by Debra Jess
"Most of the time," McNamara repeated. When he leaned toward her now, she doubted he even noticed his ankle had stopped hurting. "Hannah, you have such potential. Your Alt ability — I don't think you realize just how much we can learn from you."
"What do you mean?" she asked — not that she didn't already suspect the answer, but deep down she hoped for an answer less about her ability and more about her as a person. She should get used to it. One thing she'd begun to notice about Thunder City was that even though Alts were welcome, that welcome came with a price. At first, she'd thought all of the Committee's rules about proving you had control over your power were practical, but Hannah had to wonder if for the Norms it had a second benefit: It forced Alts to prove their usefulness before they were allowed to stay.
For a moment, Hannah wondered what would happen to an Alt whose power proved to not be useful. Did any such Alts exist? If so, what had happened to them?
"Healing is just the tip of the iceberg," McNamara said, interrupting her inner philosopher. "Your Alt ability could revolutionize medicine as we know it. Can you imagine the research into new therapies and medicines you could jump start just by showing us how you do what you do?"
She could see how excited McNamara got as he talked. His eyes, at one time soft and sympathetic, became larger and brighter as he let loose his zeal.
All she could do was shrug. "Everyone wants a piece of me. I can guess what the Oversight Committee has been saying. It's why they want to keep me isolated. It's like they want to keep me for themselves. I won't let that happen. After everything I've been through, after everything Miranda did to me — "
She paused, her gaze going to the box on his desk.
"After everything she did to me, I finally have had a glimpse of what a normal life would be like. With Scott." If she said it with enough strength, maybe the ugly doubts nagging her would disappear.
"You mean with someone you love. That person might not be Scott."
Why did she suddenly feel so cold? "Why do you say that? Everyone knows about me and Scott. Even Ms. Chung knew that we love each other."
McNamara sighed. "Betty Chung repeated what the news rags advertised. Everyone enjoys a romantic story. But, Hannah, you need to understand. Very few high school romances last through college. Even fewer survive med school. I don't think you quite understand what you and Scott are up against."
Hannah sat back down in her seat, but couldn't stop the small sneer of disbelief. "After the past two weeks, I think we have a pretty good idea. I ran from the Committee for a reason. I won't let anyone try to lock me up again."
"No." McNamara shook his head. "What you've experienced is life or death situations. Your emotions are running high; you've spent your life in the midst of an acute stress response. That's why you ran instead of relying on the law to defend you. You didn't trust Thunder City to do right by you. Thunder City is much bigger and far more complex than just the Oversight Committee. You still see the world in black and white."
Her rage broke loose, damn the consequences. "If I had waited for Thunder City to defend me, I'd be locked up in the hospital room with a guard at the door. Acute stress response or not, they have no right to do that to me. I've made enough concessions to the Committee."
McNamara waited for her to finish. Damn his patience anyway. She had a lot more she wanted to say, but all her words got tangled up in her throat. McNamara saved her the trouble.
"The Committee knows this. You don't know how to act any other way. Even if Star Haven can tame the anti-Alt organizations, even if another terrorist incident never happens, the pressure you'll be under to perform will be enormous. Not special, not different, maybe even normal for any other doctor. For you, it could very well overwhelm and crush whatever dream you have of living a normal life with Scott."
The tears started before she could stop them. "Isn't that that the point of Thunder City? Isn't that what Catherine has worked so hard to achieve here? Normalcy for alternative humans."
McNamara's eyes hardened as they locked with hers. "You've never experienced normal. You saw Scott and the Shield this afternoon. That is not a typical day for them. You don't know what Scott would be like on a random Wednesday. He craves action, he needs an adrenaline high. He's not all that different from the Shield. His needs might not...will not support yours. Not if you're going to study medicine. Not if you're going to endure the crushing hours, constant phone calls, endless rounds of paperwork and committee meetings. There's more to being a doctor than healing people. Just like there's more to being a police officer than shooting people and Scott isn't even a police officer anymore.
"You talk about Thunder City trying to isolate you. Yet, from everything you've told me, you're bound and determined to isolate yourself. By refusing to entertain the possibility of love from someone other than Scott Grey, by clinging to the first man who says he loves you, by mistaking gratitude for saving your life for the deep and abiding love you deserve — Hannah, you're going to become exactly what Miranda wanted you to be: a slave to someone else's needs."
The cold shattered into shards. "Miranda didn't need me. The — " She stopped. No one else knew about the Court of Blood except the Blackwoods and Thomas's elite team of analysts. Even with McNamara she couldn't break the trust Catherine expected of her, to keep the information to herself. "Miranda was a slave to her own ambition. She wanted to control Star Haven. She thought she could use me to make Star Haven dependent on her. If she could control the health of the city, she could control the city. People would worship her just to get access to me."
"Is what Miranda wanted so different from Scott?" McNamara relaxed back into his chair. "He has no control over his own life, but he sees you moving forward with your own. You stood up to the Oversight Committee when they crossed the line. Scott could only follow in your footsteps. You have a job, you have ambition, you're building a life separate from the Blackwoods. Scott hasn’t accomplished half of what you have in the past two weeks. Don't let him drag you back down to his level. Don't let him limit your possibilities."
