During the First Twenty-Four Hours — GDA Medical Center
Cosmic and Elise were the first to arrive.
Cecil called them before the medical team had even finished the first round of examinations. Kai's vital signs were stable, his physical injuries were not severe, and none of the impacts he had taken explained his unconscious state.
The problem was inside his head.
Elise remained in front of the brain scans while the GDA doctors left the room. Several projections occupied the monitors, comparing older examinations with the ones performed that night.
One of the scars was clearly marked.
Before, it had been only an irregular line in the process of healing.
Now it was open again.
Elise enlarged the image, following the damage with her eyes.
"The injury reached the same connections again."
Cosmic stood beside the bed, watching Kai lying motionless beneath the equipment. His mask had been removed, revealing the cut on his lip and the bruises spread across his face.
Elise changed the projection.
His brain activity remained far too high for someone unconscious, alternating between rapid spikes and periods of sudden decline.
The affected areas had been larger then. There had been more inflammation, more disorganized connections, and signs of damage that would have left any ordinary human incapable of breathing without assistance.
"His body is repairing the tissue again. We simply don't know how long it will take."
"Hours?"
"Possibly."
"Days?"
Elise did not answer immediately.
"That's also possible."
The two continued watching the readings for the next two hours.
No new injuries appeared.
The intracranial pressure decreased.
The spikes in activity began to stabilize, even though Kai continued to show no response to voices, touch, or light stimuli.
When Elise finally stepped away from the monitor, exhaustion was already visible on her face.
They decided to get some rest and asked to be notified if anything changed.
Debbie and Nolan arrived shortly afterward.
Debbie crossed the room without waiting for an explanation. She sat beside the bed, held Kai's hand, and studied every bruise as if searching for an injury the doctors had overlooked.
Nolan remained a few steps behind her.
Arms crossed.
Expression closed.
He observed the equipment, the monitors, and his son's steady breathing. Then he looked at the bruises again, as if Kai's condition did not match what he was seeing.
Cecil entered a few minutes later.
Nolan turned toward him.
"What happened?"
"He was found unconscious after an incident on the west side."
"I can see that."
Nolan's jaw hardened.
"I'm asking why he's still unconscious. There are no injuries severe enough to put him into a coma."
Cecil held his gaze.
The question confirmed something he had already suspected.
He kept his expression neutral.
"The incident appeared simple when we sent him."
Nolan continued waiting.
"An armed conflict between criminal groups. We later discovered that one of the individuals involved possessed unusual abilities."
"What kind of abilities?"
"We're still investigating."
Nolan looked back at Kai.
The answer explained part of the fight.
It did not explain the coma.
Cecil noticed that he had reached the same conclusion, but Nolan did not ask again.
Debbie tightened her grip around her son's hand.
The door opened before Cecil could continue.
Mark entered in a hurry.
"What happened?"
His eyes found Kai in the bed.
Nolan slowly turned toward him.
"Where were you?"
Mark took a moment to look away from his brother.
"What?"
"When this happened." Nolan uncrossed his arms. "Where were you?"
Mark recognized the tone.
"I was with Amber."
"And why weren't you with your brother?"
Guilt appeared before he could hide it.
"I left my communicator at home."
Nolan took one step toward him.
"You left your communicator at home."
"I forgot it."
Mark lowered his eyes for an instant.
"I thought Kai could handle it."
Nolan went still.
"What?"
"I thought he could handle it alone, no matter what it was."
The answer seemed to anger Nolan even more.
He started forward.
Debbie stood.
"Nolan."
He did not stop.
"Your brother is unconscious because you decided you didn't need to—"
"Nolan!"
Debbie's voice cut through the room.
He looked at her.
"Weren't you the one who said they needed to handle things on their own?"
Nolan's jaw locked.
"You said it was good for them to stop depending on each other. So don't act like this is all his fault."
Nolan looked at Mark again.
The anger remained, but the argument had nowhere left to go without turning on Debbie as well.
He swallowed the rest of the argument.
Turned around.
And left the room.
The door closed harder than necessary.
Mark remained where he was.
Cecil watched the three of them for several seconds before following Nolan outside, leaving the family alone.
Silence filled the room.
Debbie sat down again.
Mark slowly approached the bed.
"He was right."
Debbie lifted her eyes.
"Your father was angry."
"Not about everything."
Mark pulled over another chair.
He sat on the opposite side of the bed.
"I didn't forget the communicator by accident."
Debbie said nothing.
Mark looked at his own hands.
"I mean, I did forget it. But I stopped caring whether I had it with me."
He rubbed his fingers together, avoiding looking at Kai.
"When something happened and Kai answered first, I felt relieved."
"Because you knew he could help."
"No."
Mark shook his head.
"Because I didn't have to go."
Debbie remained silent.
"Amber was already tired of me disappearing. Every time there was an emergency, I thought she would get angry again. That I would ruin another date or have to invent another excuse."
