Jed, Rafael, and Candace by Noa Franklin, https://www.instagram.com/noa_franklin80/

Day -8,017, 5:56am 

“Lyceon! Oh, Lyceon! Ah! Ah! Ah… Dios mio!!” 

Rodolfo Solano moaned in ecstasy as his lover bounced rhythmically on top of him in their bed, which was now soaked in a combination of sweat and steam. 

The entire room was filled by a thick cloud of water vapor emanating from various metal tubs across the room all full of boiling water. Water that was boiling all on its own. His lover, Lyceon, huffed and grunted passionately as the man he loved pulled him closer using his legs enclosed around his torso. 

“Rodolfo…” Lyceon grunted, continuing to move, “…I’m getting close!” 

The man – his man – let out another moan before saying, “Me too!” 

The two kept going and going and going until… 

“UNNNGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” 

…the remaining water in the tubs completely evaporated, turning their bedroom into a giant sauna as they both finished simultaneously! 

Lyceon slumped down on the damp bed next to his partner and huffed and heaved like a beached elephant seal, feeling just as worn out as he was naked: Completely. That’s when he looked over to his partner and, to his surprise, the man was looking up rather than at him. 

“Good thing we got that thing framed, huh?” Rodolfo said, motioning above them. 

The tired man looked up to see his framed PhD hanging up on the wall just above their bed. Condensation from the steam was covering the glass, but the paper inside appeared to still be dry as Lyceon read the words, “University of Crete, Doctorate of Parapsychology” through the mist. 

“It sure is,” he agreed as he turned back to the man and said, “I love you, Rodolfo.” 

Rodolfo turned back to him, his dark brown eyes glistening with passion and pride as he responded, “I love you too… Doctor Vitalis.” 

Lyceon scoffed at his words before saying, “Yes, I suppose I am a doctor now. Next I suppose I’ll be teaching the next generation all about clairvoyance and telepathy with graying hair and a beer belly.” 

His lover laughed at that image as he leaned over and stroked the man’s stubbled jaw line. 

“And you’ll still be just as hot as you are now,” he said, pulling the man into a kiss. 

Once they finished sharing their little kiss, Lyceon began coughing and said, “Come, we simply must open up a few windows before we both stop breathing.” 

Rodolfo coughed himself and said, “Agreed. At least it’s not smoke this time.” 

The two of them stood up and began maneuvering their way past each metal tub – all of which were still warm to the touch – to open up the windows in their small apartment. The landscape outside was a wintery wonderland that made one forget that they were still in Texas at the time. 

Suddenly, as Lyceon passed by the kitchen calendar showing the final year of the twentieth century, he caught sight of a box Rodolfo had given him containing his graduation present. He took a moment to admire it again; he opened the box to a beautiful silver lapel pin shaped like the head of a wolf. Lyceon smiled as he bent down and gave a little kiss to the sweet gift. As he finished, he then noticed a rolled up piece of paper sitting atop the stack of mail from earlier today. It was wrapped up by a little purple hair-tie and had the name, “Dr. Vitalis” written on it in crayon. 

“Rodolfo…” he called to his lover in the next room, “Do you know what this is?” 

The sweaty latino poked his head out from the bedroom and asked, “What?” 

Lyceon picked it up and said, “This paper. Do you know what it is?” 

He looked at it for a moment before answering, “Oh, I think that’s a drawing that the little girl a couple doors down left for you. What was her name? Um… Jolene!” 

The man furrowed his brow and asked, looking down at the paper, “But… how’d she know I got my doctorate yesterday? Did you tell her? Or her mother, by any chance?” 

Rodolfo shook his head, sharing the man’s look of suspicion. 

That’s when Lyceon slipped off the little purple hair-tie and unrolled it to reveal what would’ve normally been disregarded as just the adorable little scribbles of a child. However, Lyceon had a strong feeling it was more than that as the drawing depicted a childish drawing of their apartment building with a small group of people approaching a door that had the time 6:07am next to it. The first person was dressed like a police officer or military man with the word “liar” written above him, the man next to him was dressed similarly with the word “mean” over him, the next man looked a little like Rodolfo and was labeled “Gemini” and the last person was a woman with a protruding belly labelled “Mama”. 

Both Lyceon and Rodolfo looked over at the clock on the microwave. It said 6:07am. 

All of a sudden… 

KNOCK! KNOCK! 

…both men heard someone at the door. They looked at each other and shuddered. 

Lyceon slowly began moving toward the door until his eye was right before the little peephole. Before his lover had a chance to say anything, the man went wide-eyed and turned to Rodolfo slowly. That’s when Rodolfo knew who it was at the door. 

Finally, Lyceon unlocked the door and opened it to the sight of four people, two of whom were dressed in government-issued army uniforms. The first was a blonde-haired man with snake-green eyes and broad shoulders; to his right was a dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes and a thinner build. However, the other two people were the ones that made Lyceon go wide-eyed. One was a beautiful latina with long, dark hair and an obvious pregnant belly, while the last man was an almost perfect mirror image of Lyceon’s lover! 

“Hello, brother,” the man said to Rodolfo. 

He stared at the man who spoke and then at his pregnant wife, almost in a daze, as he said, “Rafael… Maria, what are you two doing here?” 

Rafael turned his eyes away, almost guilty, while Maria just looked nervous until the dark-haired man turned his head a bit and made eye contact. He smirked covertly at her and gave her the slightest of winks, which she returned with a quiet scoff, an eyeroll, and a slight blush afterwards.

“Good evening, Dr. Vitalis,” the blonde military man standing in front suddenly said, extending his hand, “Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Captain Myles West of the United States Special Forces. This is my First Lieutenant, Harvey Johnson, and I believe you already know my Second Lieutenant, Rafael Solano. He has told me so much about you two… and about your dream of creating a special institution for ‘special’ people.” 

As he said that, both men shuddered. Lyceon, despite his obvious fear, tried his best to remain cool as a cucumber. Meanwhile, Rodolfo gripped his lover’s arm tightly and tried his best to avoid eye contact with the captain. While he was doing that, his eyes drifted to Maria, who was looking casually at the first lieutenant. The man shot her a sensual smirk and a wink that she turned uncomfortably away from. However, it wasn’t quite out of disgust, as Rodolfo saw from the soft, flattered blush on her face. 

“What do you know about that?” Lyceon asked Captain West, “What do you want?” 

The man smiled like a serpent and said, “Direct, aren’t you…? I like that. How would you like all the funding you’ll ever need to make your dreams come true?” 

Lyceon raised a suspicious eyebrow just before he spoke. 

“I’m listening…” 

_

Day 13, 2:11am

Rafael woke up groggy. 

He was lying on a gurney with his clothes off, surrounded by multiple doctors hard at work taking his temperature and measuring every part of his body, including his fingers and toes. His vision was blurry from whatever drugs they had him on, but he could just make out someone standing outside the circle of doctors recording everything they said about his body. 

“Okay, Mr. Solano, up you get,” one of the doctors said, picking Rafael up. 

He was strong enough to sit up and move, but too groggy to do anything except as the doctors directed. He couldn’t even bring himself to speak as they moved him over to a scale to have him weighed. 

“177 lbs,” the doctor said to the woman recording his stats, “That should be the last of the physical stats. Now it’s time to get him to the lab for blood and other DNA, if you’d be so kind as to take him there. 

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Rafael thought, but he was too high on the drugs they had pumped him full of to protest. 

“Yes, sir,” the woman replied. 

She unlocked the wheels of his gurney and began pushing him into another room. The drugs were starting to pull him back to sleep, but not fast enough to keep him from seeing the door to the lab pass him right on by. At first he was confused, until he saw two other gurneys right next to him with familiar faces. 

“Candace…? Jed…?” he said, his voice slurring. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” came a sudden voice from ten feet away. 