Hannah sat, stunned. Scott had risked everything for her, yet he'd been cut down by a doctor she'd only known for less than a week? She opened her mouth to argue.
Nothing came out. Not a sound. The whole day became far too much for her.
"I need to be alone." She snatched up the box containing Roger's ashes and held it close again. Her throat tightened and the tears blurred her vision.
McNamara, thank God, didn't fight her. "I'll close the door. If you need me, I'll be meeting with my staff upstairs."
She didn't hear the door click behind him.
12
The Shield disappeared before Scott reached the Emergency Department. How the hell did he do that? One moment he was there keeping pace with Scott, and the next he was gone.
Maybe it was one of the lessons he wanted Scott to learn. Scott couldn't focus on that right now. He wanted to find out which one of his brothers had fallen into the fire. He kept his phone clutched in one hand as he entered the Emergency Department through the internal doors leading to the first floor ward. Thomas hadn't tried to call him back. The fact that his father hadn't called didn't bode well for the status of T-CASS.
A nurse rushed past him as a new patient arrived. Scott could see the man's clothing, dress slacks and an oxford shirt covered in blood. Not one of his brothers. Scott made his way to the curved desk manned by two nurses in blue scrubs tracking the action.
"I'm looking for either Alek or Evan Blackwood. Rumble or Roar," he clarified.
One of the nurses pulled a handset away from her ear. She looked at him, probably recognized him from the news as a Blackwood. Who said fame didn't have its privileges?
"They haven't come through here, yet," she said before returning to her phone call.
Scott backed off to the side, trying to stay as far out of the way as possible. Fifteen minutes and six ambulances later, EMTs charged through the doors with a man dressed in a
skintight black uniform.
Scott rushed over. Even with black ash smudged all over his pained face, Scott knew it was Alek.
"Sir, please stand back." One of the EMTs pushed Scott out of the way.
"He's my brother — "
Before he could say anything further, the EMTs raced the gurney toward the first empty room available. Scott knew better than to follow. He pulled out his cell phone to text Hannah.
Alek in ED. Alive, but hurt.
How hurt?
Scott thought back to what he saw.
Brace on his leg. Maybe broken.
Lots of soot, but didn't see blood.
I could fix him in seconds.
I know. So does he. Not now. Not yet.
Was he the one who fell into the fire?
I don't know.
Thomas hasn't contacted me yet.
I'll stay here with Doc M.
Maybe once he's in a cast, they'll let me visit him.
* * *
McNamara again. Why did that guy always seem to be in the right when Scott needed him to be in the wrong?
* * *
I'm going to try and talk to Alek if they'll let me.
Stay with Alek. Visit me when you can.
She sent him a crying puppy emoji.
Scott stood outside of the exam room. He could sense, more than hear, the commotion inside. Another fifteen minutes passed, then twenty. More ambulances arrived. More commotion, as off-duty doctors showed up to cover their already overwhelmed colleagues. Shouting drowned out the controlled chaos.
The door to Alek's room remained closed. Scott resisted the temptation to call Thomas. He tried not think of what might have happened to Evan. Another two minutes, then he hear the howl.
"GET OUT."
Something loud and metallic hit the door. Scott shoved off the wall he'd been leaning on. Screw the rules.
Before he could force his way into the exam room, the nurses pushed their way out, followed by the doctor. One of them ran right into Scott.
"What happened?" He stopped one of the nurses.
"He was in shock. Not communicating. Then...the equipment just went flying."
"He's using his Alt ability to drive us out." The doctor wiped something off her scrubs before she straightened out to talk to Scott. "We need to get security."
"No security. Not yet."
Another loud crash thudded against the doors. Alek must have been tearing the room apart.
"I'll take care of him." Scott moved around the nurse but found himself blocked by the doctor.
"He's in distress. He called out to his brother. If something happened to his brother, he might not respond to you. He could hurt you. We don't want to hurt him, but even with Alt powers, security has ways to immobilize him so we can finish. If his brother is dead, you might not be able to get through to him."
Scott could see the doctor was an ally, someone who respected Alts. Maybe she just didn't recognize him. "He's my brother, too. I'll get through to him."
Scott pushed past the doctor. The exam room was a mess. Equipment was scattered all over the floor. Alek lay heaving on the gurney, his leg immobilized, but little else holding him back.
"Alek?"
A bedpan flew off a counter, right at Scott's head. Scott batted it away. Alek wasn't looking to hurt him, just to drive him away. Drive everyone who wasn't Evan away. He hadn't talked to Alek man-to-man in almost a decade. His heart leapt in to his throat. What could he say now to calm the brother who had never apologized for almost killing him?
"Enough, Alek. The doctors are ready to call in security. Do you really want them to hit you with a sedation dart?"
"Won't let them."
Nothing else came flying at his head, so Scott stepped closer. Despite his broken leg, and what must have been a shit load of pain, Alek had managed to twist his body so his face was buried in the poor excuse of a sheet.
Scott dug deep into the memories he'd tried to forget. "Sort of like how Patty Elwin shoved your face in the dirt when you tugged her hair. Yeah, your big, bad Alt powers really helped you there. Some Norm girl got you all messed up in no time flat."
