"So what are going to do now?" Jordan asked sitting on Johan's bed. Johan gave him good hard look. It was still scary to see how much they were alike. He even had the same dorky scared-unsure look. The same disheveled hair that would come back at the end of the day. Kid Mom came over and started stroking his head.
"We'll figure something out." Mom said soothingly. That would never become normal. Jordan shook his head getting her hand to retreat in the Mom! I'm not a baby anymore! Kind of way. Johan could feel a knot form in the pit of the stomach. Was he really jealous of Jordan? He went over to the fridge and pull out a soda to distract him.
"Why don't we just go to the Time Agency to see if someone there can fix us?" Kid Mom suggested.
"No!" Johan shouted the moment her question was fully formed. "That is the last place we should go." But that got him thinking. He pulled out the Alpha Elucidator and everything was gone. Now only Second stood in front of them. Johan quickly slid the Elucidator in his back pocket.
"Back so soon?" He joked. Johan fist was ready to punch him again but he forced himself not to.
"Enough jokes! Tell us what we want to know! And no side stepping!" He demanded.
"Don't you mean: what you want to know?" Second smirked innocently. Johan slammed Second's back to the wall, grabbing his shirt's collar.
"There's that bounty hunter side again. So aggressive." Second chuckled.
"You know what I'm capable of so don't push me." Johan increased the pressure on his collar bone. His agitation with Second was slipping out of his control. He wanted to see Second hurt after all he ever done to him and Katherine and their friends. He wanted to release his inner monster he kept a tight leash on. It never came out for long but when it did, the destruction in its wake was devastating. But not with his parents and Katherine watching. Would Jordan have the same feeling if the positions were switch? Forget it! We may have been identical twins at one point; could have been friends even. But were too different! He'll never know what I've been through! It was like he said: that Johan was dead. He died in his biggest failure.
"Johan we may not like him but we need his help!" Katherine shouted at him. Johan looked at her with the corner of his eye. She was still the same annoying little sister. She hasn't changed the slightest. While he wouldn't recognize himself if his younger self stood right in front of him. He forced all his emotions to the side and let Second go.
"Now, where were we?" Second smoothed out his shirt casually. "That's right: fixing time. I'm regretful to say that the mess is bigger and worse than I originally thought. If Johan done what he needed to the first time around things would be a lot different." JB grabbed Johan's shoulder in a death squeeze keeping him in place.
"So where cleaning up Johan's mess." Jordan scoffed.
"Shut up!" Johan shouted at him. JB's nails dug into his shoulder as he tried to move.
"Johan! Jordan!" Mom scowled them. His anger and rage were starting to get out of his control. If things don't get better now, it would get ugly.
"I might be best to watch what you say around Johan. His past two years haven't been very kind to him." Second said. Johan gave him a death glare, but either he didn't see it or was just ignoring him.
"Stop trying to divide us! Just tells what we need to do." Katherine said.
"Ah! What do you want to do?" Second smile like a teacher whose kids were finally starting to get a confusing subject. Where was he going with this?
"We know that. We want Mom and Dad to be the right ages and to fix time." Jordan answered.
"Now let's go back to why this problem is happening at all." Second said.
"Time was split but came back together." Katherine shrugged like it was a stupid question.
"No, it started with Gary and Hodge's greed. When they started kidnapping kids from time." JB said.
"You're both wrong, it goes back to Rathbone. He hired Gary and Hodge to rescue endangered kids which fueled their greed." Johan corrected. Rathbone. A name he hated for so long. The true cause for all his pain…and happiest memories.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Second mimicked a winner's bell. "My you have learned to look at the bigger picture! So now what do you do?"
"We find out what Rathbone is really up to." Johan said catching on. He pulled out the Alpha Elucidator testing its weight in his hand. The black and gold made it quite distinguished from other Elucidators.
"JB let me see your Elucidator." Johan stretched out an open hand.
"What for?" Dad squinted in confusion.
"Rathbone wants me and the Elucidator. So let's give him just that." He explained. JB handed it to him. Johan started pushing buttons on the screen changing the settings for it take anybody's command. He messed with a few more settings before placing the Elucidators back to back. Instantly they looked identical. If he didn't deliberately keep them separate it would look impossible to tell them apart.
"When did you learn to hack T.A Elucidators?" JB asked astonished.
"You're forgetting where I come from. With continuous Damaged Time, Elucidators were totally worthless. So to pass some time I would take them apart and mess with them." Johan handed him the Alpha Elucidator. JB took it from him,
"Mind us telling us what you're planning?"
"You're just going to have to trust me." Johan sighed. "Katherine, Jordan, you're with me. The rest of you stay here." Jordan looked shocked that he wanted him to come along.
"No! You're taking us with you!" Mom protested.
"At least let me come along." JB said. Johan shook his head.
"I need you guys to stay here in case things go wrong and JB I need you to watch them." He explained then smirked. "The best rule to follow in the bounty hunter business is: Always have a backup plan." Mom stopped protesting and showed her displeasure through grudging. Dad still looked confused.
"Don't worry, because you won't have time to worry. It'll be like we never left at all." Katherine said reassuringly. She grabbed Jordan's hand and his forearm. Everything went black as they were traveling through Outer Time.
"Do you really think things are going to go bad." Katherine asked. Johan could hardly see her face in the Elucidator's glow. He couldn't remember one time where a plan had gone accordingly. Even as a bounty hunter that was true. It was always improvising, thinking on his feet. That was the only way to survive in the business.
"We're doing things differently this time." He finally responded.
