by Simon Archer
“Almost done,” I corrected as I let go of the power and returned to normal. “You still got angry.”
“I told you, Nick!” he snapped back. “It hurts!”
“And like I said, you need to get over it,” I countered. “You can heal nearly anything, you should walk through attacks like that and attack me. But you always whine about how much it hurts. If you just got over it, you’d be unstoppable.” I smirked. “And until you do, I’m going to keep beating you like a naughty puppy.”
Matt flipped me off before marching towards our waiting mentors. Triton and Judgment both rose to their feet, and Matt bowed with respect to them when he drew close. I did the same.
“Well done.” Triton smiled.
“Nearly,” Judgment corrected.
The two glared at each other, but this was nothing new. They’d been at odds ever since agreeing to share training duties in preparation for the World’s Finest. Triton would always reinforce with a compliment that Judgment would tear down for criticism.
Matt hesitated when he rose up again, and already, Judgment knew what he was going to ask, because he immediately spat, “No.”
Triton frowned at that. “The boy keeps asking. Perhaps if we allow him access to the ward, he will be satisfied and better focus on his studies.”
“No,” Judgment repeated. “We’ve already gone over this several times, Matthew. Brad O’Connor has been taken care of, and you must respect our ability to deal with it.”
Matt, of course, was not willing to hear that. “I just want to make sure that fucker is actually under lock and key! You don’t understand how smart he is. He flew under the radar for months, and we’re still not sure what his intention was, or why he did what he did! He used me! I think I have the--”
“The only right you have,” Judgment interrupted, “is to your studies. You must focus on the tournament. That is all that matters right now.”
“But--”
“That’s enough, Mr. Barbur. I said no.”
I crossed my arms and considered the three of them. Matt was ready to punch someone, and I knew him well enough at this point to know he wouldn’t drop it until he saw Brad for himself. Honestly, I had to agree with his arguments. Nothing about what had happened last semester made any sense to me, either. Before the World’s Finest took too much of our attention, I wanted to know if we were safe myself.
“If you don’t allow him access, we’ll find a way in,” I said. “You know how stubborn we are. What’s the harm in letting us have a peek?”
Judgment sighed wearily, and the immortal man glanced Triton’s way with a scowl. Triton met it with a smile of his own, and it was clear he agreed with my assessment.
“Honestly, Efraim,” Triton chided. “Matthew has been on this subject for months, and the World’s Finest is next week. If you want him to focus, now is the time to relent.”
For a moment, it seemed like Judgment would rather ignore us all and vanish into smoke like he was prone to do when outnumbered. Instead, he sighed, and his stubborn shoulders finally drooped a little.
“Fine,” he spat as he scowled at the two of us. “One visit. Fifteen minutes. You will not be allowed to speak with him.”
Thanks, Efraim!” Matt finally brightened up, and he smiled at Judgment like he wasn’t the most unlikeable man ever. “I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me--”
This time, Judgment actually did vanish in a dark cloud of smoke. We all watched him disappear, and Matt immediately spun on his heel, chipper as a cat in a tuna factory. Kristen greeted her brother with a little smile, and the two stared at each other, doing some weird silent twins communication.
I bowed to Triton again and then found Eric. He was bouncing on his heels, energetic as always.
“I love watching the two of you fight,” he said. “Totally bloody. Remember that time you cut his hand off? Gosh, he was so mad at you.”
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me, Eric.”
“No problem! Did you like the wrestling thing? Been watching so much of it lately. You should try the Claw, it’s the biggest thing right now.” His hands went wild as he mimed a wrestling move. “You’ve got to come one of these nights, promise me. Kristen’s a fan, did you know? Also, totally going with you to the asylum later. Don’t even think about locking me out of it.”
“No, you’re not,” I said as the two of us walked out of the gym.
Eric scoffed at me. “I am so! And I’m bringing the girls with me!”
“Are not,” I repeated. “Brad’s too dangerous.”
“Pfft. What’s he gonna do behind a steel door? Glare me to death?”
