The sun was fully up by the time we got ourselves together and made our way out of the forest, heading back to where me, Selena, and Ryu had left Wren. But the trip back was antagonizing. We had lost Frank’s partners and Sybil was missing, but most importantly, Greg’s death. But I was too worked up to really think about my relationship with Greg. Plus, there was the small matter of being in severe pain. My leg hurt, so I could only badly limp. Ryu and Selena helped me walk, the rest shuffling about, and then there was Frank. He was still teary-eyed, carrying his grandson’s body wrapped in a couple of jackets. We’d stayed at the battle site for awhile after Greg died, mourning, before finally getting up and moving, leaving Cane and the remains of the Siphon Destructor behind.

We were all dreading leaving the forest. As it turned out, the explosion I’d caused when I destroyed the focuser had pretty much burned the forest to a crisp. It was a wonder that we survived the explosion with the injuries we had. But this no doubt alerted authorities, and since we were carrying Greg’s body with us, there would be trouble. Hell, Selena informed us that the vast majority of the Creators here, including her and Ryu, had snuck out, something I’m told teenagers like to do. So their families didn’t even know that we had all nearly died tonight. However, I was told that Sybil didn’t have any parents, as they had been missing for years. She was staying in a dorm room at JMU.

But they couldn’t tell me whether or not Frank’s buddies had families. This, plus Sybil being missing, and Greg dying, made me feel even worse. “I’m sorry,” I finally muttered, my head down.

“What?” Selena replied, not catching what I’d said.

“I said I’m sorry,” I repeated.

“What for?” she asked, perplexed.

“Everything that happened here. It’s all my fault,” I admitted, my voice choked with sobs.

“Your fault? Hardly. Bug, we weren’t even here for you. We had no idea that you would be here… well, we had no idea that the Destructors being here was a trap just for you, although Orion was sure that there was an important reason.”

“Orion?” I questioned. I had never heard of someone by that name before. I don’t even think I’d heard such a word before.

“Someone who knows stuff and gives us information about other stuff. He’s the one that told us about your nickname,” Ryu explained.

“Yeah,” Selena said. “At first, we wanted to leave you be, figuring that you only came out here to figure out things. But once Cane got involved and Frank intercepted you, Sybil felt that it was best to keep you away, out of harm, despite the obvious fact that you are different than the rest. That much was clear, especially after what happened with the Destructor. And believe me, we all have questions about what you are, more now than ever, but none of this was your fault. In fact, if it wasn’t for you, we would all be dead now, including Wren. You saved us.”

“Damn right,” one Creator quietly said.

I guess what she said made sense, but it didn’t really change my mind. I still believed that it was my fault. And I remained silent as we walked out of the forest and onto the road that led right to the lady’s house. We were immediately greeted by Miss Lewis, dressed in snow clothes, but as we were expecting, we were greeted by police officers, EMTs, firefighters, and armed soldiers who aimed guns at us. It was apparent that the explosion had attracted more attention than we’d previously thought. An older, much larger guy in camo emerged from behind some camo-colored vehicles. “Remain where you are, Creators.” He walked up next to Miss Lewis. “Where are the three that brought you the little girl?”.

Miss Lewis scanned through the group, then spotted us. “Those three, Major General Gray.” She pointed to me, Ryu, and Selena. I half expected her to look at me with racist disdain, but there was none of that on her face. She was concerned.

Gray studied our group, looking over each and every one of us, although his eyes lingered on my face. Recognition dawned on him; my guess was he knew me from what happened at Paige’s house. Then his eyes wandered towards Frank and what he was holding. “Frank? What… what are you doing here?” he asked, surprised. I guess they knew each other. Frank didn’t answer. He just looked down, away from Gray. Gray held up his hand and the soldiers lowered their weapons. He then approached us, noting just how banged up and hurt we were. That was when he caught sight of what Frank was carrying and what it signified. He was overcome with horror at the sight. “Frank, my friend, what happened?”

-------------

Frank didn’t end up answering, but the Creators told the police and soldiers, including Gray, what had happened. All the while, as an EMT looked over my wounds and wrapped my hands and ankle in gauze and bandaged my cuts, I watched Frank put Greg’s body in an ambulance, close the door, and promptly be reunited with Wren, confused as to why her grandfather was so upset. It was a sad reunion and I don’t think Wren could possibly understand what happened. Hell, I didn’t even really understand what was going on. Cane had said so many things about me, yet he was so mentally corrupted that he probably didn’t even know right from left, leaving me unsure that anything he said held truth or not.

“I’m going to be honest with you all,” Gray said to the other Creators receiving treatment. “None of you had any permission to do this, plus, by your account, four people are dead and one Reject is missing. There is also the matter of that explosion that wiped out the forest. There is the issue of destroying Park Service property, but there is also the major problem of the explosion, although briefly, knocking the power out to the entire Eastern seaboard. People are talking and right now, they are thinking that it was the start of an attack. And I bet you all can imagine what happens after that.”

I couldn’t, but the other Creators apparently could and it seemed to scare them. “Alright, you have made your point. The Destructors had gotten hold of a Siphon Destructor and used it against us,” Selena admitted.

Gray appeared to accept that. “And can you tell me what led to Cane self-destructing it?”

All the Creators glanced at one another uneasily. Selena swallowed hard, nervous about answering. “The Siphon Destructor… uh… did not self-destruct. We… um… well…”

Gray grew impatient. “Spit it out already!”

“We… eh... destroyed it,” Selena stuttered.

That drew everybody's attention and the area was overcome by a hushed silence. Cops, firefighters, EMTs, soldiers -- everybody was now quiet and focused on Selena. “Who destroyed it?” Gray asked, a bit shaken.

“We did,” Selena reiterated.

Gray shook his head in frustration. “Again, enough of the bullshit. I don’t believe for a second that a group of cut-rate teenage superhero wannabes was able to take down something that not even level 4s could touch. Now, I’m going to ask again, WHO destroyed it!?!?”

The Creators nervously glanced at each other, their shoulders sagging in defeat. “She did,” a Creator admitted, pointing at me.

All eyes were immediately on me, but Gray kept his focus on the Creators, even if he was shaking. “How?” he quietly asked.

Selena sighed. She didn’t want to answer the question, so I decided at that moment that I would do it for her. “I took the full force of the weapon and with the help of everybody, I was able to push it back into the focuser, crushing it. It sparked, then exploded.”

Gray finally broke his focus and turned to face me. The silence of the Creators seemed to confirm to him and everybody else here that I was telling the truth. Once they realized that, they all took a few steps away from me, including the EMTs looking over my injuries. They all fear me...