He looked at his brother.
"So when Kai started doing things alone, it became easy."
His voice lowered.
Debbie released Kai's hand only to touch Mark's arm.
"You didn't know this would happen."
"But I knew someone might need me."
He took a deep breath.
"I was giving up being a hero because I didn't want to upset Amber."
The sentence came out more painfully than he had expected.
"And I was using Kai as an excuse."
Debbie tightened her hand around his arm.
"Mark, having a life doesn't mean abandoning people."
"I know."
"And making a mistake doesn't mean you don't care."
"It doesn't change what I did."
He looked at Kai again.
"I was angry with him. So, I was happy to let him deal with everything alone."
Debbie watched her son.
Mark remained silent.
Then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I'm not going to do that again."
The hours passed.
Mark stayed beside his brother while Debbie refused every suggestion that she should leave.
Early the next morning, the doctors confirmed that Kai's brain activity remained stable.
After a great deal of insistence, Mark finally convinced Debbie to return home.
Before leaving, Debbie kissed Kai's forehead and brushed his hair back, the same way she had when the twins were children.
Mark remained beside the door.
When she finished, the two of them left the room.
Kai remained motionless.
The room finally went quiet around him.
February 22nd, 2016 — GDA Medical Center — 10:04 AM
Kai opened his eyes.
No trace of his natural color remained at the roots.
Completely white again.
The light above the bed seemed far too bright.
He closed them again for a second, waited for the image to stop spinning, and then pushed himself upright.
Pain tore through his head.
Kai brought one hand to his temple.
"What the hell?"
The monitors beside him began changing rhythm.
He ignored them.
He pushed away the blanket and placed his feet on the floor. His entire body felt as though it had spent the night beneath a truck, but his arms and legs responded.
A change of clothes sat in the corner of the room.
Pants.
Shirt.
Coat.
Everything folded carefully over a chair.
They were not the clothes he had been wearing before the fight.
Kai stood and crossed the room, still adjusting to his balance.
The automatic door opened.
Cecil entered.
"Your mother brought the clothes."
Kai picked up the shirt.
"How are you feeling, kid?"
"Other than feeling like I got run over by a tractor, I'm fine."
He tilted his head to one side.
His neck cracked.
Then to the other.
"It's good that you're all right."
Kai began changing out of the hospital clothes.
"Before you leave, I'm going to ask you to come with me."
"Ask?"
"I'm trying to be polite."
Kai pulled the shirt over his head.
"That's new."
Cecil turned toward the door.
"It's long overdue."
Cecil looked back over his shoulder.
"We need to talk."
The Pentagon — GDA Subterranean Wing — 11:12 AM
The facility extended far beyond the Pentagon's visible structure.
Kai followed Cecil along an elevated walkway while agents, scientists, and soldiers moved across several levels below. Disassembled vehicles occupied analysis platforms. Pieces of armor, alien weapons, and fragments of unknown technology were transported between laboratories protected by glass walls.
Kai walked with his hands in his pockets.
His gaze passed over the equipment without showing much interest.
"Mark and I have been working for you for a while."
Cecil continued walking.
Kai looked down at the lower levels.
"And we've still never been here."
"If you didn't try so hard to hide from the world, maybe you would've come sooner."
Kai stopped.
Cecil took two more steps before noticing.
He turned.
"So?" Kai tilted his head. "What do you want from me?"
Footsteps approached from another corridor.
Donald appeared carrying a tablet under one arm.
"It's good to see that you've recovered, Mr. Grayson."
Kai resumed walking.
Donald joined the two of them.
Cecil returned to the subject.
"As I was saying, I brought you here because I want to discuss your powers."
Kai did not react immediately.
Cecil looked directly at him.
"I'm not talking about strength or flight. I'm talking about the blue eyes and everything else you do."
Kai's posture changed.
Only slightly.
His hands remained in his pockets, but the disinterest vanished from his face.
"I figured you'd find out eventually."
"We found out a long time ago."
Kai held his gaze.
"What do you want?"
"To understand."
Cecil started walking again.
"We've discovered a great deal recently. You may be another piece that helps us complete the puzzle."
Donald guided them through an automatic door.
Beyond it was an analysis area containing dozens of monitors. Two scientists worked in front of holographic tables, alternating between maps, medical records, and school files.
Cecil stopped before the central screen.
"Let's start with the young man you fought."
An image of the street appeared.
Brandon was shown in a frame captured shortly before his escape. The mask concealed part of his face, but the cameras had reconstructed enough detail to make a comparison.
"Who is he?"
"Brandon."
"Last name?"
Kai thought for a few seconds.
"I don't remember."
"How do you know him?"
"We went to the same school."
Donald gestured toward one of the scientists.
The search began.
"What could he do?"
Kai studied the frozen image.
"He created a field around himself."
"What kind of field?"
"Everything became weaker."
"Everything?"
