☼ รץภςє๔ ☾

Eyes remained vigilant, peering through the window next to him in order to keep a close watch on any upcoming street. They had mostly been passing through large buildings, having already passed by a diner, a movie theater, a bank, and a small shopping center every once in a while. The bus took a turn into an avenue, allowing brown eyes to catch a quick glance at the sign post. A small involuntary yawn escaped him, causing mouth to expand, throat to stretch while air was inhaled and then exhaled. Afterwards eyes were left a bit watery. Sniffling, Jean got comfortable in his seat as he lean head against the window. The sun was already up and bright, which alarmed Jean at what time it could potentially be. Hands reached into pockets and extracted a cellular phone. It was one of those smart phones, specifically a Samsung Galaxy Notebook. He wasn't much of an iOS user, and he honestly could care less with what the company did. It was 11:30 a.m. Eyes winced at the time his phone depicted. They surely had lost a LOT of time. A groan escaped Jean, feeling contrition towards having gone back to acquire assistance. Teeth bit at lower lips as hand put phone away into pocket. Not only had he wasted tremendous time going back to find people to come with, but this bus ride was also time consuming, unfortunately necessary in order to move forward. Were it just himself, he would've made it to Ms. Carter's house within a minute.

Eyes rolled in annoyance towards the horrid situation he had found himself in. Being a gynophobic was a horrible thing. Always being shy around women he didn't know, or women he found a sense of attraction to. Yeah, that's right. He was shy around pretty women. You'd think someone of his caliber would've outgrown such a grade-school condition. Index and thumb found themselves at the edge of eye sockets, hugging the base of his nose. This problem needed to be fixed. Whether it be a therapist, or having Errol do some Telepathic mojo. Anything. Just as long as he could move passed this so that it wouldn't teeter him anymore. Lowering hand, eye's found themselves staring back into the window, just catching sight of two men in black coats arguing as they entered an alley. What could they be doing? He shrugged the question off as soon as it appeared, not really caring. The bus was moving and he had already lost a lot of time. Besides, it was none of Jean's business. For all he knew they were just two drunk buddies or something. However, it was funny to imagine who they were or what they were doing. CIA, FBI, Secret AGENTS on a covert mission or similar to the movie: M.I.B. Then a thought occurred to him, but was quickly dismissed through a mediocre snort.

"That's a myth..." he uttered to himself as the bus took a turn once more, allowing Jean to see the sign post.

Upon reading the Street and avenue they were, Jean quickly sprung to his feet and yanked at the pulley that was above his head. A man old enough to be his grandfather looked at the rear view mirror, and locked eyes with Jean. The bus driver gave a nod of acknowledgement, the wheels on the bus came to a slowing halt; breaks squeaked and everything. Looking down at his two assistants, he motioned them to follow suit as he made his way down the aisle. A quick polite "thank you" was given to the driver before stepping down and out of the public transport. On the side walk, Jean quickly took the piece of paper from pockets once more, but this time along with his phone. With paper on one hand, and phone on the other, he went to work. A quick input of a numerical password unlocked the phone, allowing him to access the keypad. Tapping the number in, the phone went to dialing the number that was on the paper. In the mean time, Jean went about scanning the houses. They were in a suburban area, really close to the city. Phone rung and rung while eyes took its time to look at the house number, each attempt resulting in him walking down the sidewalk. Mind you, he was not really paying much attention to Christie or Colton at the moment as he assumed they would behave like the young adults they were. ​

If the phone were to be answered, Jean would hesitate at first upon hearing the voice on the other end. However, managing to man up, he would greet the person on the end and tell her who he was, who he was working for, and the reason for calling. Afterwards, he'd simply ask for her to aid him in finding her house after explaining how he looked like and who he was with.

If the phone was NOT answered, Jean would simply continue to look for the house with the aid of his assistants.

Either way, they would eventually locate the woman's house. Upon arriving at the door, Jean would place the middle joints of fingers onto the door and knock persistently until answered.

 

​

"Hey," a voice called out to the two men arguing in the alleyway. "Are you looking for the odd boy? The one that's on the news?"

Errol was standing there at the entrance of the alley way, acting casual. He heard the conversation being carried out when he approached the last known place where the boy was. The news cast had already broadcast that there was a manhunt for someone who seemed to have burned the faces of his whole family. A youth who just had a birthday today. Something didn't sit right with that scenario to Errol though. Call it his sixth sense or a gut feeling. He had no idea if the boy meant what he did was an accident or on purpose; he was risking a lot coming out to look for him. He sensed the boy was here, he just didn't know where exactly. This brought memories back to the man as he stood there, the smell of sewage wafting up his nose. He had been in this similar situation before, eight years ago... Oh how time flew.

The older gentleman walked up to the two men, looking at each of them in the eye. He read their thoughts. Yes, they were looking for the boy. Yes, they intended to cause harm to him. Errol raised up a hand, taking in a deep breath as he connected with the two minds at once. "This is not the boy you are looking for... In fact, you never heard the news at all. And if you had, it's a hoax, a late April Fool's joke. Someone hacked into the news system and fed the news to them. The boy does not exist. The boy is not here... Time to go enjoy a few drinks. You were worked up for nothing..." Errol had just used Thought Manipulation. If all went well, hopefully his Jedi mind trick had worked and the men would walk away from the scene. If not, Errol would have to find some other means to save the boy.

​

"Fair." Benjamin's jaw was rigid. He usually didn't like to be manipulated like this and have someone call the shots for him, but Jason was a close partner to him. He could let this slide, everything else was slowly becoming unravel before him. He tapped his cane on the ground twice, letting out a deep breath of air to release tension that was beginning to build up in his body. "Jason, I will let you take over and fix this mess. If you will excuse me, I have other matters I need to attend to." He didn't feel like bantering or carrying on any further conversation with the man who seemed to be handling things more smoothly than him.

He walked away, cane tapping on the ground with each step. The members of this organization... what happened to all the good, sensible ones? Had spilled blood corrupted their senses? Were they like vampires and monsters in old novels, always needing and thirsting to kill? He walked down the marble hallway, passing by old oil paintings of leaders before him. Maybe his "family" had reasons to doubt him when he had to redeem himself to rejoin the cult again. Maybe he was growing too soft in his old years and becoming a push over. For now, he was set on just keenly observing how things would unfold today. As he told Jason, he had other things to look into.

​

Nicole was washing the dishes, scrubbing each plate until her hands ached. She had a well working dishwasher that could easily do the job before her, but something about doing things with her own hands relaxed her. She let her hands disappear in the soapy foam, staring down at the bubbles. The emptiness she felt inside was almost unbearable. Not knowing where her own son was or how he was doing was picking at her gradually from the inside out. For all she knew, he could already be...