Gray staggered and would have fallen had not for two of his men catching and helping him to the ground. The whispers were impossible to ignore, but I was more focused on how Gray would respond to that. He seemed to be the leader of everybody, which meant for me that the only way I would get home is if he allowed it. I was too weak to do anything. I needed Gray to get me home.

At first, he started mumbling. I couldn’t make out what was saying at first, but in time, the mumbling got louder and words became clearer. I thought he would be like everybody else, afraid. But he wasn’t. A smile was forming on his face. I couldn’t remember someone reacting like that. “You did it. You actually did it,” he said happily, the shaking gone. “You stopped it.” Then Gray started to do something that kinda creeped me out. He started laughing and kept on laughing.

“Uh… du… sir, are you okay?” one of the Creators asked Gray.

Gray’s laugher settled down for a bit. “Am I okay? I’m better than okay.” He pointed to me. “What is your name, young lady?”

I could tell him that it was Claire, or it was Jamie. Although, since the Creators were aware of my nickname, there wasn’t really any point in hiding it. “Bug,” I replied.

“Bug. You did it. The Creators, they may, as they say, have helped you, but I know you’re telling the truth. You destroyed the Siphon Destructor. A weapon that has caused so much pain and was thought to be unbeatable was finally defeated by you. There is finally an endgame.” I couldn’t find the words. I was so shocked by his reaction to what I did. He raised his hands. “It’s a new world,” he yelled out. Standing up, he looked over to one of the police officers. “Officer Crawford. Can you escort this young lady home? I’m sure her family is worried sick.”

Officer Crawford looked as if he didn’t want to do such a thing, but he didn’t argue. “What about the others?”

“Their families are on their way. Now get her home safe. It’s the least we can all do for her.”

After that, everything settled down. Everybody except me seemed to understand Gray’s sudden change of behavior. They all stopped being afraid of me and the whispers ceased. They didn’t say anything like Gray, but they didn’t say anything bad about me either, so I guess that was good.

I said goodbye to the Creators, gave one last hug to Wren, and then I was helped into the front of a police car. It was the very first time I got to ride up front in a car, a change from when I would be riding with Nancy. I told them where I lived and they told me that I still needed to visit a hospital later on to get everything checked out. I nodded, showing that I understood those instructions, then we left. I watched the burned out forest and all the rescue workers disappear in the mirror as the cop turned onto the main road.

“Do you have a phone number that I could call, to tell your family I’m bringing you home?” Officer Crawford asked me.

I gulped. I didn’t know. Nancy had never told me and I never asked. “The phone broke. We haven’t replaced it yet,” I lied.

“A cell phone then?”

Didn’t know that either. “I accidentally stepped on it yesterday.” Technically, though, I did break something by stepping on it last night, only it wasn’t a cellphone, but the TV remote.

Officer Crawford gave me a look. I gave him a look right back, then resumed looking out the window, trying to sort out my thoughts. Honest to god, it really bothered me the way everything had defused. We were sure we would all be arrested, or at least be reprimanded. Except that didn’t happen. The moment I’d told Gray what happened, he changed. The military personality he had when we arrived had shattered when I told what happened.

Another thing hit while I was pondering what happened. I was tired. It really dawned on me that I had stayed up all night, and now the exhaustion was catching up to me. I tried to fight it so I could go back to trying to make sense of everybody, but it was a losing battle. Within seconds, I was out cold.

Only to be woken up what felt like mere seconds later by the cop. He had parked next to the road, as the driveway was full of cars. I recognized one of them as Eugene and Margaret’s car; the other two I didn’t know. Nancy must have called them after I had left. “Let’s go,” he ordered. I got out of the police car and limped up the driveway. The officer offered to help me walk, but I refused.

Eugene came running out the door, panicking when he saw the cop. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Sir, are you her parent or guardian?” the cop asked Eugene, ignoring his question.

This question caught Eugene off guard, but he was quick to recover. “Uh no. But her guardian is my mother and she cannot be here at the moment. She has dictated that I and my wife would become her guardians in her absence.” He pulled out a piece of paper and handled it to the cop. From what I could see, it looked official.

The cop looked over the paper, then handed it back to Eugene. “Very well. I release her into your custody.” The cop gave me a glance, then he left, ignoring Eugene’s attempts to ask any questions.

“Damnit,” Eugene muttered. “Alright, Bug, what happened? What did you get yourself into?” I weighed my options, deciding not to say anything. “Bug, what happened!?!?” he demanded again. I turned my head away, refusing to answer. “Young lady, answer me. What did you do?” His anger was rising, but again, I refused. He gritted his teeth in frustration. “You storm out this house in anger and come back all banged up, hands bandaged, and limping. You got yourself in trouble with the law and more. Young lady, tell me what happened NOW!”

“NO!” I screamed at him, a blast of wind pushing him off his feet and into the snow. For a split second, he recoiled from me, holding up his arms in fear, before getting a grip on himself. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered. Rubbing my arm despite the pain in my hands, I limped to the porch, but I hesitated when I heard the voices coming from inside. Did I really want to face them? I didn’t have much choice.

Taking a deep breath, I walked inside, taking off my ruined jacket in the enclosed porch before limping into the kitchen. A great deal of Nancy’s family was there, but Nancy was not. I saw Margaret, her sons and daughter, Lacey, Riley, Eugene’s brother Charles, his wife, his kids, and the woman I knew as Nancy’s daughter and her own kids. And they all stopped talking and stared at me. I heard Eugene come up behind, blocking off any attempt to escape. It didn’t matter, I was far too weak.

“Do you have any idea the trouble you have caused, Bug?” Charles started off. Even he knows my nickname? Who doesn’t?

Magaret walked up and pulled me up by my shirt. “Do you have any idea what you have done!?!? You better have a damn good excuse for what you did and where you have been.”

Eugene pulled me and his wife apart. “Bug does not want to talk about it right now, so we will not ask her what she has been up to for the last nine hours for now, although we still need an answer at some point in the future.”

Charles walked up to his brother's side. “That doesn’t change the fact that this girl walked out on our mom when she was sick.” He glared at me and I stepped back. “You left. You took off, and our mother, their grandmother, got too sick. She collapsed and you weren’t there. You choose to concern yourself with yourself and now, our mom is in the hospital, dying.”

That news hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d known that Nancy was sick, but I hadn’t known it was that bad. I realized something important -- last night, this was what Nancy was going to tell me. “Yeah, you little screwup, why did you leave her?” one of Charles’ kids asked me.