"Strength, speed, flight. Almost all the energy in the body."
Kai discreetly touched the side of his head.
"The field weakened everyone around him. But the second part of his power was focused only on me. Brandon chose me as his source and drained what little strength I had left."
The scientist typed rapidly.
Donald looked at Kai.
"Did he absorb your abilities?"
"No."
"Did he copy anything?"
"He only took strength."
"Are you certain?"
Kai looked back at him.
"I was there."
An alert appeared on the monitor.
A school profile emerged on the screen.
Photograph.
Academic data.
Disciplinary records.
Oakwood medical and psychological evaluations.
Donald enlarged the name.
"We found him."
Cecil scanned the information.
"Brandon. Oakwood student. Wealthy family. History of aggression, dominant behavior, and difficulty accepting authority."
Kai observed the profile.
"Sounds like him."
One of the scientists opened a psychological evaluation.
Several lines were highlighted.
Cecil continued.
"What you encountered on the street matches the pattern."
"What pattern?"
Cecil changed the screen.
A photograph of an older man appeared.
Dark hair beginning to turn gray.
Lab coat.
Rigid expression.
GERO MIKHAIL
"This man spent years working in genetic research and prenatal care."
Kai fixed his eyes on the photograph.
"He conducted experiments on pregnant women without their consent."
Other documents filled the monitors.
Medical records.
Falsified authorizations.
Arrest reports.
"In some cases, he administered the substance during specific examinations. In others, he claimed it was part of an ordinary procedure or a vitamin injection."
Kai looked at Cecil.
"And nobody noticed?"
"Some noticed too late."
Donald took over the explanation.
"Mikhail was investigated, arrested, and stripped of all legal access to laboratories. For years, we believed the experiments had failed."
"Because the children were born normal," Cecil added.
"Until they weren't."
The monitor displayed dozens of profiles.
Teenagers.
Young adults.
Kai recognized several of them from Oakwood.
"The powers began appearing years later. Not all in the same way. The term that went viral a couple of years ago is beginning to make more and more sense."
Kai looked at Cecil.
"Ego?"
"Exactly."
Cecil gestured, and Brandon's profile returned to the center.
"These abilities do not follow conventional logic. They are not merely physical changes or predictable mutations."
A line from the psychological report was enlarged.
Displays a constant need for superiority. Reacts aggressively when made to feel inferior. Desires positions in which others depend upon his approval.
Cecil pointed at the screen.
"Brandon needed everyone around him to be inferior."
Footage from the fight appeared beside it.
The invisible field reconstructed through GDA sensors.
"Now he makes everyone around him weaker."
Another reading appeared, showing a concentration directed at Kai.
"And chooses one person to feed his own strength."
Kai remained silent.
"Coincidence?" Cecil asked.
"Maybe."
"We have too many coincidences. We may be forcing patterns onto incomplete information. But the correlations are becoming difficult to ignore."
Donald opened another profile.
Becky appeared on the screen.
A younger school photograph, followed by her psychological evaluation.
One sentence was underlined.
I try to act cheerful because I'm afraid I won't have friends. Sometimes I feel that if I stop, no one will notice I'm here. Like I'm invisible.
Kai looked at the screen for longer.
Cecil continued.
"Becky can turn invisible. She also possesses enhanced physical abilities."
Another profile replaced hers.
Jenny Hart.
A photograph beside an older sister.
I try to follow in her footsteps, but I don't want to be only a copy.
"Jenny creates duplicates of herself and can reflect abilities directed at her."
The profile changed again.
Viktor Ramsey.
Part of Kai's expression disappeared.
The report showed a destroyed house.
Trees torn from the ground.
An old photograph of Viktor as a child.
Cecil did not look at Kai while he explained.
"His entire family died when a tornado destroyed their home. Viktor miraculously survived while buried beneath the wreckage and was raised by his aunt and uncle afterward."
Atmospheric data appeared over the image.
"He later developed the ability to produce and control wind."
Kai continued staring at the photograph.
Another file appeared.
Scarlet Winssel.
Skating records.
Photographs in the snow.
"Scarlet grew up practicing ice skating. The reports describe a fixation with snow since childhood."
Thermal readings occupied the screen.
"Cryokinesis."
More profiles began passing by.
Statements.
Traumas.
Fears.
Desires.
Powers associated with each one.
Kai followed several before losing interest in the list.
Cecil crossed his arms.
"It may be a need. A trauma. The way the person viewed themselves when the Ego formed. Sometimes even a contradiction."
Donald slid another page into view.
"Oakwood's evaluations were useful because the school conducted frequent psychological monitoring."
An automatic door opened on the opposite side of the area.
A boy close to Kai's age entered accompanied by two agents. His light-brown hair was stuck to his forehead, and water dripped from his clothes onto the floor.
He gestured while explaining something.
"I managed to hold it, but the pressure dropped when I tried to increase the range."
A scientist handed him a towel.
