granddaughter, unconscious and completely helpless, and I let that--" He grits his teeth and the force field, usually invisible, starts to spark dangerously. "I once told you and the others that I don't want to go back to the cells, but there are certain things I'm willing to do, even if it gets me tossed back in."
"And we said we'd do everything we could to keep it from happening," Blackjack says, knowing exactly where this is going.
"Right."
"Then I'm in," Blackjack says. "Whatever needs to be done. Mimic is going down." He feels almost better, he thinks as Nico pulls up the panel and they go out to see his wife. If he can't stop it before hand, the promise of getting vengeance helps.
Now if only he can explain that to Viv, he thinks as he steps out of the force field and walks over to her. The slap across the face is expected. The clinging hug that follows it isn't. "Is he going to be okay?" she asks through sobs.
"He's going to be fine," Nico answers for Blackjack. Blackjack is too busy trying to figure out what to do with his hands. Awkwardly he wraps his arms around her, holding her gently. "He just needs to be woken up."
"But--you said it was Mimic!" she snaps, pulling back to glare up at Blackjack.
"It was," Blackjack admits.
"But we've got something no one else has," Nico goes on. "We've got a healer. He'll probably be awake by the time we get back to the dorms."
"He had better be," she says in a dangerous tone. For a moment both males forget that she's just a norm as a chill runs down their spines. Mothers are extremely scary people.
***
I can hear voices. I'm not sure what's happened, the last thing I remember is a hand--a tiny hand reaching for my face. Then... then what? I think I'm lying down. "Ace?"
What?
"Ace, come on, man, you need to wake up. Aubrey says you should be able to, now."
You sure? Wait, I think I'm just talking in my head. I try to speak, but my thoughts aren't quite reaching my mouth and the guy that's talking to me is starting to fade from my mind.
Where am I?
The world seems to shift around me and I open my eyes, expecting to see the guy that was talking to me. All I see is an empty field, one sort of like where I ran into the cows. That scene, though, had been beautiful in a rustic sort of way. This scene that surrounds me is gray and shadowed. There's no animals--no life at all, really , save for a few patches of grass here and there.
I start walking, looking for anything that might tell me where I am. Some sort of sign that there's life. For a second I see a flash of wings, and I turn, looking for a bird. There's nothing there. I stare in that direction hard for a long moment, feeling oddly empty, like something is missing.
"Ace, wake up."
I look around, expecting to see my mom. I hear her. But still there's nothing here, nothing at all. "Ace!" This time it's my father, I realize. I vaguely feel something tap my cheek. "Wake up, kid. It's time to wake up."
But... there's still nothing here, I want to say. It's empty.
Instead I wake up, staring into my dad's eyes blankly. I almost wince as he pulls me into a tight, back breaking hug. "It's empty," I hear myself say. He pulls away, looking at me in confusion.
"What's empty?" he asks gently.
"My field. It's empty," I say. I think I might be more confused than he is, because his expression grows hard as he looks over at Nico.
"How long can he keep someone's powers?" he asks.
"I don't know," Nico says. "I'm actually positive that he never took all of mine. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go to the Hall. I know that Morgan can only keep them for fifteen minutes, but--" he shrugs as he looks over at the girl in question.
"I'm sixteen," Morgan says. "Da--Mimic is a lot older than that. He's way stronger than I am. I still can't believe he was Noelle..." she says the last as if to herself, and crosses her arms
"And we said we'd do everything we could to keep it from happening," Blackjack says, knowing exactly where this is going.
"Right."
"Then I'm in," Blackjack says. "Whatever needs to be done. Mimic is going down." He feels almost better, he thinks as Nico pulls up the panel and they go out to see his wife. If he can't stop it before hand, the promise of getting vengeance helps.
Now if only he can explain that to Viv, he thinks as he steps out of the force field and walks over to her. The slap across the face is expected. The clinging hug that follows it isn't. "Is he going to be okay?" she asks through sobs.
"He's going to be fine," Nico answers for Blackjack. Blackjack is too busy trying to figure out what to do with his hands. Awkwardly he wraps his arms around her, holding her gently. "He just needs to be woken up."
"But--you said it was Mimic!" she snaps, pulling back to glare up at Blackjack.
"It was," Blackjack admits.
"But we've got something no one else has," Nico goes on. "We've got a healer. He'll probably be awake by the time we get back to the dorms."
"He had better be," she says in a dangerous tone. For a moment both males forget that she's just a norm as a chill runs down their spines. Mothers are extremely scary people.
***
I can hear voices. I'm not sure what's happened, the last thing I remember is a hand--a tiny hand reaching for my face. Then... then what? I think I'm lying down. "Ace?"
What?
"Ace, come on, man, you need to wake up. Aubrey says you should be able to, now."
You sure? Wait, I think I'm just talking in my head. I try to speak, but my thoughts aren't quite reaching my mouth and the guy that's talking to me is starting to fade from my mind.
Where am I?
The world seems to shift around me and I open my eyes, expecting to see the guy that was talking to me. All I see is an empty field, one sort of like where I ran into the cows. That scene, though, had been beautiful in a rustic sort of way. This scene that surrounds me is gray and shadowed. There's no animals--no life at all, really , save for a few patches of grass here and there.
I start walking, looking for anything that might tell me where I am. Some sort of sign that there's life. For a second I see a flash of wings, and I turn, looking for a bird. There's nothing there. I stare in that direction hard for a long moment, feeling oddly empty, like something is missing.
"Ace, wake up."
I look around, expecting to see my mom. I hear her. But still there's nothing here, nothing at all. "Ace!" This time it's my father, I realize. I vaguely feel something tap my cheek. "Wake up, kid. It's time to wake up."
But... there's still nothing here, I want to say. It's empty.
Instead I wake up, staring into my dad's eyes blankly. I almost wince as he pulls me into a tight, back breaking hug. "It's empty," I hear myself say. He pulls away, looking at me in confusion.
"What's empty?" he asks gently.
"My field. It's empty," I say. I think I might be more confused than he is, because his expression grows hard as he looks over at Nico.
"How long can he keep someone's powers?" he asks.
"I don't know," Nico says. "I'm actually positive that he never took all of mine. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go to the Hall. I know that Morgan can only keep them for fifteen minutes, but--" he shrugs as he looks over at the girl in question.
"I'm sixteen," Morgan says. "Da--Mimic is a lot older than that. He's way stronger than I am. I still can't believe he was Noelle..." she says the last as if to herself, and crosses her arms
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