“Yeah, why?” another piped up. More and more people here accused me of leaving her. I didn’t mean to, I really… Oh my god, it was my fault. I overreacted and left. But if I hadn’t walked out, there was no way that the Creators could have saved Wren and stopped Cane. On the one had, I had the perfect reason why I didn’t come back, on the other, because I didn’t come back, Nancy ended up in the hospital and I wasn’t there for her.

But my thoughts were overshadowed by everybody and my train of thought drowned in the voices of everybody except Lacey and Eugene accusing me of abandoning Nancy, and I couldn’t take it. I was so overwhelmed by the events that had already occurred. In tears, I screamed. “Stop it!” A gust of wind blew through the kitchen. Everybody went silent from my sudden burst of power. “Stop it, please,” I sobbed. “I can’t take any more. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here, but she told me how she’d manipulated me to get my trust. I was angry, upset, betrayed. I needed time to figure out what to think about everything. If I had known that she was dying, I don’t know, maybe I would've stayed...”

Charles glared down at me. “That’s no excuse,” he barked. He walked past me, his kids going ahead of him. “I never want to see you again, Bug.”

“Neither do I,” Margaret declared. “Let’s go, everybody.” Everybody started shuffling out of the kitchen, passing me glances of anger and distrust. Lacey put her hand on my shoulder for support, but I shrugged it off. She looked at me apologetically, gave a tiny nod, and left the room. Once everybody was gone, I collapsed on the kitchen chair and started to cry, everything finally catching up to me.

After an hour or two crying my eyes out, I heard the porch door open and close. I looked up at the door between the kitchen and porch and saw that Eugene was standing there with a bag in one hand and a water bottle in another. I looked up at what he had, then up at him in confusion. He seemed embarrassed. “Yeah… I sorta owe you a big apology.” I tilted my head, not knowing what he meant. “I sorta called in a few favors with some big shots in the military. They filled me in on what you were up to all night. I must say, taking down the Destructors, defeating a Siphon Destructor -- I’m impressed. I’m sorry that I overreacted. It wasn’t right for me to do so. And now it’s extremely obvious why you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh…” I said quietly, wiping the tears from my face.

Eugene set the bag down. “And how the family reacted, we had no right to do that at all. I know my mother is dying, but we all knew this was coming for a long time. Her days were numbered, everybody knew that, but there was no way of knowing that last night was the night. It isn’t your fault, Bug. It never was. And Charles, he’s just under a lot of pressure and he’s quite upset. We haven’t been able to contact our youngest brother to tell him the news. As for my wife, she’s been like that since Jared died.”

I recalled back when I saw him in that picture Lacey had. “No has ever talked about him to me.”

Eugene pulled up a seat and sat down. “Yeah, I know. It’s a pretty painful memory. My oldest son. A difficult kid, always wanting to do his own thing, much like you. He always looked after people, even if they didn’t want him to. He helped out at the church, at the park, everywhere that could use his help. In fact, he organized the Christmas caroling for all the nursing homes in the county. He was a good person, we just never realized it.”

“Wh-what happened?” I asked tentatively.

“Well, there was an incident that occurred. People died because of it. No charges were ever filed, but we all blamed him. I guess he felt similar to how you felt last night and he left. Only he didn’t come back. When we found out later on that Jared had nothing to do with it, we tried to reach out and find him. But it was too late. He was dead. He was killed in action at Lhasa doing what he did best, helping people.” That was a sad story. “I’m not going to make the same mistake that got Jared killed. Neither is the rest of my family. I meant what I said; we will take you.” I was shocked at that. I didn’t know what to think about it.

“Okay… I guess. I don't know what to think about this,” I admited “Can I go see her?” I nervously asked.

Eugene shrugged. “I don’t know, but we can try. I figured you were hungry, so I got you some food. Eat up, rest up, and I’ll be back to get you in a few hours. We’ve been unable to reach Dr. Silas, but what we know is that it's likely that she will last the night, but not much longer after that. You’ll get your chance to say goodbye. After that, we will figure it out. Okay?” I nodded and reached into the bag for food.

--------

I did end up doing just that. I cleaned myself up and fell asleep on the couch, exhausted from everything. When I awoke, it was 4pm and the sun was beginning to set. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Even an eight-hour nap hadn’t refreshed me, but considering that everything that had happened, it was a small miracle that I was still moving. Leaning back against the couch, I really thought about the situation I was in. Nancy was dying, she always had been, and everything that I knew was ending. I only remembered the last month or so, and all that was this house.

What would happen to me afterwards? Was I going to go to a regular school or back to that hellhole, was I going to be homeschooled, was I going to be anything? Would I lose that stuffed bear? I’d finally just accepted Nancy and forgave her, and now she was dying. There was nothing I could do about… or was there?

I looked down at my hands, still bandaged. Even after my nap, they still hurt. Everything still hurt, probably limiting what I could do. I thought back to the early morning, to what Ryu and Selena had told me about having positive thoughts in order for my powers to work on the offensive. Despite being told that, I was still limited, using defensive powers to destroy the Siphon Destructor. Still, actually being able to destroy something that no one, not even the greatest of the level 4s, could even touch, wasn’t surprising. My thoughts drifted back to the night before, when I’d done something that helped Woodsy. I knew I was powerful, but I didn’t think I was that powerful, nor did I think I was a level 4. But now I was developing a clear picture of what I was, though it only added more questions. There was a chance that I could help Nancy, save her, or at least give her more time.

True to his word, Eugene arrived to get me. “Is it okay for me to go?” I asked tentatively when he walked into the living room.

My mother did wake up and ask for you but the others don’t want you there. Doesn’t matter though, I’m gonna take you and whatever their reaction is, we’ll deal with it, alright?” he replied with a smile.

“Alright.” Eugene helped me to my feet. I realized that my old jacket was ruined and that I needed another one. Eugene said he would wait outside while I retrieved one. I quickly limped down to my room and grabbed another hoodie off my bed, my eye catching the bear, Mr. Fluffypants, laying on my pillow. I had put him on my dresser yesterday evening, meaning Nancy must have moved it. Come to think of it, my room was mysteriously neater than when I’d last left it and the only person that would have cleaned it up was Nancy. Despite me walking out on her in anger, she still held onto hope that I would come back. She did care, just like Lacey.

I quickly hugged the bear, placing it back on the pillow, before running out the door, feeling the pain in my legs with every step, to get into the car. I got outside, but there was no sign of Eugene. “Eugene?” I called out. No answer. “Eugene?” I yelled a bit louder. Still no answer. Where could he be?