Cecil pointed discreetly.
"That's Gary."
Kai observed the boy.
"He fell into a lake when he was a child," Cecil explained. "He remained submerged for over an hour before he was found. He survived with severe brain damage. The effects disappeared when his Ego manifested."
Donald turned back toward the screen.
Four diagrams appeared.
"We have identified several provisional categories."
The first showed energy circulating inside a body.
"Some use their own vitality to produce or control internal changes."
The second showed energy being released outward.
"Others emit something."
The third displayed a physical transformation.
"Some transform their own bodies."
The final diagram showed an area expanding around a person.
"And others possess an expansion. In addition to another ability, they can impose its effect upon the environment or the people around them."
Kai looked at the final image.
"Like Brandon."
"Exactly."
"And what does any of this have to do with me?"
Cecil turned fully toward him.
Kai already believed he knew where his powers had come from.
As far as he understood, they were the result of the whims of entities that had thrown him into that world to deal with a problem they did not want to solve themselves.
Mikhail had nothing to do with it.
Egos had nothing to do with it.
"We believe your powers are connected to Mikhail," Cecil answered.
Kai released a humorless laugh, almost mocking him.
Cecil gestured.
A medical record appeared.
Debbie's name was at the top.
Donald enlarged an old entry.
Attending physician: Dr. Gero Mikhail.
Kai looked at the date.
The period coincided with Debbie's pregnancy.
Cecil continued.
"Mikhail treated your mother."
Another screen opened.
This time, it displayed blood analyses.
Three samples compared side by side.
Nolan.
Mark.
Kai.
"Your blood contains the same basic alien composition found in your father and brother. But there is something additional in yours."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"We found the same signature in young people with Egos."
Becky's profile appeared beside it.
Then Viktor's.
Brandon's.
Gary's.
The readings were not identical, but they shared the same central pattern.
Cecil pointed at Kai's sample.
"Yours has a different intensity. Far greater."
Kai continued staring at the screen.
"Mark doesn't have it?"
"No."
Silence lasted several seconds.
Cecil was watching Kai more closely than the examinations.
"If the intensity of this signature correlates with range or capacity, your Ego may be the most powerful we have found."
Kai looked away from the screen.
"Or you're comparing different things because they look similar on your equipment."
"That is also possible."
Cecil did not seem bothered by the challenge.
"That's why I want to understand it."
A recording of the fight appeared on the monitor.
Not the building's security camera.
GDA aerial footage.
The quality was poor, but it showed the instant something expanded around Kai and every reading in the area vanished for a fraction of a second.
Cecil turned off the video and faced Kai.
"You used your other powers against that gang."
It was not a question.
Kai watched the dark screen, then looked at him firmly.
"I did."
Donald exchanged a quick look with Cecil.
"Your physical condition was far too good to justify the coma you entered after the fight," Cecil said in his calculating tone. "We want to know exactly what you did there."
He moved to another report.
"The twins you fought are conscious. Injured, but stable. They have already been transferred to a cell."
"Four others are in a vegetative state. And the man in the gray mask escaped while carrying Brandon and two other men," Donald added.
Kai took a moment to answer.
"And the others?"
"Their brain activity collapsed." Cecil did not soften the words. "Of the people we recovered, only the twins and those four survived. The rest died there, during transport, or shortly after reaching the base. We are still investigating what happened."
Kai's stomach tightened before Cecil finished the sentence.
He passed one hand over his eyes and forehead, pushing back his hair as he tried to steady his vision.
I thought that because I controlled it, this wouldn't happen.
For a moment, the room seemed to press inward around him.
He had tried, and the result had still been the same as with the cartels.
The Void.
When Kai lifted his gaze, he froze.
On the other side of the corridor, beyond the glass wall, Viktor watched him.
With his head aching and his vision still slightly unsteady, Kai clenched his jaw.
He forced himself to maintain his posture, ignoring the hallucination and turning his attention back toward Cecil, who continued speaking in the background, though none of the words reached Kai at that moment.
Until finally, his focus returned to reality.
"Is that why I'm here?" Kai asked, though the question came out harsher than intended.
"No." Cecil stopped speaking and observed him for a moment before continuing. "Cosmic trusts you. If I believed you were a risk... this conversation would be taking place in a different room."
Cecil let the sentence hang between them for several seconds.
"I brought you here to make a proposal."
Kai waited.
"We would like you to cooperate with us so we can study what your 'extra' power is capable of."
Kai breathed out through his nose.
"So that's what this is about." His posture became more rigid. "No. I'm not lying on a table while your scientists poke around in my brain."
Donald tried to hide a reaction.
Cecil did not press.
"We didn't say that. But all right, kid."
Kai seemed more suspicious of how easily Cecil accepted the answer than he had been of the proposal itself.
"That's it?"
Cecil shut down the monitors.
The area became darker.
"That's it. But out of curiosity, I have another question."