Rafael looked forward and saw two MPs – an older one and a younger one – moving quickly toward them. There was a set of doors just behind them that looked like some kind of exit. The two guards reached directly for their weapons when, all of a sudden… 

FZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 

…the female nurse pushing Candace lifted her hand to her temple and Rafael heard a strange buzzing noise that seemed to make the two MPs halt like stage hypnotist volunteers! 

“Thanks Kenna,” the nurse pushing Rafael’s gurney said, “Let’s go, quickly.” 

“No prob,” the nurse pushing Candace’s gurney said with a snicker, “We all know the Major isn’t going to be happy about this. But you always know first… right, Jolene?” 

She winked at the nurse pushing Rafael’s gurney who proceeded to roll her eyes and smile beneath her hospital mask. The three of them then quickly pushed each of the gurneys in a single file line as the two brainwashed guards opened the exit doors for them. 

“You got a way out for us, Mahir?” asked the leading nurse as she looked at the male nurse pushing Jed’s gurney. 

Rafael saw in blurred vision the man nod as he pointed somewhere without speaking. 

“Where are we going?!” he thought worriedly before passing out once more. 

_ 

Day 13, 5:26am 

“WHAAAAAAAAAT!!?!?!!” 

A little while later, Major West was yelling at the top of his lungs at the two MPs who had been guarding the exit doors, as well as the doctors who had been previously working on Rafael. The man’s favorite song, These Boots Are Made For Walking by Nancy Sinatra, was still playing on his small stereo as he shouted, which the personnel might’ve found somewhat amusing if they weren’t currently fearing for their jobs – and quite possibly their lives too. 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE GONE!!?!?!!” he continued bellowing at the terrified men and women before him. 

The doctor who worked on Rafael swallowed hard before slowly stepping forward. 

“Well, sir, you see what had happened was, um…” he said, wringing his hands behind his back. 

“Spit it out, man!!!” Major West growled. 

The doctor shook without making eye contact before saying, “W-We had just finished the round of measurements on the subject and I told the nurse to move him to the lab for the collection of samples.” 

“And we did the same with the girl and the other boy,” chimed in a female doctor who stood just behind him. 

The other male doctor next to her nodded in agreement. 

“Then what happened!?” snarled Major West, his arms now folded over his chest. 

All three doctors then turned to the two MPs who had guarded the exit doors. Both of them looked nervously at each other before stepping forward. Rafael’s attending doctor took a step back with the others, looking almost as nervous as the younger MP who was hunched a bit lower than his elder. 

“We saw the three nurses, or whomever they were, Sir, heading toward us carrying the subjects on gurneys,” said the older of the two MPs, “They appeared suspicious, so the two of us moved in immediately to stop them, Sir…” 

The man’s voice trailed off. Major West’s shaking foot could clearly be seen picking up speed through the crack beneath his desk. 

“AND THEN WHAT, PRIVATE!?!!?!” the man bellowed, making everyone jump. 

The older MP swallowed hard and said, “I-I-I’m not sure, Sir. It’s as if we blacked out for a second and then snapped back to reality a few minutes later. I can’t explain it, but that’s what happened, and, when we came back to, every one of them – the nurses, the gurneys, and the three subjects – were just gone without a trace.” 

Major West paused at the sound of that, his facial expression the oddest combination of rage, fear, and realization. 

He then looked at a meek-looking woman holding a military-grade computer behind everyone else and asked, “Is this true?” 

Everyone looked back at her as she fearfully nodded and said, “Yes, sir. Look…” 

She stepped forward and placed the computer on his desk as she opened it up to show him the footage. After clicking an icon on the dashboard, a video window popped up showing footage of the two MPs guarding the exit doors when the three nurses with their gurneys all came into frame. The two MPs moved in, reaching for their weapons as described, when the nurse closest to the wall suddenly put his hand to his temple and a faint buzzing noise filled the audio. All of a sudden, the footage began blipping continuously like an old VHS tape, and then, after almost a full minute or two, three nurses and gurneys were gone in the blink of an eye and the guards were back in their original positions! 

“What the hell just happened?!” Major West asked, blinking rapidly with confusion at what he had just seen. 

“I’m not sure, Sir,” the technician said, “It’s as if the camera had intentionally stopped recording all by itself, though I can’t find any evidence that either camera has been in any way tampered with. If you’ll look at the outside footage, right here, Sir…” 

As she said that, she clicked a second window to reveal another set of footage which showed a garage containing military-grade vehicles big enough to carry groups of soldiers. A few seconds later, the same blipping effect from before occurred and one of the vehicles was suddenly gone in the blink of an eye. 

“We believe they stole the missing vehicle, Sir,” the technician said, “Just as they got past the guards.” 

By that point, Major West was staring, unblinking at the technician’s computer screen and wringing his hands like a madman. Everyone in the room stared silently – and fearfully – at the man until one of the doctors broke the silence. 

“Um… sir? Are you alright…?” Rafael’s doctor asked. 

Major West jumped angrily and his eyes burned into the poor doctor who took a step back and avoided eye contact with the man. 

He turned his attention back to the screen and said, without looking at them, “One of you go check the hallways, the garage, and the area outside. If they escaped, it was obviously through there.” 

The two guards nodded and headed out just as Major West pointed to the technician. 

“You, go check the security systems and any other footage you can find,” he growled impatiently, “And, if you can find any way to track that armoured vehicle… do it!” 

She nodded and folded up her computer before heading out. That’s when he turned his attention to the doctors still keeping quiet and stared Rafael’s doctor down for a brief moment before speaking. 

“As for you idiots, did any of you collect any DNA from the subjects before sending them to the lab?” he asked, angrily. 

The three doctors all looked at each other before Rafael’s doctor replied, “No, sir.” 

Major West tightened his fists and continued to stare them down before he finally said to them, “Then you three morons better get down to the operating rooms and find whatever you can in the way of DNA. Sweat, saliva, hair, anything. Just find me some god damn DNA, got it!?!” 

All three of the doctors nodded before heading out quicker than all the others. 

Once the man was alone in his office once again, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath before picking up his phone and dialing a number. 

“Hello, General Brewster’s office,” came a secretary’s voice on the other line. 

“This is Major West,” the man said, “I need to speak with General Brewster as soon as possible… Tell him it’s a matter of national security.” 

_

Day 14, 3:44pm

GASP!!! 

Rafael burst awake, lying in a chaise beneath a blue beach umbrella on a sunny, black sand beach he didn’t recognize. He was also wearing a bright red speedo he didn’t remember putting on… And that’s all he was wearing! 

“Que…?” he said to himself. 

“Hm, took you long enough,” a female voice suddenly came from a few feet away. 

Rafael looked over to the other side of the beach umbrella and saw a woman in her thirties with mocha brown skin lounging in a chaise like him. She had a dark brown afro with a pair of sunglasses stuck in it, lips as red as the speedo he wore, and a pair of green eyes that matched the Hawaiian-style bikini she was wearing. In her hands she held a medium-sized sketchpad that she was still hard at work scribbling on as she spoke. 

“I mean, I knew they heavily medicated you…” she continued, “…but I had a feeling you’d be up just a few minutes earlier than this.” 

The young firestarter furrowed his brow before asking, “Who are you? Where am I?” 

The woman softly smiled and turned to face him as she said, “My name is Jolene, and you’re on Kahoolawe. It’s the eighth smallest, and least habitable of Hawaii’s main islands… which is why Dr. Vitalis chose it as the place for his safe house.” 

As soon as she said the man’s name, Rafael’s eyes shot wide open and he immediately sat upright, his bare feet touching the rough, almost sharp sand as he remembered everything that had happened. From the groggy images of the doctors and guards to the attack at night in Lyceon’s private office bedroom. That’s when a sudden other thought occurred to him that made his heart rate spike higher than before. 

“Lyceon!” he cried, practically jumping to his feet, “Where is he?! What happened to him!?! What did they do to him?!!” 

