Chapter 11.

Opening up my defenses took more effort than I'd thought it would. I could sense Lydia waiting a bit impatiently beyond the presence of my own mind. It was an odd sensation to 'see' in this awareness and try to be calm enough to open my mind when images of memories were swirling all around. The ones from that night came to the forefront as I was finally able to obliterate my mental barriers. Lydia 'stepped' inside and the recollections played. I tried to concentrate on it, forcing the normal jumbled flow to turn into an organized stream.

"I'll be careful," I offered to Lydia and bent down to kiss her. She held on, not wanting to let me go. Lately we hadn't been able to see much of each other. I was moonlighting with various hero groups and she was continuing to help at Sky High along with her own Maiden Force gigs.

"Alright," she relented grumpily and pulled back, folding her arms. "Tell my dad he better return you in one piece."

"Will do," I answered, grabbing my mask. I grinned at her and went out through the front door.

I could feel Lydia comparing the memory to her own of that night, filling in the blanks, creating an image of her watching us drive away. Things abruptly flipped to my memory again and I realized Lydia was controlling the flow now with an expertise that I'd never mastered.

"So what's the deal?" I asked Harold, or Chrono as he was now on a mission. We'd exchanged greetings already but I couldn't remember those very clearly. They were a blur of his bright blue eyes and wry smile. The image was painful.

"Villain by the name of Lightning Strike has been causing chaos. Intelligence says he's stolen a powerful weapon."

"What is it?"

"The Mortis Angelus," Harold said to me solemnly. "He stole it from the Institute of Villainy Research. Luckily it hasn't been completely operable, but his henchmen also stole some time-jumping devices…that's why they called me in the first place."

He had been happy as he explained all this to me. It was just another job. We didn't know then that it would turn into such a mess.

"Mortis Angelus?" I asked, climbing into the car.

"Angel of Death," Knight piped up from the back and I jumped. He grinned at me as Harold pulled away from the sidewalk.

I put my mask on and pulled up my dark hood, glancing at Knight through the rearview mirror. "So what," I grinned jokingly, "Like the death ray?"

"Pretty much."

My smile disappeared.

I forced us forward, past the rest of the car ride. Nothing else had happened besides small talk and joking. All of that seemed like making conversation with ghosts now. Each word and glance hurt already- pain amplified by the fact that Lydia and I were both experiencing it.

After a brief scuffle in the foyer of the skyscraper Lightning Strike owned as his CEO alter-ego, he and two of his underlings escaped to the roof with their malfunctioning weapons. The time-jumping devices and the Mortis Angelus had all been hit by a misfire sonic scream. The underling responsible had quickly been shot by Lightning Strike and was left to die as they escaped.

"Quick, they're on the roof- managed to time-jump a couple minutes to get there," Chrono said, holding his hands out to us to time-jump forward to their location.

Knight straightened, done examining the dead sidekick. The man had been twitching for a while, evidence that the Mortis Angelus wasn't working to its full capabilities any longer. He jogged over to us and held his hand out to his uncle. I'd already taken the other.

"The adaptor must have been loose," Knight babbled as we suddenly were flung forward through time. It was like watching a video fast-forwarded at super speeds. "Keeps the ray from dealing instant death and instead causes-"

The world stopped turning around us and we all found ourselves crouched behind the door at the top of the stairwell. The night air was cold and I felt a shiver escape up my back. Knight had stopped talking instantly and now our keenly listening ears could focus on the noises of Lightning Strike and his two sidekicks as they waited for something- no doubt a helicopter. They were talking and seemed strangely unhurried about the escape. I was about to say something when I suddenly realized there were no longer three silhouettes against the skyline of the city- but four.

"Weren't there only thr-" I began when Chrono abruptly disappeared and then reappeared by the others. He'd time-jumped across the broad roof before I could complete my sentence.

Though…no warning would have helped us face what was next.

I wanted to flinch away from the next part of the memory but found myself watching all the same, reliving the night as I had so many times before, trying to find something that would reveal the identity of the person responsible for ruining my life.

Knight started forward as Chrono put his knee into Lightning Strike's back, forcing him to the ground. The darkness had prevented us from seeing something very important, and in a moment, one of the henchmen had the Mortis Angelus pointed at my father-in-law. The weapon was fired and a ray of black that one could hardly see shot straight into Harold.

I paused in my steps and then stumbled on beside Knight, too caught up in emotions to stop and think of what would be the smart thing to do. We skidded to a halt next to the twitching body of Chrono. He was staring up at us and still breathing. I let go of a relieved breath and turned on the surrounding villains with a scowl.