A sob escaped her throat and then she bit it back. Her shoulders shook and silent tears rolled down her cheeks, eyes closing tightly. Why wouldn't God help her? Had He had forsaken her? Was her son never going to come home?

The young mother of twenty-five years old felt a tug on her pant leg and she sniffed, looking down to see beautiful, worried, little eyes staring back up her. Nicole smiled gently, sighing out as she pulled her hands out of the suds and wiped them on her apron. "It's okay, Molly." She then wiped the tears away from her cheeks, kneeling down to her daughter's height. "Mommy's just a little sad... Do you want a snack? Or some juice?"

The little girl said and did nothing. Four year old Molly raised a hand up and gently touched her mother's tear stained cheeks. She then reached in her pocket and pulled out a crumbled, unused tissue.

Nicole laughed softly, taking the tissue from her daughter. "Thank you, sweetie. You're so thoughtful."

Just then, the phone rang. Nicole cringed when she heard that annoying tone. She felt that it ruined a beautiful moment and wanted to be rid of it. Touching her daughter's shoulder gently to excuse herself, Nicole stood up and strode over to the phone. Frustration was starting to build up inside of her with each step until she grabbed the phone, bringing up to her ear. "I already told you what I know! Leave us alone!"

"Uuuuh, what? I was just calling to let you know that I'm picking up the missing persons case on your son...? Uuh M-my name Jean Annunziato. I work for Mr. Ingrao? Errol Ingrao? Anyway, I'd like to help... I know it's been three months and all...but I'm willing to give it my all to make up for lost time, ma'm. Th-that's if you would have me-! I- I mean if you would let me help you-!"

Nicole heard something like a gentle smack on the other end. Her heart dropped as she realized she acted kind of harsh over the phone and twirled the cord around her fingers nervously. "Oh... I'm sorry... I thought you were another reporter. Things have just been... You work for Mr. Ingrao?" That made her feel a little better. The man had stopped by to visit her once or twice and was willing to be helpful as possible. She didn't know what he or what his said students would do differently from the police, but she was desperate for anything. "I'll be waiting for you..."

She hanged up the phone and then looked over to Molly. Molly had gone over to her kid size table, back to coloring silently again. Nicole smiled at her little one, and then heard a soft knock at the door. Tiredly, she went up to it and opened it gradually. "Yes...?" she asked, opening it part way and looking out. It was a bright, sunny day and the light made her squint. She quickly blinked to adjust to the light, using the tissue to wipe her eyes to make sure there were no more tears visible. ​

 

The boy listened in on the conversation. Was someone trying to divert them from him? He stopped crying, and tried to focus on what they were saying.

The two men scoffed at the old man's comments.
"You hear that, Bruiser? Looks like this guy's enjoyed enough drinks himself. Trying to be a jedi!?"
Both of the men laughed. Their emotions of hate towards this boy and people like him were too great to be fooled. They indeed looked all night for the psychic menace after all. The one man on the left of Errol, was slender, had shaggy brown hair, and bright yellow teeth.
"You know what we do to psychics? Because no one else gives these psychic punks what they deserve, we kick, pummel, and when they are screaming for mercy, we end them."
The right man readied his knuckles, cracking them, and giving Errol a menacing look. The man was bold, and had muscles leaking out of his arms like snakes entangling around its prey. He was as also as hard as a brick. There was a scar on the right side of his forehead, which seemed to be from a powerful fire. It was from a previous encounter with a telepath. The slender man on the left was the one doing the talking.
"You see, there's no place for people like you. You are a danger to our families, our homes, you cause pain." he said while pointing out Bruiser's scar. "You're a menace and you have to be eliminated, and if the authorities won't do it, we will."

The boy's heart sank. He had to do something. He usually would cower at a time like this, but someone was defending him when he needed it most. He remembered earlier of a time at high school. By accident, he was able to knock someone 100 meters across the hallway. If was able to land a punch on Bruiser, maybe he could stop them from attacking the man who was trying to protect him. Bruiser was the closest to him, and he could see his ripped arms from the slither of the trash dispenser. He took a deep breath amongst the heavy pounding of his heart, which already took most of the air out of him. Out of adrenaline, the boy jumped out of the trash dispenser, and when Bruiser noticed him, he shouted in anger, but could not react to what was about to happen. The boy's hand illuminated in a purple haze as he struck him in the cheekbone. To both of the mens' surprise, Bruiser was sent flying towards the brick wall to the left of them. Bruiser hit the wall head first and fell unconscious, leaving an impact on the wall like a cracked mirror.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
Angry about his friend, the slender man immediately pulled out his gun, aimed for the boy's chest and shot. While the boy was still shocked at what he was able to do, he did not notice that the man fired towards him before it was too late. The cry of the gunshot screeched across the streets of the city, and ripped through the boy's chest. In the man's frustration, he barely missed the boy's heart and instead fractured his ribcage with the bullet. The boy screeched in pain, clutching his chest. He screamed. To avoid getting caught, the man began to run away from the scene. He muttered under his breath as he ran, "it was the right thing to do. I need to protect my daughter." Tears flooded his face over what he believed was the death of his friend, which at this time is unclear.

How...
Why...
Mom...
Dad...
John...
I'm sorry...

The boy's energy waned, and the purple haze on his hand evaporated in the air. His body became ice cold among the hot Summer weather. He began to fade as he closed his eyes. He was dying with the blood loss he was enduring. He only has so much time.

 

Jean peered through the small opening in the door. locking gazes with blue eyes that were staring back at him. Jaw dropped slightly, only enough to make it seem like he was about to say something. He was just so hypnotized by this woman. She was like a real life Cinderella or something. Earthy eyes remained fixated on gentle eyes that easily reminded him of the beautiful sea. It was only after a minute had gone by that he noticed his awkward behavior. Quickly gaining composure, the young scholar cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hi! I'm Jean Annunziato, the one that called you just a few moments ago! Behind me are my assistants, Colton, and Chrissie! We are here to help! So first, I would just like to start off with a few questions if you don't mind!" he said, rather loud. Left hand removed a small notepad from jacket pockets while light hand pulled a pen from the noodles that held the pad together. Unintentionally insensitive he was acting... or just being odd. Perhaps he needed someone to ease him into the atmosphere as anyone but himself could tell he was not being sensitive to the woman's feelings. The clear fact that she had just used a tissue to cleanse whatever was underneath her eyes should have told him that maybe Nicole had just finished crying. Perhaps the call had just caused old emotions to reemerge. Whatever the case, here this young man was...acting like a ******. And it was sad, because he's really NOT that kind of guy at all. He was a sweet and caring individual, capable of being sensitive to others. However, here he was going straight to business, not even giving her his condolence; but at least he was getting straight to business am I right? Fingers. flipped the pad to an empty page, and with a click of the pen they went to work. "So...could you tell me what exactly went on during the day your son went missing? I know it happened in the park, but I would like to know in great detail. Is there anything that was out of the ordinary that day, or perhaps a clue that you just haven't quite realized was there?" he asked as he looked back at the blue eyed woman. She was clearly smaller than he was. Blonde hair accentuated the woman's beautiful face, and blue eyes definitely brought her beauty justice. She clearly had to be a princess because she was just too pretty in his opinion; although he knew better than to really think that. Earthy pupils dilated as his mind started to wander the library of comics and movies he had stored in his brain. If she was talking to him, he was not listening.