For some reason, I felt the need to look up. And to my horror, I found him floating in the air; a piece of tape keeping him from speaking. What the FUCK!?!?

“Hello, Claire. Good to see you again.” My blood ran cold when I recognized that voice. A figure walked up from the side of the house where he had hid. “You have been quite the busy bug, haven’t you?” Dhruv retorted.

I held my breath, trying to figure out any way of dealing with this with the injuries I had. “Don’t try anything,” another voice I immediately recognized warned. Gare came out from behind the shed with Margaret. “You move and I fry her. Got it?”

“Y-y-yeah, I got it,” I stammered. Terrified, I looked for a solution, but there wasn’t any that I could see. Gare had lightning running over his fingers, reading to snap at a moment’s notice.

Gare smiled. “Good. Dhruv, please place the Mental Nullifier on the girl.” Dhruv floated a small watch-looking thing over to my arm, which immediately snapped onto my wrist. A high-pitched piercing sound filled my ears, forcing me to my knees in pain. “That little contraption is the result of years of study from the smartest people on this planet. It cuts off your mental control of your ability, rendering it inactive. You are defenseless, little girl.” Now that I was incaptacitated, Gare left Margaret go and Dhruv dropped Eugene.

“To think Galen thought it would have been impossible to bring you in. Look at you now, a little weak girl who is brought to her knees just like anybody.” Literal giants, more than I could count, made their way onto the driveway, as well as large vehicle with a gun on the roof blocking any car from getting in or out of the driveway. Everybody looked military and were sporting some rather nasty looking weaponry.

“Secretary Coleman,” Eugene growled at the man who appeared from behind the largest of the giants.

Coleman gave Eugene a devilish smile, “Director Eugene Rodes of the CDC, how are you doing today?”

“You have no right to do this…” Eugene snapped.

Coleman looked around at the situation. “Do what? Oh… do this? You are mistaken, Director Rodes, I have every right to do this. The girl is coming with us.”

“The girl is in our care! You can’t take her!” Eugene screamed at Coleman as he tried to stand up, but Dhruv pushed him back down with his ability.

“Eugene… Eugene… Eugene, the placement was never official. The only reason why none of us could touch her is because General Rodes still loves his mother and would do anything to keep harm from coming to her. But if I remember correctly, General Rodes only gives a shit about his mother. He hates you, your brother, and pretty everybody else for what you did all those years ago. You haven’t spoken to him for twelve years. Simply put, once Nancy is dead, he stops giving a fuck about everything involving this fucked up family. That includes this girl.” Coleman turned to the largest giant. “Colonial Wulfe, have your SEALs secure Claire here for transport to West Point.”

“Don’t, Coleman, don’t take her. Please don’t take her away and turn her into some weapon,” Eugene begged.

Despite the pain in my ears, I could focus on Coleman’s reaction to Eugene begging him not to take me. He seemed annoyed. “And why not?” he asked.

“Because you don’t know what you are getting yourself into. None of you do.”

“Oh, I think we do,” Coleman retorted, turning around, dismissing Eugene’s warning. My mind flashed back to what Eugene had told me: that he knew that I had defeated a Siphon Destructor. He knew that I was different. And Eugene was about to spill the secrets.

“No, you don’t. She isn’t anything like we thought. Claire… no… Bug here isn’t like anything we have ever seen for a very long time…”

Coleman stopped, sighing in exasperation. “Eugene, this isn’t a matter of morality or anything you may be implying. The girl will come with us because we need her. We are desperate. Where there were once millions of superhumans, only a few thousand remain. We are dying out. If we train her right, we can end the war before it kills everybody.”

Eugene was up on his feet. “I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to your illusion of control. You think that the Nullifier will stop her, you think that this Navy SEAL team is enough? It’s far from it. Bug here, she is far too powerful for you to control.”

Coleman turned his head so he could study me. The pain in my ears kept me from moving, but that didn’t limit my ability to glare at him. “If you haven’t noticed, she is down, depowered. I have all the control.”

I couldn’t see Eugene’s face, but I knew that he was about to reveal something important. “No, you don’t. She cannot be controlled. That’s because she is…”

“A Level 5?” Some random voice finished Eugene’s sentence. Someone came walking up on the roof of the house. And I recognized him from the mall trip Lacey took me on. It was Lacey’s old boyfriend, the one who’d dumped everything out of Lacey’s purse. “To think, after two thousand years of extinction, the Level 5s have returned.”

A stunned silence followed.

“She’s a what?” Coleman sputtered.

Lacey’s ex-boyfriend did a facepalm. “Did you not hear what I just said?” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “I SAID SHE IS A LEVEL 5! God, you guys are spending too much time around guns.”

There was muttering around me, each of the giants trying to decide whether or not to believe him. What could have been the biggest shocks to my, I didn’t know what to think. Everything that had happened put my mind into overdrive and this was just one big revelation on top a huge pile of revelations.

“Now that I have caused a massive mental breakdown for some of you and caused the rest to deeply question what is truly impossible or not and pretty much everything you knew about the universe, it’s time for introductions.” He pointed at Eugene and Margaret. “Those two know me as Zane, Bug. You know me as the crazy ex-boyfriend who dumped all the things in his ex-girlfriend’s purse on the floor of a mall. However, you may also know me by another name…” He gave a goofy smile and struck a pose. “For it is I, Orion!”

Orion… the guy who’d told Creators about my nickname. This crazy asshole is in league with the Creators?

I looked at Coleman for his reaction. He seemed… unimpressed, despite what Zane had just revealed. “Bravo… bravo. A dramatic entrance and the need to strike a pose. How quaint. However, you are interfering with official government business. Leave or you will be arrested.”

“Do you like peanuts?” Zane asked, that goofy smile never leaving his face. “I like peanuts. I think they are great. I think they are the very best!” He gave a small hop for extra measure.

“I…” Coleman tried to answer, but Zane kept on a roll.

“Have you ever ridden a cow through the maze of death in the valley of empty tears?” Uh…. “How about riding a lion into battle… oh, I got one better, imagine a kitten riding a lion into the heat of battle during the fourth Dog-Cat War screaming death to all dogs. Do it… do it… do it…” This guy was crazy. Complete and utter crazy.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Coleman demanded, apparently running out of patience.

Zane in response started dancing. “I’m stalling, you dickweed,” he laughed.

The SEALs raised their weapons, looking around for anybody. “For what?” Coleman asked, his eyes darting around.