Jolene put her hands up and said, “Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, Rafael…! I promise, I can assure you, Dr. Vitalis is still alive, albeit in a… big spot of trouble. However, if you’d be so kind as to follow me, I can give you all the information you ne-” 

“No way!” Rafael interrupted just as the woman was standing up, “How do I know you’re not lying? You need to do more than put me on a beach to make me believe you.” 

Jolene sassily raised her eyebrow and answered, “Well, if that’s how you feel about it… then you might wanna take a look at this.” 

That’s when she stood up fully and offered him the sketch book she had previously been drawing in. Rafael hesitated for a moment before he slowly took the sketch book from her. At first, all he saw inside were a few well-drawn pencil drawings impressive enough for a comic book, but nothing that proved Jolene’s words true… 

…until he reached the fourth page, and what he saw made his hair stand on end! 

The drawing was of a poinsettia tree on fire while a woman who looked just like his neighbor, Lupe, was screaming just a few feet away! Rafael looked up at Jolene, eyes wide in shock as the woman gestured for him to view the rest. 

“Keep going,” she said. 

Rafael slowly returned his eyes to the drawings and swallowed hard before he turned the page. The second drawing showed him, Candace, and Dr. Vitalis as they put on their big fire-dance at the luau which seemed to blend into another drawing of him and Lyceon sharing their first kiss in the underground room. Once again, he swallowed hard, his hand shaking as he slowly peeled back the page to see the final picture: Him and Lyceon naked in his secret bed chamber, surrounded by encroaching darkness with multiple little pairs of night-vision green eyes inside of it, looking right at them! 

“Believe me now…?” Jolene asked, now standing on one leg as she leaned against the umbrella. 

The young firestarter continued to stare at the drawings as his hands shook. 

Finally, the mysterious artist let go of the umbrella and gently took his hand as she said, “Come on, the others are waiting to see you.” 

Rafael followed her, almost in a daze, as she pulled him to his feet and began packing up all of the beach gear. Despite his dazed state, Jolene had him carry a few things as the two of them made their way off the black sandy beach towards a giant cave opening Rafael hadn’t seen thanks to the umbrella. Once inside, Jolene placed all of the beach gear behind a boulder before turning her attention to a stone wall with lots of cracks in it, which she ran her fingers down a few of. 

“Your name?” asked a sudden robotic voice coming from the wall. 

“Jolene Cora Fremont,” she answered. 

All of a sudden, there was a low beeping sound as the largest crack in the wall began to open up and reveal a beautiful mahogany door behind the rock. Rafael’s mouth fell open at the sight of the sudden opening in the wall as Jolene grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. 

The inside was a small, concrete room with a drain in the center and a hose on one of the walls. Jolene picked up the hose and used it to wash the sand off of both of their feet before grabbing two white bathrobes and two pairs of black sandals. 

“Put these on,” she said, handing one of the robes and sandals to Rafael, “Unless, of course, you think the others will like a man in a speedo.” 

She smiled sensually at him and raised her eyebrows twice. Rafael furrowed his brow as he slowly took the bathrobe and sandals from her. While he was dressing, Jolene twirled a wheel on the wall nearby and a solid metal door, like a submarine door, suddenly opened with a loud clanking noise, filling the small room with light. 

“Rafael!” an all-too-familiar voice cried out from the adjoining room. 

All of a sudden, Rafael found himself tackle-hugged by an auburn-haired goth girl in a black tank top with dark purple vertical stripes and black pants with a bedazzled belt. 

“Oh, Rafael, you’re okay!!” Candace cried out as she squeezed him tightly. 

The young firestarter was taken aback for a brief moment before finally returning her hug with one of his own. 

“Look who’s finally awake,” he heard another familiar voice say just a few feet away. 

Rafael looked to the source of the voice and saw Jed sitting almost lazily in a nearby barstool chair pulled up to a stained glass bar table. He was dressed in a leathery jacket over a white T-shirt and some slightly ragged blue jeans as he nursed a can of beer at the bar. 

“Jed! Candace, what are you two doing here?” Rafael asked. 

Candace let him go and said, “Didn’t Jolene tell you? The same people who came for you and Dr. Vitalis also came for me and Jed! Jolene and the others rescued us, just like they did you, Rafael.” 

“Others…?” he asked, still confused. 

That’s when Rafael looked up and saw two other people in the room besides Candace and Jed. One of them was a small woman of Asian descent with long, dark hair sitting on a nearby couch with a magazine in her lap. Rafael couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something vaguely familiar about her. Meanwhile, the other person was a tall, Arab man with a thin, muscular build, curly dark brown hair that matched his eyes, and large hands both covered by a pair of black leather gloves. 

“Rafael, this is Kenna and Mahir,” Jolene said, pushing past him to join up with the others, “They’re the ones who helped me get you three out of the base where Major West was keeping you.” 

“Yeah, but why?” he asked, practically rolling his eyes as he spoke, “I know you said Lyceon told you to get us out of there, but-” 

“Who’s Lyceon…?” Jed suddenly interrupted. 

The moment he heard his question, Rafael froze and a small blush covered his face as his heart rate increased. His eyes darted over to Candace who furrowed her brow and folded her arms over her chest at the sight of his expression. The only thing that would’ve made the situation more awkward, would be if Candace had been reading his mind at that moment. 

“Oh, that’s Dr. Vitalis’ first name,” Kenna suddenly interrupted, “And we did what he asked because the three of us were some of his first students.” 

Kenna put her arms around both Jolene and Mahir’s shoulders as she said that. 

While Candace and Rafael’s eyes widened at the sound of that, Jed just furrowed his brow and asked, “Do I know you? You seem familiar.” 

Kenna rolled her eyes as she answered, “Maybe you know my father, Dr. Lu…?” 

All three of them went wide-eyed, suddenly realizing why she looked so familiar. 

“What..?” she asked, “How do you think a brilliant man like my father got interested in psychic science in the first place?” 

Candace half-smiled in realization and exclaimed, “He had a psychic daughter, of c-” 

“Anyway…!” Jolene suddenly interrupted, trying to get everyone back on track, “…I urgently reached out to Dr. Vitalis after I received my vision of you and him getting captured by Major West’s operatives.” 

“Vision…?” Jed asked. 

Jolene rolled her eyes as she opened up her sketch pad and handed it to him. 

“Yes,” she said as he took it from her, “I’m a seer; I see visions of the future and, on a few occasions, the past too.” 

“Can’t everybody do that?” Jed asked, almost sarcastically. 

She narrowed her eyes at him and wagged her finger as she continued, “Kenna here is a telehypnotic, technopath, and psy-healer. She was the one who manipulated the guards and cameras so we could escape, while Mahir is the psychometric who found the base where they had you all hidden.” 

“With a little help from your charred toothbrush that the good doctor was able to pass on to us,” Kenna added. 

Just as she said that, Mahir silently reached behind the bar counter and pulled out a plastic Ziploc bag containing Rafael’s old, blackened toothbrush. He slickly rolled it up and tossed it to Rafael who caught it clumsily, much to everyone’s delight. 

After staring at the toothbrush in the plastic bag for a moment, he finally looked up and asked, “Yeah, but why didn’t you save him too, like you did us?” 

Jolene frowned sadly and replied, “Because he made me promise that I would get Jed, Candace, and, especially, you out regardless of what happened to him. And he wanted it done before West had the chance to bring his plans for the three of you into fruition.” 

“What plans?” Candace asked, furrowing her brow. 

Jolene raised her eyebrows and said, “Isn’t it obvious? He, and the rest of the military, hope to turn the three of you into their ultimate weapons. After all, why use guns or bombs or poisons to win a war when you have soldiers that can literally stop bullets in midair and turn them back on the enemy in an instant? Or soldiers that can pick up vehicles with the strength of an adrenaline rush anytime, anywhere? Or even soldiers that can literally burn the enemy to dust simply by the power of their will?” 

