The real trick had been figuring out how to get Jack to the proper location. After tossing around numerous ideas, it had finally come to me that I could possibly use Jack’s own nature against him. He was latching onto the things in my life that had meaning for me: friends, family, and so on. It had then occurred to me that if I took something of significance away from him (or pretended to), he’d be obsessed with getting it back. Surprisingly, it had worked, with me pretending to take something from the condo and Jack now manically pursuing me for it.
<Jim!!!> Mouse unexpectedly screamed, bringing me back to the present. <Veer off!!!>
I acted instinctively, arcing away with Mouse’s shout ringing in my head just before I reached the outer edge of the region that would be covered by our nullifier.
<What is it?!> I asked anxiously. <What happened?>
<The nullifier accidentally activated!> Mouse replied.
<What?!> I screamed, as I suddenly had an awful vision of what would have happened had I flown into range of an active nullifier and then lost my powers.
<It’s not on anymore,> Mouse assured me. <Now get Jack to the center building.>
Somewhat less confident now, I headed back to my original destination (and a quick look over my shoulder confirmed that Jack was still behind me). I felt relief a few moments later as I entered the square to be formed by the nullifier and managed to stay airborne instead of plunging to my death. However, as I angled towards the rooftop of the center high-rise, a shaft of blue light went hurtling by me.
Bolt Blast! I thought. Had Jack tried to hit me? Despite how potent it was, he had to know that the Bolt Blast was the one power he possessed that probably wouldn’t harm me. In short, family members were immune to it – for instance, Paramount’s Bolt Blast had no effect on me. Thus, since Jack was a near-clone of me, it seemed unlikely that he could injure me using that particular weapon.
I was tempted to track the Bolt Blast to see where it hit, but decided it was better to fully focus on the task at hand. (I did note, however, that it appeared to be headed in the direction of one of the buildings, although at this elevation – near the rooftops of skyscrapers – the odds were remote that it would put any lives in danger.) A few seconds later, I landed on the roof of the center building.
The roof of the building was incredibly expansive – tens of thousands of square feet in size, at the very least. It was generally flat, but across its surface was an extensive array of large AC units (each of which was perhaps four feet tall, four feet wide, and ten feet long), along with vents and a couple of satellite antennas. There was also an enclosed structure with a door and windows that I took to be some kind of electrical room. Finally, the south side of the roof was also home to a network of solar panels, which was housed on a metal racking system that rose approximately forty feet in the air. However, I barely had time to take everything in before Jack landed about a dozen yards away from me.
We stood there for a moment, silently facing each other. At this height, the wind was whipping strongly, but neither of us was bothered by the weather. We were like two gunslingers in the Old West, about to face off. (Truth be told, the only thing needed to complete the imagery was having a tumbleweed blow between us.)
“I want whatever it was you took,” Jack said.
“People in the desert want rain,” I responded. “You don’t always get what you want.”
I then reached out telepathically to my mentor, saying, <Mouse, what’s going on? Are we ready?>
<We’re having issues,> he stated. <Stall.>
“Why does it have to be like this?” Jack implored. “Why do you have to be against me? There’s so much we can do together.”
“Like denting the skulls of senior citizens?” I asked sardonically.
His face unexpectedly shifted into a mask of anger. Rising about twenty feet into the air, he said, “You want to be enemies? So be it. But I’ll give you one chance to walk away from here today – just show me what you took.”
I didn’t like having to look up at him. It’s a psychological move, meant to imply superiority. Well, I wasn’t going to play that game.
Rising up to about the same height as Jack, I said, “I’m not showing you anything. There are some things that are personal to me and me alone.”
“Don’t make me take it from you, Jim. It won’t be a pleasant experience for you.”
I was about to tell him that I’d love for him to try when Mouse’s voice sounded in my head.
<Jim, inject him with the syringe!> my mentor ordered.
Here we go, I said to myself.
I gave Jack a solemn look. “Fine. If you’re that interested, I’ll show you.”
I reached into my jacket’s interior pocket and pulled out the wooden case. As expected, Jack began moving towards me, closing the distance between us as he stared at what I held. In my head, I began playing out the upcoming scene: I’d pop open