"You know... she reminds me of Super Girl! No wait, Star girl? Oh! The Black Canary? Oh wait she's actually kind of tall... Man, now that I think about it there sure are a lot of blonde super heroines with blue eyes... " he pondered as he gazed away at her eyes. For the record, they were all still on Nicoles front porch.

What were Colton and Christie doing?

 

​

"Damn!" There was little to no time to react when the man was thrown against the wall, and the other shot the boy. The shooter fled the scene, and the boy was on the ground, bleeding to death. Errol was quick to the boy's side, kneeling down next to him to figure out where he had been shot and what to do next. "Hey, stay with me kid! You're going to be okay." Errol saw the hole in the boy's chest close to the center, but not right over the heart. Blood wasn't pooling under him, so the bullet must have remained intact in the boy's body. Where at, he didn't know. He wasn't going to remove it. "Everything is going to be alright. Do you hear me? You're going to be fine. Stay with me!"

Another figure came running into the alleyway. "Uncle Errol!" Jex called as he ran to his mentor's side, quickly kneeling down next to him.

"Jex, quick, do you have tape on you and a plastic bag?" Errol asked as he ripped his own shirt and used it as a bandage to stop the bleeding for now. "Hey, you're going to be okay," Errol said to the boy, keeping an eye on his breathing.

Jex pulled out some colorful duct tape he usually carried on him and a plastic snack bag with crackers in it. Jex dumped the contents out of the bag on the ground and quickly went to work, knowing exactly what his uncle needed him to do right now. "Hey, Ryan, I need you to breath out and hold your breath for just a moment." The boy didn't say his name to the telepathic, but he didn't need to. "We're going to put something over the wound to help you breathe- He's losing conscious!"

Errol and Jex quickly worked as a team, taping the simple snack bag over the boy's chest on three sides and leaving one side open for circulation. A crowd was starting to form at the the entrance in the alleyway as the young teen and older man worked on the wounded boy. Calls for emergency assistance had already been place as the ambulance sirens began to get closer and closer.

"Ryan, stay with us!" Jex pleaded to the boy in his mind as he fought to keep his connection. "Just focus on the happy stuff. Focus... Come on, you can't give up, not now!" As Jex touched the boy's head to make a stronger telepathic connection while Errol was placing pieces of his shirt and keeping pressure on the wound, he realized his hands were a light shade of red. He was so caught up in the moment earlier that he didn't realize the blood that was beginning to stain his hands until now. Jex was turning white with every second that was passing by, his mouth growing dry and his head light. He needed to be here for this kid, he couldn't faint now! "Focus..." he said out loud and in telepathic communication, taking in deep, labored breaths. "Happy... thoughts... Sunshine... Bicycle rides... Ocean waves..."

Soon the ambulance backed up into the alleyway as a rescue team hoped out and began to take over the scene where the shooting occurred. Ryan was placed on a stretcher as an IV was placed in him before loading up into the ambulance. Errol was to his feet, quickly moving to go with the boy while Jex stayed put, his eyes glazed over. His body felt icy and his ears began to ring. He didn't hear the shouts of the people, or even hear his uncle talking to him. Soon, it felt like Jex didn't have control over gravity anymore as his vision blurred out and faded into black...

​

​

The sound of clapping hands echoed in another alleyway, in a different city... The city of Las Vegas to be exact. Kytheria entered out of the shadows and into the light, smirking as she approached her comrades in a slow, steady pace. "Bravo, bravo... Make them beg like kittens for milk." The girl giggled as she smiled oddly before crouching down to one of the dead bodies and poked them in the face. "Ooo, bad day at the eye doctor, mate. You don't need that no more."

She lifted her head up, grinning like a Cheshire cat at the two standing above her. "Everyone's having fun these days. Living soft, dying hard. But..." She tapped the edge of her top hat and then put a finger on the tip of her nose. "Do they really know what the nose knows?" She let her arms rest on her bent knees, looking at the last man still standing. "Tsk, tsk. Picked a bad day to be a silly brainless tyke. Kids are schooling adults, ho, ho, ho. This is too good. Thinking he's going to spill his guts?" Kytheria snickered under her breath at her own joke, hiding a toothy grin behind her gloved hand.

​

Nicole listened to the man that introduced himself as Jean. Interesting enough, he looked almost the same age as her. Standing not too far behind Jean were two teenagers. Teenagers? Were they really working them this young? So many questions circled the young mother's mind, but she was being asked questions for her to answer herself. Grasping what the questions were at the last minute, Nicole smiled hesitantly and stuffed the tissue in her pocket. "Um, may I invite you all inside? It might take a bit to explain things... And..." Nicole gestured with her head over to where a lone news van sat parked across the street. Although the media had died down quite a bit since the months passed, there were still some stray reporters, desperate to be the first to get a new scoop if possible. She opened the door wider to them. "Please, come in. Would you like something to drink? Maybe something to eat?" Even though the young mother's spirit was still raw from the hurt and anguish she felt earlier, she was putting on a brave face now. She wanted to seem strong, even though she felt very weak. She walked inside, expecting the small group to follow her into the living room and close the front door behind them. "I'm sorry about the mess," she said as she picked up stray fliers that had Carter's picture and basic information on them and news papers scattered on the floor and some toys from her four year old daughter as well.

Molly looked up from her table for a brief moment to the strangers that would probably be venturing in through the door soon. When she caught a glimpse of who they were, she immediately focused back on her coloring as if nothing had interrupted her in the first place. She didn't make any noise, say anything, or even hum. Just the sound of crayon and markers over paper could be heard from her side of the room.

"It just hasn't been the same since..." She put them hastily on a very cluttered desk and then stood by one of the chairs, offering Jean and his troupe a seat somewhere. "Have a seat... Anywhere is fine."

 

As Ryan's vision began to black out, he saw an older man with short black hair by his side. His tired eyes looked into Ryan's terrified pupils. He must be the person who was trying to protect him.
"Hey, stay with me kid! You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be alright. Do you hear me? You're going to be fine. Stay with me!"
He then heard a boy in the background. "Uncle Errol!"
Their voices began to fade into the distance. He was losing concentration, and the aqua blue sky was the only thing he could focus on. Everything looked blurred. He was trying to stay up, trying to listen to them. He was breathing heavily as his chest felt like it was about to burst.
"Hey, Ryan, I need you to breath out and hold your breath for just a moment."
How did he know my name?
He did as asked but coughed shortly after Jex was done.
"We're going to put something over the wound to help you breathe- He's losing conscious!"
"Thanks Jex..." Ryan breathed before finally blacking out.