Cecil walked several steps closer.
"You're already a superhero. You wear a uniform, appear in public, and respond to GDA emergencies. Even so, you hide half of what you can do."
Kai remained silent.
"More importantly," Cecil continued, "you never revealed it to Nolan."
Kai's expression hardened.
"How do you know that?"
"From the way he reacted at the hospital."
Cecil did not look away.
"You haven't told the rest of your family either."
Kai looked toward the darkened monitors.
He did not have a simple answer.
At first, hiding it had been about survival.
Then caution.
Later, habit.
And at some point, the secret had become part of him.
"I don't know."
Cecil studied his face.
"Do you think there is anything strange about Nolan?"
Kai looked back at him.
The question sounded casual only to someone who did not know Cecil.
Kai knew him well enough.
"Strange how?"
"You're his son."
Cecil placed his hands inside his coat pockets.
"You should know him better than we do."
For a time, Kai truly had been suspicious of Nolan.
Of the disappearances.
The way he watched humans.
The contempt that escaped in small remarks.
But he also remembered Nolan training the two of them.
His father sitting at the table.
Their conversations.
The bond that had developed over the past several months.
The way Nolan had always treated him as a son, far better than the father from his previous life ever had.
"No."
Cecil showed no reaction.
Donald remained silent beside them.
Cecil tilted his head.
"Hypothetically."
Kai already knew another question was coming.
"If Nolan ever became an enemy, what would you do?"
The room seemed to grow quieter.
Kai kept his hands in his pockets.
"Is this a test?"
"It's a question."
"Coming from you, there doesn't seem to be much difference."
Cecil waited.
Kai looked at the dark surface of the monitor, seeing only his own reflection.
"I believe in Nolan."
"That isn't what I asked."
"It's my answer."
Kai faced him again.
"I don't believe he would do anything like that without a reason."
"And if he did?"
"I would discover the reason before deciding he had become an enemy."
Cecil remained silent.
Kai continued.
"He's my father."
The answer was not aggressive.
That made it more definitive.
Cecil observed his face for several more seconds.
Then looked away.
"All right."
No further question came.
Donald closed Nolan's file on the tablet without Kai ever seeing the screen.
Cecil began walking toward the exit.
"You can go home."
Kai followed him with his eyes.
The information about Mikhail, Debbie, and the Egos remained trapped inside his head.
But that had not merely been a conversation about powers.
Cecil wanted to know what he was hiding.
He wanted to know what Nolan knew.
And above all, he wanted to discover which side Kai would choose.
Cecil said nothing else.
He did not need to.
February 22nd, 2016 — Grayson House — 2:16 PM
Kai had barely closed the door when Debbie crossed the living room.
She did not ask how he was feeling.
She simply hugged him.
Kai remained still for an instant, caught off guard by how tightly she held him. Then he removed his hands from his pockets and carefully returned the embrace.
"Hi, Mom."
Debbie pulled away only far enough to look at his face.
"You were unconscious for two days."
"I was sleepy."
"Don't joke about that."
Kai raised his hands with a half-smile.
"Sorry for worrying you. I'm still in one piece."
Her eyes moved over the nearly healed cut on his lip, the bruises that were barely visible, and the white hair.
The door opened again.
Mark entered, calmly closing it behind him. He stopped for a moment when he saw Kai standing there, as if gathering courage before approaching.
The two stared at each other.
Mark walked closer, raised one hand as though he were going to greet him normally, and gripped his forearm.
Then he pulled Kai into a hug.
Kai huffed a quiet laugh.
"You too?"
Mark did not immediately let go.
"I'm sorry."
The humor disappeared from Kai's expression.
Mark stepped back, still holding his shoulders.
"For the past few days. For the fight. For not answering the communicator."
The guilt was far too clear on his face to ignore.
Kai watched his brother for several seconds.
"Relax. Unless you were one of those guys in disguise, there's no reason to be dramatic."
Mark exhaled, partly relieved.
But the guilt remained.
Kai noticed and tapped his brother's shoulder twice.
"Just don't forget your communicator next time."
Mark nodded.
Nolan appeared in the hallway leading to the kitchen.
He looked at his son. This time, there was no analysis in his expression.
"What happened during the fight?"
Kai turned his eyes toward him.
The conversation with Cecil was still fresh.
The questions about the powers he had hidden.
About why he had never told Nolan.
And, most importantly, what he would do if his own father became an enemy.
Kai rubbed the back of his neck.
"One of the guys had an irritating power."
Nolan waited.
"He created a field that drained my strength." Kai walked toward the kitchen.
"Was that what made you lose consciousness?"
Kai opened the refrigerator.
"He took almost all my strength."
He grabbed a bottle of water and closed the door.
"Even then, I beat the hell out of the four powered guys there. The rest were just fourth-rate criminals. They barely count."
Mark frowned.
"Four?"
"Two tattooed twins, Brandon, and some brute in a mask."
