London, England Relax Jason. They"ll no doubt marvel for a short while but you"re not going to be the spectacle of the evening. Abigail will undoubtedly remark about the uncanny similarities between the heroes across the world and my recovery, but they won"t accuse me of having super powers...they shouldn"t. Audrey hasn"t told them, she wouldn"t, I know she wouldn"t gossip about this. It"s going to be fine. You haven"t had any media coverage, you haven"t pranced around London proclaiming yourself a hero, the savior of the whole d.a.m.n world, you"ll be fine Jason. Breathe and relax. This is going to be another long evening in with her family, you"ll stop Alan and Audrey from bickering, listen to Abigail"s stories and Jack"s self-righteousness and the evening will go off without any complications. Everything is going to be fine. Everything will be fine.
Jason and Audrey drove to her mother"s home for a celebratory dinner. He wasn"t comfortable with the pretext of the party but knew her family was simply happy he had his health once more. They want to see us together and see me whole once more too. Maybe I am just a sideshow attraction now. I don"t like it, leave it alone. Leave me alone d.a.m.n it. Audrey already voiced her concern over Alan"s inevitable disapproval of her contribution of store bought rolls but Jason a.s.sured her he would understand. We don"t have any appliances or kitchen supplies to bake or cook; store bought is all we can manage. It has to be enough; we can"t do any more than that.
"Do you think we should have at least bought fancier rolls?" Audrey asked him. "Maybe that would have at least curbed his disappointment."
"I"m sure it"ll be fine." Jason kept his eyes on the road but felt removed from their trip. Everything feels so slow. My head"s in a fog and I can"t think. What was I working on before the accident? Was there a project I forgot about? A meeting? How far behind am I? What have I forgotten? Oh Audrey we shouldn"t be here I haven"t prepared enough for this I"m going to fall behind and lose my job and we won"t be able to afford any place to live. I can"t, I can"t...
Jason"s breathing quickened and Audrey took note of it. "Are you alright honey?" She leaned toward him and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. Jason snapped back to their ride together. He looked at her for a moment and he returned to a rested, steady rate of breathing.
Audrey studied him for a moment before she asked whether he was fine once more. "Are you feeling ill? What"s on your mind?"
Calm down Jason, calm down. What the h.e.l.l was that? You can"t have a panic attack about all of this. You were in an uncontrollable event and they are going to allow you to take the time to return to work. But I shouldn"t have taken time off for that vacation, it was planned and they knew about it, but, but I should have stayed and caught up on what I"d lost. What if they"re already looking for my replacement? It wouldn"t be too outlandish to a.s.sume so. I almost died. I did die in fact. What if they are replacing me? What if they"re going to edge me out of my spot in the company and I"m going to lose everything? Should I start looking for work again, I mean I guess I need to though I don"t like this I shouldn"t have to change my job because of this it wasn"t supposed to effect all of this I shouldn"t have gone I should have stayed here and worked I should have stayed here and worked oh myd.a.m.n it why did I go? Why did I have to go?
"Jason?"
He stopped. Jason rubbed his eyes for a moment and apologized. "I don"t know why my but my thoughts are racing right now Audrey. I"ve got a lot on my mind between work and refurnishing our new home once we can move in." I have to thank Jack for his help there. I wouldn"t have moved so far out of the city considering where I work but he didn"t hold much hope in my survival anyway. He took a breath and added that he wasn"t looking forward to their dinner.
"Is it because of the whole rise and appearance of super heroes?" Audrey asked. She frowned and apologized for her family, "They"re going to be excited about the possibility Jason. You don"t have to tell them if you don"t want to."
"You haven"t told them have you?"
"Of course not. That"s your news and I"m not going to say a thing unless you say so."
Jason thanked her. Of course she wouldn"t tell them. She"s not like that. Why would you doubt her Jason? She"s your wife and she loves you more than anything else. She wouldn"t betray you like that. "Do you think we should tell them?"
Audrey shook her head, "I don"t see why we should. They don"t need to know, and unless you wanted to come out and tell the world about your powers I would actually suggest we leave them out of the loop entirely."
Jason agreed. "How are we going to explain this to them though?"
She shrugged and said they could blame it on another hero.
"You mean lie and say someone healed me, or rather brought me back from the dead?"
Audrey smirked and said they could call the hero Lazarus. At least she"s joking. Maybe I should too? Though I guess my sense of humor"s been dampened since our return. I need to relax. I need to calm down and relax.