Ryan fell deep into a dream.
"Ryan, stay with us! Just focus on the happy stuff. Focus... Come on, you can't give up, not now"
The voice sounded open and compassionate but shivered at the same time. He sounded scared.
He opened his eyes in this dream world, filled with light. Once the light from the Sun cleared from his eyesight, he noticed he was lying on a small beach, looking out into the endless ocean ahead of him. Ryan stood up and looked at the sunlight shimmered on the water, and heard the sound of crickets rippled through the air along with the relaxing sound of crashing water on a rockface. Seeing the palm tree on the right side of the beach was a palm tree, which he used to run around over and over again with his brother. Suddenly a flash of his brother and himself appeared before him in a shadowed figure.
Suddenly his chest pulsated violently, and Ryan had to gasp a deep breath. His vision began to black out, and instead of a sunny beach, he was in darkness. A ghostly figure of Jex appeared before him within the shimmering sunlight. He had long black hair, purple eyes and a sports jacket.
Jex didn't look that much older. Possibly one or two years older than him.
"Focus..." "Happy... thoughts... Sunshine... Bicycle rides... Ocean waves..."
Ryan stepped up and walked over to the water, next to Jex. His voice sounded so calm, so sincere, so caring. He comforted him like a long lost friend, but then he realized that his voice spaced out in between words. With each word, his voice became lower in power. He sounded faint. Was he struggling with something? No one truly cared about him to that degree except for his family before.
"Why am I like this. Jex? Can you tell me? What is going on? Don't say anything if you can't." Ryan asked softly, out of breath. He didn't know if he would respond, but it was worth trying.
Ryan watched the waves make their way to the sand.
"I've missed this place" Ryan spoke to himself, knowing that Jex would most likely not respond back. It's probably not a two-way communication. Tears were running down his cheek. What was going to happen to him? Screams and shouts from a crowd echoed from the water, and his chest felt like it was trying to rip apart from his flesh. The boy's ghost was fading.
"No...are you okay!?" he exclaimed while breaking his voice and looking up at the boy. A sharp pain pierced through his chest and Ryan fell on the sand, gritting his teeth and flinching his eyes.

 

"Oh right. Yes, thank you!" Jean answered.

The group entered the house. The inside of the house was basically what anyone would expect from a suburban house. Furniture was something that was prominent in this house as the living room was an immediate sight upon entering the front door. Footsteps reverberated on the stable wooden floor while Nicole led them to a table. The young scholar followed the woman, but made sure to be attentive to the surroundings with each step. Like dolphins, or any blind individual with the developed skill, Jean was using his own form of echo location; motion sensing or matter detection if you will. The idea was birthed from watching Avatar the Last Air Bender's Toph with her metal bending and whatnot. A smirk lifted itself upon entering a kitchen. Nicole apologized for the mess and had asked them if they wanted something to eat or drink while motioning for them to sit. At this point, Jean was famished, and the idea of getting a free meal was one that honestly did NOT want to pass up. However, despite his gynohobia he was still a courteous individual; not to mention that Jean was beginning to see through the way he had acted at the front door.

"No thank you. I couldn't possibly ask you to do such a thing. A cup of water is just fine for me." he replied, looking over to the other two.

Jean gave them a quick look which would let them know that they should follow suit.

 

​

Dr. Strain was preoccupied in his study cubical, surrounded by tinted windows that only showed a shadow of what was inside to someone looking over in his general direction, unaware that a government official had even shown up. If the business was important enough, he figured someone would interrupt him abruptly. He would probably stare coldly at the intruder, or say something to make them wish they were never born. For now, he wasn't too keen on his surroundings or really cared much for the people within the lab. He had a lot of work to do, and if things went according to schedule, he could have a little fun tonight after spending his time here in this dismal place with his co-workers. And oh what fun he was going to have...

He was wearing his usual lab coat and one rubber glove on his left hand as he worked with something before him with his robotic right hand. Noise canceling headphones sat on top of his ears up on loud as he bent over some kind of small piece of machinery. It looked like a headband, but one couldn't be too sure. He occasionally stopped working and wagged a robotic finger in time to Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331- III. Ronadò all Turca by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He enjoyed classics like this, it helped him to keep focused on the task at hand. Although he never had a problem focusing before in his life, this helped enhance his brain. Some sort of science study or something trivial on the matter... He didn't think about the science behind music all that much. He had other things to focus on. He was enjoying his quiet time to himself, hoping it could last for most of the day. He was in a good mood for once, which was rare for the scientist.






"I'm sorry, Ryan. Jex was feeling a little unwell. He's alright now."

Errol was standing on the sandy beach, not too far away from the boy. He looked around and then hummed to himself in deep thought. "So this is where you go. Hm, not a bad place..." He then looked at Ryan, his stormy grey eyes steady and sincere. "Hello, my name is Errol Ingrao... I'm the headmaster at the Preparatory Academy. It's a school of sorts for people like you. People with unusual gifts and abilities. Do you remember what happened, Ryan?" The man approached the boy as he laid on the beach until he stood by him, looking down at Ryan. "I was trying to distract those men that were after you, but that plan backfired. One of the men pulled a gun on you in anger, because he knew what you were..."

He then crouched by the boy, sighing out. "You were shot, right here." Errol tapped on Ryan's chest where he had seen a bullet hole, but the boy would feel no pain. Just some kind of odd, unexplained pressure. "An ambulance took you to the hospital, right when you blacked out. You had been in surgery for about five hours. A bullet was pulled from your rib cage. The doctors told me that you would make it, but it is up to now." And then, the older man smiled tiredly as he stood back up again and dusted himself off. "Your time is not up yet, Ryan. You still have more life to live. It won't be easy, but I will be here. My nephew, Jex, he will also be here for you. We know what you are. You are the same as us.... We will explain it more to you when you wake up."

The man looked over the vast ocean before, inhaling deeply. "You're in a tight spot, kid. But we will help you through it. When you're ready to wake up, we'll be here for you. I promise."

And then just like that, the man was gone from Ryan's dream.

Errol groaned when he finished his Mind Walking and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was sitting in an uncomfortable green hospital chair, right in between the two boys in one of the recovery rooms in the hospital. He looked over to his nephew, who was now sleeping after fainting at least two times at the seen of the crime. Jex had no memory of what happened and his body was so worn out that the teen eventually shut down completely and was now taking a nap. The boy would wake up disoriented, he was sure of it. He probably shouldn't have brought him with him. It was then Errol reflected on Jean. He wondered how he was fairing with the mother of the missing child and if he was making progress with the case. Oh what a day it had been so far... And it wasn't over yet.