Kai opened the bottle.
"I only passed out at the end from exhaustion. I didn't lose the fight."
Nolan slowly nodded.
The explanation seemed sufficient.
"I fought a villain some time ago who could do that. That man with the purple shell," Nolan said.
Kai looked at him over the bottle.
"When I fought him, he affected my senses. Even for me, it was difficult to remain oriented during the first few moments."
Mark leaned against the counter.
"So those powers can affect us?"
"Apparently."
Nolan watched Kai for another moment.
There was none of the severity of a Viltrumite evaluating a failure.
He was only a father trying to understand how his son had ended up unconscious.
"Next time, don't allow someone like that enough time to use their power. One quick charge before they react is all you need."
Kai took a drink.
"Yeah. I screwed up. I was too confident."
Debbie entered the kitchen behind them.
A short time later, all four were seated at the table.
For several minutes, it felt like an ordinary meal.
When they finished, Debbie began gathering the dishes. Kai and Mark left the kitchen while Nolan put away the leftovers.
Mark picked up the remote and turned on the living room television.
A news anchor filled the screen.
"We received leaked security-camera footage from Chicago's west side only a few minutes ago."
Kai continued walking toward the stairs.
"According to initial reports, the footage was recorded during the confrontation that left dozens dead or injured last Saturday."
He stopped.
On the television, grainy footage showed the top of a building.
Infinity held a bloodied man by the throat.
"We have obtained a video in which Infinity, the hero who has presented himself as one of Earth's protectors, brutally attacks a man who appears to have already surrendered."
Debbie left the kitchen and stopped behind the couch.
The footage continued.
Kai struck the Hermano Sangre's face.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The angle did not show the fight on the street.
It did not show the gangs.
It did not show Brandon draining his strength or the two brothers standing after every blow.
It showed only Infinity holding a man who could barely react.
Kai pulled his head back.
Then slammed it against the edge of the building.
CRACK!
The recording repeated the impact.
Slower.
"Experts are questioning whether this level of violence was necessary against someone who, according to the footage, no longer appeared capable of resisting."
Another replay.
Blood on the concrete.
The man's body losing strength.
"Who, exactly, are the individuals we trust to protect us?"
Kai frowned.
"Ridiculous."
The reporter continued speaking as the footage restarted.
Kai climbed the stairs without waiting for the rest of the report.
Debbie followed her son with her eyes.
Then she looked back at the television.
The image of Infinity striking the man played again.
Damien Darkblood's notes returned to her mind.
The photographs of the massacre.
The theory about Kai.
Nolan appeared in the living room entrance, still holding a container of food.
"What are they complaining about?"
Debbie looked at him.
Nolan gestured toward the television with his chin.
"Look at the way that guy is dressed. It's obvious he was someone who deserved it."
He carried the container toward the refrigerator as though the conclusion were self-evident.
Debbie did not answer.
Mark shrugged.
"The video doesn't show what happened before."
He turned off the television and went upstairs after Kai.
Debbie remained in the living room.
Her own face reflected in the dark screen.
Over the Following Days
The recording spread across social media.
Some defended Infinity.
They argued that no one knew what the man had done before the camera started recording. That someone dressed like a criminal and strong enough to survive those blows was probably not a helpless victim.
Others repeated the image of his head striking the concrete.
They called Infinity violent.
Too dangerous.
Older footage began resurfacing. Discussions about how many times a hero could cross the line before no longer being one.
Then another recording appeared.
No sender.
No explanation for the leak.
GDA aerial footage showed the beginning of the confrontation.
Infinity moving through gunfire to rescue nine civilians.
The twenty-eight armed men shooting at him.
The four powered individuals attacking simultaneously.
The moment the Hermanos Sangre continued rising after blows that would have put down any ordinary person.
The new footage did not erase the first video, but it shifted the argument. Most of the outrage lost momentum, even if the questions surrounding Infinity did not disappear entirely.
For Debbie, the images continued to matter.
Not only because of what Kai had done, but also because of the way Nolan had reacted.
Mark began responding to emergencies beside his brother again.
Whenever the communicator called.
The change did not go unnoticed by Amber.
Their dates began being interrupted again.
One morning, Mark was already near the front door when Debbie appeared in the hallway.
"Going out?"
"I'm meeting Amber."
He adjusted his coat.
Debbie held a mug between both hands.
"Can I ask you something first?"
Mark looked at the time.
"Sure."
She hesitated.
"Did you ever get the impression that Kai had powers before you did?"
Mark frowned.
"Before me?"
"Yes."
"No."
The answer came without any doubt.
"I'm sure it happened at the same time."
Debbie studied his face.
Mark smiled.
"Honestly, though, it always felt like he got them first."
"What do you mean?"
"He learned everything faster."
Mark raised one hand, imitating flight.
"I was trying not to fly into a tree, and he was already turning, stopping in midair, and complaining that I was slow."
