“Wait a minute,” I muttered. “I don’t have to quit the League?”
Gray chuckled. “What gave you that idea? I’ve never intimated that you had to chuck your cape.”
“Yeah, but that was back when you wanted me operating as a mole,” I stated, remembering how Gray had first approached me. “I thought this would be more overt.”
“You’ve got the wrong idea about us. We’re very flexible.”
My eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Mouse – he gave you something. What was it?”
Gray hesitated for a moment, giving me an appraising glance before responding. “Nothing really. We merely formalized some arrangements that had generally been casual in the past.”
I shook my head in exasperation. “This is worse than I ever imagined. Not only have I gotten myself sucked into a decaying orbit around you, now I’ve done it to the people I care about.”
“You’re blowing things way out of proportion,” Gray retorted. “I know you think you’ve sold your soul to the devil, but there are a lot of benefits to being in this organization.”
“Like what?” I demanded.
“You tell me,” Gray replied.
“Huh?” I muttered, not quite understanding.
Gray spread his arms in a magnanimous gesture. “Make a wish – anything you want. What’s something you’d like to see happen?”
I just stared at him for a moment, thinking this had to be a joke. On an empathic level, however, I sensed nothing but truth. But Gray was wily; he didn’t have to be lying for this to be a ploy of some sort.
“No thanks,” I finally said. “I’m already in too deep. I don’t want to be any more in your debt.”
“This one’s on the house,” Gray stressed. “A goodwill gesture.”
I spent a second deliberating before responding. “Alright, you can clear my name. Without Jack, it’s going to be difficult to show I wasn’t framed for some of the stuff he did, so feel free to take care of that.”
Gray pooh-poohed my concerns. “That’s done –took care of it days ago.”
“What?” I practically growled.
“Well, I knew you were innocent,” Gray declared, “so it was just a matter of informing the proper people that you weren’t the guy.” He then leaned in conspiratorially. “Now, come on. Give me a real challenge.”
I pondered for a moment, then came up with something that I thought was sufficiently onerous.
“That’s it?” Gray remarked, obviously unimpressed by what I’d asked for. “Consider it done.”
“Just like that?” I asked, having trouble hiding my skepticism.
“Just like that,” Gray confirmed. “Welcome to the big leagues. I’ll call you when it’s done.”
I nodded and then teleported.
Chapter 94
I didn’t immediately teleport home after leaving Gray. Instead, I went to get something to eat.
One thing I hadn’t shared with Mouse was that, after the two Jims became one again, I was famished. No, it was worse than being famished; it felt as though I hadn’t eaten in years, and the hunger pangs were excruciating. I’d initially tweaked my systems so that I couldn’t feel the pain, but now that we had seemingly wrapped up for the day, I knew I needed to get some food in me asap.
I addressed the issue by going to fast-food places, first walking into a burger joint and ordering everything they had under the heat lamp. (Or rather, as much as they’d let me order, since they said they had to keep something on hand for other customers.) I did the same thing at a second fast-food restaurant – this one specializing in chicken sandwiches – and then another burger place. (In retrospect, I probably should have just gone to a buffet, but they would have taken a severe loss that day.)
Eventually, I felt as though I’d gotten enough sustenance, and at that juncture I teleported home, popping up in my room. I immediately reached out on a telepathic level, letting my mom, Indigo, and Myshtal know I was fine. It just so happened, however, that they had already received the news. Mouse had told them.
Apparently my family had been eagerly waiting to hear about the outcome of the final encounter with Jack. (In fact, I learned that Electra – rather than wait alone at home – had joined them, only leaving after Mouse had confirmed that we’d been successful.) Although being told by my mentor that all was well put everyone’s mind at ease, there was something about hearing it directly from me that seemed to give them an additional sense of comfort.
They were obviously relieved, but also buzzing with excitement on such an elevated level that I could have picked it up empathically from a mile away. Quite clearly, they had been extremely worried about me.
Mentally exhausted from the day’s events, I asked quickly about Gramps and – after being informed that he was fine – told them I was turning in, and no one naysayed me. I stretched out on the bed and immediately fell asleep.
*****
I slept soundly that night, and woke up the next day feeling completely invigorated. Performing a little psychological self-analysis, I chalked the good vibes up to no longer having an evil twin. I didn’t like the way things had ended with Jack, but I was certainly glad not to be dealing with the problem anymore.
That settled, I hurried through my normal grooming and hygiene regimen before getting dressed and going downstairs.
I went into the kitchen and suddenly stopped short. There was a strange man standing at our refrigerator.
He was maybe an inch or so taller than me, with a solid muscular frame and a rich, chocolate complexion. He had a bright smile and a handsome face that made me peg his age as maybe mid- to late twenties.
He didn’t immediately say anything – just stood there with a cocksure grin, but one which I somehow didn’t find offensive. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something familiar about him. Hoping for a clue, I reached out to scan the surface of his mind telepathically, and…
My eyes widened in surprise. “Gramps?”
He laughed. “In