 

Ryan smiled as Errol appeared and told him that Jex was alright.

“So this is where you go. Hm, not a bad place..."

Ryan nodded, looking up at Errol who stood over his small 5’2 height. He was always teased about that. Nothing that mean spirited, but teasing nonetheless.

“Yeah, my famil-“

Ryan stopped his sentence, and looked down at the sand, feeling a sense of nothing.

“Hello, my name is Errol Ingrao... I'm the headmaster at the Preparatory Academy. It's a school of sorts for people like you. People with unusual gifts and abilities. Do you remember what happened, Ryan?”

If he wasn’t in such disarray over his family, Ryan would be geeking out as he was a huge Harry Potter fan. He did not have as much of a positive outlook as he usually would.

“My family are in trouble for who I am. I burned them with my hands. They began to scream, and I freaked out. I thought they could never see me as me anymore. I’m probably a monster in their eyes. Then those two guys showed up, and threatened my family. They said they have them. I think they’re a gang. I then…” he said panting and stopped at the thought of the man he punched.

“I punched that man when you came,” Ryan stated which slurred towards the end. He just realized what he did. The man next to Bruiser was so upset, so angry.

“YOU KILLED HIM!”

The man’s horrible shout echoed throughout the beach.

“I was trying to distract those men that were after you, but that plan backfired. One of the men pulled a gun on you in anger, because he knew what you were..."

Ryan looked away from Errol, not wanting to know the answer to his actions. “Is…he…dead?…” Ryan asked with a faint breath.

"You were shot, right here" Errol stated while tapped on his chest. The pain suddenly eroded and instead he felt just the pressure of the shot in his chest.

"An ambulance took you to the hospital, right when you blacked out. You had been in surgery for about five hours. A bullet was pulled from your rib cage. The doctors told me that you would make it, but it is up to now."

The man smiled at him as he was getting up. Errol may have been grateful for what he did.

"Your time is not up yet, Ryan. You still have more life to live. It won't be easy, but I will be here. My nephew, Jex, he will also be here for you. We know what you are. You are the same as us.... We will explain it more to you when you wake up."

Ryan looked forward to getting to know Jex more. He seemed like a nice guy, and he needed a friend in this new world of uncertainty.

Errol looked ahead of him, looking deep in thought.

"You're in a tight spot, kid. But we will help you through it. When you're ready to wake up, we'll be here for you. I promise."

Errol faded away from the beach, leaving Ryan by himself once more. His questions had to wait until he woke up. All he could think about was his family. They brought him up so well, but what he did to them was unacceptable. Their screams and their faces were the only thing he could think of.

A circular pillar of light suddenly appeared from within the ocean, rising up to the skies above. It was a beautiful sight. He has never had a dream so idealistic or so intense before. Maybe it was because abilities recently reanimated into life.

Shaking off his thoughts about what could have happened to his family, he jumped straight into the water with the dirty jeans and plain white shirt he was wearing. They became drenched, but as he dived into the water, and stared at the light, his vision became black.

There was at first nothingness, and the sound of beeps hovered around him. It sounded like a heartrate monitor. He then noticed that there was a mask around his mouth, circulating oxygen around him.

“He’s awake!?”

Ryan opened his eyes to see doctors coming up to him, and taking off the equipment.

One doctor with a lanky figure, a pointy nose, rustled brown hair, spectacles, and tired blue eyes came up to him.

“You should be fine now. Your chest will be hurting for quite a while I’m afraid. Try not to strain it too much. It is quite a miracle you were able to wake up so quickly. Most people in your condition stay asleep for a few days, not a few hours. Quite extraordinary. If you need anything, please give us a call."

As the doctor left, Ryan looked around the room. It would be as bland as you’d expect from a hospital. White walls, a modern clock ticking and tocking, contraptions that no one other than a doctor would understand, and a computer with an annoying screensaver which had a ball bouncing from one end of the screen to the next over and over again.

He looked over to the right (which made him flinch from the chest pain), and saw Errol, sitting down by his nephew, Jex. He was grateful to them. If they never showed up, he would be dead right now. He smiled, but then noticed Jex was still unconscious. For some reason, he immediately got attached to him like he saw an old friend once again. He knew he was okay, but Ryan was still worried.

"What happened to him?"

 

Banner coming soon

As Noah sat there for what seemed like hours, he simply couldn't imagine what this girl was trying to achieve by making fireworks appear in his honor. It was nice but she really didn't have to come onto him like that. "Now listen here, the fire works are nice and all, but really you should just come out with it. I get confessions every day after all. I mean after all, look at me: I've got sexy anime brown hair, a smile that causes a puppy to be born every time, my eyes just glisten, no really, look at them closely, they actually glisten!. My voice sounds like Dan Green and Morgan Freeman had a baby together, and lets not forget my body, oh you can bet its well tuned under all these clothes. Why do you think I wear so much, to stop women like you getting nose bleeds and being rushed to the hospital."

He pushed away the orphan and went into the testing chamber instead. "Instead of waiting the hours its taken to get the leaf who is surviving without the family tree get into the testing room, how about you just test me. Not like it will be a test though. It'll just be a demonstration." He winked over to Danni. He stepped into the room and allowed the matter in his arm container create a sword in front of him.

 

Lucas rolled his eyes. "If you're referring to the woman I was talking to on the phone earlier, Miss Ter- Isabella, then no she is not my girlfriend. Her name is Kye, and her and I work together. If you want to know what she's like, then you'll have to talk to her yourself and make your own assessment. As for how we are going to go about the kidnapping, well it's relatively simple. First of all we will visit the areas that reported the most incidents, and you're going to scan the minds of each person as we walk past them. Then, once you have found the victim, I will apprehend them and take them in by whatever means necessary. Given they have powers, I would expect a struggle, but with my experience we should be fine. Once we have them captured, we will bring them back with us to your lab where you can experiment and do as much research as you like. Once you are finished with them, the government will deal with them, and everything will go back to normal" the investigator explained.

As the message that they had arrived at their destination played through the plane, Lucas stood up. "Now, unless you have any other questions, I suggest we continue on" he said, grabbing the case of bombs that he had gotten off-screen and moving towards the exit of the plane. Now was when everything got interesting, it was when they began the plan to capture one of those with powers.


Christie listened to all that was being said. While she wanted to help, she wasn't quite sure what to say. She had never been in a situation where she had to offer support to someone with a missing relative and yet ask about an event that probably caused them a lot of pain. Simply nodding, she responded with "water's fine, thank you" as she looked down at the ground. She really had no idea what to say...if she was in that situation, would she want to talk about it? Probably not. The police hadn't been able to find anything, why would they be able to?