Debbie tried to smile.
"It was the same with strength. With everything, really."
Mark opened the door.
"He always made things look easy while I was still trying to understand them."
"But you never saw anything before the powers appeared?"
"No."
Mark stepped onto the porch.
"He's just annoyingly good at everything."
Debbie nodded.
"Have fun with Amber."
The door closed.
Debbie remained still for several seconds.
Then she went upstairs.
She entered the bedroom and opened the closet.
Damien Darkblood's coat remained where it had been hidden. The notebook was still inside it.
This time, Debbie did not read only a few pages.
She sat on the bed.
And read everything.
The dates.
The names.
The photographs.
The arrows connecting events she had tried to dismiss as coincidences.
The theory about Kai remained there.
And another line caught her attention.
Nolan — day of the murders → alibi: Arthur Rosenbaum.
Debbie ran her finger over the name.
"Art..."
She closed the notebook.
"Maybe he can prove all of this wrong."
She placed it inside the coat pocket.
And left the house.
That same day — March 22nd, 2016 — Arthur Rosenbaum's Workshop — 12:26 PM
Art opened the door with a smile.
The smile disappeared when he saw her expression.
"Debbie?"
"I need to ask you something."
He moved aside to let her enter.
The workshop carried the same scent of fabric, paint, and chemicals. Incomplete uniforms occupied mannequins around the room while tools lay scattered across a central table.
Art closed the door.
"Is this about Nolan?"
Debbie stopped.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because you never come here looking like this to talk about anything else."
She kept her hands at her sides.
"Art... have you ever noticed anything strange about Nolan?"
He frowned.
"Strange how?"
"Anything. His behavior, his actions... something out of the ordinary."
Art shook his head.
"No. Nolan is Nolan. He always has been."
Debbie slowly nodded.
"Right."
She took a deep breath.
"Then answer something else."
Art waited.
"Do you remember the day the Guardians died?"
He remained silent for a moment.
"It was a while ago."
Debbie stepped closer.
"Was he here?"
Art hesitated.
"Yes."
"For how long?"
His eyes moved toward the worktable.
"Not long."
"How long is not long?"
"A few minutes."
The air seemed to leave the room.
Debbie kept her eyes fixed on him.
"But when they asked you before... you said he was here for hours."
Art ran a hand over his face.
"I know."
"Then why?"
He pulled out a chair but did not sit.
"Because I confused the dates."
Debbie said nothing.
"A lot was happening back then. I was attacked. The suit I was working on had been stolen..."
He took a deep breath.
"When they asked me about that day, I mixed up the dates."
Debbie continued staring at him.
Silence settled between them.
Now she knew Damien's theory could no longer be dismissed.
Art stepped toward her.
"Debbie... that doesn't mean—"
She did not allow him to finish.
She kept her expression neutral.
Controlled.
Art hesitated.
"Are you all right?"
"I am."
She was already walking toward the door.
Her hand stopped on the handle for an instant.
Without looking back, Debbie opened the door.
And left.
Minutes Later — GDA Headquarters — 1:14 PM
The operations center remained busy despite the apparent calm of the afternoon.
Maps filled some of the monitors. Medical reports passed over other screens, mixed with satellite feeds, agent movements, and alerts that did not yet require immediate attention.
Donald approached Cecil with a tablet in his hands.
"We received an update regarding Cosmic."
Cecil did not look away from the main monitor.
"What happened?"
"His wife went into labor. They're taking Elise to Chicago Central."
Cecil nodded slightly.
"I hope everything goes well."
Donald moved a finger across the screen.
"It happened suddenly, and they left in a hurry. But according to the monitoring they've conducted here over the past few weeks, everything should be fine."
Cecil remained silent for a moment.
Donald held the tablet against his body.
"Would you like us to send someone to the hospital?"
Cecil returned his attention to the monitors.
"I'll go there myself."
A new window appeared in the corner of the main screen.
The feed came from a camera installed inside the Grayson home.
Minutes Earlier — Grayson House — 1:08 PM
Debbie entered the house without turning on the living room lights.
The notebook remained in her pocket.
She removed it while walking and placed it on the coffee table, still trying to organize everything she knew.
Damien was right. Nolan lied to me.
The next thought came before she could stop it.
What if he was right about Kai too?
Debbie pushed the idea away.
Kai was her son.
The dates did not match.
The photographs had been taken before the powers appeared.
But Nolan was also her husband.
And she had used the same justifications to ignore her suspicions about him.
Debbie stood.
She needed coffee.
She went to the kitchen and placed a mug beside the coffee maker.
The front door opened a few minutes later.
Nolan entered, removing his coat as he crossed the living room.
"Debbie?"
"In the kitchen."
He left his coat on the couch.
Then he saw the notebook.
Nolan stopped.
The expression disappeared from his face.
He approached the table, picked up the notebook, and opened the first page.