Zane pointed to something behind me. “For him!” A white furball with a reddish face, paws, and tail walked up and sat down right next to me.

“Woodsy?” I should’ve been surprised, but that cat always seemed to show up whenever there was trouble.

“A cat? Really?” Coleman spat in a deeply annoyed tone.

“Of course,” replied Zane “But more than that, I’m waiting for Bug to get her act together and realize that the little toy on her wrist is merely that, a toy.”

“A toy? That device is the result of thirty years of scientific research. It the most powerful nullifier ever created by mankind, a hundred years ahead of its time. Not even this girl can overcome it!” Coleman retorted, but his confidence was wavering. I could tell that he didn’t fully believe his words and he was worried due to that.

Zane snorted. “Ignore them, Bug. That little toy cannot contain what resides within you. The Level 5s have returned with you and it’s time to show them that you exist. Reach deep within yourself and connect. Overcome and persevere. Nancy needs you!”

My ability reacted to Zane’s call. The piercing sound vanished from my ears, allowing me to think clearly. I felt energy flow throughout my body. What was once limited to a shield or to my arm or leg was now through me. It was me. Although I wasn’t commanding my abilities to do it, I felt one with them. Sparks of pinkish lightning sparked throughout, giving me the energy to stand without pain. They said I was a level 5. I believed them. It gave me what I needed, the reassurance that I could do what I wanted instead of what others wanted from me. What I wanted more than anything in the world was just to have a life of my choice, and one that involved just being a kid living here with Nancy seemed alright with me.

Determined, I grabbed the device and ripped it from my wrist. A massive surge of power exploded throughout my body, more than I had ever felt before. For a split second, I was actually glowing before the power faded and I was left standing in the cold snow; I had done it.

“Holy shit, God help us!” Wulfe prayed, his gun shaking.

“It doesn’t matter… she is still nearly out of power. She can’t fight us. She used too much of it defeating the Siphon Destructor…” Coleman stuttered.

“Oh.. how foolish for you to think you were fighting her. Bug’s leaving, it’s us you have to fight.” Zane’s tone of voice had changed.

Coleman laughed despite everything that had happened. “You and that cat versus me and an entire unit of Navy SEALs? You are joking, right?”

I looked at Zane, waiting for his response on how he would do it. His eyes narrowed and his goofy smile was replaced with one much more sinister as he started laughing. This was not a goofy laugh, but a deep, nefarious laugh. “You think that cat came alone?”

A deafening roar of a lion pierced the air. I watched as a figure jumped up from behind the house and came crashing down on the driveway with a staff, blasting Gare and Dhruv away with a shockwave. “Hey, Bug, already in trouble, I see. Good thing the cat you call Woodsy led us right to you!” Ryu gave me a thumbs up.

“You see, Coleman, while you may have brought a Navy SEAL unit, Woodsy brought an army!” Zane declared triumphantly.

“Wha-what… how?” Coleman stuttered as more Creators appeared. All of them that were in the forest popped out of holes and from behind cars and houses, prepared to fight.

“Need some help, girlfriend.” I recognized that voice. I looked up to see Selena sliding down snow from the house next door with two other girls. Landing on the driveway, she gave me a quick hug. I returned the hug, tearing up a bit. “You helped us save that little girl and end the Destructors. Now it is our turn to help you.”

“Thanks,” I said, wiping away tears.

Selena nodded, then focused on Coleman, the SEALs, and Dhruv and Gare. “Listen up, we came here for two things. Kitty playtime and beating the shit out of you, ya bastards!”

The Creators had completely surrounded and trapped everybody. They were ready for battle in order to help me, led by Zane. “It’s quite simple, Coleman. Control is an illusion. Just because we are dying out doesn’t change the fact the superhumans are dangerous.” Jumping down off the roof, Zane took point in front of Ryu, seemingly taking command of the army that Woodsy had assembled for him. “WE ARE THE CREATORS AND YOU’RE GONNA LEARN JUST HOW DANGEROUS WE CAN BE!” Woodsy got up, stretched, and then let a sudden roar that blasted the SEALs away and knocked the large vehicle off the road like toy. Woodsy… has powers? “Animals with abilities -- rare, but not unheard of!” Zane guessed what I was thinking.

“Of course Bug would make friends with a cat that has a powerful ability. Totally saw that one coming,” Eugene exclaimed.

Zane turned away from the stunned enemy and pointed to two of the Creators. They were both somewhat tall and muscular. One had long hair and the other had a buzz cut. “While they are stunned, Dante, James, take Bug, Eugene and… whoever that crazy lady is and get to 33. Galen and Holly have commandeered a vehicle. Bug, you don’t have much time. Nancy may not make the hour. Once she dies, that’s it, game over, but if you can heal her before that, you’ll have a life,” Zane encouraged me. The SEALs had recovered by this point and Gare and Dhruv were back on their feet.

“Uh… are you sure you don’t need my help,” I asked out concern of who they were facing.

Zane’s goofy smile returned. “Nah… don’t you worry, we got this. Now go!”

I gave him a quick nod, hugged Selena one more time, and we bolted just as the Creators dove into battle. The SEALs, Dhruv and Gare, and even Coleman never stood a chance. We headed around back and down through other people’s yards, heading for the highway. We could hear the sounds of a battle erupt as we ran. Who knew how long it would take for police to arrive, but the Creators were buying time. “We’ve already taken care of the SEALs who had taken positions away from the house. We’ll be okay between here and Route 33,” Dante told me as we ran. Sure enough, we reached the road without any trouble and found a truck with the short man named Galen sitting in the bed and a woman who I guessed was Holly at the wheel.

“Nancy’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. She only has a few minutes,” Galen informed all us as Dante and James helped me into the bed of the truck and Eugene and Margaret jumped in the front with Holly.

“Got it. The Creators and that cat are holding off Coleman and his unit, along with Dhruv and Gare. We should be fine as long as there are no surprises,” Dante filled Galen in as the truck took off onto the highway, nearly hitting a car and knocking me off the truck. “We’re damn lucky that cat intercepted you two.”

“Alright, Bug, tell me, how exactly are you going to save my wife?” Galen asked me, having to shout for me to hear him.

“You two are married?”

Galen flashed a disapproving look at me. “Not the point at the moment. We are putting everything into you healing her and regaining Frederick’s support. Now, I know you have the power to do so, but can you do actually command your powers to do the deed?”

I gave a brief thought about that. I did help Woodsy, but I wasn’t sure how I managed to heal him. “Maybe?” I replied honestly.