“Considering he’s psychic,” I retorted, “he just might.”
2
The Crystal Falls Mental Health Center was an ancient building that rested underneath the very same cliffs that had nearly taken Kara’s life last semester. The cliffs dotted the upper edge of the bay, marking the transition from beach to mountainous forests. A river tumbled from the cliffs into the Crystal Falls, where the mental health building had rested for nearly a hundred years. It had seen its fair share of horrific practices as behavioral medicine developed into what it was today, but now, it was a paragon of advanced technology and treatment methods and was considered one of the most reformative facilities on the planet.
Our entire collected crew was with Matt and me for this one. Aylin especially was eager to come with us. “I want to see your Terran rehabilitation you speak so much of, Starlight,” she said.
Matt shook his head at that, scowling as he stared up at the gargoyles that loomed from the roof peaks. He then glanced towards the beautiful falls that fell in a rainbow haze not far from the parking lot.
“Rehabilitation?” he muttered. “Bah, this place is too good for him.”
I gently bumped his shoulders and shrugged a little. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but--”
“Nick, I swear to God--”
“‘You cannot demand mercy from evil,’” I said, quoting Triton, “‘without offering your hand in kind.’”
Matt’s expression was conflicted at that: sympathetic, yet angry. He suddenly threw his hands up wildly, a gesture as explosive as his outrage.
“I don’t want mercy,” he sneered. “People like this, they should get the axe. I would kill them if I could.”
“You sound like my father,” Aylin noted cryptically as she floated past us towards the front door.
I frowned at that and also at what Matt had said. I hoped against hope that he would have started to take more lessons from Triton than Judgment.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed, unable to look at me, “but I can’t forgive the same way you can. Not your… dad, and not Brad. Not after what he did to me.” Matt’s attention shifted over my shoulder. “To Kristen, too.”
“Still, if Brad’s here and taken care of, then it’s time for you to let it go,” I said firmly.
Before I saved his life, those words would have ended up in Matt growling and swinging his fists, but all he did was sigh and cast his eyes to the ground.
“I’ll focus on the World’s Finest like I promised,” he muttered, “but fuck forgiveness.”
That was fair enough. It would have to do, anyway.
I sighed and nodded, not wanting to start another argument about this. Instead, I let Kristen take my place at his side as I worked to catch up to Aylin and the others. Andie and Kara had their arms slung over each other’s shoulders as they walked side by side. They were all giggles and loving glances, and when I approached them, I darted kisses on both their cheeks.
“You done flirting with your new boyfriend yet?” Andie batted her eyes at me and pretended to be jealous with a pout of her lips. “You’ve been spending so much time with him, so Strawberry and I figured that you were going to move in with him next.”
“Yeah, we’ve got a date on Tuesday,” I joked. “He’s bringing the wine.”
“Too bad,” Kara singsonged. She waggled her slim f
inger at me. “I have a new chest of goodies that I wanted to test out, but if you’re busy,” she sighed sadly, “I suppose I can torment Andie instead.”
Andie’s eyes lit up, and she bounced a little bit. “Ooh! Please do!”
Aylin cast a glowing glance back, and I swore I could catch a flash of hunger in those eyes, but Eric distracted me, plugging his ears as he hummed. “I can’t hear you, la la la--”
When I looked back to Aylin, she was focused straight ahead again, so I brushed it off and glanced back at Kara and Andie.
“Alright, you got me.” I burst out laughing. It took me a moment to recover, but then I continued, “You’re my Sun and Moon, remember? I’m sorry that I’ve been so busy lately, it’s just that with the World’s Finest right around the corner--”
“It was a joke, Nick,” Kara reaffirmed and smiled at me. “We understand. Hell, we’ve been busy too, but before you completely drown in tournament nonsense, at least take us out on a date first. I was serious about the chest. I’ve got lots of fun toys in there.”
“Yeah,” Andie said, jabbing a fist into the air. “She won’t show me the goodies without you, so you’ve got to make the time!”
