Part two

Somewhere along the way in the past year, Astrid developed the dubious skill of being an accomplished liar. It was not that long ago that she maintained an open and honest relationship with her parents. But now she found it necessary to shade the truth, and found that she was better at it than she had any right to be. She always tried to stay as close to the truth as she could. Today she told her parents that she and Stephen had gotten in touch with one another. "I know it's short notice," she began, "but would it be alright if I take a day off to visit him?" Her father had been surprised by the suddenness of the request. "We're both so busy that we don't have many opportunities to get together these days," she concluded, hoping that this would persuade her father. He told her how much he appreciated the time she devoted to working at the café, and that she had more than earned a day off. He'd make due for the day without her.

Later that afternoon, Astrid was waiting outside the building that housed Philippe's practice studio, working to mask her nerves, when Russell rounded the corner and approached her. The sun felt warm on her face, but a cool and persistent breeze made her grateful for the light grey jacket she wore. She traveled light today—no bag, but essentials stuck into pockets wherever they fit and would be secure.

"Astrid," he said with gravity that belied his flamboyant attire. Astrid took in his somewhat baffling outfit—burnt orange skinny jeans, high-top Nikes, a wild printed hoodie, topped by a totally unnecessary puffer vest in a different orange that totally clashed with the jeans. "What's wrong with it?" he asked, pulling the vest open to show off more of the mind-boggling sweatshirt.

Astrid had to smile, though she was also reminded to focus her thoughts as Jedikiah instructed her. Russell would be far easier to mentally elude than Cara or Stephen. She needed to maintain her focus. They may be her friends, but this was unlikely to be a friendly interaction.

"This way," she led him inside the building to the elevator. Once inside he took her arm and teleported away.

They arrived with a lurch in a dimly lit, decrepit hallway. The new lair, she thought. Russell said nothing, but led her down the hallway to an office. Astrid tried to make sense of her surroundings. It was some sort of abandoned school building, maybe an old hospital. The hallway was wide, and clearly led to connecting corridors. Given its size, and state of disrepair, she thought it must be outside of the city.

As they arrived at the door of an office, she knew it was time to practice the technique that Jedikiah had stressed. "Focus on the reason you're there—John … focus on him exclusively," he'd told her. Russell opened the door and ushered her in. The office was nearly as decrepit as the hallway, and equally dimly lit. Though there were plenty of windows, Astrid noticed that they'd been blacked out with dark paper. Cara was waiting for them, sitting behind an ancient desk, in a relatively new leather desk chair. The rest of the furniture appeared to also be randomly selected—some looked to be original to the building, some, more recently acquired.

For the most part, Cara looked much the same as the last time they'd met—always lovely, albeit a bit more tired. "Astrid," she said, not standing to greet her, but not actively unfriendly either.

For her part, Astrid flooded her mind with thoughts and images of John—John standing at the bar after her performance … John on the ferry … John holding her hand, seeing her home … John in a gray suit with a blue shirt that complimented his blue eyes … not a guy, the guy. Focus on the reason you're here … "I want to see John," she said firmly and without preamble.

"I'm sorry Astrid. That isn't possible."

"Why not?"

"For lots of reasons. Look Astrid, we're working on getting his memory back."

"Have you had any success?" Astrid asked with conflicted excitement.

"No, not yet, but what if we can?" Cara voice suggested it might be possible.

It was a good tactic, but Astrid tried not to let it distract her, "A better question is, what if you can't? What then?" For an instant Astrid's mind strayed to Jedikiah's assertion that if they failed to restore John's memory, they might take his powers again. "Think about it, Astrid. What other recourse will they have?" Jedikiah's words came unbidden to her mind.

"I can't believe you're on Jedikiah's side." "You've gone to the dark side with Jedikiah Price and John 2.0." Cara and Russell were speaking over one another.

"I'm not on Jedikiah's side, and I'm not on yours. The only side I'm on is John's—with or without his powers—with or without his memory—I'm on his side," Astrid retorted angrily. "I just want to see him, Cara." Astrid found herself fighting back her emotions. Focus on the reason you're here …

"I'm sorry Astrid. That isn't possible," Cara told her firmly. "Did you know he tried to 'recruit' me?" Her face and the air-quotes spoke of her distain. "Russell too."

"Yet here you are. So clearly he's not a threat to you."

"Some of the others are no longer here, and we're tired of playing Jedikiah's games. The way John is now, he's just Jedikiah's pawn."