Galened sighed in frustration. “All this effort from me, Holly, the Creators, and that strange cat, and the best you can do is ‘maybe’? Nancy’s life rests on a ‘maybe’?”

It was my turn to glare at him. “What do you expect? I’m just a kid who barely knows how to control my own powers. And Nancy kept refusing to help me train my ability. A ‘maybe’ is the best you are going to get!”

Two other trucks sped up next to us, one each side, interrupting our argument. They had more military personnel in them and their guns were pointed at the truck. “Pull over by the order of Secretary Coleman!”

Dante groaned. “And then there’s that.” He crouched, looking like he was going to jump. “James, you take the one of the right, I’ll take the one on the left. Bug, shield the truck from any stray bullets.” I watched as Dante jumped on the hood of the large vehicle. “Hi!” he yelled as he punched through the hood and pulled out engine parts. “Bye!” he finished, jumping off the hood and back onto the truck as the engine exploded and the vehicle came to a screeching halt. James engulfed his hand in fire and threw a fireball at the other vehicle, blasting its tire clean off, sending it careening into a ditch.

“That was…” I tried to express just how awesome they were, but a low flyby by a very fast moving object deterred that.

“Fucking hell, it’s a drone!” Galen yelled as he grabbed a gun Holly handed him through the window and starting shooting at it. The drone circled around and returned fire. I jumped up and held out my hands in an effort to shield us. It worked, bullets bouncing harmless off an invisible shield. But the downside was I still felt every hit, and the more energy I used to shield us, the less I had to help Nancy.

“Bring it down!” Galen shouted at James and Dante. Galen tried shooting at it and James threw fireballs at it, but it was too fast. It fired something at us after realizing bullets weren’t doing the trick, which blew up the moment it struck my shield. It had termous amount of force when it hit and I would have fallen out of the truck had James not caught me. “Son of a bitch… Coleman knows Bug can survive getting blown up, but not us. He’s gonna blow the rest of us up and pull Bug from the debris.”

“I’m so not dying today, especially when there is a new episode of Parallel Quests tonight,” Dante affirmed. He watched as the drone circled around and came in for another pass. “James, make sure no one gets into that hospital that isn’t supposed to be there.” James gave him a thumbs up. “Nice meeting ya, Bug, but I gotta go.” It was clear what Dante was going to do. he was going to bring it down personally. When the drone came back into alignment with the truck, Dante jumped out of the bed of the truck onto the highway for a brief second, flashes of lightning spreading across his body, before pouncing with amazing speed towards the drone, creating a small crater in the road in the process. I watched as the drone attempted to dodge Dante’s attack, but he hit it in the left wing, ripping it from the rest of the drone. Now spinning out of control, I watched the drone go down, crashing in a field.

“Think Dante is okay?” I asked James when I didn’t see Dante anywhere. James replied with a shrug, apparently a dude of very few words. “I’m gonna choose to believe he’s okay.”

“Same,” Galen gasped, siding down on the bed in exhaustion.

---------

We reached the hospital with no other interference. Galen led me, Margaret and Eugene into the hospital while Holly and James remained outside to keep any unwelcome guests from entering the hospital. Eugene told me as we entered the building that Nancy had been moved from the ICU to a hospital room on the third floor to allow enough room for her extended family to visit her in her final moments, so anything that I would do wouldn’t be seen by the entire ICU staff.

When we got out of the elevator, we were greeted by a nurse. She had a defeated look on her face. “I’m sorry…” she started.

“No… no... please, no…” Eugene begged.

“I’m sorry, your mother held on for as long as could. She’s gone,” the nurse informed us. I knew what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to believe it. All that effort to get here and… no… it couldn’t be.

I bolted from the elevator, running down the hallways. Her room wasn’t hard to find; Riley and Lacey were standing outside in the hallway. “Bug… what are you doing here?” Lacey asked when she saw me. She was sobbing, as was Riley. The room itself was filled with sobs. She couldn’t be dead, not after all I’d gone through to get here. I tried to force myself into the hospital room, refusing to believe that she was gone, but Lacey grabbed my shoulder. “Bug, stop, she’s gone.”

“I can help her… I can help save her.” I shuddered, trying to deny what was obvious.

Lacey pulled me into hug. “Bug, there’s nothing more anyone can do. She’s gone.”

I pushed Lacey away and forced my way into the room. Charles, his kids, no one stopped me from making my way to Nancy’s bed. When my eyes laid upon on her, I could no longer deny it. Her face lacked color and her chest didn’t move. There were no thoughts and no emotions. There was nothing. I was too late; she was dead.

Tears filled my eyes and my heart ached. I had came close and failed. Dropping to my knees and grasping her cold hand, I started to cry. I realized too late that Nancy was family, despite what she’d done. She’d wanted to make up for that and I’d refused to allow her that. “I’m sorry.”

“I bet you are,” Charles grumbled. I looked to him and he just glared back, as did his kids. To them, I was just the freak child that ruined everything. I guessed he was right.

I lowered my head in shame, closing my eyes to avoid making any eye contact, trying to get my powers to do anything. But they did nothing. Nancy was dead. It was game over.

I felt useless… but something happened. Everything changed. A blast of wind and I no longer felt Nancy’s hand in my fingers. My feet no longer felt the hardness of the cold floor of a hospital room. Instead, I felt warm dirt. No longer did I smell the aseptic smell of a hospital; instead, the air gave off a distinct pinewood smell, something I remembered from the forest. My eyes snapped over and I found myself no longer in the hospital, but on a mountain summit. The leaves were still on the trees and there was no snow. A warm breeze made me very aware that I was no longer wearing pants. Instead, I was now wearing a flowing white dress.

The sky, the mixture of day, night, sunset, and sunrise, made it clear that I was in the forest realm, but I didn’t know why. There was no reason for me to be here; I wasn’t asleep, nor had I tried to use my ability to reach into my mind. Why the hell was I here?

“Anybody here?” I called out.

“Yeah, just around the boulders,” someone replied.

What the hell?

“Come on over. I don’t bite,” the someone urged. Tentatively, I walked up the trail, careful to avoid stepping on any rocks with my bare feet. Standing at the edge was a tall, thin man, facing away from me. He had a man bun and from what I could see, had a rather bushy beard. He was wearing some hiking clothes and a pair of hiking boots. Compared to the last person I’d met in this place, he was prepared for the environment around him. “Do you know what this place is?” he asked me.

“Uh… can’t say that I do,” I responded.

“Heh… it’s Old Rag Mountain. I always loved to hike to the top of this thing. You can see for miles on end from up here.”