"Hold it pyro," a female voice called as my hands lit up with a whoosh.

She was the fourth figure, stepping out of the night like some kind of stalking predator. Her smile showed brightly, the only thing visible beneath the shadow of her dark hood and mask. Somehow I couldn't turn away and my hands held still, flames burning out obediently. Frustrated, I tried to move and found I couldn't. Knight was in the same situation, stuck kneeling next to Chrono's prone body.

"Pity we couldn't meet under better circumstances Third Degree, I've heard good things about you. Though I don't suppose you'd appreciate any compliments from this particular family member. You always did shy away from your Ministry roots, eh?"

I snarled, unable to display any other signs of anger.

"Right, well unfortunately I'm running on a tight schedule so I'll have to cut our introductions short." She raised a hand to one of the henchmen who went over and quickly cut the throat of the fallen Lightning Strike. I choked back any sign of surprise as she explained. "I'm the real Lightning Strike. This weather-controlling buffoon was pretty useful in covering my tracks, but I'm sick of the games now. Truth is, my abilities are of a more subtle and useful sort."

With a snap of her fingers, Chrono suddenly rose, struggling with his body in order to stand. His stare had gone blank and I knew immediately that the woman was a mind controller. Chrono took the Mortis Angelus from the woman's hands before bringing it over to Knight. His limbs were immediately freed from her control but his mind was taken over in the same moment.

"Fix it," she ordered simply to Knight, "Wouldn't want you to suffer like your friend here, now would we?"

I growled, trying to remember everything that I'd ever been taught about warding off mental attacks. Nothing helped and I was left watching as Knight rigidly fixed the weapon and then handed it back to Chrono at a glance from the woman. Chrono took it and pointed at Knight, barrel held inches from his chest. I was screaming in my head, concentrating on breaking control so seriously that migraine pains started blazing through my skull.

Chrono hit the trigger and rocked back slightly, fragile body barely holding still against the recoil. The ray hit Knight in the chest and he slumped over, lifeless.

"He couldn't have," Lydia shouted, angrily storming into my mind, ruthlessly pulling at moments I didn't want to see again. I tried to lay it all out factually but found I couldn't exclude the emotions attached.

Knight was dead, hadn't breathed once in the last few minutes. Lightning Strike was talking to the other two villains about something. I could only stare unfeelingly at the now frozen Chrono. Tears were streaming down his worn face as he stared at Knight. The Mortis Angelus lay abandoned near our feet. I was too hopeless to think of anything besides securing a quick death for Chrono and myself.

As soon as I'd thought that, my foot suddenly twitched. Eyes widening in surprise, I glanced up at the turned backs of the villains. Had her mental hold lost its power from controlling more than one person? I ignored the questions and rose suddenly, knowing there was only a short amount of time. I quickly grabbed Lightning Strike around the neck and began dragging her to the edge of the building, seeing Knight's dead body in my mind's eye.

She was over the edge in a flash, holding only onto my arm. My hand tightened around her neck, ready to release. My body seemed to be moving without command and I suddenly realized this wasn't me at all. Why hadn't I lit up yet, taken out the other two goons? Why hadn't one of them shot me with the Mortis Angelus yet? Why wasn't I concerned about handing her over to the authorities? Why couldn't I manage to move?

Lightning Strike smiled, an awkward expression on her steadily reddening face. Her mask slipped, revealing an attractive face. Golden strands of hair framed the scene as she winked slowly.

Then I let go.

I searched the memory desperately, looking for some sign. Why Lightning Strike had sacrificed her own life was still beyond me. She had died, though her body was never matched to any villains in the system. Why had she died? Why did she want to? Incriminating me didn't make sense besides her vague mention of the Ministry of Elements and even that would hardly be motivation for suicide.

Lydia moved on this time, past the anguished emotions I felt as Chrono and I took care of the other two villains and then knelt on either side of Knight. Harold checked his nephew's pulse, still unable to believe that he was gone. The rest was a blur of more feeling than recollection until we arrived at a quiet conversation between Chrono and me.

No one had come yet, though we'd called in for backup and an investigation team. We'd been silent since then, sitting together on the cold roof between the bodies of the fake Lightning Strike and Knight. The henchmen lay there too, having died in convulsions only moments after we'd subdued them. It didn't take much to conclude that Lightning Strike had set up some sort of mental block to kill them once she'd died. I turned my face away from them and towards Chrono.

