Mind you, most of them had scolded me for being anywhere near the action. But they understood that sometimes such things happened. When Cassie's parents had been called in, they'd shown up at a moment's notice. Maybe they hadn't approved of us or Nishelle or whatever, but at least they had been there.
Where were any of the Reeds for Izzy and Adam?
Maybe that was why Izzy was so protective of him.
Maybe they only really had each other.
I shook the thought away and sighed. Then I turned out of the office to head back and speak with James, knowing he would know things that I didn't; things that I desperately needed to know. Though intelligence wasn't strictly part of my job -all- the time, it was imperative I knew what was happening at Yarborough to help us make sensible decisions.
Because as of yet, we weren't making any.
Chapter 7
You could kill them all. One quick thought, one slash of your hand through the air. It would all be over. You could go with them. It would be peaceful. No more fighting. No more sorrow.
I shifted in my dream, much like Nate's powers let him. I ran along a bridge, down a hill, and through a canal. There were vehicles behind me, screaming, bellowing for me to give myself up. But there was nothing to give up, except for the people I loved. My paws were raw on the hard ground, my heart hammering my ribs. There was nothing, but there was everything.
And all I wanted was some sweet release.
Do it. Do it, Adam. Force them to the ground. Crush them all. Don't listen to them, just do it.
Do it. Do it. Do it.
I jerked awake and I ripped the gravity in the room to thirty times normal Earth pressure, forcing the couch beneath me to give a mutilated scream. It smashed then threatened to continue into the basement below us. A little whistle sounded above me and the gravity relaxed once more.
"Izzy?" I asked, searching the world above.
"Mmhmmm mmmm hmm hmm hmm," Izzy hummed, her fingers strumming through my hair.
When I'd passed out, Cassie had been the one doing that. Where the hell was I, that Izzy was here and allowed to take care of me? "Iz?"
"It's me. Who else would it be?"
A little part of me unwound, relieved. Allison wouldn't put that sour tone in her voice, she'd have made her bouncy, cheerful. But Izzy wouldn't have been, not finding me on a couch somewhere. I made a mental note to make a claim for the furniture with the Alliance and stopped short. There would be no more claims to file. Our days as superheroes were over.
"If anyone else were in here, you would have flattened them," Isabella said. "But I've been fending off that stuff for years. It's why I dismissed them all. We thought you might react poorly to the unknown surroundings but that? Wow, Adam. Just, wow. Good thing the doctor wasn't here."
"Doctor?" I asked.
She hummed another little melody and the couch pulled itself back together, good as new. "He's going to get Allison out of your head and help you cope with what you did." I started to object but she shushed me. "We all know you killed her. Any of us would have done the same and Logan is busy trying to fix the situation with the press, God bless him. It was self-defense."
"It wasn't."
"It was. You over-exerted your powers on her. Fine. No one is going to argue that. But you were attacked and you were acting to defend yourself and everyone else around you, gumdrop," Izzy said, brushing my bangs out of my face. "What do you think superheroes do?"
I shivered, and not in the good way. "They protect the weak."
"And?"
I knew the answer. "And sometimes, they kill people."
"And sometimes they kill people," she echoed. "Mom and Dad told us that when we were three years old, Adam. And it's held true forever. You don't get to be a superhero and keep a clean slate. We went into this knowing that. And you can't break on me just because it's finally come true, do you understand?"
She wanted to shake me. Her fingers curled in my shirt and my hair and I felt the frustration in her. I understood. Had the tables been turned, I probably would have been in tears. I reached out and took her hand in mind. "I understand."
"Wonderful. Doctor Clark?"
The man resembled Cassie more than I'd expected. They were distant cousins, if I remembered correctly, but I could feel that weird mental vibrato that I got around Cassie ever so close to him. I scooted back a little bit, frowning.
He extended his hands, a gesture of peace. "Easy. I'm not going to hurt you. You've suffered some psychic trauma, but I can fix that for you. If you're interested."
"What are the risks?" Izzy asked, her arms wrapping around my shoulders.
James paused, then looked at me. "Should she be involved in this conversation?"
I only nodded, putting my hand over hers.
"Alright, then. The risks are high. You never know how someone is going to come out on the other side, and given the way he's been reported to been acting? It sounds like he's had a lot of his mind chewed up and spit out. No guarantees I can fix it all or that he'll be right if I do. It's possible that it makes it
