:) Just wanted to say that I hope everyone is staying safe right now. I love you all so much because you read what I write and you send me uplifting messages, so...I hope you're all well. Enjoy this chapter. I might update again today.

Under the claim that she was just taking him out of the hospital for ice cream, Clary brought Sebastian to the building in which she had found that machine. He spent about an hour or so inspecting it. During this time, Clary started to get texts from Simon and her other friends. They were wondering where she was at. She put her phone on silent.

Nervous, Clary paced through the room. Every now and then, she glanced over at Sebastian to see how things were going. He had taken many things off the machine, and Clary could now see the wirings of its insides. After what felt like forever, Sebastian finally stepped away from the machine.

"I think I can do it," Sebastian said. "Not that you would know this, but I have an engineering degree from Stanford."

Clary chuckled without humor. "Wow, can we focus on our broken family life another time?"

"Right, sorry." Sebastian picked up a few items. "It's going to take me like a whole day, but I can change this to give us back our memories. It looks like it was made not specifically to erase our memories, but to revert our bodies. I have no idea what I was thinking when I made this, but I can do it."

"Good. You'll have to do it tomorrow, though, because I have a feeling the hospital won't believe we were out getting ice cream through tomorrow," Clary said.

Sebastian nodded. "Right. Let's head back now. Tomorrow morning you can come get me and I'll just get discharged. I have a feeling that guy Jace has been lying about the car crash anyway."

Clary threw up her arms. "Jace? Are you kidding me? Of course, Jace had something to do with literally any of this at all."

"So, you do know him? He wasn't lying about you guys being friends?"

"It's complicated," Clary sighed. "In short, he's my superhero partner. In long, I want to rip out his throat."

"Enough said. Alright, let's go."

Clary took Sebastian back to the hospital and left shortly after. She returned back to her apartment to be met with not Simon, but rather Jace. When she entered, he stood up from the couch and raised his arms questioningly. Clary just rolled her eyes and walked past him to her room. He followed.

"Where the hell did you go?" he asked.

"None of your business!" Clary said, and she felt like she was repeating herself. "Why are you here?"

"Because you left abruptly and have been acting very strangely. You didn't answer Simon's texts or calls for several hours. People are worried." Jace stood in the doorway to her room with his arms crossed over her chest.

"People being you?" Clary questioned glancing back at him. She shook her head. "I already told you, Jace, we're over. You don't need to be worried about me."

"Not just me, you ass. All of your friends. But for the record, I was worried as your superhero partner. Or is that over too?" Jace sounded upset. Like really upset. When Clary looked back at him again, his jaw was clenched.

"Well, we don't have a supervillain to fight, do we?" Tossing her jacket onto the bed, Clary stalked over to Jace. "So, yeah, I guess it kind of is."

Jace scoffed. His hands fell down to his side, and he wasn't looking at her anymore. "Unbelievable... who even are you anymore?" Not wasting another moment there, Jace turned and left the room. After a few moments, Clary heard the front door slam closed.

Aggravated, Clary went back into the kitchen to get the superhero things she'd seen earlier. She was about to crouch down and open the cabinet when Simon spoke from behind her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "It's just... I know you're probably going through a lot, and none of us are really helping, but you're not yourself."

"What do you care?" Clary scoffed disregarding her initial plan to get her stuff. Instead, she got a glass of water. "You kept this huge secret from me for two weeks. We're best friends, Simon. How could you do that?"

"You kept a huge secret from me for a year," he pointed out.

"That's different. That was for your safety." Clary leaned her hands into the kitchen counter. "I lost my memory. According to Jace, a million things about me and my life have changed in the past two months, but I have no clue about any of it."

"So, you're just going to be a jerk to all of us?" Simon raised an eyebrow. "We all thought it should be on Jace to tell you what happened. He had become the most important person in your life, after all."

"There we go again," Clary said and she groaned. She left her water on the counter and stormed off to her room. "I don't even know him!"