I took notice of the view. He was right, one could see everything from this mountain peak. “Who are you?” I finally asked, curious of who he was.

He ignored that question. “Tell me, why do you want to save Nancy?” I gasped when I heard the question. How did he know? “You are probably shocked and are thinking how I know about it. It’s not a matter of how I know about it, it’s a matter of why I know about it. Let me ask you again, why do you want to save her? You must have a reason.”

“Well… I mean, her family hates the fact that I ran away in anger and left her alone to collapse. Maybe if I healed her, they would forgive me. But I did good afterwards, I saved Wren, and stopped the Destructors from killing the Creators,” I admitted, withholding my other reasons.

The man lowered his head and sighed. “So they haven’t changed. After all these years, they are still the same. But that’s besides the point. You told me why you wanted to save Nancy for reasons involving the family. What I want to know is why you want to save her.” He put emphasis on ‘you’, correctly deducing that I’d withheld information. “Don’t worry, you can trust me.” His words were sincere; he was telling the truth.

“Because I want to be loved and have my fears relieved. She was far from perfect in the beginning, when I had nothing, not even memories, but over time, she warmed to me. I’m a long way away from calling her mom, but still, for someone with no memories, she came around. She gave me something when I had nothing and I realized too late that despite her misgivings at first, she really did give a damn about me and considered me part of her family, something that I really want, a chance to be someone in a family rather than being nothing.” That was the honest truth.

The man gave a hearty laugh. “Well, what it sounds like to me is that you have grown to love and care for a parent who loves and cares for you in return. You have found something beautiful, a place in the world, people who love you. Oh, child, don’t you worry, everything is going to be okay…” The man finally turned to face me, his smile reaching wide, his eyes calm and caring, but I was taken aback by the man who stood in front of me. I had seen him only once before. “It’s going to be okay, Jamie.”

I could only say one thing in reply… “Jared?”

The ground shook, the boulders shattered, Jared vanished in a puff of smoke, and the sky fell. The ground beneath me collapsed and I fell into utter darkness. Time slipped away and I was nowhere; floating or standing, I couldn’t tell. The place felt familiar, but I knew that it wasn’t the Dark Place. It was too calm, too peaceful.

I looked around. I knew it would be hopeless, it was too dark. But despite that, I saw in perfect clarity, sitting some ways away from me, a wolf. It was just watching me with a seemingly mild curiosity. “Hey!” I called out to it. The wolf turned around and started walking away from me.

“Hey!” I yelled at the wolf, going after it, my feet touching solid ground in spite of the lightless void. The wolf sped up its pace, so I did the same. The faster I ran, the faster it ran. I pushed myself, trying to keep up with the wolf. I focused willpower into my ability, hoping to get an extra boost of speed to catch up with it. The moment I did, the solid void gave way and I fell through the darkness. I was careening through nothingness at unimaginable speed. Strangely, I was not scared or terrified at my predicament. I felt relaxed and my mind was at peace. I calmly closed my eyes, waiting for whatever waited for me at the bottom of this void of darkness to reach me.

A wolf howled and I stopped falling. I could feel solid ground and a warm breeze washed over me once again. I opened my eyes, finding myself lying face down in some grass. I was no longer in the void, as I could once again feel time move.

I sat up on my knees and looked straight out. A flowing meadow of grass and wheat stretched outwards for miles, ending at a river. On the other side of the river was the beginnings of a forest, growing along a snow-capped mountain range.

It was beautiful, but it didn’t compare to the sky. On that mountain, there was a mixture of day, night, sunset, and sunrise. But there was no sky. It was bright as day in the meadow, but where the sun should’ve been, there was an enormous galaxy. Its spiral arms stretched forever across the sky and the yellow/orange/blue light of the arms and central bar illuminated the clouds floating about. Beyond the galaxy, there were more stars than I had ever seen in the brightest night sky ever. It was breathtaking. It was more than obvious that this place was part of the realm that contained the forest and the mountain top. This was beautiful, peaceful, calming. I felt more at peace with myself than ever before.

As I was absorbed in the sheer beauty of the sight in front of me, it was natural that I was oblivious to other things. It took a few moments for me to notice that a figure had wandered up from the river. It was a little kid with short brown hair, and had on a thick coat and snow pants. The kid looked like a boy, but there was something else. The brown hair, the facial features, the eyes: he looked like me. Could he be my brother? He stopped when he reached the top of the hill, looking around. His eyes fell on me, but looked away, not noticing me, making it clear that he wasn’t actually here. If he wasn’t here, then what I was seeing… did this have something to do with the nature of this place?

Another kid with long black hair and a pink coat came jogged up the hill after him. She looked behind her and motioned for someone. Four other kids came running up the hill. Once together, they started towards me, stopping when they realized that he hadn’t followed. Instead, he was looking up at the stars.

“Rápida, Jammy, estaríamos tarde a la cena,” the second girl told him. I recognized the language, but I didn’t know what she had said to him. He seemed to understand her, though, ending his stargazing and catching up to the girl. She gave him a hug, which he returned, before they resumed their running. I watched as they ran, fading as they got closer to me, before fading completely as they ran behind… a wolf that was sitting six inches from the side of my head.

I knew immediately that this was the wolf I’d seen in the lightless void. How it got here was beyond me, but I knew that it had gotten here at the same time I did and had simply waited for me to notice it. “H-hey.” Saying hi to a wolf was probably the last thing a sane person would do. Given the fact that it had done nothing but wait, I had the impression that it didn’t want to harm me. “Who are you?” I asked the wolf. The wolf did not reply. It just continued to stare at me with bright blue eyes. Okay, another question then. “What did I just see?” Again, the wolf did not answer. “Of course you don’t answer my questions, you’re a wolf. You can’t speak. God, I’m such an idiot.”

The wolf just continued to sit and stare, not moving to harm me. But I knew the look it was giving me. It wanted me to figure out what I’d just seen on my own. I didn’t even know where to begin. It wasn’t like meeting that girl in the forest, nor was it like meeting Jared. Even this place was different. Had this place shown me… “No… it couldn’t be…” I got up close to the wolf, “Was that one of my memories?” The wolf narrowed its eyes and subtly nodded yes. “Oh… oh… my god, that was a memory? A memory? MY MEMORY!” After months with nothing, this place had finally given me a memory and to my delight, one of my brother. “I have a brother!”

The wolf replied by shaking its head no.

