Chosen Chapter 14: Past and Present Danger

Part 3

Xxx

Without waiting for an invitation, agent Murphy walked past Violet and headed into the living room. Violet quickly closed the door and followed him, wondering what was going on. He had said that all their lives were in danger somehow.

"Murphy." Billie said surprised when she saw him enter. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. It's important." Murphy said.

"Here to arrest us again?" Nick remarked.

"You." Murphy replied with a confused frown as he recognized the twins. "You're the bank robbers I chased some time ago."

"Uh, reformed bank robbers, thank you very much." Nathan said.

"I was chasing you, but then our evidence disappeared." Murphy recalled. "I had almost forgotten you altogether. Did you use magic on me?"

"The Tribunal did." Duncan explained. "They were a magical court system created to protect the secret of magic. The twins had their powers stripped as punishment, in exchange for all evidence of their crimes being erased."

"We're all redeemed now." Nick said with a smile.

"I doubt the justice system would agree, but that is not why I am here." Murphy said. "We have more important things to discuss. You're all in terrible danger."

"Danger from what?" Billie asked.

"Amanda Freeman." Murphy said.

"Wait, the mayor?" Violet asked. "She knows about us?"

"Yes. She has known about magic for quite some time." Murphy explained. "She sees it as a threat that she needs to deal with. Her views on the matter only intensified after the Brotherhood took over the city."

"But those memories should have been erased." Duncan said. "The Elders covered it up."

"She has a powerful amulet that shields her against magic." Murphy said. "That is how she kept her memories."

"But the mayor knows that we're good, right?" Violet asked. "We saved the city."

"I'm afraid she doesn't care." Murphy replied. "She sees all magic as a threat, including you. That is why she hired that witch hunter to kill you."

"Wait, she is the one who hired Jake's sister?" Duncan asked.

"Seriously? I voted for her." Billie remarked.

"This really isn't the time to joke." Murphy said. "The mayor has been seeking a way to eliminate magic from her city and now she has found one."

"How?" Duncan asked concerned.

"A virus." Murphy replied, before turning to Billie. "One I think you're familiar with."

"Oh no." Billie said shocked.

"What is he talking about?" Violet asked.

"Back when I was still with the Charmed Ones, the sisters were working with Homeland Security." Billie explained. "We discovered that the government had been trying to create a super soldier with demonic blood, but instead they accidentally created a virus. It caused magical beings to become more powerful and hulk out, but it would kill them in the end."

"That sounds a little too comic bookish for me." Nick remarked.

"I wish it were." Billie said. "The virus nearly killed me. Luckily, the sisters were able to find a blood sample from someone who was immune and used it to cure me."

"I remember." Duncan said. "The entire magical community was scared of an epidemic. Luckily, the Elders distributed the antidote they got from the Charmed Ones."

"So the virus was destroyed?" Violet asked. "Then how did the mayor get her hands on it?"

"There was a demon who escaped with a sample of the virus and the blood." Billie said.

"And the mayor captured him." Murphy continued. "She had her team create a new strain of the virus. Only this one doesn't cause you to hulk out, it will just kill you."

"So the antidote is useless." Billie said.

"Exactly." Murphy replied.

"But why?" Violet asked. "Even if she thinks magic is dangerous, to use a virus like this…"

"She will go to any extreme to do what she thinks is best for the city." Murphy replied. "She doesn't care about good or evil, she just wants to protect her citizens by any means necessary."

"Maybe we could talk to her, get her to see reason." Violet suggested.

"I doubt it." Murphy said. "She is a very headstrong woman. Nothing is going to change her mind."

"Besides, meeting her could be dangerous." Billie said. "What if she uses the virus?"

"Then what should we do?" Duncan asked.

"Well, forgive me for thinking like a thief, but can't we just steal the virus before she uses it?" Nick asked as he crossed his arms. "Once her weapon is gone, she is no longer a threat."

"You make it sound simple." Duncan replied. "She probably has it hidden and well-guarded."