Astrid gathered herself, "I don't care about Jedikiah or his games. I just want to see John—please."

Just then, the door opened and Stephen walked in. "Hey you, sorry I wasn't here to meet you," he said as he gave Astrid a hug.

"Look at you, so leader-like," she smiled for the first time since she'd arrived.

He released her, and walked around to the other side of the desk. Cara got up at once, yielding her seat to him. But he stood beside her rather than taking the seat. Astrid noticed the way he gently touched Cara's back—it was an intimate gesture. She pushed the thought away. Focus on the reason you're here …

"As I was telling Cara, I'm here to see John."

"I know," Stephen's tone was serious and thoughtful.

Astrid noticed how he seemed to have grown into his role as leader. It was as though responsibility aged him. It showed in his face, especially his eyes. He was no longer the boy she grew up with, the kid she loved to tease and joke with. He was a man, a leader in his own right, and it showed. "Well, now that you're here, you can make that happen."

"I can, but then what?"

"Ideally, I'd like him to leave with me."

"I'm sorry Astrid. I can't do that."

Astrid allowed her frustration to show, "You can forgive Russell his betrayal, but you won't release John," she gestured toward Russell, who looked at once ashamed and indignant, but said nothing.

"Russell's made amends, and he isn't Jedikiah's partner."

Astrid closed the space between her and Stephen, until she stood directly across the desk facing him. "Stephen, he's still John. I've spent enough time with him to know."

In the periphery, Astrid could see the expression on Cara's face harden and her lips compress, but she said nothing. Instead, Stephen spoke, "I'm sorry Astrid. I can't."

"So you're holding him against his will, just like Ultra in the bad old days," Astrid responded angrily.

Cara responded matching Astrid's intensity, "We're nothing like Ultra. The people who are here are here because they want to be …"

"Except John."

"We're nothing like Ultra," Stephen repeated calmly ignoring her last statement. He looked at Cara probably telepathically communicating whatever decision he'd reached. "I'll prove it to you. I'll let you see John. Stay as long as you want."

Astrid tried to put a brave face on her feelings. "Thanks Stephen. I guess that will have to be enough."

Russell was tasked with teleporting her to John's room—thus ensuring that she would see as little of the new lair as possible. They arrived just inside the doorway. Astrid quickly scanned the room with her eyes —a battered desk with a mismatched chair, a shabby chest of drawers, and a narrow bed up against the wall. The only light was from a florescent fixture on the ceiling. A band of narrow windows ran the length of one wall—too high to reach even standing on the desk chair. They too, like the ones in Stephen's office, were covered with dark paper, blotting out any sunlight. The door itself had a long, narrow window. Through it, Astrid could see a paranormal unknown to her lounging on a small couch that was strategically situated just across the hall—clearly on sentry duty, she thought, but said aloud, "Nothing like Ultra—right."

John was sitting on the bed; his back against the wall, legs bent. Astrid could clearly see the cuff on his ankle. It would be the device that suppressed his powers—Jedikiah told her that they would have put one on John for sure.

John tossed aside the book it was reading, or pretended to read, as they materialized. He was wearing the leather jacket she'd given him; he'd paired it with a fitted gray sweater and black jeans. The scruff on his face reflected two days of growth. He looked much like John used to.

"You have a visitor," Russell announced.

John was on his feet at once. "Astrid, what are you doing here?"

She went straight into his arms. She briefly kissed his lips then buried her face in his neck. "Jedikiah sent me to bring you home," she whispered into his ear.

"How?" he returned barely audible.

She turned and looked over her shoulder at Russell, "Can you give us some privacy?"

"Sorry Astrid. That wasn't part of the deal," Russell shrugged his shoulders and gave her a rueful smile.

"Fine, but unless voyeurism is your thing, you may want to turn around while I give him a proper kiss," she replied, with a rueful smile of her own.

Russell made a small gesture with his hands, shook his head, but turned around to give them some privacy.

Astrid held onto John's arm, closed her eyes, and did as Jedikiah instructed her—picturing herself and John leaving. It happened so quickly—in an instant they had teleported out of the room.

It was a good news, bad news, worse news situation—the good news was that they were out of John's room; the bad news was they were just outside of the building, hemmed in by a chain-link fence, topped by barbed wire; the worse news was that a paranormal sentry spotted them immediately and teleported to intercept them. While the sentry had the advantage of powers, John was still a skilled fighter. He took a defensive posture in front of Astrid, only to find the paranormal had teleported out of range. Then he teleported back to within range of John and tried to grab onto him. Just then a second one appeared, no doubt summoned telepathically.