“Jesus! Oh God! Dios Mio!” Jed, Candace, and Rafael said, respectively. 

“Yeah, he really likes the flashy ‘active psychics’,” Kenna said, filing one of her nails as she spoke, “As for us ‘passive-types’, he couldn’t care less.” 

Jolene nodded in agreement and said, “Hence why he insisted on getting the three of you out. Despite working with someone as shady as Major West, Dr. Vitalis always wanted The Michelangelo Institute to be a safe haven for psychics wanting to learn about and master their powers, especially so they could use them to make the world a better place. He certainly wasn’t opposed to psychics joining the military if they wanted to, but he at least wanted them to have a choice in it.” 

Rafael’s mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile, thinking to himself, “That sounds like something he would want.” 

“Alright, I understand that,” Rafael said, “But, still, why didn’t he want you to rescue him too? Couldn’t that bastard, West use his powers for a weapon, just like he wanted to do with the rest of ours?” 

Jolene narrowed her lips a bit before she gestured to a door and said, “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” 

As soon as she said that, Rafael looked up at the door she was pointing toward and his eyes widened. He knew the others were just as curious as he was, so he started walking to the room, wanting to be the first to see it. He paused briefly the moment he got his hand on the elaborately-designed doorknob and took a deep breath before slowly turning it. 

CLICK!

CREEEEEEAAAAKKK!

GASP!

 On the other side of the door, Rafael and the others were immediately hit by the sight of a lavish bedroom made almost entirely of varnished mahogany with blacked out windows, gold-tinted lights in crystalline lamps, and an overall style that reminded Rafael of Lyceon’s office. However, the most noteworthy part was the wall above the bed, which was covered in translucent tiles of red, white, and silver forming a gorgeous mosaic of the wolf-head symbol Lyceon wore on his lapel. 

Rafael slowly walked inside, looking around in awe at the luxurious room around him until his eyes finally landed beside the king-sized bed whose sheets matched the mosaic. On the bedside table sat a framed picture of a young Lyceon in his thirties and another man who looked just like Rafael’s father in his late twenties. 

“Uncle Rodolfo, I presume,” he said, after picking the picture up to get a closer look. 

He then looked over at the others all staring at the room from the doorway in awe. All except for Jolene, who smiled knowingly as she pointed to the little table on the other side of the bed. Rafael looked to where she was pointing and saw a note held in place by a small vial of something that looked like watery milk. 

“We’ll leave the two of you alone,” she said with a wink as she closed the door. 

Rafael furrowed his brow as he put down the picture and walked over to the note and vial. What he read on it made him go wide-eyed and smile… before removing his clothes. 

Rafael, 

Drink this if you want to dream about me again! 

With love, Lyceon

_

Day 14, 3:59pm 

“Lyceon…” 

After drinking the entire vial of strange liquid, Rafael found himself a nice, silky pair of pinstriped pajamas to wear in the dresser nearby. He then laid down in the large, king-size bed and nestled himself among the pillows and sheets he was sure Lyceon had also slept in. 

“Lyceon…” Rafael whispered to himself again, “…where are you?” 

With those last words, Rafael finally felt himself being overcome with sleep, with the last thing he heard from outside being the sound of Candace talking to Jed. He couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but he hoped very much that it wasn’t about him… especially  if she managed to catch what was going on in his head before! 

All of a sudden, just as he dozed off… 

“Rafael…? Rafael…? Come to me, Rafael.” 

…he heard a low, echoing voice call out to him. A deep, Greek accented voice. 

Suddenly, Rafael’s eyes shot open and he saw something he was absolutely thrilled to see again. The whole room was black and white just like in his original room back at The Michelangelo Institute. However, unlike before, he actually found himself not glued down by some invisible force. 

“I can move!” he said, his voice echoing throughout the room despite his mouth not moving, “What the hell… how can I hear myself without opening my mouth?” 

“Because you’re not really speaking the words, my boy…” the Greek-accented voice suddenly said from behind him with a slight chuckle, “…you’re thinking them in astral space, which is also where the echoes are coming from.”  

Rafael turned to a corner of the room and was overjoyed to see a familiar naked man standing in the corner with a wolf mask on his head. A wolf mask he reached up and removed to reveal the scruffy and disheveled, but still handsome face of Dr. Lyceon Vitalis smiling at the young man. 

“Lyceon!” he cried out in his head as he jumped to his feet. 

The older man opened his arms wide and hugged the younger man as he ran into him, his eyes glistening with barely unshed tears. 

“I can’t believe it’s really you!” he thought aloud, “I thought you might be-” 

“Dead…?” the older man cut him off, “Don’t worry, I’m quite alive, albeit locked up in Major West’s base. Luckily, they can only cage my body; my spirit, on the other hand, is a different story.” 

Rafael smiled and thought, “Thank God!” 

Lyceon nodded as his smile faded and he continued, “Unfortunately, that’s the only bit of good news I have for you.” 

The young man frowned and asked, “What do you mean?” 

The older man let out a deep breath before saying, “The Michelangelo Institute has been seized by West’s forces. The young seers that Dr. Lu has been working with managed to see them coming, but not in time to get everyone out. Mr. Grizzle stayed behind and allowed himself to be captured to keep an eye on the students who weren’t able to escape.” 

Rafael’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in horror at what he had just been told. 

After a brief moment of shock, Rafael balled his hands tightly into fists and said, as he looked Lyceon directly in the eye, “What can I do to take him down?” 

Lyceon smiled at the young man’s spirit and said, “Now that’s the fire I remember!” 

Rafael smiled back at him and the two embraced tenderly once more. After that, they took a moment to look into each other’s eyes and then slowly went in for a kiss. A deep one in which their pelvises rubbed together briefly. 

“As much as I would love for us to join together again like before, I’m afraid we have more pressing matters to attend to,” Lyceon said once their lips parted. 

The young firestarter frowned for a second before nodding hesitantly as he said, “I know, you’re right… so, what can we do?” 

Dr. Vitalis smiled sympathetically at his young protege and explained to him, “Well, I know Major West won’t give up on the three of you so easily, so I imagine he’s got his people hard at work trying to find you. He will also, more than likely, be concocting a plan to try and use me as leverage to make you work for him, as well as Miss Newman and Mr. Larken.” 

“I see,” Rafael replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he curled in his lips. 

“Unfortunately, what those plans will be, I can’t be sure of at this time,” Lyceon told him, “In the meantime, I think it would be best for you three to use this day to recuperate, and then continue each of your respective training types first thing tomorrow. Jolene, Kenna, and Mahir will help; thankfully I had a training gym installed here in my little hideaway.” 

Rafael chuckled slightly and said, “Okay, I’ll do my best and let the others know.” 

“Good. I believe in you, Rafael!” he said, smiling proudly at the young man, “As for me, I have a contingency plan that I put together with Kenna’s father, Dr. Lu, years ago, just in case something like this ever happened. However, before we can put it into motion, I need to make sure everything’s still in place like it was before we were captured. If so, we can move forward with the next stage.” 

“Alright then,” the young man replied, “But how will I contact you if we need you?”  

Lyceon gave him a calm, knowing smile and said, “Leave that to Jolene; once I know for sure if the contingency plan is still intact, she’ll know too. She’s good at that.” 

The young firestarter smirked at that and said, “I’ve noticed.” 

“In the meantime, Miss Newman and Mr. Larken will need you to protect and lead them during this painful period,” Lyceon said, placing his hands on Rafael’s shoulders, “I’m sure you’re already well aware that Major West is a very, very ruthless man, and we’ll need all the help we can get to take him down.” 

Rafael’s hands angrily balled into fists again and he replied, “Yes, sir. Absolutely.” 

Lyceon nodded and said, “Be careful, Rafael. Keep your temper. For, even though it may be an effective tool in our fight ahead, your true strength lies here. Understand?” 

As he said that, he placed his hand on Rafael’s chest, just above his heart. 