Eric plugged his ears again and said loudly, “La la la, I still can’t heeear you!”
I laughed again before wedging myself between the girls so that I was the new center of their attention. Just as it should be. I kissed each of their cheeks and promised, “I’ll make the time. I can’t have my Sun and Moon being neglected.”
“That’s better,” Kara sniffed playfully as she tossed her red hair haughtily. Confidence was still a good look on her.
Our two little groups entered the facility in two entirely different moods. The girls, Eric, and I were all smiles, and the twins were all doom and gloom. Kristen shot the nurse behind the lobby counter with one of her classic glares, and the poor woman shrank a little bit. I rolled my eyes and slipped by the two of them to present the note that Triton had written for us.
“We’re here to see Brad O’Connor,” I explained as I handed her the note. The nurse took it as she blinked at me before looking the note over.
“Oh, yes!” She was young, and her eyes lit up when she recognized me. She gestured for us to follow her through a side door. “Follow me, please.”
The Barburs took the lead, and I wedged myself between my girls again as we followed. Aylin stuck with us, though she drifted to and fro to examine every little thing with intensity, while the twins glared at everything like it was a personal affront. No doubt Kristen agreed with Matt that Brad should have been put to death.
I tried to put that out of my head as I examined our surroundings as we walked. The facility, while secure, was clearly a hospital and not a prison. Holographic readings lined every set of desks, and there were gentle blue force fields in place to hold back powered detainees. It was a deceptively high tech facility, with much of the technology hidden behind white facades and pastel colors. As we were led down a wing of small rooms, I noted the pretty rainbow mural flowing along the wall.
I pointed at it as I nudged Andie. “You think Brad appreciates the decor?”
“I hope he’s stoned off his gourd,” she huffed. “He doesn’t deserve rainbows.”
The nurse finally stopped at a room near the end of the wing and gestured at a solid steel door lined with a gentle blue force field. There was a small window in the door, and Matt pressed his face against it. Whatever he saw inside the room made him curse softly. He turned towards the nurse and jerked a thumb at the window.
“He looks like a freaking zombie.”
The nurse didn’t respond to that. I shoved past Matt to get a view myself and was greeted with the sight of Brad sitting on his bed and staring listlessly at the wall. If it weren’t for his breathing and upright posture, he’d look dead. I knocked on the door to see if he’d notice, but he didn’t even twitch.
“Maybe it’s from whatever drugs they have him on?” I said with a shrug.
“He’s faking it,” Matt hissed. The others took turns getting an eyeful, and Matt gestured angrily at the poor nurse. “Let me in. I want to talk to him.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir,” she squeaked. “Perhaps another time--”
And that’s when Brad suddenly bolted upright in his room. That stopped everyone dead in their tracks as he shook his head, almost as if he were disoriented, but that passed in mere moments.
“It’s okay, nurse,” he called out as he turned towards the window. “I was a little zoned out, but I’d love to talk to my… friends now.”
Matt snarled and slammed his palms against the door. “I’m not your friend, asshole… but I do want to talk to you! Open up that door, and let’s have a chat, huh?”
“Take it down a couple of notches,” I soothed as I grabbed Matt’s shoulder. “You’re going to freak out the staff.”
Kristen side-eyed the nurse and nodded in reluctant agreement. “He’s right.”
While this little bit of drama played out, Brad simply grinned like the cat that stole the cream, thumbs in the pockets of his cotton scrubs. He seemed content to wait for us to finish. Meanwhile, while the rest of my friends watched, ready to intervene if Matt needed to actually be restrained, Aylin seemed distracted, blinking off into what seemed like the corner of the hallway.
Fortunately, Matt actually listened to Kristen and pushed away from the door with a snarl. “Fine, Nick. I’m fine.” He thrust a finger at the glass. “Okay, Brad, spill it. Why the fuck did you do all this? Why did you fuck with my head?”