Astrid had the element of surprise on her side. She made a dismissive motion with her hands, and sent them both staggering backwards away from John. He looked on in shocked admiration. She too took a split second to marvel at the power she channeled through her hands, but at the same time she knew she needed to get John out of there before the paranormals regrouped. Before the two could get their feet under them, Astrid lunged at John, held onto him, and focused her mind. This time, rather than simply thinking of getting out, she thought more specifically about getting back to the lab. In a moment, they stumbled in. It had not been pretty, but it got the job done.

They arrived awkwardly, with John holding onto Astrid to keep her from tumbling to the floor. Then they faced one another. John was smiling from ear to ear. "That was amazing."

"I know, right? It was so exhilarating. I'm still shaking," she said, taking his hand so that he could feel it for himself.

"About that 'proper' kiss," he began as he let go of her hand, and took her into his arms and kissed her.

"A simple thank you would have sufficed, but that was much nicer," she teased in return.

"You know I'm sitting right here, right?" Jedikiah asked from across the room.

"I didn't see you," John said without taking his eyes from Astrid's face, which was still giddy from success.

"So Astrid, a successful first mission, I see." Jedikiah said looking up from the bench where he was working. They were still looking at one another.

Astrid reached up and touched John's cheek. "Well, I brought him home, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," was Jedikiah's response. "And now, if you two can give that a rest, I'd like to debrief." Reluctantly, they turned their attention and moved to the lab bench where Jedikiah was working.

"First things first." John showed him the power-suppressing anklet.

"This is a new design," Jedikiah noted as he examined it. Then he went to work and in a few minutes managed to remove it.

Next it was Astrid's turn. She went and stood next to Jedikiah. She removed her left arm from the sleeve of her jacket and pushed the sleeve of her tee shirt up to reveal a large square-shaped Band-aid. She rested her forearm on the lab bench, as Jedikiah collected some alcohol, cotton balls, a fresh Band-aid, and a pair of tweezers, then he carefully removed the bandage to reveal what appeared to be a small stud in Astrid's arm. Using the tweezers, he gently extracted the stud, and with it, a narrow needle implanted just under the skin. She winced as he dabbed the small wound with an alcohol soaked cotton ball, and applied the new bandage.

"What's that?" John asked as he watched Jedikiah perform the minor procedure.

"A new time-released delivery system," Jedikiah responded without looking up. "It appears to have worked," he said looking up at Astrid.

"It was a little bumpy, but yes, it worked."

"Tell me more." Jedikiah's face was serious and turned to his laptop to record his notes.

"I could teleport, use telekinesis, but the telepathy wasn't very useful," Astrid began. "I think that's because I was working so hard to focus so that no one could read me. I think it just required too much attention to do both. Although I did inadvertently give away the fact that we were working together. So maybe it did work, just not the way I intended. But the other powers worked the way you said they should."

"Any difficulty controlling the powers?" he continued typing.

"Not really—it went kind of like it did when I practiced. Truthfully though, I got flustered and I wasn't terribly precise in teleporting. Initially, we ended up outside the building, but inside the fence."

Jedikiah gave John a significant look, but asked Astrid, "Any pain or irritation at the site of the implant?"

"No. It was fine. Jedikiah?"

"Astrid?" He looked up from his computer again.

"How long do you think the powers will last?"

"Hard to say," he told her honestly. "I'm hoping you'll continue to monitor it, and let me know how long it stays in your system now that the implant's been removed."

By now, Astrid was pulling down her sleeve and putting her jacket back on. Jedikiah went to a cabinet, retrieved a bracelet, and handed it to Astrid. "You can activate this if you're afraid of sleep-porting."

"Yeah, I remember when Stephen used to do that," she said. "Anyway, I should get going. I think I'll go home the old-fashioned way."

"Here," Jedikiah handed her a visitor's pass. "Give this to the guard on your way out."

"Thanks." Then she turned to John, "See you later?"

"I'll call you after we debrief, and I shower and change." John kissed her cheek, and then watched her leave.

As soon as the door closed, he turned to Jedikiah, "You shouldn't have involved Astrid," he said forcefully, but not angrily.

"I guess you heard things about me that gave you reason to doubt my intentions."

"I did, but I was prepared for that—and this isn't about that."

Jedikiah was clearly surprised and disappointed by his reaction. "She wanted to help."