"But you did!" Simon insisted as he followed her. "And you still do. You've known him as his superhero self for a year. That's got to count for something."

"It counts for me hating him. It just... it doesn't make sense that I would become attached to the Badger. I don't like him!"

"Things change."

"Clearly." Clary took a deep breath trying not to become too mad again. Not that she would admit it to any of her friends, but she did feel different. She figured that the machine Sebastian had made probably screwed up her brain when it was erasing her memory. She felt manic. "I've got a handle on things, Si. You don't need to be worried. Jace doesn't need to be worried. Nobody needs to be worried!"

"And yet, here we are." Simon put his hands on Clary's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I need you to trust me, Clary. You trusted me enough to share your secret with me two months ago. So, I need you to trust that I only want what's best for you now."

"I do trust you, and that's why I need you to trust me. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Then I guess we have two different definitions of fine." Clary shrugged Simon's hands off her shoulders. "I'm going to be gone all of tomorrow. It's nothing important. I just need time to myself, so please don't try to contact me. Okay?"

Simon looked hesitant but also like he didn't want to argue anymore. "Okay. Just call or text me if you need anything. I'll always be here for you, Clare."

"I know, Simon. I know."


"I just didn't expect her to react so poorly," Jace was saying to Isabelle. He ran his hands through his hair as he paced in front of her. "She's Clary, for Christ's sake. She's good; she's honest."

"She's been through a lot," Isabelle continued for him. He turned and looked at her for just a moment. "I don't exactly blame her for acting poorly. I am, of course, upset that she doesn't seem to want anything to do with us, but I guess we just have to get over it."

This stopped Jace's pacing. "Get over it? I can't just 'get over it,' Isabelle. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. If it had been me in that machine, everything would be different."

"How so? In what ways specifically would things be different because I have a sneaking suspicion that if it had been you in that machine, you'd be pretty pissed after finding out everything too." She crossed her hands over her chest, raising her eyebrows and challenging Jace with what she just said.

"For one, I would've been in the machine long enough to have lost my powers along with my memory."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "You know it's your fault that Clary only got two months erased, right?"

"You make it sound like you would've preferred had she gotten the whole year erased."

"Well, if we're basing things on the least amount of complication, then that would certainly have made things easier."

"Whatever." Jace knew in some strange way she was right. There was a part of him that knew Clary might've been better off had she lost everything rather than just two months. "The point here is that it should've gone differently."

"I know. Trust me, we all know. But what can we do about it? The more you pester Clary, the more she's going to resent you," said Izzy.

"I-" Jace groaned. "I hate when you're right."

"So, I guess you'll just have to give her some space then."

"I guess..."

"And giving her space means not showing up at her place at work, not texting her, not going to her apartment-"

"Iz, I know." He gave her a pointed look, tired of this lecture.

She shook her head. "I know you know, but you and Clary also have this really weird connection. Personally, I don't think you can handle being away from her."

Not having anything to say, Jace just mocked the last thing she said. When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

"I'm going to make sure Alec keeps a close eye on you."

"Someone needs to keep a close eye on Clary," Jace muttered. "Not me, obviously, but someone. She's going crazy."

"I thought we just discussed leaving her alone?"

"And I thought you think I'm incapable of doing so."

Isabelle pursed her lips. "You're right. This isn't a surprise. I'll make sure Simon gets on that." She started to head for the door then.

"Thank you!" Jace called after her, and she just waved a dismissive hand before leaving and closing the door behind her.

He sat alone in the apartment for a few moments after that. Then, he got dressed in as his superhero self and left through the window. With nothing to do but wait for Clary to talk to him again, Jace figured he could at least go out patrolling.

For the next several hours, Jace spent his time walking around the city of New York. Of course, he knew there were no supervillains for him to ward off, but he could always stop other crimes or disasters. He didn't need to have someone specific to fight all the time. Even without a Black Angel, New York was notorious for its crime levels.