"When they come- we say that I killed Knight," I commanded simply, meeting Harold's bloodshot eyes.

He shook his head.

"The Mortis Angelus has done something to you," I replied, more insistence than logic at the moment, "You can't go to prison like that. You know the council, the chances of a mind-controlled killer getting off without some time is zip." Now that the other two villains were dead, any testimonies had been destroyed.

"I can't do this to you Warren. I can't do this to Lydia," Harold said, grabbing hold of my arm. "Don't do this," his voice was weak.

"What about Emma?" I had responded, thinking of Lydia's red-eyed half-sister, "She needs her dad- and Shyla?"

"I can't be selfish like that."

"You're dying," I added seriously, trying my best to stare him down. I wrested from his grip, "You want to die in prison? That's what'll happen."

"You'll be a villain in everyone's eyes. What if Lydi-"

"Lydia needs you too- as long as you'll be around." I put my hand on my father-in-law's shoulder, "Let me do this."

Let me do this…

Do this…

This…

The words echoed for a few moments and then everything stopped. I found myself sitting in the room, helmet still strapped on, staring across at Lydia's tear-stained face. She'd gone all red and splotchy like she usually did after crying. With a sudden pull I was flung back into the strange, nauseating darkness of my mind and memories. Even with the present pain, she wanted more.

"Thus the jury finds that one Third Degree is found guilty of the unintentional homicide of villain Lightning Strike and hero Veritas. Because of the evidence presented in court, the jury agrees on a seven year sentence with possibility of early release for good behavior."

I looked over my shoulder at Lydia. Her father hadn't even been able to attend the trial due to his hospitalization. Doctors believed he was suffering from an acute form of cancer. I faced the doors before I was led through them, stalwart though my sentence was yet to be carried out. Seven years seemed like a lifetime, but I'd never been one to cower.

The walls of the prison were flung up into existence and we found me inside, pinned to the floor.

I craned my head around, trying to look for an escape. Stitches leered above me, looking insanely normal without his villain get-up. I saw my panicked expression in the piece of glass he held. Blood dripped down the glass and into my face from his hand. He didn't seem to mind that the weapon was gnawing into his own flesh- as long as he had a chance at cutting mine.

"Hoity-toity little pyro isn't so proud now," he crowed in a sing-song voice, "Been here almost a week and I still haven't marked you. We all have to have a mark. HaHaHAHA!"

I grimaced as the glass stuck into my cheek. The sounds of the guards struggling to open the cell door were drowned out by my own growl of pain.

I didn't want Lydia to see the rest of what I'd gone through. She'd been through enough without that on her mind but she wrested control away from me before I could blast through the years.

"I hate you!" I yelled gruffly, drawing the attention of the other inmates who sat on this side of the glass. The guards behind me tensed. "Don't ever come here again. I don't want to see you ever again!"

I walked with the guards to the door and didn't look back. Even so, I knew what she'd look like as she wiped away any tears quickly and left, trying to maintain her dignity as she left her heart behind.

When they brought me back to the cell, my new cellmate looked up. With the face of my father-in-law he smiled.

"Have a nice visit with Lydia?" he asked once the guards had left.

"I told you, we're not together anymore. You said all that was in an alternate dimension anyway-" I answered drawing my knees to my chest and eyeing the man who had once been called Secondhand by his villain counterparts.

"You may not remember meeting me," the man answered finally, "But I remember you. You think this little act of yours is going to protect her? I may be in here for life, but I can get my revenge through other means."

I leaned my head against the wall, "I still don't know what you're talking about, but maybe you'll believe me once I send the divorce papers off next week."

I could feel him eyeing me cautiously, trying to size up whether I was lying or not. Fortunately, I'd always had a wonderful poker face.

"You know the rest!" I yelled aloud, ending it all with determination as fiery pain shot back to front over my skull.

We sat panting in the room. I undid the straps of the helmet and took it off, rising before she could insist on seeing anything else.

"You weren't lying about that Secondhand person," she murmured, sounding surprised.

I shook my head, glad at least to be exonerated of that.

"Lydia," I began slowly, reaching a hand out towards her.

"I need some time Warren," she replied, cutting off my words before they were spoken. Standing up, she picked up her purse and headed to the door. "You can get home right?" she paused to ask, hand already turning the door handle.

I nodded, wondering if I'd only succeeded in making things worse.

"See you later," she offered with a last look and left the room.

I didn't stop her.

AN: What a rush eh? Sorry about forcing that all into one chapter, but it was about the only place to do it. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Let me know what you think!