Tobias shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at Kye. He hid his frustration with being called a kid well, but it bothered him quite a lot. "Well, either he spills them figuratively or literally, either way's fine with me" the boy said as though it was the most casual thing in the world.

"The Silent Killer...they say he keeps to himself and only kills twice a year, never in the same place and never more than that. He never speaks, wears a mask, and never reveals himself. Always targets the rich and the wealthy. Seems to get pass security easily. Victims always end up brain dead, no other visible wounds are shown. No bullets, finger prints, or blood has ever been spilled. No DNA evidence either on the scene of the crime except only from the victims. Only one known survivor is walking around today" the man said, trying to save his own skin.

Tobias leaned down next to the man. "Aaaaand what's their name?" he asked. The man shook his head, saying he didn't know. Tobias held up his claws next to the man's face, scraping his cheek so that a slight trickle of blood came down slowly. "If you don't know, you're not very useful are you" the boy said, a sick grin appearing on his face. You could see it in his expression; he wanted the man not to know. He wanted the Silent Killer dead, that much was certain, but if he could kill the man too then that was just brilliant.

"What do you kids don't understand? I don't know, I told you!"

No sooner had the words left the man's lips than his head hung slightly off his shoulders, coming as close to decapitation as claws would allow. "Can't leave any witnesses. If it makes you feel any better, I knew who that guy was. Only reason he has plenty of money is because he mugs the wealthy, kidnaps their family, and rolls in the ransom money. His activities are why I picked that casino, he's got a little bit of a gambling problem. Like I said before we left, there's a reason I'm the top assassin in Raven Sun. I might not have the most professional attitude, which makes me fun and all, but I know what I'm doing" the assassin responded, cleaning the blood off his weapons.
​

 

​

Errol watched the doctors and nurses as they began to unhook Ryan. Errol did nothing but Mind Walk through the boy's subconscious. Ryan waking up was according to his own free will. As soon as the doctors and medical personnel left, Errol stretched his legs out and smiled knowingly at the boy. The boy had a strong willpower, that was clear enough from his miraculous awakening. When the boy mentioned his nephew, Errol glanced over at him, his smile fading a bit. "He fainted at least two times. He has a very high fear of blood... He and I were so caught up trying to save you that he forgot his fear for a moment until the situation was under control." The man stood to his feet and he pressed his knuckles together, popping the joints one at a time. "With some persuasion, I already have your pain medication. No one knows about what happened to you before you were shot, I made sure of that." He looked to Ryan, his eyes serious. "We need to move though. Can you sit up at all?"

Wake up.

Hearing the command from his uncle, Jex's eyes shot open as he sat up. "Mm, what?" he asked, still half-asleep as he scratched his head, making his black hair stand up on end. After blinking a few times, Jex realized he wasn't on the street anymore or at the academy. He remembered now. He was at the hospital with Errol and the new kid. He looked over at the boy in the other bed, smiling sleepily. "Hey Ryan, good to see you awake. Sorry for disappearing on you earlier." Jex swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up gradually as Errol handed him a juice box.

"Drink this, you're going to need it."

Through silent communication, Errol already told Jex what was happening and what they needed to do. Jex poked a straw through the top and began to drink the highly sugared apple juice. He then paused, walking over to Ryan's bedside calmly. "Ready to go? I can help you if you need it," he offered, smiling with a sense of compassion and care.

​

​

"Nah, not trying to bang pots and pans. Me and Silenty have something special, like a mosquito has with human flesh." She wasn't even phased with the words thrown at her or the shedding of blood before her eyes. They were both very proud members, kind of arrogant too. But Kye wasn't going to say that out loud. "Curiosity kills the cat, but the cat is curious how this will play out." The young adult stood to her feet, tipping her top hat to shade her strange eyes. "Whispers through the vines become clamors of confusion," Kye said quietly, indicating to Tobias. She then pointed to a security camera that was angled at them on one end of the alleyway, and then pointed to a second one above them pointing down, and then a third on the opposite side pointed downward at them. "Tread lightly."

She tipped her hat to the pair and then began to wander off, heading a different direction. She wasn't going to clean up after them, that wasn't her job. That was all Cynthia's father and whoever he enlisted next's doing. If they were too proud to ask her for help, fine. She could let them flounder on their own. "I know something you don't know~," she whispered in a sing-song voice, smirking as she walked away. She knew a lot of things that anybody else didn't know. She needed to head to Reno, Nevada after all. That was where she was going to have some real fun.

​

Nicole smiled and excused herself to get a glass of water for Jean and Christie. She then came back with the glasses, each of them having a few cubes of ice to keep them cool and handed them each to the pair. She then sat back down, glancing over at her daughter once more. Molly was still silent as usual, coloring as quietly as she could and keeping focus on the work at hand. Nicole then looked back at the trio before her. Again, she silently doubted how they were going to help her, but she was desperate. If someone, anyone, could just find her little boy...

"Where would you like me to start?" she asked, looking at Jean for confirmation to speak and to tell her side of the story.

 

Ryan simply nodded to what Errol was saying. Whenever he saw blood on a cut or a rash, he felt a little squeamish so seeing his chest in such a bloody state must not have been a pleasant experience. However, when Errol popped the joints of his knuckles and had a serious look in his eyes, the 15-year-old had a chill down his spine.
"No one knows about what happened to you before you were shot, I made sure of that"
He had a bad feeling about what he said. He must not have done something horrible. He saved him after all. He should be thankful, not accusing. Sidetracked by this thought, Ryan barely heard Errol asking him if he could sit up. Ryan did so after his chest screeched in pain. Ryan looked over at him with solemn eyes.
"What...did you do?" he asked in a quiet somewhat shaky tone.

However, this question was interrupted when Jex woke up. Ryan's heart shot up.
Confusing. Why is that?
"Hey Ryan, good to see you awake. Sorry for disappearing on you earlier."
Ryan smiled. "No, that's fine. Thanks for being there for me when I needed you most. Thank you."
That sounded gay. No, I can't be like that. What am I doing?
Ryan always over analyzed after what he just said, and looked down in embarrassment. He stared at the blank white tiled floor below, and then he saw a hand covering his view.
"Ready to go? I can help you if you need it."
Ryan felt his cheeks getting warm.
What, no? Don't do that. This is so embarrassing.
He dreamily imagined his long black hair and that smile in his mind as he said that.
NO! STOP! This isn't right...
Ryan looked up at his face, lacking in breath from how nervous he was around Jex.
Why is this happening?
He was so confused. He, at first, had a blank look on his face scanning Jex's expression and then looked over at his hand, wanting to hold it.
No, no...but it would be nice...what am I saying!?...no...
Ryan hated himself as his cheeks were getting redder. This was so embarrassing. He had to think of an answer though, and decided quickly before it got too awkward.
"No, I'll be fine," Ryan said in a quiver. He was desperately trying to avoid anything strange between them. The unfortunate thing is that he didn't know that they were able to read thoughts.
Ryan rose up from his seat, but then his chest gave an excruciating cry of pain, causing him to fall towards Jex.