This thought made Jace pause, though. He sighed, knowing that things certainly wouldn't be the same anymore. It was utterly ridiculous of him to miss Black Angel, yet he found himself longing for the adventure and thrill of what his life had become over the past year. Who was he now that everything was over? Who would he become without an alter ego for him to project himself through? He supposed he would just have to wait and see. Then again, he had never been all that patient.

"It's Badger!"

The shout came from down the street. Some girl squealed and started running towards him. She was promptly followed by a dozen other fans of his who all wanted autographs and pictures and explanations about what had happened recently. Not only had there been no attacks by Black Angel, but both he and Blindeye hadn't been seen around the city very much. Jace wasn't very surprised to be bombarded by questions.

"Is it true that you and Blindeye split up as a crime-fighting duo?" Someone shouted from the crowd. There were flashes from cameras that nearly blinded him.

"Have you finally caught Black Angel?" Another person asked. "If so, where is he now?"

"If not," someone continued, "then why hasn't he been seen around?"

"I wish I could tell you the inner workings of Black Angel's mind," Jace addressed the crowd, "but I can't! As for me and Blindeye...things are complicated right now, but I can assure you that I'm at least not going anywhere."

"Well, where is Blindeye going?"

"She's not going anywhere either, but recent injuries have led us to determine that she needs as much rest as possible for as long as she wants." It hurt Jace to lie through his teeth like this, but he knew his fans wouldn't rest easy without some sort of answer. He wasn't sure of how the truth was supposed to be handled yet, after all. He would have to discuss with his friends about what to do in the long run. For now, he knew where Sebastian was, though, and that was enough.

"Is she going to die?" This question caused a great amount of commotion in the crowd.

Jace had to yell pretty loudly to talk over them all. "Blindeye is not going to die! That I can say for certain! Now, if you all don't mind, I have somewhere to be." With that, Jace took off running. He sped through the streets and over the buildings of New York until he got to Magnus and Alec's apartment. There, he strolled in through the window and collapsed on the couch.

"What are you doing here?" Alec asked. He had been sitting in the kitchen, reading something. Now, he walked over to the living area and seated himself in a nearby chair.

"Being exhausted," Jace answered lamely, "that's what I'm doing."

"Hard day?"

"The hardest."

"What happened?"

"I'm just tired." Jace sat up. He pulled off his mask and tossed it to the side. "I want things back the way they were."

"When you were fighting Black Angel every other day, and Clary nearly died at least once a week?"

Jace bit his lip. "Is it wrong to say I miss it? Not the Clary almost dying part, obviously, but I miss the excitement. I miss being someone who mattered. With Black Angel discovered and safely in the hospital, and with Clary not wanting anything to do with me it feels like a huge chunk of my life has been stolen."

"Jace, of course you still matter." Alec moved from his chair to the couch. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You mattered to me way before Badger even existed. You mattered to Clary when there wasn't a whole mess of confusion going on in her mind. Just because things are a little screwed up right now doesn't mean you don't matter."

Jace smiled though it was a painful and forced one. "Thanks, but I'm not sure how much that helps."

Alec nodded understandingly. "I know. I wish I knew what to say right now."

"It's fine. I don't think anyone could say anything to help."

"Well, if you want, you're welcome to stay here for the night. It's getting kind of late."

Jace just shook his head and stood up. "No, it's fine. I think I just need to be alone for a bit. Izzy is staying with Simon tonight, so I've got the whole apartment to myself..."

Alec smirked. "Gonna dance around the kitchen in your underwear?"

In spite of everything, that did make his smile. "Probably just going to head to bed early."

"Alright, text me in the morning. We'll head out to Taki's for breakfast."

Jace shot Alec a thumbs up. Then, he grabbed his mask, put it back on, and disappeared out the window. It wasn't long before he was back to his apartment and comfortably in his bed.