My eyes widen in shock. “What do you mean no? I don’t have a brother? Then what the fuck did I see?” The wolf did not reply. “Oh great, so why are you even here?” The wolf responded by focusing on something behind me. I followed its gaze and saw a person walking away from me and towards a huge tree that was growing on the top of a small hill near a lake, arced by the spiral arm of another galaxy. I felt something familiar and stood up to get a better look. It was a woman and I could see that she was wearing some ugly yellow dress. But there was more, a feeling, a connection. A snap of recognition in my heart; I knew who she was. “Nancy!” Nancy didn’t hear me and continued to walk towards the tree. “Did… did… I come here to find Nancy?” I turned back around to ask the wolf, but to my shock, it had vanished.

I guessed I had. “Nancy!” I called out to her again. She still didn’t hear me. I needed to be closer to her, so I started running towards her. “Nancy!” She didn’t go faster as I got closer, she just kept walking. “Nancy… it’s me… it’s me, Bug! Please… turn around… it’s me.” The closer I got, the louder I yelled and the more tears formed. “Nancy!”

I ran up and hugged her back. “It’s me, Nancy. Please turn around.” She stopped walking walking but did not turn around. “It’s me, Bug. I’m sorry. Please turn around.”

She patted my head and turned around, allowing me to get a good look at her. Her dress was ugly, but she looked much younger. Brown hair rather white, no wrinkles, no sickness. She looked like a slightly older Lacey. “What did you say?” she smiled.

I wiped the tears away. “I said… I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… to leave… to leave you alone.”

She got on her knees and took my hands, still smiling. “Oh, Bug, you don’t have to be sorry. It was my fault. I kept forgetting that you are just a kid and you act like a kid. And that is the most normal thing you can ever do.” She reached up and rubbed my cheek. “Bug… I am truly sorry for everything, and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize how important you are to me. Related or not, you are my daughter.”

Everything that I had just seen with the wolf and the memory vanished and Jared’s words ‘everything was going to be okay’ echoed through my mind as Nancy brought me into a hug. Yeah… it was going to be okay. That much I was certain of.

-----------

Nancy’s whole family had gathered. By this point, Galen, Nancy’s estranged husband, and Eugene and his wife had made into the room. They were all looking at Nancy’s body with Bug kneeling down next to her, holding her hand, sobbing. Galen, Eugene, and Margaret had all learned the truth about Bug’s powers, although that created even more questions. Eugene had learned what Bug was up during the night and Margaret herself could only assume what she did. While Eugene’s opinion of her had deeply changed immediately upon learning the heroism shown by Bug while she was with the Creators, Margaret had only just now learned about what had occurred and her opinion was finally beginning to change.

As for the rest of the family, aside from Lacey, their opinions remained the same. They couldn’t understand why Nancy would take in a reject like Bug. They had low opinions of her, and then Bug running away had only solidified their belief. None of them agreed about Bug joining the family, despite the fate that awaited her once Nancy died and Frederick’s protection ended.

“She doesn’t belong here. Let’s move her,” Charles declared. He moved to grab her and pull her away from his mother’s body, but Eugene and Galen blocked him.

“No. Too much went into this to have her dragged away. Let her mourn,” Galen chastised Charles, pushing him away. Charles didn’t get the message, trying to move around him, but everybody’s surprise, Margaret grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

“Everything I’ve been through very recently has proven to me that despite this girl being something extraordinary, she is also a child that loves the person who took the role of a mother to her. Would you be so cruel to think about refusing to let a mere child mourn her mother?” Margaret rebuked Charles attempts. He seemed to get the message and backed away.

At that moment, Bug raised her head, although her eyes were closed. She seemed dazed, like she was in a trance.

“Bug, are you okay?” Galen asked.

“Jared?” she whispered.

There were small gasps and whispers among the family. Margaret was the first to say anything. “Did she just say…” Margaret was unable to finish when Bug’s eyes snapped open, glowing in a light shade of pink, with light exploding outwardly from her body. The entire family dove for cover, but the light engulfed them, overtaking everything in the room and beyond.

Outside, where James and Holly were standing guard, the light blasted out from the window of the room and overtook both of them before they could react. It moved and covered the entire hospital, its power overwhelming everything. Gravity became nonexistent miles from the epicenter; cars, people, anything not bolted to the ground arose off the ground. When the light did dissipate, everything crashed back down on the ground. In the hospital room mere moments later, everybody recovered immediately, shocked that the light hadn’t harmed them in any way.

Charles got to his feet, totally freaking out. “What the hell was that?”

Everybody watched as Bug got to her feet and grabbed her head in pain before finally collapsing to the floor. The moment Bug hit the floor, Nancy gasped, life returning to her. “Holy SHIT,” Charles screamed. In a mix of panic and fear, everybody tried to rush to her side, causing a bit of a pile-up. Nancy kept gasping for air, moving on to coughing her lungs out. “Mom… Mom… breathe… please breathe,” Charles and Eugene pleaded. “NURSE! WE NEED HELP RIGHT NOW!”

Nancy’s breathing finally return to normal and her coughing stopped. She looked at Eugene, then at Charles. Eyes rolling back, she fell back on the bed, unconscious but alive. No one could believe what had just happened; half of them had already fainted in shock. “That girl… just brought Nancy BACK TO LIFE! HOW IS THE FUCK IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!?!?!” Charles screamed at the top of his lungs, demanding answers.

“Uh, guys, you may want to look outside,” one of Charles’ kids, Matthias, exclaimed. Everybody glanced outside. It was obvious as hell. In the sky was the Aurora Borealis, bright as ever. Mere seconds after Bug’s powers had brought Nancy back to life, they had also brought the Aurora.

Charles was panicking. “This… this… this is impossible. All of this is impossible.”

Galen reached down and picked an unconscious Bug off the floor where she had fallen. “Quite the opposite.”

The members of the family that had not fainted looked to Galen for explanation. “What are you saying?” Charles asked, scared to death of the answer.

Galen glanced down at Bug, then at Eugene, seemingly considering the consequences of his words. “The impossible is now possible. Simply put, Bug is… well… she’s a level 5.”

A heavy silence filled the room. They all wanted to deny that in some form, but couldn’t. The evidence was too great. They now knew in absolute certainty that the very girl that they had considered a reject, had treated like crap because of something she’d done in anger, had overall refused to accept her into their family, was the most powerful superhuman in existence. They all knew that superhumans that could undermine everything achieved by mankind, hell, even shatter everything humanity knew about life, death, science, even the universe itself, were extinct and never coming back. Now those same superhumans had shattered even that principle, for that superhuman was lying unconscious in Galen’s arms, an amnesiac teenager who called herself Bug.