sky. His fingers rested within his palms, tightening slightly as he passed by his soldiers. Every now and then, his hand would twirl above his head and or move forward to express a certain gesture to reinforce what he was saying.
"Every ability works like a bodily function. Some are voluntary and others are involuntary. The involuntary aspect is simple: your power is always on."
David crossed his arms and coolly breathed through his nose. The training was fierce, but he could handle it. Jessica closed her eyes and healed her body so that she wasn't fatigued from the rigorous action. Will held his hips, sweat dripping from his forehead down to his foot, splashing like a tiny raindrop from the sky. Dawn happily grinned. She was enjoying every second of it.
"Take your abilities for example, Mr. Lawson."
Will stood to attention.
"You told me that you can fly, you have superhuman strength-"
"Don't forget that bullets can't hurt you," Dawn butted in. They looked at her. She shrugged. "When I was possessing his body, bullets couldn't hurt me."
Scott continued. "You have a variety of powers that centralize around physical attributes." He looked directly into the man's eyes. "You exhibit the what is known as Tactile Telekinesis."
"What is that?"
"You have a telekinetic force-field that surrounds your body as a protective shield. It allows you to perform all of your different feats: strength, flight, and invulnerability. Telekinesis is the ability to move objects of various sizes and weight with the mind. Tactile telekinesis is the ability to move things with the physical touch by extending your telekinetic field around that object and picking it up. The concept applies to your flight and invulnerability."
Will chuckled. "Well, I guess I should thank you for telling me the name of my power. But I kind of figured out everything else by using it."
Scott only chuckled. He pulled out his gun and fired.
The ex-janitor did not flinch.
The bullet bounced off of Will's body and fell to the ground.
"You see?" he dropped the gun. "Physical attacks don't harm you. But this?" Scott gently placed his hands on the man's shoulders. "This is really going to hurt."
A chain of electricity ripped past the telekinetic shield around Will's body and into his skin. The quick jolt of high voltage knocked him back into the wall. Smoke trailed off of his shoulders where his skin was burned from the shock.
David grabbed Scott's arm and twisted. "What the hell was that?!"
An odd grin formed on his face. "He needs to know his weakness so that he knows what to avoid in the future. He's strong against physical attacks, but extremely weak against energy."
Jessica quickly rushed to his body, releasing her healing abilities onto his electrified skin.
He coughed. "You could've just told me."
"No. You needed to understand." He pulled his arm away from David's grasp. He kneeled down onto one knee. He faced his pupil. "You know how it feels to experience pain now. You know what it feels like to hurt. When we go up against Silence, you'll need to be ready to elude any attacks that can harm you. That is a vital lesson: Learn your weaknesses. Understand them so that you can better prepare yourself to endure the pain or avoid it."
Will spit on the floor. He slowly got up, glaring angrily as his mentor stood back up and resumed his position in front of the line.
"What's wrong?" Casey asked him.
"Nothing," he replied. "Why?"
"You looked… worried."
Justin sighed. He glanced at Danny and Tara who were busy trying to make a saltshaker stand on its bottom edge. He sighed once again, lowering his voice to just above a whisper. "I am worried, Casey. I – I'm worried about them. I'm worried about me… or us."
"What do you mean?"
"What if Mike doesn't come back?"
"He'll come back."
"What if he doesn't?" Justin shot back. "That means these kids are our responsibility. I don't have any money. I am in no position to take care of some-" he realized that his voice was rising. He grimaced as he looked at Danny and Tara. They were not paying attention to what he was saying. Quickly he went back to his conversation. "I can't take care of them."
"You're thinking too hard."
"Am I?"
"Yeah, you are," Casey nodded her head.
He sat back and crossed his arms. "Well, let's say Mike does come back. What about us? You? Me? Are we just going to go back to our normal lives in New York? How are we going to get there? How can we forget about Alec? What-"
"Justin!" she had to interrupt him. "Calm down, okay?"
He looked down at his hands. They were still cold and numb. He didn't even know why they were like that. The chatter of the man in the suit and the waitress could be heard again now that nobody was talking. A silence filled Justin's mind. He couldn't think.
The young woman pushed a stray bang of blonde hair behind her ear. "Justin, I don't want to make things worse on you right now, but I've already decided what I'm going to do once Mike takes his kids back."
He looked up. "What?" the monotony of his voice carried little enthusiasm.
"I'm going to find out where Alec is and I'm going to save him."
"What?" he was a little bit more interested.
"I'm positive that he's in some jail cell somewhere in Washington. Once I find out where he is, I'm going to break him out."
"We'll need money," he whispered to himself.
"What?"
"If we're going to save Alec we'll need money to get around…"
"Wait, I was talking about myself-"
"I should ask if they're hiring here," he got up.
"Justin, wait!" Casey tried to stop him, but he was already walking to the waitress.
He took a seat at the bar next to the man in the suit. "Excuse me, Miss?"
She turned to him.
"I was wondering if you-"
"No, we're not hiring."
"Oh."
"Sorry, kid." She threw the dirty rag over her shoulder and walked through a door into the kitchen.
"Damn," he said.
"Need some money?"
Justin looked at the man in the suit. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yeah. Do you need some money?"
"Yeah, actually, I do."
"I have a job that you can do. It's a one-time deal, a thousand dollars. Interested?"
"Yeah! What do I do?"
"I'll explain it to you on the way, but you'll do it?"
"Heck yes!"
"Then follow me."
"Our lives are like the roads we travel on. Ever twisting. Ever turning. In a direction that we cannot see. We have to know where we're going if we want a purpose. Every turn that we make makes a difference. Every decision in our lives changes our destination. But when we rush to an end that we cannot see, what will be the outcome? What dangers are in our way? There is no way of knowing. Unless we take that road." – Mohinder Suresh
Scott grinned as he watched over the progress of his new pupils. Their powers were starting to get controlled. Their hand-to-hand combat was strong and organized. They looked like the team that he once had. The training was almost complete. And they were coming closer to their goal.
Alec lay on his back, looking at the bottom of the top bunk where Tyler resided. His mind focused on the sweet sound of the word: freedom. It echoed in his mind like a wonderful melody. He was going to escape. And he was glad that he had someone like Tyler to help him do it.
Justin shook the hand of the man in the suit, solidifying their agreement. There was plenty of doubt in his mind about whether or not he was making the right choice. But there were so many possibilities and questions that were left unanswered that he needed to pick a route and see where it took him.
Casey hung her head and sighed.
Tara glanced back just in time to see the young man leave with the man in the suit. "Where's Justin going?"
She shook her head. "I don't know… But I hope he isn't doing anything stupid."
Continued…
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