"Don"t worry so much Jason," Audrey continued, "It"s going to be fine. Mum"s going to think your recovery is amazing whether you were healed by a super hero or by modern medicine...though honestly she"d be happier than anything else to know it was a hero who helped you recover. But in the end they"ll forget about it and it will end up being one of those old family stories our kids and grandkids will tune out entirely."
A lie would make things easier.
"Mum"s going to be more obsessed with the Human t.i.tan and Captain Density than anything else," Audrey reminded him. "In fact, I wouldn"t be surprised if she kept a little book with all of the names and powers of every super hero collected in it."
"Do you think London even needs guardians like that?" Jason asked her.
Audrey paused for a moment before she said she admitted that she couldn"t make up her mind. "We have crime here in London just like anywhere else, so I don"t know how to answer you. We have a police force for a reason."
"I know, I know," he stopped her, "But do you think we need someone who can tear an engine block in two punishing thieves?"
Audrey shrugged and told him the heroes might help curb crime as a whole. "I wouldn"t worry about it too much Jason."
Does it matter? None of this matters unless you plan on joining those lunatics. And would you Jason? Why would you? Would you?
Audrey glanced his way for a moment before she cleared her throat and added, "I heard something about a few murders last week, all in Richmond mind you. The first was somewhere near Saint Margaret"s, some young woman named...Smith, I think. The police found her missing her lips and tongue. And the second was a man whose body they found at Richmond Hill, drained of two liters of blood, surgically drained from his body Jason. The authorities aren"t entirely sure how, a system of syringes or something, but the news said it was the fourth in a series of killings."
Jason admitted he heard about the murders as well. "But what am I supposed to do against that Audrey? Whoever is killing these people is very meticulous about the slayings and he is obviously kidnapping the victims first and then dumping their remains later. I am not a detective and I don"t know the first thing about hunting down some sort of...of serial killer." A serial killer? This is insane. There"s one in the States I"ve heard about...what were they calling him again? But here too? Two serial killers? It doesn"t make any sense. But there"s something happening here, something obvious, seeing as how Audrey and the public have pieced this all together. But I don"t have the slightest inkling of where to begin hunting for this villain. I"m in the dark Audrey, can"t you understand that?
"There"s this one in Greenland who calls herself Foliage or something like that and apparently she can make plants grow at alarming rates," Abigail told her captive audience. "And someone in Whales who called herself Wellspring, though I don"t know how authentic they are, but the records show they might be quite impressive."
On and on and on Abigail, please just stop. I don"t want to hear about every d.a.m.n one of them I"m not one of them and I don"t care if I could be they are not me and I am not them just leave it alone you miserable old hag why do you have to go on and on and on about this every single b.l.o.o.d.y time we see you?
Jason sat beside his wife and Abigail on the sofa in her living room. Audrey"s brother Jack and his wife sat on another sofa across from them with their youngest, Alan busied himself in the kitchen, and Suzy smoked outside while she chatted with her boyfriend over her cell phone. Abigail"s rant began long before Jason and Audrey arrived and he imagined it would last long after they left.
"I suspected this for quite some time mind you," Abigail reminded her son Jack, "But now that they are here and fighting to save this world I swear I"ve never slept better. This business about heroes and supernatural powers bothered me for months I tell you. And now that it"s all out in the open I can sleep soundly. Isn"t that peculiar?"
"Yes mother," Jack interrupted her, "But let"s hear about Audrey and Jason"s holiday for a minute. How was Greece?"
Audrey started in with stories and photographs to share while Jason commented absent mindedly. What happened? Why has everything changed so much? This wasn"t such a difficult matter to hear about. Abigail blathered on about her obsession and we all nodded and let her ramble. Why is this so personal now? That isn"t me now and I don"t think it should tax me so even if the possibility of joining the heroic ranks of the Human t.i.tan and Captain Density is there. And if I did a.s.sume some secret ident.i.ty it shouldn"t control me. I shouldn"t feel this pressure to join them or to hide. Why do I have this trepidation now? Why am I worried about this now?
"Did you hear about the Burning Man of Athens?" Abigail interrupted. Jason felt his skin cringe and his spine grow rigid. "I haven"t heard anything else about him, well, other than a few mentions of sightings, but did you hear about that while you were there dear?"
Audrey said they hadn"t and asked for the story.
I don"t think London needs another hero. There isn"t enough trouble for that many heroes anyway. London can"t be that terrible of a place. I mean, looking for trouble isn"t healthy. This city has its flaws, I know that, but I don"t need to look for them, to exploit them. I don"t need to look for trouble. If there were ever an event that needed my help, something cataclysmic then yes I would help. But petty theft and crime can be left to the police. I don"t need to become a vigilante.