Brad tsked as he shook his head. “Man, Mattie, don’t you get it? It was never about you.” He shrugged as he stepped up to the faint glow of the force field beyond the door. “You and your cronies were just convenient and amusing playthings. It’s always been about Gateon over there.”
That might have pissed off Matt more as claws erupted from his fingertips, but before he could make real trouble, Kristen tugged on his shoulder, and Aylin suddenly swooped in to grab his other arm. While he was stronger than Kristen shifted, he was no match for the alien princess.
“This is a place of healing, Matthew Barbur,” she hissed in his ear. “You shall not bring violence into it.”
Me, I was focused on Brad now. “Then how about you tell me what possible purpose you could have had, faking your way into Valcav and, what? Bullying me to annoyance?” I folded my arms. “Seems like a shitty plan.”
Brad absently tapped the force field and shrugged one shoulder. “It’s all a matter of perspective, I’d argue.” He then turned his gaze right to me and flashed me a twisted smile. “You know, I was going to tell you guys what was going on when I saw you again, I really was, but with how rude Mattie boy’s being, I don’t think I will. Not yet.” He tucked his hands back into his pockets. “It’s not like you have anything to worry about. You’re Nick Gateon, heir to the entire fucking world, and even if you weren’t, well, I’m going to be locked up in here for a very long time.”
The odd thing is that I could tell he wasn’t lying… but there was something a bit off too. I managed to work past the dig at my lineage and pushed on. “Then I guess we’ll have to visit again real soon, get the rest of that story, huh?”
“With the World’s Finest coming up?” Brad questioned, and when I gave him a curious look, he continued. “Look, I might be locked up in here, but I know the date. I doubt you’ll visit until after that, but, you know what, I promise that when I see you again, and I’m sure that I will, I’ll tell you everything.” His lips twisted into a lopsided grin. “Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
“He’s a fucking liar!” Matt growled from behind me, still restrained by Aylin and Kristen. “Don’t let him fucking use you, Nick.”
“Don’t worry, Matt,” I called over my shoulder. “Brad’s not going to use anyone ever again.” I nodded at Brad. “Enjoy your vacation in there. Maybe after twenty years, you’ll have a new perspective on things yourself.”
Br
ad chuckled at that and turned to walk back to his bed. “You never know, Gateon.” He looked back over his shoulder once more and winked. “See you soon, Nickie.”
By the time I turned back to Matt, his angry expression had faded to a petulant sigh. Aylin and Kristen let him go, and he crossed his arms, his insecurities plain for all to see.
I walked away from Brad’s door to get some space from the creepy psycho. “Look, I get why you’re angry--” I started.
“No, Nick, you don’t have a fucking clue,” he shot back. “You’re untouchable, always have been.”
“That’s not fair--”
“It’s not about fair,” Matt hissed. He glared at the door, then back at me with a deep scowl. “He wasn’t in your head. He didn’t fuck with you, turn you against your sister, and twist around your hatred until you were nothing else for an entire semester. He used me like fucking toilet paper. I have a right to be angry, to want to get my hands on him.”
“Sure,” I nodded, “it’s awful what he did to you, no one said otherwise, but--”
“I swear to God, if you tell me to get over it--”
“No, but you do need to move on,” I said bravely as I held up a hand to placate him. “Seriously. It’s clear that Brad’s locked up tighter than a drum, and he’s just trying to manipulate you again with words, goading you into doing something stupid. Plus… well, you have a habit of keeping grudges, and it’s gonna tie you up in knots.”
Matt was once again furious, and he shoved me backward. “Stop fucking asking me to get over it! I told you, I can’t just… I’m not forgiving him. Ever.”
“You’ve made a ton of progress the last few months,” I said calmly. I didn’t shove him back in kind, knowing from experience that antagonism would get us nowhere. “Why give Brad the win because you can’t let go?”
“Would you?” He crossed his arms as he gave me a knowing look.
I thought of my father, of how angry I was at him and all that he’d done to cause the current rift between us. He’d sent me three other letters since the first, but I hadn’t opened any of them. I hadn’t written him back, either.