Rafael nodded and said, looking dreamily into the man’s eyes, “I do, Lyceon.” 

The older man smiled and nodded as he looked deep into the young man’s eyes too, until he suddenly stopped. That’s when he looked up at the ceiling like a pet dog sensing his owner coming home from outside. 

“It’s time for me to go, the military personnel are coming, I presume because Major West wants information from me” Lyceon said. 

The young firestarter’s eyes widened with panic and he said, “Lyceon, no! W-W-What are they going to do to you?!!” 

Lyceon shot him a cavalier smirk and answered, “Nothing I can’t handle… I only wish we had more time, but, unfortunately, we don’t. At least… not right now anyway, if you catch my drift.” 

The older man placed his thumb and index finger on Rafael’s chin and pulled him into a tight, but gentle embrace as he said, “As long as you remain strong and don’t forget what I taught you, you’ll make it. Remember, to find your strength as a telepyric you must embrace the strength of your heart, for that’s where the fire exists. Now, here’s a little reminder of that, for the road.” 

The young firestarter felt his mentor’s bare pelvis press tightly against his own as the man placed his lips upon Rafael’s. Both of them kissed passionately for almost a full minute before… 

GASP! 

…Rafael gasped awake to the room once again in color and he, himself, sitting up in the luxurious bed. 

All of a sudden… 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! 

“Rafael…!” Candace said, urgently poking her head through the door, “…I’m sorry to interrupt you, but there’s something on that you really need to see!!” 

The young firestarter furrowed his brow, his heart rate increasing with worry. 

_

Day 14, 6:21pm

KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! 

Dr. Lyceon Vitalis woke up, almost gasping, to the sound of an angry fist pounding on the door of his tiny little prison cell. Even that sounded better than what he had. 

The room he was in was a tall, narrow cylinder made entirely of shiny metal covered in frost like a florist’s freezer. Dr. Vitalis sat, curled into a ball at the bottom of the cylindrical room, trying desperately to keep warm. Although, considering he could see his breath and his poor bare feet were starting to turn purple, that was much easier said than done. 

All of a sudden, the banging gave way to the jingling of keys and the cylinder’s door slid open to reveal three MPs wearing obscuring reflective sunglasses. 

“Hey Doc…!” the big MP barked, “…Major West would like you to see something.” 

Before the poor older man had a chance to speak, the other two MPs grabbed the man by his upper arms, lifting him up and out of the cold cylinder. They quickly clamped a set of adjoining wrist and ankle cuffs on him and began marching down the dimly lit hallways. 

Once they reached their destination, the big MP placed his thumb on a box beside the door. A tiny screen on the box showed his photo ID, as well as the words ACCESS GRANTED. 

CLICK. 

The door suddenly unlocked and the MPs dragged the middle-aged firestarter inside where a wooden desk and chair were waiting for him. Dr. Vitalis was placed in the chair and two of the MPs began hooking his restraints to the desk while a third one turned on the lights to reveal a plasma screen television hanging on the wall in front of Dr. Vitalis. 

“If the Major wants information from me, he had better save his breath,” the man told them, “Whatever it is you want, you’re not getting it from me.” 

The MP who turned on the lights smirked at him and said, “Well, actually, we didn’t bring you here for interrogation. Major West just wanted you to enjoy the show. I think you’ll see it as a form of… torture!” 

Dr. Vitalis raised an eyebrow at that. 

Without another word, the MP clicked a button on a remote and the plasma screen TV flipped on. Lyceon’s eyes widened as the first thing he saw on screen was a news report with a very familiar person on it: Major West with the General of the U.S. Army and also the head of Homeland Security behind him. 

“My fellow Americans…” he said, speaking as though he were The President himself as he announced, “…there is a terroristic threat of immense proportions lurking right here in our great nation.” 

All of a sudden, the clearly-photoshopped mugshots of Jedediah Larkan, Candace Newman, and Rafael Solano Jr. all appeared on the screen! 

Lyceon’s eyes widened even further than before and his face turned red as molten lava as he quickly squeezed the chains of his cuffs so hard that his fists shook. As he squeezed, the three MPs began sweating and pulling at their collars as the room’s temperature slowly rose. 

“All three of these individuals pictured before you were members of a secret terrorist training facility that has since been seized by the U.S Military and local police,” Major West continued, “These three individuals, however, managed to escape. If anyone encounters these three at any time, or has any information as to their current whereabouts, please contact your local law enforcement at any time… And now a few words from the witnesses of these three and their terroristic acts. The faces and voices of these individuals have been disguised for the purposes of identity protection.” 

Suddenly, the footage switched to a recording of a bald man in a blue shirt whose face was covered by a block of pixelation. As he spoke, his voice was electronically disguised, but hints of a southern accent were still detectable within his speech patterns. 

“Rafael Solano Jr. was a good-for-nothing arsonist who abused me and even his own mother and sister in unspeakable ways!” the disguised man lied, “We sent him to that place in the hopes they’d be able to straighten him out. Had we known it was a secret terrorist cult, we would’ve kept him far away from that place!!” 

The footage then shifted to the pixelated face of a middle-aged woman with big, curly brown hair and dressed in a black sweatshirt while she smoked a cigarette. 

“Candy was always nothing but a selfish, ungrateful little slut, just like her mother! It ain’t surprising to me that she joined a terrorist organization; probably for some terrorist thug she thinks is hot!” the lady said. 

Finally, the last person to come on screen was an elderly woman sitting in an armchair with a salmon-colored shawl wrapped around her. She was also wearing so much unnecessary make-up that even the pixelated blocks couldn’t disguise her fakery, nor could the modulator disguise her shrill, witch-like voice. 

“That boy, Jedediah, was always a troublemaker,” she said, “He started many-a-fight with the other children in my orphanage to the point I had to keep him confined to his room. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he, himself, was the reason his parents were de-” 

BLAMM!!! 

All of a sudden, the plasma screen exploded in a flurry of blue flames, courtesy of Dr. Lyceon Vitalis! 

“BASTARD!!!!” the middle-aged firestarter bellowed. 

The MPs behind him quickly struggled to pull out their tranquilizer guns as they each coughed and choked from the sudden smoke accumulating in the room. In that same instant, Dr. Vitalis turned his gaze toward the chains on his cuffs, which suddenly emitted showers of bluish sparks like a welder’s torch until they broke apart. Once he was free, Dr. Vitalis turned immediately toward the head MP… 

BRKK! 

…And punched him right in the face! 

He then threw the chair he sat in toward the other two and turned the knob on the door to get out when, all of a sudden… 

PEW! 

…the poor older man was shot right in the chest with a tranquilizer dart by the same MP who had been mind-controlled into letting Rafael and the others go! 

“Nice try, gyro meat!” he said as Lyceon fell down, “Hope you enjoyed the show!” 

_

Day 17, 10:22am

“Luz!” 

BLAMM!!! 

With one word, Rafael felt the hot energy inside of him shoot right out of his head and into the old car sitting twenty feet away, causing it to explode in a blast of smoky flame! 

The young firestarter now had on a new red tank top and camouflage cargo pants like the ones he had back at the institute, as well as new goggles and fireman’s gloves. Kenna sat behind him, Candace, and Jed inside an overhead room that looked out into Lyceon’s training gym through a large window. 

“Good work, Rafael!” Kenna called out through an intercom, “Your turn, Cand-” 

All of a sudden… 

BLAMM!!! 

…Rafael turned his attention from the junk car he was given to blow up to a series of large ice blocks in a nearby metal tub and blew them up too! 

“Rafael, that’s enough!!” Kenna cried into the intercom. 

Both Candace and Jed stepped back as Rafael’s burning anger boiled the exploded ice until it was nothing but steaming water. Only then did he take a deep breath and let it all out, causing the boiling water to cool down in just a few seconds. By then, Candace and Jed were coughing and sputtering from the smoke and steam combination. 

