Chapter 4
It was a long and slow process but for the moment time did not matter for him. He had to extend his mind so that he could reach out past the cage he was imprisoned in. Normally this process would have been a simple matter, but trapped as he was it took him several mortal centuries to touch the mind of another without his captor noticing what he was attempting. His victory was short lived.
While he could hear what they were thinking it was another matter altogether to project his thoughts. This was becoming problematic for him. He was becoming increasingly aware of times passings and this worried him. Never before was he forced to exist within the boundaries of time. It was pressing heavily upon his human shoulders. While a mortal might scoff at his musings on the passing of time and point out that he had more than a millennia, he knew that he had much to do before he could attempt to find the one who would help him.
With that final thought he once again concentrated on his breathing and focused on the task at hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After a while things began to slow down and get normal again, which hey, that should have been warning enough as it was. Mom and I got used to Dad's death, as much as you can get used to these things, and I realized that even Wyatt was grieving. I hadn't noticed how much he saw my dad as his too. It made me begin to like him a little more. I started to understand that my reasons for disliking Leo and Wyatt sprung up from jealously and grief. It didn't happen all at once, it was a long and slow process but eventually I let go of my hatred of them and was able to accept them as part of my life and more importantly part of my family.
It was at that point that Aunt Phoebe convinced Uncle Jason to move back into the manor. I guess she felt mom needed all the support she could get, and surprisingly Uncle Jason didn't have a problem with the move. Heck, I had always pegged him as the stuck up type. But in fact I think it was good for us all. Wyatt and I were still in the basement and there was plenty of room upstairs. It is surprising how much being around Aunt Phoebe has changed him. I heard the tale of how he found out that she was a witch and let me tell you, being abducted by a Kislor demon is not the way to go. It was one of those old family stories that make you smile.
The peacefulness of life was shattered several years later when I was 20. I had decided to go to college in San Francisco, like Wyatt had, and had already finished two years. The club had been going so well that mom decided to open up her own restaurant which she called p3 as well. Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Jason were off on the other side of the planet again doing something with his branch of newspapers in Europe, a likely story.
So when the Titans attacked, it was only me and mom at home. Aunt Paige had orbed in and started trying to convince my mom that she was in desperate need of a shopping buddy and wanted mom to go with her. It was one of the funniest conversations I had heard in a while with Aunt Paige begging mom, and mom arguing that she was too busy with the new restaurant. The dialogue between the two of them was enough to make me just sit there and laugh, which I did.
It was at that moment that she came. Mom yelled at me to go get Aunt Phoebe and as I left I caught a glimpse of her glowing eyes. You gotta understand, I felt sure they would vanquish this demon, no problem. She didn't seem any harder that the others and the sister's powers could handle about anything.
When I reached the hotel where Aunt Phoebe was staying, she was ready to go. Apparently Mom had contacted her as the demon attacked. We couldn't have been gone for more than half a minute, so the chaos that was our house when I got back was a shock. The house had literally collapsed on itself. Mom and Aunt Paige were nowhere to be seen.
It was a long and slow process but for the moment time did not matter for him. He had to extend his mind so that he could reach out past the cage he was imprisoned in. Normally this process would have been a simple matter, but trapped as he was it took him several mortal centuries to touch the mind of another without his captor noticing what he was attempting. His victory was short lived.
While he could hear what they were thinking it was another matter altogether to project his thoughts. This was becoming problematic for him. He was becoming increasingly aware of times passings and this worried him. Never before was he forced to exist within the boundaries of time. It was pressing heavily upon his human shoulders. While a mortal might scoff at his musings on the passing of time and point out that he had more than a millennia, he knew that he had much to do before he could attempt to find the one who would help him.
With that final thought he once again concentrated on his breathing and focused on the task at hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After a while things began to slow down and get normal again, which hey, that should have been warning enough as it was. Mom and I got used to Dad's death, as much as you can get used to these things, and I realized that even Wyatt was grieving. I hadn't noticed how much he saw my dad as his too. It made me begin to like him a little more. I started to understand that my reasons for disliking Leo and Wyatt sprung up from jealously and grief. It didn't happen all at once, it was a long and slow process but eventually I let go of my hatred of them and was able to accept them as part of my life and more importantly part of my family.
It was at that point that Aunt Phoebe convinced Uncle Jason to move back into the manor. I guess she felt mom needed all the support she could get, and surprisingly Uncle Jason didn't have a problem with the move. Heck, I had always pegged him as the stuck up type. But in fact I think it was good for us all. Wyatt and I were still in the basement and there was plenty of room upstairs. It is surprising how much being around Aunt Phoebe has changed him. I heard the tale of how he found out that she was a witch and let me tell you, being abducted by a Kislor demon is not the way to go. It was one of those old family stories that make you smile.
The peacefulness of life was shattered several years later when I was 20. I had decided to go to college in San Francisco, like Wyatt had, and had already finished two years. The club had been going so well that mom decided to open up her own restaurant which she called p3 as well. Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Jason were off on the other side of the planet again doing something with his branch of newspapers in Europe, a likely story.
So when the Titans attacked, it was only me and mom at home. Aunt Paige had orbed in and started trying to convince my mom that she was in desperate need of a shopping buddy and wanted mom to go with her. It was one of the funniest conversations I had heard in a while with Aunt Paige begging mom, and mom arguing that she was too busy with the new restaurant. The dialogue between the two of them was enough to make me just sit there and laugh, which I did.
It was at that moment that she came. Mom yelled at me to go get Aunt Phoebe and as I left I caught a glimpse of her glowing eyes. You gotta understand, I felt sure they would vanquish this demon, no problem. She didn't seem any harder that the others and the sister's powers could handle about anything.
When I reached the hotel where Aunt Phoebe was staying, she was ready to go. Apparently Mom had contacted her as the demon attacked. We couldn't have been gone for more than half a minute, so the chaos that was our house when I got back was a shock. The house had literally collapsed on itself. Mom and Aunt Paige were nowhere to be seen.