"So mum, are there any super villains yet?" Jack finally interjected. "We"ve heard all about your heroes but are they just rounding up pickpockets or are their super powered villains about the world that you"ve hidden from us as well?"
"If there are I haven"t heard about them," Abigail replied. "And all of the heroes I"ve told you about are decent young men and women mind you Jackson. You shouldn"t be so spiteful about this."
"I am not spiteful mum," he stopped her. "I only find it suspicious that there aren"t any villains out there."
"Maybe there are, honey," Samantha said. "Maybe they haven"t broadcast themselves as openly as Captain Density and the Human t.i.tan."
"Well that would make sense, but that would mean these heroes are not combating the hypothetical high profile characters, otherwise we would have heard all about it by now." Jack glanced at his mother, "Through the papers or by other means."
Jason stood up and took his leave from the room with the excuse to grab another drink. Audrey followed him and asked how he felt. "I"m sorry they won"t drop the subject Jason. But don"t let them get to you okay?"
It"s not that easy Audrey. I can feel their eyes on me. I can hear their whispers, I know what they say when we"re not here. They suspect something. I know it. They"re waiting for one of us to finally crack and tell them all. I can hear them right now, I can, I can hear them...they"re talking about someone called Hanzo from j.a.pan...
"Audrey," he frowned. "There"s something new."
What the h.e.l.l are you Jason?
"What Jason?"
He whispered to her his newest found power. He relayed a part of his mother-in-law"s conversation with Jack and Samantha and told her the name of the tune Alan whistled to himself in the kitchen. "I-I had a few instances where I thought I heard something...but I tried to ignore it."
"Why?"
Because I"m turning into a d.a.m.n freak and I can"t stand this Audrey I need this to stop I don"t know where all of this is headed and I need some direction from you or me or someone yet this just continues to build up day after day after day and I can"t handle this weight on my own and I don"t feel like you understand any of this at all. I need help and there"s no one around to save me. Life was difficult to begin with. Working nine hour days followed with dinners with your family who generally can"t stand me and budgeting our finances and expenses while looking for a home and the fire and the loss of our home and belongings and now this of all things oh my word Audrey I can"t handle this I cannot handle this what the h.e.l.l do I do?
Audrey frowned and saw the change in his countenance. He didn"t look her in the eye and his breathing started to quicken. "Jason," she called out to him, "Jason calm down."
"No Audrey no d.a.m.n it," he spat. "What the h.e.l.l am I doing? What the h.e.l.l, what the h.e.l.l, what in the h.e.l.l am I supposed to do Audrey?"
"Calm down."
"No Audrey," he stopped her.
She saw his irregular breathing and frenzied state grow and swiftly tried to take control. "Jason"
"Audrey."
"Jason, do not interrupt me again," she barked, cross. "You are going to be fine. We are both going to be fine and believe me when I tell you this isn"t anything you need to worry about. I know you"re scared because there isn"t much we can control right now, but you need to take a breath, take a deep breath, and I want you to close your eyes and think about the two of us."
"Audrey now is"
"Shut your eyes right now Jason and don"t you dare say another word." She waited until he followed her command. He closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths at her say-so. "Jason, do you remember what you told me a few months before our wedding? When I felt like the world was crumbling to the ground because our reservation for the church for our ceremony fell through? I was devastated and I truly felt like everything we worked so hard for was ruined and all I could do was cry my eyes out. You took me by the hand, you kissed me, and you told me that the entire wedding, building, procession, and all could fall to pieces, yet what actually mattered would still remain intact. You, Jason, told me, you reminded me that what we"d worked so hard for wasn"t a wedding but a marriage between the two of us. Jason, you reminded me that every little thing could unravel and in the end you and I were going to be married, and that was all that would matter in the end. And right now we"re facing the same difficulties we faced when we were younger. I know you"re scared and I know I can"t understand what you"re going through, but I need you to remember that through all of this, I am going to be here for you, right by your side, no matter what trials might come."
He did the best he could to calm himself and nodded to confirm his understanding. Jason apologized to her and asked, "Audrey, what do you think I need to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think I need to don a costume and parade about with the others?"
Audrey pursed her lips for a moment. You"ve obviously dwelt on this Audrey. You don"t need to protect me from your thoughts. I really need guidance here. I don"t know what to do. I don"t want to, I don"t feel that I need to but everything I think of revolves around these heroes. I don"t know if I want that though. What do you think? Please tell me.
"Audrey, what do you think?"