“Thank you!” Kenna growled through the intercom, “Candace, can you please put out that flaming car?!” 

Candace nodded as she coughed before closing her eyes and stretching out her arm to the tub of melted ice. All of a sudden, the water in the giant tub began to rise up all on its own as if it were a living creature! Whenever Candace coughed, the rising tower of water faltered slightly before picking itself back up again until Candace, with one swing of her arm toward the fiery vehicle, caused all the water to instantaneously jump from the tub and quenched the flames! 

“Great job, Candace!” Kenna said, “Once everybody is re-situated, it’s your turn next, Jed!” 

While she sat back in her chair and relaxed, waiting for her pupils to pull themselves together again, Candace and Jed both continued to cough the smoke out of their lungs. As for Rafael, he just walked past them and sat down on a chair near the door to calm himself down some more. 

“Just out of curiosity…” Candace said, coming up to him after a minute or so, “…what the hell was that!?!” 

Rafael took in another deep breath and let it all out before responding, “Sorry, just had a bit of extra rage to get out today. I mean, after all, we’re now a ‘threat to national security’, apparently. Not to mention, I haven’t heard from Lyc- Dr. Vitalis since we got here.” 

“Yeah, I get that!” she said, hands on her hips, “Don’t forget, my step-monster called me a ‘slut’ on national television!” 

“I know!!” Rafael growled, almost whining, “It’s just…” 

“You’re worried about him, I know,” she said, folding her arms over her chest, “Also, you can just call him ‘Lyceon’ if you want to. You don’t have to hide that from me anymore.” 

The moment she said that, Rafael stood up straight and his eyes widened slightly as he felt his heart beginning to beat faster. His first thought was the same one he had when he first arrived: She knew about him and Lyceon’s relationship! He gulped covertly as he hoped she was talking about something else. He also hoped like hell that she wasn’t reading his thoughts right at that moment. 

However, before anyone had a chance to say anything further… 

“Okay, the break’s over!” Kenna’s voice called out over the intercom, “It’s your turn, Jed! Show us what you got!!” 

Rafael and Candace quickly pulled themselves together and rejoined Jed. He quickly nodded to Kenna in the box before turning to the remains of the old car Rafael had blown up. 

He quickly got into a kneeling racer’s pose like a marathon runner and… 

“GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR… ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!” 

CLANG! 

…with the speed of an adrenaline junkie, Jed ran at the car and pushed it into the wall with superhuman levels of strength! 

Kenna put her finger on the intercom button and was about to speak when, suddenly, Jed ran at the car again. That’s when he began literally tearing it apart like a rabid dog with a piece of meat! Candace jumped back in shock while Kenna stared wide-eyed at the horrifying display. Rafael, on the other hand, was also wide-eyed, but he appeared more surprised than afraid. If anything, he seemed almost like he knew why Jed was acting the way he was. 

Finally, Kenna got a hold of herself enough to say, “Uh, Jed… you can stop now…!” 

Jed seemed to ignore her and just focused on the ripped-off axle he was now bending with his bare hands! 

“Will one of you please do something!?” Kenna cried anxiously into the intercom. 

At those words, Candace, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, stretched out her arm and, all of a sudden, the rabid Jed began levitating off the floor! He angrily growled and spun in midair like an astronaut in outer space. That’s when he suddenly stopped and looked over at Candace with eyes that were practically bloodshot. 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

CRKK!! 

“OWWWWWW!!!!!!!” 

Suddenly, Jed threw the bent axle still in his hand and everyone heard the clang of it hitting Candace’s arm… as well as the unmistakable sound of bones breaking, followed by a blood-curdling cry! 

“Candace!” everyone seemed to scream at once. 

She fell backwards onto the floor, clutching her injured arm. As she fell backwards, Jed was released from his levitation and landed, unharmed, with a thud. Kenna ran from her little observatory and moved toward the injured Candace with Rafael beside her. She quickly turned the young telekinetic on her back where she saw her right hand flopping as though it were disconnected from her arm! 

“It’s a broken wrist,” she said, aloud. 

The moment he saw the injury, Rafael tightened a fist and turned angrily toward Jed as he screamed, “Jed, you bastard!! What’s the big idea-” 

That’s when Rafael was suddenly quieted by the sight of Jed cowering up against the wall and clutching the arm he had used to throw the debris with. His fists were whiteknuckled and covered with scrapes, but the most horrifying thing about him was his face! In addition to the small cuts and bruises his face had sustained, his face was also dust-covered and streaked with freshly fallen tears. 

“No…! No!!” he tearfully cried as he stared, unblinking at Candace’s broken wrist. 

Rafael felt his heart beating out of his chest. Not with fear, but with realization. The look he saw on Jed’s face was a face he was all too familiar with; it was the exact same face he had made the first time he had accidentally burned a person and not just a thing! 

The young firestarter stood up and slowly approached Jed, trying not to do anything that could potentially scare him any further. 

“Jed…?” he said softly, “Jed, hermano… it’s okay, it’s-” 

“NO!!!”

Before Rafael had a chance to do anything further, Jed was on his feet and out of the gym with the adrenaline-fueled speed of his ‘flight’ impulse. While Candace and Kenna both stayed still out of shock, Rafael took in a deep breath and let it all out before he quickly made his way out in the same direction. 

“Rafael, where are you going?!” Kenna cried after him. 

He said nothing and only put up a finger as he headed out to catch up with Jed. 

_

Day 17, 10:47am 

“Jed!?!”

As soon as Rafael was out of the training gym, he began looking around for Jed. He took a look in the tiny living room and kitchen/bar space, but he couldn’t find a single trace of him. Rafael even took a look in Jed’s bedroom, but he wasn’t there either. 

“Hmmm… maybe he’s on the beach,” Rafael said to himself. 

Just as he turned around, he suddenly stopped by a small, snuffling sound which came from the creaked open door to Jed’s adjoining bathroom. 

“Bingo!” Rafael whispered, turning back around. 

He slowly approached the door and peered inside to see Jed in the bathtub, crying in a fetal position with his arms wrapped around a large pillow. Rafael took in a deep breath and let it out silently as he slowly opened the door to approach his distraught friend, until… 

CREEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKK!!!  

“Go away!” Jed cried angrily at the sound of the creaking door, “I’m bad and none of you should be around me!” 

The moment he heard those words, Rafael tightened a fist and stormed inside. 

“No, you’re not, Jed!” Rafael replied, forcefully, “You made a mistake. It comes with the territory. You don’t think I’ve hurt a person or two with my powers before? The first time I used my power in Dr. Vitalis’s office, I thought I had set him on fire. No joke.” 

“Yeah, right!” Jed said, sarcastically, avoiding eye contact, “At least your power never broke anybody’s arm or leg! At least your power doesn’t make you… Make you…!” 

“Make me what…?” he asked. 

Jed shook his head as he said, “Forget it. It doesn’t matter.” 

“Well, considering that you’re crying in a bathtub, I think it does matter,” Rafael said, gesturing to the tub, “And, if we’re ever going to fix the problem, then you need to-” 

“You can’t fix the problem!” Jed growled, “I’m the problem. And no one can fix that.” 

Rafael furrowed his brow and asked, “What do you mean, you’re the problem…?” 

Jed said nothing at first until Rafael ordered him to tell him. That’s when he finally let out a deep sigh and turned slightly to make just the bare minimum in terms of eye contact. 

“Whenever I use my power… I like it. I like it a lot. It makes me feel like I’m made of liquid steel and I can do anything!” he explained, getting excited for a moment before slowly sliding back into sadness as he continued, “But, for some reason, after I finish doing what I’m doing with them… I feel something come over me. It’s like I’m suddenly pissed off and also depressed and even a little scared all at the same time. It’s like I’m going through puberty all over again and I feel like I’m losing my mind.” 

As Rafael was listening to him, he was slowly putting the pieces together in his mind until he finally said, more to himself than to Jed, “Mood swings… maybe a kind of hormone imbalance.” 