"So, she came to you and asked to be a human test subject?" John countered—fatigue and irritation fueled his response.

"No, but she didn't hesitate when I told her the plan. The only thing she wanted to know was whether it would work."

"And if it hadn't?" John asked pointedly.

"Then she walks away, and we try Plan B."

"Which was what exactly?"

"Cake with a file in it," Jedikiah deadpanned. Then he regrouped and tried a different tack. "I've always been proud of the way you inspire loyalty in others—clearly more than loyalty in Astrid's case. Besides she wasn't in any danger."

"Are you sure about that?" John was reluctant to concede the point.

"Stephen would never hurt her."

"Maybe not, but her friendship with Stephen means a lot to her. You shouldn't have put her in that position."

"You should be proud of her … her resolve and willingness to help you. Frankly, I may have underestimated her." Jedikiah gave John an appraising look, sensing that something had shifted as a result of this mission. "Pull up a stool. Let's go over the mission."

Then John began to walk Jedikiah through the mission, from the time he allowed himself to be taken through their escape, with Jedikiah asking questions to ensure they covered critical points.

They began with a tactical assessment. Russell had headed the team sent to meet John and take him back to the new lair. "Some were clearly experienced," John told him, "but others were completely green—practically useless. I put up a convincing fight, but in the end I let them take me. Once they put it on, the anklet definitely dulled my powers. I was completely vulnerable."

"Sorry to put you in that position, John."

John went on, "Russell is clearly their field lieutenant, but Stephen and Cara are in charge. I wasn't allowed to see Stephen, but Cara and Russell paid me a number of visits in an attempt to trigger my memory."

"How?"

"Mostly a lot reminiscing," John grew pensive. There were too many things said that he didn't want to share with Jedikiah—not now anyway, before he processed it himself.

So Jedikiah prompted him, "Anything else?"

John quietly assessed for a moment then responded, "Only that a scientist named Irene visited me. She wanted to know what I remembered about having my powers restored. Also, she told me she thought if we worked together, maybe we could restore my memory."

"Interesting," Jedikiah said, without meeting John's eyes.

So John continued, "My best guess is that the new lair is an abandoned hospital—probably a former mental hospital judging from the layout and design of the facilities. Astrid's errant teleporting gave me a brief look at it from the outside—it's definitely outside of the city, someplace fairly isolated, but clearly not too far away. It shouldn't be too hard to find, though they may be on the move again now that I've escaped." John could practically see the wheels turning in Jed's mind.

"Hmm. Good intel, John, but you look tired, and in need of a shower and shave … and you have a date, I believe. Let's pick this up again tomorrow. Good work, son."

John gave him a wan smile; he felt an inexplicable ambivalence when Jed called him son. As John hopped off of the stool, ready to leave, Jedikiah added, "One last thing—Morgan—did you see her or hear anything about her?"

"Sorry Jed. She definitely wasn't at the house where they captured me. My guess is she's not at the lair either, but I have no way of knowing for sure. I know you were hoping for more—I'm sorry."

A short time later, John emerged from his bathroom to find Astrid sitting at the edge of his bed. She'd been home and changed into a deep purple dotted dress, and freed her hair from the braid she'd worn early. She was still amazed by the "think it, focus, make it so" power that was teleportation. She smiled, and a bit of color stained her cheeks as she noticed he wore nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Suddenly she was grateful he wasn't one of those people who went naked in private. She also realized how foolish her impulse had been to surprise him with this one last act of teleportation. But she was here now. She could see on his torso the lingering effects of his missions in the form of bruises of varying ages and shades to match. She could see too the scar that marked the place where she'd removed a bullet from him with her own hands. She glanced away, then met his eyes and said, "Surprise," feigning the happy impatience that brought her here, but that had now dissipated.

She noticed the sparse furnishings—everything was impersonal and bare, as though he either invested little thought in his surroundings, or knew too little of his own style to make it more his own. The apartment itself was large and offered a stunning view of the skyline, especially now as the sun began to set.

He sat close beside her on the bed, put his arm around her shoulder, and kissed her temple. "I am surprised. What are you doing here?"

"I figured I had one last teleport in me, I wanted to make it count. I take it you're done debriefing?"

"For today."

She turned and looked into his eyes, guessing what she'd find there under the circumstances. "It must have been hard. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was hard," he began in a tone so low, she wondered whether he'd spoken at all. "They were all so desperate for my memory to return. And I heard a lot about the man I used to be … it was painful in a way they didn't intend it to be."