His eyes moved over the notes.
The arrows.
The dates.
His own name.
His forehead creased.
Debbie returned to the kitchen entrance.
Neither of them spoke.
Nolan slowly lifted his eyes.
She remained standing in front of him.
Without pretending the notebook was not there.
Without trying to invent an explanation.
The coffee maker began working behind her.
"You need to trust me." Nolan closed the notebook in his hands. "We need to talk."
She held her husband's gaze.
"Why did you do it, Nolan?"
His hand tightened around the notebook's cover.
Debbie did not look away.
"You killed the Guardians."
Now — GDA Headquarters
The accusation came through the observation room's speakers.
No one spoke for several seconds.
The image of the Grayson home occupied the largest monitor. Debbie remained in front of the kitchen. Nolan stood motionless near the table, Damien Darkblood's notebook in his hands.
Donald observed them on the screen.
"What are we going to do?"
Cecil did not answer immediately.
Behind them, a glass partition separated the observation room from a small laboratory. Two scientists worked in front of three sealed containers, each holding a blood sample.
The labels remained lit beneath them.
NOLAN GRAYSON.
MARK GRAYSON.
KAI GRAYSON.
One scientist stepped away from the microscope.
"We've completed the new round of tests."
Cecil glanced toward him.
"And?"
"Same result." The scientist transferred data to one of the screens. "Radiation, toxins, extreme temperature variations, pressure, and biological agents. The cells neutralize or adapt to everything we attempted."
An enlarged image of a Viltrumite cell appeared on the monitor.
The damaged tissue was already beginning to rebuild itself.
"We found no exploitable weakness."
Donald looked at Nolan again.
"Then we hope his sons don't choose his side."
Donald turned toward Cecil.
Cecil looked back at the feed. "Looks like I won't be able to go to the hospital."
An alert appeared on the other side of the room.
One of the analysts turned toward them.
"Sir."
Cecil did not remove his eyes from the feed inside the house.
"What?"
"We have something approaching Earth's orbit."
A radar image replaced part of the medical data. Something was advancing at a speed far beyond anything known.
Cecil cursed loudly.
"Not now."
The analyst enlarged the trajectory.
Cecil remained silent for an instant.
Nolan's image continued on the main monitor.
Then he made his decision.
"Contact Invincible."
Donald looked at him.
"Have him intercept it before it reaches the atmosphere." Cecil indicated the trajectory on the radar. "That keeps him away from the house in case Nolan reacts badly."
The analyst initiated the call.
Donald looked back at the feed.
"And call Infinity to the base. Immediately."
Cecil made a short gesture toward one of the operators.
"It's all or nothing. We need to find out which side he'll choose before his father has the chance to decide for him."
The operator opened Infinity's channel.
The channel rang once.
Twice.
In the feed from the Grayson home, a muffled buzz sounded from upstairs.
Everyone in the observation room looked at the screen.
The operator switched to the camera in the twins' bedroom.
Kai's communicator trembled alone on the desk.
Cecil closed his eyes for an instant.
"What the hell?"
"Pull the exterior footage. Find out where he is."
The image switched to the exterior of the Grayson residence shortly before Debbie had arrived.
The operator moved the recording forward several minutes.
Kai appeared walking out through the front door.
Without stopping.
Without looking back.
The next second, he was already in the air.
"He flew away," the operator confirmed.
Cecil stared at the screen for a second before speaking.
"Let me guess. He's at the hospital with Cosmic."
The data began being cross-referenced.
One of the analysts raised his head.
"We have confirmation. Kai was seen arriving at Chicago Central."
Cecil took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.
"No one approaches until we know how Nolan reacts."
Interlude — He Doesn't Look Immortal Now
"Finally finished."
One of the Mauler Twins cut the final suture.
The Immortal's body remained motionless on a stretcher at the center of the laboratory. His head was once again connected to his torso, and a thick row of stitches crossed the entire circumference of his neck.
The Mauler pulled his hands away to examine his work.
"Now it's in the right place."
His brother leaned over the stretcher and examined the lifeless face.
"If it's right, why isn't he waking up?"
The first Mauler dropped the instruments onto the tray.
"I don't know. You criticized the GDA too, and you couldn't wake him up either."
"Because they did almost everything wrong."
"And we did almost everything right."
The two looked at the body.
No movement.
No breathing.
No change on the monitors.
One of the Maulers placed his hands on his hips.
"He doesn't look very immortal now."
His brother raised a fist and struck the center of the Immortal's chest.
THUMP!
The body jumped several inches on the stretcher.
The other Mauler turned toward him.
"And you think hitting him will help?"
"No."
The fist came down again.
THUMP!
"But it feels really good."
He began laughing.
Another blow struck the chest.
THUMP!
The Immortal's body rocked on the stretcher with every strike, his head following the movement without showing any sign of life.
The second Mauler watched for several moments.
Then he smiled.
"Let me try."