Jed said nothing to that, but his slight head nod indicated to Rafael that he understood. 

“Well, people have mood swings all the time,” Rafael said, “And hormone imbalances are usually treatable. Maybe there is something we can do to help you with this.” 

“No, there isn’t,” Jed said, shaking his head, “I’ve already tried everything. Medicine, dieting, psychology. Nothing works.” 

Rafael narrowed his lips sympathetically, not knowing what to offer. 

All of a sudden… 

“That’s not everything.” 

…the brief silence was broken by a deep voice with a middle-eastern accent just a few feet away. 

Jed and Rafael looked up at the source of the voice… It was Mahir! 

He stood in the half-open doorway looking like a man on a mission. It was the first time either of them had heard him speak since they arrived at the safe house, and they were both more than a little surprised! Especially when he stepped inside and sat down on the toilet beside them. 

“What are you doing here?” asked Rafael. 

Mahir smiled and said, “Jolene told me to be here at this time… and to give you this.” 

Rafael raised an eyebrow as Mahir handed him a folded up piece of paper that looked like it came from Jolene’s sketchbook. After that, Mahir then turned his attention to Jed. 

“Jedediah…” he said, placing a gloved hand on the rim of the bathtub close to Jed’s knee, “…you don’t have to be ashamed of what happened. Rafael’s right, it’s all a part of the process we undergo in learning to control our powers… You may not believe this, but I too have experienced painful, unwanted side effects from my gifts.” 

The moment he said that, both Jed and Rafael shot a confused look at him.  

“You have…?” Jed asked. 

Mahir smiled sheepishly as he looked down at his gloved hands and replied, “Why do you think I always wear these…? When my powers first manifested, I couldn’t touch a single object without receiving flashes of every person who had ever handled it, even if they only held it once. Not only that, but I could also feel whatever they felt when they touched it; the anger, the pain… the lust. It led to many embarrassing, and even shameful, moments for me.” 

Both young men were enraptured by Mahir’s tale, especially Jed. He looked as though he were finally hearing something he could relate to on some level. Seeing him like that made Rafael smile with the knowledge that Jed was already starting to feel better. 

“Do you want to hear more… preferably with more comfortable seats?” Mahir asked. 

Jed looked at the tub where he was still sitting and hesitantly replied, “Sure.” 

“Good luck to both of you,” Rafael answered, “As for me, I still have some practice to get done.” 

He placed his hands on each of their shoulders and gave them both a pat before he left the room. As he was making his way back toward the gym to continue training, he ran into Candace, Kenna, and Jolene. Candace’s wrist looked all better, which Rafael attributed to the psy-healing abilities of Kenna, but both of them looked confused at his happy, confident walk down the hall. Jolene, on the other hand, shot him her typical all-knowing smile and wink. 

“Did you find Jed? What happened? Is he alright?” she bombarded him with question after question. 

Rafael shrugged and just said, “No worries… Jed just needs a little guy-talk.” 

With those words, he began making his way back to the training gym with the piece of paper Mahir had given him still in his hand. As he was walking, he unfolded the paper and what he saw drawn on it stopped him dead in his tracks with an excited smile on his face! 

“Thanks Jolene!” he said to himself 

_

Day 17, 9:51pm

“It’s almost time!” 

When Rafael got back to Lyceon’s luxury bedroom after a hard day of training, he got to work immediately changing out of his clothes. The piece of paper he got from Jolene today sat unfolded on the bed; it depicted 10 o’clock in digital clock format, a pair of underwear, a USB stick, and a cartoonishly drawn man with a sensual smile on his face. A cartoonish man who bore a strong resemblance to Dr. Lyceon Vitalis! 

“Now for the proper attire…!” he said as he opened up the nearest dresser drawer and a lewd smile immediately spread across his face, “Perfecto!” 

He quickly pulled out a pair of leopard-print briefs with a black waistband – just like the pair in Jolene’s picture – and slipped them on before laying down in Lyceon’s bed wearing nothing else. It took a few minutes for him to doze off this time; all he felt at first was just the comfort of sleep, until he opened his eyes again right as the clock read 10pm! 

“Black and white,” he thought out loud as he smiled excitedly, “He’s here!” 

CLICK. 

CREEEEEEAAAAAKKKK…

All of a sudden, he heard the sound of the door behind him unlocking and opening at a slow, steady pace. The young firestarter quickly turned under the covers until he faced the door and his eyes widened at the sight of his mentor in his usual wolf mask. He pulled it back like a hood and smiled sensually at his young protege! 

“Lyceon!” Rafael cried, jumping to his feet to hug him, “I’m so happy you’re here!” 

The older man laughed heartily as he hugged his mostly naked apprentice and said to him, “Technically, my young friend, I’m not here. And, if you look behind you, you’ll see that neither are you.” 

Rafael furrowed his brow as he turned around to see himself still asleep in the bed like before. His eyes widened in shock as he turned back around to notice the door still closed too. 

“How?” he asked. 

The older firestarter smiled and told him, “Remember when I told you that there are some abilities you are born with and others you learn through years of practice…? Well, this is one of those abilities. It’s called astral projection. With this ability, I can transport my spirit psychically; it’s how I was able to enter your dreams back at the institute. However, thanks to the potion you consumed the other night, I can now take you along for the ride… See?” 

The older male took him by the hand and, all of a sudden, the two of them jumped in the air and phased through the ceiling of the secret base like ghosts. Once outside in the cool, Hawaiian night air, the duo flew through the sky at super fast speed until they finally stopped at a new place miles away! For a moment, Rafael felt like he was about to puke, both because he had been pulled miles away at hyperspeed and phased through multiple buildings, but also because of what he saw at the new location. 

CLICK-CLACK CLICK-CLACK SCRITCH-SCRATCH 

Major West sat at his desk; his office was the new location he had been brought to by Lyceon! 

Rafael was scared at first, thinking that the bastard would see them. However, the man just continued switching between typing on his laptop and filling out some accompanying paperwork. It was like they weren’t even there! 

“Can he see us?” Rafael asked nervously. 

Lyceon shook his head and said, “No, we’re invisible to him, and to everyone else in this base.” 

Rafael was dumbfounded. He walked up to Major West and waved his hand in front of the man’s face. He didn’t react at first, until he suddenly stopped working and shivered like he was cold. Major West looked around the room, puzzled, but said nothing. Rafael froze for a split second. That’s when the major shook his head and turned around to turn on his stereo, which immediately began playing the music of the woman whose picture sat atop his desk. 

“Yes, Nancy,” he said to himself, “These boots are made for walking.” 

The young firestarter giggled as Major West tapped his combat boots beneath the desk like a little boy with a pair of tap shoes. 

“God, I had no idea he was such a fanboy,” Rafael chuckled. 

“Oh, yes,” Lyceon said, chuckling a bit himself, “Major West was a young soldier in Vietnam when he saw Ms. Sinatra perform aboard the naval ship, U.S.S Kitty Hawk. He told me about it when we worked together, even said the day he saw her was the happiest day of his life. But that’s not important right now. Come along, Rafael, we have work to do.” 

The older firestarter held out his hand and Rafael took it as the man led him out into the hallways. Both of them phased through wall after wall until they finally reached a large, metallic door at the other end of the base with AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY plastered on it. 

“What are we doing here?” Rafael asked, “What is this place?”  

“Follow me,” Lyceon said, pulling Rafael through the large, metallic door. 

The room behind the door was surprisingly smaller than Rafael had imagined; it was made entirely of cold cement, save for a large window on the opposing wall which looked in on a small, high-tech control room. While five scientists in the control room all wearing lab coats observed their machines, a technician with goggles and rubber gloves was in the room taking notes on a clipboard. In the center of the room stood three black pillars all arranged in a perfectly straight line and connected by a series of wires all lodged in the floor. There was a video monitor in the room as well, also connected via the three wires. 