 

"Thank you." Jean spoke as he reached for the glass of water handed to him. Notepad was placed on the table in order to give better attention to the glass of water.

The glass of water was cold, and wet due to the ice cubes placed within. Condensation was an interesting phenomenon. As that air near the glass cools, it can't hold as much water vapor, so the water changes from its water-vapor gas state to its liquid form, which you see as water drops clinging to the glass. Hence, the glass of water in his hand was now sweating in his hands. Jean didn't mind through. In this time of the year, he welcomed the cool water on his flesh. Placing the brim of the glass to his lips, cheek and throat would contract in order to produce a suction like method that would allow the water easy passage from glass to mouth to throat and finally to the stomach. Upon drinking half way through, he stopped and let out a faint sound through nostrils before placing the glass on the table. Nicole took seat adjacent to the three, and asked, "Where would you like me to start?"

"Yes... before I ask about that day... Do you mind if I ask whether you'd experienced anything weird, out of the ordinary, or unusual BEFORE the day your son was taken in the park? Did you notice whether someone may have been watching or stalking your family specifically? It can be anything, even a small detail that you may have doubted." he queried as hands took hold of notepad and pen, ready to take notes. It was standard procedure. Any cop or detective would ask this type of question. The difference here was that she may have already been asked this several times, which gave lee way for him to better help resurface any little sliver of detail that may have slipped through Nicole's mind; because the mind was funny that way.

 

​

"Whoa!" Jex caught Ryan, being careful to not grab or run into his bullet wound. "Take it easy," Jex said with a caring smile as Errol brought the wheelchair around for him. "Here we go," the older teen sat Ryan carefully down and then knelt to his height, looking at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

Although Jex was able to read minds, he didn't like to use that ability often unless he had to or the thoughts of others around him were loud enough to force him to focus on what they were saying... Or thinking. He noticed that Ryan seemed to ask nervous around him for some reason, and that he was... blushing? Why was that? Lack of oxygen in his lungs? Was Jex scary and intimidating? He hoped not. Danni always pointed out how dark, brooding, and mysterious he seemed from time to time, while Jex would always reply with a raspy voice 'I'm Batman.' Now he was worried that sort of appearance was making Ryan scared.

Errol watched the two boys interacting, allowing him to sense the emotions emitting off of the pair. One seemed to be in a state of panic while the other one was aloof and acting as if he was oblivious to all of that. Jex had an admirer and he didn't even know it. Cute. "If you think I killed people to get you out, I didn't." Errol said to Ryan with a serious look on his face as Jex stood up to grab a blanket. "Just simple mind manipulation, and wallah. No harm done, I swear. I'm not that kind of being."

Jex came back to Ryan with the blanket, placing it carefully over the boy's lap. Even though it was a warm day outside, Jex wanted to make sure his new friend was comforted in some way. He did just go through a life or death situation after all, and he was feeling bad for blacking out when the boy needed him the most.

"Jex, can you handle this on your own while I check our friend out and fetch a cab?" Errol asked as he watched his nephew try to be the best caregiver he could be.

"Um, sure!" Jex replied without hesitation and saluted his uncle. "You can count on me, sir!"

Errol smirked. "Good lad. I'll bring the car around back. You know where. Wait for me to go first, and then you two will follow. Got it?"

"Rodger Dodger," Jex pipped, watching as his uncle walked out of the door and left the two boys alone in the hospital room. "We're going to take you to our place," Jex explained, realizing the poor boy was probably out of the loop. "You'll be safer there."

​

​

​

Molly stopped coloring for a bit, paying some attention to the question that was asked by Jean. Although she was four and did not speak, she was smart. She knew what adults talked about.

The young mother interlaced her fingers, resting her chin on her hands as she thought deeply on the question. She had been asked over and over again about this, but maybe something would be different. "Yes, sort of..." She took in a deep breath, glancing at the floor. "I recently moved here from Canada about a year ago. My relationship with my previous husband was not... A very good one." Nicole fought down the lump in her throat, trying to stay focus on the matter at hand. "I moved with Carter and Molly to get away and so we could start a new life. So we moved here... I thought everything was going to be better, I thought we were finally going to be safe, but..." Nicole bit her lower lip, blinking rapidly so she could stop the tears from coming. She already cried so much, why was it still so painful? The blonde shook her head, laughing at herself. "I'm sorry." She forced a smile, looking up at Jean and then the other two people that had accompanied him.

Molly went back to drawing again, taking a new sheet of paper and started to make distinctive shapes and pictures.

"I took a job as a newspaper reporter for the Reno Gazette, they offered enough funds to help us survive... I covered small stories like openings of restaurants, charity events, good deeds being done, unexplained miracles happening, things like that. But... something happened... Carter was on a field trip with some classmates to Lake Tahoe, and then one of his classmates who was in a wheel chair almost drowned. Some classmates were trying to play a prank on her and unlocked the brakes, letting her go down a hill because they wanted to see how fast she would go or something stupid..." Nicole shook her head and place a hand on her forehead, recalling the story. "Miraculously, the wheel chair stopped right at the water's edge, but no one knew what happened... Or how it happened... She was safe, no harm had come to her. I covered the story." Nicole stood up and took a newspaper that was framed off the wall and handed it to Jean. There was a picture of Carter when he was seven, standing next to a girl in a wheeling chair, smiling at the camera under an article that was titled 'Guardian Angel of Lake Tahoe'.

"They posted this photo without my permission... I didn't want anything out because the chance of his father finding out where we were was terrifying." The young mother shivered, rubbing her arms up and down as she let the group look over the photo. " After this story was run, it felt like someone was always watching us... I swear some cars tailed us many times, but I never saw anyone suspicious, it was just the feeling I had..." Nicole begin to rub her temples. The feelings of guilt were so overwhelming, but she wanted to continue so badly. "I sound so crazy right now... I went to the police, but they couldn't do anything about it. There was no concrete evidence. I couldn't get any. It was so... So frustrating. They told us that it was probably nothing, to just carry on with our normal lives and that I was being paranoid."

Nicole stopped rubbing her temples and tried to keep a steady gaze on Jean. "I took Carter and Molly to the park to have a play date with another of Carter's friends and his family. The boys went to go look for frogs, Molly was holding my hand... Carter's friend's mom introduced me to to someone who was looking for someone to cover a story of some kind of generous donation to the Children's Hospital... Raven Sun, I think, was the organization... Molly kept tugging on my hand... I should have looked, but I was so caught up in the moment..." Nicole's eyes faltered as she looked down to the floor. She sighed out heavily as tears were now threatening to fall and her shoulders shook with silent grief. "Carter's friend came back, told us he lost Carter when they split up for a little while." Nicole's voice was shaky, almost raspy as tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "Molly took off running, I went after her... We came to the creek where they were playing, Carter was no where to be found. No one had seen Carter... We couldn't find him. Molly..." She looked over at her little girl who's eyes were glued to the paper now, coloring furiously. "She probably saw something... She doesn't speak though. She hadn't since she was three..."