"And did it trigger anything?"

"Not really, but there was this one girl who came to see me, Charlie. She said I was like an older brother to her, and I was closest she'd ever get to having one. But there was nothing—on my part. It was the hardest part of the mission. For some reason, I left that part out when I debriefed with Jedikiah," he confessed.

"That's probably for the best," she told him, taking his hand. She went on, "I understand why they want you back. It's just … I think you should have the right to choose whether to stay with them. If you'd told me you wanted to stay, to try and get your memory back, I would have understood."

"I'm sorry Jedikiah involved you in this."

"Don't be. I wanted to help, and I was fine—really. Besides, I meant it when I said it was exhilarating. Jedikiah should be careful with that technology. Just imagine the chaos it would cause in the wrong hands. Plus it could become totally addictive."

They sat for a time without speaking, before John broke the silence. "I should get dressed. What do you feel like doing tonight?"

"I feel like staying in. Do you remember what we talked about before you left? About us, I mean," she raised an eyebrow and gave him a meaningful look.

"Yeah, of course."

"That's what I want to do tonight." Her face flushed again, "It's not like I've been saving myself like some hothouse flower waiting to be picked, but I've been waiting to choose it consciously … you know, the right person, at the right time. You're that person John, and I want to take that next step with you."

Astrid sat on a park bench, in the spring sunshine, nervously awaiting his arrival. How had it come to this? Not long ago, it would have been the most natural thing in the world. When she saw him round the corner, she gave him a slight smile and waved. She was relieved when she saw him smile in return. He acknowledged her by waving back. In a moment, he joined her on the bench.

"Thanks for coming," she said.

"I'm glad you reached out to me, Astrid."

"Well, I didn't want to leave things like that. You mean too much to me, Stephen."

"I feel the same way about you." He slipped his arm around her and gave her an awkward hug. "Cara's going to kill me when she finds out I came to see you."

"Hey, I thought you were their leader," Astrid jabbed his ribs with her elbow to punctuate the point.

He looked embarrassed, "Well, there are limits …"

"Oh yeah. How's that going?"

"Good, actually." He clearly meant it.

"I'm happy for you."

"So … you and John? Happy at last?"

"Yeah, I am. It's good between us—really good." She added, "If I'm honest, it's strange too—you know John, but not John—but really good in so many ways."

They were quiet for a minute, watching people drift by, everyone enjoying an afternoon in the park, then Stephen began, "You really played us. I know you didn't break out, because one of us would have felt it. So that leaves your partnership with Jedikiah."

"You know I can't tell you any of the details, Stephen."

"I know. You know I could just take the information I need," his tone heavy.

"I know, but you won't."

"I still can't believe that you would team up with Jedikiah, after everything he's done," he replied bitterly.

"Let's just say that our interests intersected."

"Getting John back."

"For Jedikiah—yes. But for me … well, it sounds weird saying it out loud, but I just want to protect him, Stephen. He's been through so much already," her voice asking for understanding. "He's had his powers taken away, then restored. He's lost his memory and his identity …"

"That's Jedikiah's fault."

"Maybe, but John is his own person. He has the right to decide—for himself—to rejoin you, or stay with Jedikiah, or walk away completely."

"So what happens now?"

"Maybe it's time to try a different approach. It may not seem like it, but there is common ground between you and Jedikiah—like stopping the cult of paranormals who are committed to Hugh Bathory and fulfilling his legacy, or identifying and stopping the next Hugh Bathory."

"You know about that?" the full extent of Astrid's involvement becoming clear.

"Of course," she smiled, but then grew serious again, "None of us can go back, Stephen. Sometimes I wish we could. We should be enjoying our college years—pulling all-nighters, making new friends, hating our roommates—normal things."

"I know what you mean. But you're right, we can't go back," he agreed sadly.

"Think about what I said—about Jedikiah, I mean. I know who is and what he's capable of, but he's also brilliant and resourceful—and he hates Bathory followers as much as you do." She stood, and he joined her. "I have to get back to my normal human life now. I have a voice lesson and I don't want to be late, so I'd better get going."

"Still singing?"

"As often as I can. You should come see me next time I perform."

"I'd like that," he said as she backed away for a step or two.

"Bye Stephen. I guess I can't call you dorkus anymore—even if you still are." She pulled a face.

Then she turned to take her leave. "Bye Astrid," he called to her departing figure. She waved over her shoulder without turning back.

~The end~