"I've been to the lab, I can show you were it is." Murphy said.

"Agent Murphy, why are you helping us?" Violet asked.

"Because I've learned from past mistakes." Murphy replied. "The government has no business experimenting with magic. Besides, the mayor might think magic is evil, but I've seen it do good as well. I can't stand by and let the mayor harm good people."

"Ah, so you do like us." Nathan smirked.

"Don't make me regret this." Murphy replied annoyed.

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I agree with Nick." Billie said determined. "We should steal and destroy the virus before the mayor has a chance to use it."

"I guess our little trip to the past will have to wait." Violet said.

"It doesn't have to." Billie replied.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked. "This is more important."

"Violet, you've been searching for answers for a long time." Billie said. "Now you finally have a chance to get them. You need to go."

"I can't go on some personal quest while my friends are in danger." Violet replied. "You might need me."

"And we might not." Duncan said. "We don't even know what we're dealing with yet. Billie and I can handle things here while you find the answers you need." He then turned to the twins. "Same goes for you."

"Are you kidding me?" Nathan asked. "We're not leaving."

"Exactly." Nick added. "Besides, we're the expert thieves here. Who better to steal a virus?"

"This isn't a bank we're robbing." Billie remarked. "Look, Duncan is right. We can check things out first and when we need you, we can always summon you back here."

"Are you sure about this?" Violet asked.

"Going in with a large group only increases the odds of getting caught." Murphy stated. "A small team will be better at sneaking in undetected."

"That's true." Nathan reluctantly admitted.

"Then it's settled." Billie said.

A few moments later, Billie had drawn a triquetra on the wall with some washable chalk. Violet looked at the spell written on a piece of paper in her hand. Was she doing the right thing by going back? Especially now that the entire magical community was in danger? She felt horribly selfish, but a part of her wanted to go. Her friends were confident that they could handle things, so she just needed to trust in them. They were better at being witches than her anyway. She still felt like a rookie, still learning about magic while Billie and Duncan knew so much more. She could not help but wonder how different things could have been if she had been raised by magical parents. Now she finally had the chance to find out.

"Ready?" Nathan asked as the twins moved to both her sides.

"As I'll ever be." Violet said nervously.

"Remember, you all need to cast the spell together to make it work." Duncan reminded them. "You all need to focus on the one thing you have in common, Gideon."

Violet and the twins nodded as they looked at the paper and began casting the spell.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme

Heed the hope within my mind

Send me back to where I'll find

What I wish in place and time."

As soon as they finished casting the spell, the lines of the triquetra started to glow and a swirling blue time portal opened. Violet looked at the twins and nodded. They held hands as they leaped forward and disappeared through the portal, which closed the moment they were gone.

Xxx

In another time, a young boy was watching TV in his living room when a swirling blue portal opened on the wall behind him. The boy turned around as Violet, Nathan and Nick were thrown from the portal and landed on the floor. The boy's eyed widened and his mouth fell open as the portal closed. Violet groaned after her painful landing and sat up. She looked around and saw they were still in her own living room, except everything in the room was different. All the furniture and even the wallpaper had been replaced.

"Ouch, that was painful." Nathan remarked. "Did it work?"

"Why are we still in your house?" Nick asked.

"We're not, technically, we're…" Violet started to explain, but she fell silent when she saw the little boy staring at them. "Oh no."

"What?" Nathan asked.

Violet pointed at the little boy, who was still too shocked to speak. She realized they had only traveled through time, not space. That meant they were still in the same house, except that in this time period, it wasn't their house. It belonged to someone else. The furniture looked at least a couple of decades old, as did the huge television.

"Okay, little boy, don't scream." Nick said carefully.

"Mommy!" The boy cried out.

"Okay, that didn't work." Nick remarked. "Let's get out of here."

The three of them got up and tried to run for it, but the boy's mother emerged from the kitchen and screamed when she saw them, obviously thinking they were intruders. The boy ran to his mother for protection. Not wanting to cause even more panic, Violet threw up her hands and froze time.