 

Ryan's blush turned into a furious red as Jex caught him. He had never felt so embarrassed or so attracted to someone throughout his whole life.

"Take it easy," Jex said with a smile.

Ryan didn't really know what to say or do so he just stayed silent for a little bit, heart beat racing as fast as a metal rock band drum beat. Jex asked him if he was okay. Ryan still had a really red face and he felt incredibly warm all of the sudden. He just began to accept that maybe this was natural. And then Jex came down to him at face height, and his breath was suddenly taken away again. He looked at his deep purple eyes, the compassionate expression on his face, and his messy black hair. Ryan's furious red face somehow became even redder and hotter.

"I'm good, thanks..." he uttered as he was seated on the wheelchair. The problem now was that he couldn't see his face, and every time he tried to turn to see him, it would either be too obvious of how he felt about him or his chest would be in pain once more. After a few attempts, he decided to just sit there.

Jex got a blanket for him, and he smiled.
"Thank you," Ryan said before tapping his fingers three times over and over again in a rhythmic beat. In stressful situations, he usually counted up to 3 or 5 with a particular action like a knock on a table or like in this case, tapping his fingers on a pillow. The pillow made him even warmer though, and he felt like a heat generator. Beads of sweat began to emerge but he kept the pillow on because Jex got it for him. He didn't want to be rude and look bad in front of him.

To Ryan's dismay, Errol asked "Jex, can you handle this on your own while I check our friend out and fetch a cab?"

Oh no, don't do that. Come back!

The two were left alone. A few seconds seemed like a minute to him as the silence tensed him. He then remembered how he responded; "Um, sure." He tended to over analyze what people said too.

Does he feel the same way? He said um.

He needed to say something to break the silence., anything to fill the void and then Jex spoke instead.

"We're going to take you to our place. You'll be safer there." Jex said, , his voice still sounding kind hearted and relaxed. His voice in particular made his heart skip a beat once more, and then he thought of a joke.

"We're going to the school of witchcraft and wizardry? I'm a wizard?" he exclaimed, speaking louder than usual. He laughed in an awkward way, and then spoke again.

"So...what do you like to do in your spare time, Jex?" he asked, wanting to know more about him.

 

​

The teen let out a laugh, amused with Ryan's joke. "Yeah..." Jex looked around the room, and then saw what looked like a crumbled traffic cone by the entrance of the door to the room. Maybe it was used as a door stopper or to let people know where hidden spills were. Either way, it gave the boy an idea. He went over to the crumbled traffic cone and put it on top of his head before facing Ryan. He then got a playful serious face and said "You're a hazard Harry," in a gruff, funny voice. Jex chuckled, taking the traffic cone off his head and placed it by the door frame once more. "A Harry Potter fan, eh? Looks like we'll get along just fine. I like to read... Draw... Sketch... I'm not that interesting of a person."

He smiled and then realized there were beads of sweat coming down Ryan's face. Concern flitted over the older teen's purple eyes and he walked back over to Ryan. "How is the pain? Are you going to hold up alright?" Jex crouched down in front of the boy, feeling the boy's forehead with his cool hand, now scrubbed cleaned and no longer blood stained. "Blanket was a bad idea, my bad." Jex pulled his hand away and took the blanket off of Ryan and folded it up, deciding to carry it under his arm just in case Ryan needed it. He had a feeling the boy wouldn't, but he couldn't be too sure. Jex then looked over to the hospital night stand and saw an unopened juice box sitting there. Jex smiled and grabbed it, bringing it back over to Ryan. "I think this one has your name on it, it feels cool too. Want it?" Jex turned it in his hand, seeing what kind it was. "I think it's apple juice... from consecrate."

 

Ryan was glad he laughed. That would have been terrible otherwise. He then watched him as he put on a crumpled up traffic cone and put it on top of his head.
"What is he doing?" he thought with a smirk.
He made a serious face, which made Ryan chuckle a little.
"You're a hazard, Harry!" he spoke in a gruff voice. Ryan laughed really loud, but suddenly stopped as his chest had so much pressure being put on it from the laughing. He shuddered back into his seat, still feeling the knife like pain in his chest. He tried to hide it the best he could so Jex wouldn't feel bad.
"A Harry Potter fan, eh? Looks like we'll get along just fine. I like to read... Draw... Sketch... I'm not that interesting of a person"
Ryan smiled back. "I'm sure you're more interesting than you say. You're han-"
Handsome atleast...
He stopped himself from admitting how he felt about Jex. It was too soon to say something like that, and it was a terrible joke anyway.
Suddenly Jex was walking up to him, making his heartbeat increase again.
"How is the pain? Are you going to hold up alright?"
Jex's hand touched his forehead, and Ryan's slightly cooled down face became scarlet and hot once again.
"Uh..uh...yeah...I'm fine..." he was able to muster.
"Nobody would care about me this much. He might feel the same way. He just might." he thought staring at his purple eyes once more, entranced by the natural color of it and the look of concern for him.
Jex then took away the blanket, and then they later moved to a hospital night stand. It had a juice box there. He just realized among all this chaos and Jex, that he was thirsty. He asked if he'd like it.
"Yeah, I'd like it. Thanks!"

 

​

Jex winced in sympathy when Ryan flinched in pain from his joke. "Er, sorry... Kind of forgot about that..." He then stabbed the juice box with the straw, and then handed it to Ryan. It was then he was able to get a good look at the boy. He had unusual golden eyes, then again his own eyes were not the normal sight either. It was due to some rare disorder of a kind of albino-ism. Ryan seemed like the kind of guy that tried to have a good attitude no matter what, and it was quite a refreshing thing to Jex.

"Ready to roll."

The teen sighed out and then moved behind Ryan's wheelchair. "Okay, we're going to head out now. If anyone freaks out when they see you, I'll be here to protect you... Alright? I'm not going to let you get shot again. If Uncle Errol's Mind Manipulation worked, everyone should leave us alone..." Jex tightened his hold on the wheelchair handles, taking in a deep breath. "And here we go..." Jex pushed Ryan out of the hospital room and down the winding hallways that twisted and turned. Jex hated the smell of the hospital, and the thoughts buzzing through the frequency only he could feel was unnerving. He tried to keep his mind focused on the mission at hand, hoping they would be able to leave without a hitch. "So, Ryan, what do you like to do?" it would be a good distraction just to talk for a bit. The emotions in this place... It was so suffocating...