She smiled and asked him to remain calm and to keep an open mind. "I think it would be a great idea. You have a gift Jason," she told him hushed. "Why squander that?"
But is that right? Is this something I want to showcase or should I keep it to myself?
"Jason," she took his hand and looked into his eyes, "You don"t need to worry about this. Think about it and give it time. You don"t need to make a decision right away."
She"s right. Give it time and think about it Jason. You don"t need to rush into things blindly. You could compromise everything and put yourself and your wife in danger. You can"t risk something like that. Look at all of the angles and make a decision then and only then. You have all the time in the world.
2:46 PM.
Baltimore, Maryland Chief Johnson sat in his office with Commissioner Schmitt and a file filled with photographs of unearthed graves and emptied caskets. Five graves were desecrated in one night and it seemed as though no one had seen the perpetrator. To make matters worse, there wasn"t enough evidence at any of the crime scenes to generate one lead or suspect, other than a.s.suming Cladis was responsible.
Commissioner Schmitt reclined in his seat and asked who would do something so heinous. "And I mean aside from this Cladis fellow you and your people tracked down for so long."
Johnson didn"t have an answer for him. "I hate to bring it up, but these people were all victims in the case, all five of them."
Schmitt looked at the list again, which included Tim Qing, Rachel Schmitt (who held no relation to the commissioner), Brett Foster, Caroline Reynolds, and Jenna Bell. The images of the marred headstones unsettled the commissioner.
"What are we going to say about all of this?" Johnson asked him. "Blame it on the gang you created under Cladis" name? No one"s buying that cover."
Schmitt slowly nodded. "It seems like the only thing we can do for now."
"Or we reopen the actual case, a.s.sign some people to it, and stop this psychopath before he turns our city on its head," Johnson countered. "Lying about this, cowering from trying to fight him means we"ve already lost."
"Spare me the lecture Johnson," Commissioner Schmitt stopped him. "If we reopen it then the media and public will begin to lose faith in us," Schmitt told him. "We"ve already got enough trouble as it is with gang activity, drug and weapons trafficking, and...well you get it."
"And you think adding another gang, your "Cladis gang," is the best idea to restore faith in our department? We can"t ignore this, because if we do and it escalates, we"re to blame." Johnson sat up in his seat and reminded the commissioner that two of their own were already lost to the madman"s spree. "I"m honestly surprised the city hasn"t demanded a manhunt yet."
Schmitt rubbed his forehead and agreed. "And with this d.a.m.ned REFOIA leaking everything to the public, a cover story isn"t going to matter..." The commissioner gave the situation a moment of thought before he asked, "If you were going to put anyone on this case, who would it be?"
Johnson acted as if he needed to think about the question, but made his way to say, "I"d give it to Murdock and Felton."
Schmitt nodded his head and said it wasn"t a bad idea.
"I would also want to have Bryce Maguire and Mia Hendricks on the case as well," Johnson told him.
Schmitt failed to understand. "Why would you need two rookies who haven"t got any experience working on this sort of case?"
Johnson reminded him that this wasn"t a normal case. "But we"d need some regular officers who could a.s.sist them, considering there are going to be more stiffs until we solve this case. Murdock and Felton are going to want to work with the same officers who can be at each crime scene to avoid explaining the case to every officer who they interact with."
Schmitt looked at the chief for a moment before he mused, "You"ve given this quite a bit of consideration, haven"t you?"
Johnson smirked and said he had.
The commissioner nodded before he stood up and headed for the door. He opened it and told Johnson that he would leave it up to him. "I"ve got a feeling you already know what you"re doing, so I"d better just let you continue to run things and get out of the way."
Johnson thanked him and would have let out a breath of relief had Officer Maguire not burst into the room, burning with questions.
"Chief, you"ve heard about the grave desecrations, right?" Johnson only had a moment to nod before Maguire continued, "What happened to the rest of the bodies of the victims? Do we know that?"
"I don"t, if that"s what you"re asking."
"Do you think it"s safe to a.s.sume they were all cremated? With the exception of Detective Sage of course."
Johnson said he didn"t know. "What"s more important is figuring out who did this and why they did it."
"Do you think it could be Cladis?"
He nodded, "Very much so, yet at the same time I don"t know why he"d want the corpses...or why anyone would for that matter."
"What should we do about it?"
Johnson asked him when the next body would turn up.
"I"m not sure," Bryce admitted. "I think we"ve got about a week though."
"Go make sure." The chief stopped him before he dashed out of the office and asked, "Who was it that turned up on Sunday?"