"We should get out of here." Nathan noted.

"Not yet, we need to know what year we're in." Violet said as she walked over to the table and grabbed a newspaper. She was shocked when she saw the date. "What? This has to be a mistake."

"What?" Nick asked.

"It's July 30st, 1988." Violet replied. "I was born in 1986 and adopted by my parents right away. This must be a mistake."

"No, it's not." Nathan said.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked confused.

"July 30st, 1988 is the day our parents disappeared." Nick said.

"Are you sure?" Violet asked.

"Pretty sure, it happened the day after our third birthday." Nathan replied. "It must be why we were sent here."

Violet looked at the paper and noticed her hands were trembling. She was hoping to find out about her own past, but the spell had sent them to the twins' past instead. She was upset that the spell had failed for her, but she knew the twins wanted answers as much as she did. The spell had brought them here for a reason, so she needed to help them find out why.

"Then we have to find out what happened." Violet said determined as she wiped away a tear.

"I'm sorry, Violet." Nathan replied. "I know this isn't what you were hoping for, but maybe we can still find out about your past as well."

"Yeah, maybe." Violet said. "Where do we need to go?"

"Boston." Nick replied.

"Then we'll need some teleportation potions." Violet said. "We need to erase the memories of these people as well. And maybe a change of wardrobe."

"Why?" Nick asked with a frown.

"Because we need to blend in." Nathan replied. "Our clothes don't exactly fit in the 80s. Basically nobody had any taste in this decade."

"Alright, let's get moving." Nick said

Xxx

In the present, Billie and Duncan arrived on an industrial terrain late at night through a teleportation potion. Duncan still had trouble wrapping his mind around all of this. Not only did the mayor know about magic, she was trying to destroy it. Why would she go to such extremes? It was true the Brotherhood had overtaken her city once, but there had to be another reason for her actions. However, finding out those reasons needed to wait. They couldn't take any chances. They needed to stop this virus before it was unleashed, as it could wipe out the entire magical community.

When they reached the meeting point, they found Agent Murphy waiting for them. He frowned when he noticed their clothes, as they both dressed entirely in black.

"Are you serious?" Murphy remarked. "This isn't Mission Impossible."

"Well, we didn't know how to dress for infiltrating a government facility." Billie replied. "Besides, this outfit is totally cute."

"Alright Moneypenny. Let's just get going." Murphy replied as he rolled his eyes.

"How exactly are we going to break in?" Duncan asked.

"There is a single guard at the entrance." Murphy replied. "He won't be a problem, but we need to disable the security system."

"Okay, just tell me where it is and I'll astral project there to shut it down." Duncan said.

"It's not that simple." Murphy replied. "I know this system. The moment it is tampered with, it will sent out an alarm. The only way to shut it down is with a security card from the guard."

"Which we can't get without raising the alarm." Billie noted.

"I might have a way for that." Duncan said.

"What do you mean?" Billie asked.

"Well, I haven't told you guys yet, but I've been practicing my astral projection." Duncan replied. "I think I've mastered how to use my astral self to possess people by leaping into their bodies."

"What?" Billie asked shocked. "Duncan, that is amazing."

"You think you mastered it?" Murphy asked concerned.

"Well, it doesn't always work." Duncan replied. "And I can only do it for a few minutes at most."

"Sounds risky." Murphy said.

"Sounds like our best option." Billie countered.

"Fine. I'll distract the guard, giving you time to do your thing." Murphy said. "Once you're in control, we'll go in and disable the system."

Duncan and Billie nodded in agreement. They snuck to the facility and waited as Murphy approached the guard. Murphy talked to the guard while moving him away from the camera. When they were out of the line of sight, Duncan astral projected behind them and snuck up to the guard. He really hoped it would work this time, as this new power was still a work in progress. He leaped into his body, causing it to glow for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Murphy asked.

"Little dizzy." Duncan replied through the guard. "But it's me, the possession worked."

"Good." Murphy said. "Then let's get this over with."

xxx