Still nothing happened. Scott moved closer.
"She was my girlfriend," Alek whispered.
"Fifth-graders don't have girlfriends."
"Evan and I did." Alek let go of the sheet and lay back flat again. His face blank, no trace of pain or guilt. "He was dating Chrissy Olsen. We would carry their books for them, get them food from the lunch counter. They let us hold their hands. Evan and I did everything together. Patty didn't like it when I offered to carry Sonya's books too, even if I just floated them over to her. She shoved me first."
"Patty didn't know how good she had it." Scott risked standing right next to the bed. Alek wouldn't look at him.
"What are you doing here?" Alek finally asked.
"Staying out of trouble. Why did you attack the doctors?"
"They were pissing me off."
"Your leg is broken. They were doing their job."
Alek said nothing.
"Did something happen out there?"
"Evan fell into the fire." Scott had to bend closer to his brother's lips to hear the quiet voice. "He's gone."
No. Scott pulled away. Denial wrapped around his already wounded heart. "You don't know for sure."
"Our air cushion held the container from below. It was balanced and ready to transport to the warehouse. The explosion bounced it off the cushion. It hit my leg. I couldn't focus fast enough. Evan had to double up the air cushion, but the debris from the ship hit him too. He fell. I grabbed the container before it hit the harbor. I couldn't focus...couldn't rebalance the container fast enough...I couldn't grab Evan. He fell and kept falling into the fire." Alek lifted his head and slammed it back down. "I chose to save the coffin of a dead man over my brother."
"You saved the delegates who had run under the container."
"Fuck the Star Haven delegates. Bastards. Should have let them die. Should have saved Evan."
"You don't know that he's dead. You somehow got here to the hospital. You couldn't have seen everything."
Alek's face twisted. "Why the hell do you care?"
Scott winced. He'd been expecting an attack, but it still hurt when it hit. "Evan and I have been working on our relationship. Just like Catherine and me. We're not close, not even remotely as close as you and Evan. Or even you and Nik. But I care, Alek. Don't ever doubt that I care."
"It's all a lie, you know."
"What's a lie?"
"That we have a special telepathic connection. Me and Evan. Because we're twins. If I hadn't seen him fall into the blast, I'd never know if he were dead or not."
"You still don't know." Scott said it more to convince himself than to comfort Alek. For reasons he’d never understand, he grabbed Alek's smudged hand with his gloved one. "Until you see a fucking body, you don't fucking know."
His luck still held. Alek didn't pull away. That's when Scott realized what had been tickling his nose: A scent, sweet, like sugar cookies and ice cream, soft and cool and calming.
Cory. It's Pathia.
Pathia. T-CASS's telepath. Her telepathy had briefly touched him right before Miranda had ordered her mercs to knock him out. She had touched him again before they started torturing him.
I can't reach Alek. He's too angry. He can't hear me. He won't hear me. Tell him Evan is alive.
"Alek, listen to me."
"Fuck you! Why are you even here? You ignored us for a decade."
"Evan is alive."
Alek's glare didn't soften, but turned suspicious, tinged with hope. "How do you know?"
"Pathia. She can't contact you because you're crazy."
He's alive, but in trouble. He's still in the middle of the inferno, but wounded.
"He's still in the middle of the inferno," Scott said.
"Where's Flame?" Alek demanded.
Scott didn't know the T-CASS member so he thought the name.
Flame?
Her orders are to rescue the ship's crew. There are groups of them trapped throughout the ship. T-CASS is divided into either rescuing the crew, rescuing those who fell into the Bay, or stopping the gunmen.
Scott repeated what Pathia told him.
"Where's Mom?" Alek asked.
Scott imagined an image of his mother.
She's under the ship, keeping it from sinking and drowning those still trapped.
Scott again told Alek what Pathia had said.
"Hang on." Alek started to push himself up, but stopped as pain overwhelmed him. Scott forced his brother to lie back down again with a firm hand on his shoulder. "I know what Evan is doing. He's lowering the oxygen levels to dowse the fire around him. If he lowers the oxygen level by at least seven percent by pushing the oxygen molecules away, that will stop the fire from spreading toward him and still give him enough air to breath. You have to pull him out before he exhausts himself from the lack of oxygen. Look for where there's a gap in the fire and direct the water toward the gap."
Scott couldn't come up with an understandable image of what Alek suspected Evan was doing, so he repeated his brother's words in his head. Pathia must have understood because the sweet scent disappeared while she relayed the message, probably to Thomas. It took a minute, but her voice and the scent returned.
We have two fire boats already on the scene. Spritz and Gilly are directing the water from the pumps. We're concerned that in his weakened state, more water could startle Evan. He could lose what little air he's using to keep himself conscious. We risk drowning him or burning him.
He relayed that information to Alek, too.
"No. Do it. Listen to me. Evan will be in the middle of the gap. If Gilly and Spritz can direct the water around the gap while Evan pushes away oxygen molecules, any water near him will split into hydrogen and oxygen before he can drown."
"But won't the hydrogen and oxygen molecules make the fire worse?" Scott asked.