“Whoa!” Rafael gasped. 

“Indeed,” Lyceon agreed, “This device is the next generation of super computers. So powerful it has the ability to hack into every computer and television screen in the country at the same time!” 

Rafael’s eyes widened at that idea and turned to Lyceon in shock. 

“For real?!” he asked. 

Lyceon nodded and continued, “I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to put my plan into action, and this device is exactly that.” 

“What do you mean?” Rafael asked, “What plan?”

The older male took a deep breath and reached into his wolf mask hood. He pulled out a black USB stick decorated with little silver stars, just like the one from Jolene’s drawing!

“Do you know what this is?” he asked Rafael, who raised a confused eyebrow at him as he explained, “About a decade or so ago, Kenna’s father, Dr. Lu, hacked into Major West’s private records and found some evidence of illegal experiments done by the major and some of his personnel. Experiments that involved kidnapping innocent psychics and attempting to enhance their abilities through chemical experimentation… and cloning technology.” 

“Cloning?” the young firestarter asked. 

“Yes,” he replied, “A few scientists in Scotland did cloning experiments in the 1990s with sheep. Major West and his ‘special team’ had attempted to do the exact same thing with the DNA of psychics.” 

Rafael’s eyes drifted almost mindlessly in shock at the sound of that. 

“He also stole more than a few funds from the government to bring his experiments to fruition…” Lyceon continued, growing pensive as he spoke, “…And even murdered a few of his own personnel if they dared to grow a conscience.” 

Rafael let out a barely-concealed gasp at that and whispered to himself, “Dios mio!”

Lyceon nodded, eyes closed in disgust. 

“Dr. Lu got what evidence he could. Luckily, it was enough to put Major West and all his accomplices away in military prison forever,” he finished, “Once we had it, we hid it away where no one, especially not the military, would ever find it, just in case the opportunity ever came for us to expose him.” 

“Wait!” Rafael suddenly said, “You had all the evidence needed to put this bastard away forever and you didn’t use it…?!” 

“Only because we didn’t have the tool we need to put it out there without Major West being able to orchestrate a cover up and catch us,” Lyceon said, a bit defensively, “But now I believe that tool is within our grasp.” 

He gestured to the super computers and the young firestarter’s ears perked up at what he was implying. 

“What do you need me to do?” he asked, his head held high like a natural born leader. 

Lyceon smiled proudly and said, “Well, as you’ve seen, this place is heavily guarded and this device in particular. We can put what we have in the way of evidence together into a single, cohesive video for the world to see, but to send it through the device so we can expose him with no time for a cover up, we’ll need to get close… which is where you and the others come in. That is, if you’re willing to go through with it.” 

The young firestarter thought about it for a moment and said, “Well, it certainly is a very risky job, sir, and there’s always the chance the others won’t want to do it. However, I’m sure I can find a way to convince them… especially after that awful news broadcast we saw.” 

The older man rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, yes! I was, unfortunately, forced to bear witness to that shameless display as well.” 

Rafael nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, ever since I saw that bastard stepfather of mine trashing me on the air, all I can think about is my mother and sister, as well as you, of course! I just hope that they’re okay.” 

“Don’t worry, my boy,” Lyceon said, placing his hands on the young man’s shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes, “I promise you, once this is all over, we’ll go make sure they’re safe together! After all, I very much desire to give the man who’s been giving my pupil and his family no end of grief a piece of my mind.” 

Rafael smiled mischievously at him and said, “Thank you, sir.” 

“You’re welcome,” he replied, returning the young man’s smile, “However, before we begin, I think it’s high-time for a little pre-war copulation… if you know what I mean.” 

The older firestarter winked at him and the young firestarter smiled sensually at him. 

All of a sudden… 

WHOOSH!! 

…Rafael and Lyceon took hold of each other and jumped simultaneously into the air, returning in just a few minutes to the room where Rafael’s body still slept. No sooner had they returned did the two spirits begin kissing passionately while what little clothes they had worn seemed to mysteriously vanish away like ghostly gases. 

“You want it just like last time?” Lyceon asked, kissing the young man’s neck. 

Rafael bit at the man’s earlobe with just his lips as he softly whispered his answer into Lyceon’s ear, causing his eyes to widen. 

“You do know what you’re asking, don’t you, my young friend,” he asked, “I may not have said no to the idea with your Uncle Rodolfo, but we were the same age then. I just hope you know what you’re getting into, Rafael.” 

The young firestarter smirked at him before silently laying down on the other side of the bed next to his own body and lifting his legs to reveal his hindquarters. 

“Do it, man!” 

Lyceon’s sympathetic smile slowly morphed into a lewd one at the sight of his young protege’s flashing rear. That’s when the older man dropped his face right on top of it and his tongue got to work! At first, Rafael moaned in discomfort; the sensation from the older man’s mouth was new and he couldn’t help but be a little nervous. However, despite his slight bit of fear, the young man reached between his own legs and pushed his mentor’s head further in. 

“Let go…” Lyceon whispered in between licks and kisses, “…just let go.” 

With one last deep exhalation, Rafael allowed his body to relax completely as he felt the older male climb on top of him. He could feel the man’s pelvis become parallel to his own as the two of them grew simultaneously stiff. That’s when Rafael felt it; the beginnings of the painful stretch that came with being entered! 

“Urgh!” he cried out in pain, only it was coming from his body, not just his spirit. 

“You can feel it… can’t you?” Lyceon whispered in Rafael’s ear, just as he did during their first encounter. 

Suddenly, Rafael felt the man’s hands take hold of his own as their fingers enclosed around each other! Rafael felt completely at the older man’s mercy as he moved in and out of him without surrender. It all felt so good! The young firestarter felt a hot, fuzzy sensation fill him up as the older male kept moving inside of him, like he was now contained within the strongest, most fatherly, force field in the universe! 

“Yes! Yes!! YES!!!” Rafael’s body cried out as it wrapped its legs around the invisible man that was Lyceon’s astral body. 

Until, finally… 

“NNNNGGGGHHHH!!!!” 

…pure ecstasy, again!!! 

Rafael opened his eyes, the room was in color again and the only warmth he felt came from his own body heat trapped by the blanket laying limply atop of his still-raised legs. He had returned to his own body again! However, he still felt something in his hand!! 

“Que…?” he groaned, his voice groggy and euphoric, as he looked into his hand. 

The moment he saw what he was holding, his eyes widened. 

It was the black USB stick Lyceon showed him with the silver stars on it; the one he said contained all the necessary files to bring down Major West and his cronies! Lyceon said he hid it someplace where no one would ever find it: The astral plane! 

“Of course!” he said out loud as he pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, “I gotta show this to Jolene and the others…” 

He suddenly paused mid-stand as he looked in his lap and blushed in embarrassment. 

“…as soon as I change my underwear.” 

_

Day 17, 11:19pm

“Yes… that’s it!” 

Lyceon let out a pleasurable moan as he woke up in his own body again laying on the uncomfortable cot in his government-issued super air-conditioned cell. He was dressed in a dark red prison uniform with black shoes that were a size or two too small and now, thanks to his little spiritual journey with Rafael, he felt like he needed a new pair of underwear. 

All of a sudden… 

BEEP!!! 

CLICK! 

…the door to his cell suddenly unlocked and opened to a gang of MPs who proceeded to pick him up by his arms and hold him in place on his feet! 

“What’s the meaning of this!” he angrily demanded. 

“Interrogation, old man!” growled one of the MPs. 

That’s when Lyceon heard loud, echoing footsteps approaching the open door until he finally came face to face with Major West in his snappy, decorated uniform. He was wearing his reflective sunglasses again and carrying with him a riding crop that looked ready to use for more than just intimidation. Lyceon swallowed hard at the sight of him, but kept up his best unimpressed expression the whole time. 

“What’s up, Doc?” the Major said, getting uncomfortably close. 

“I don’t know what you expect to get from me, Major, but I’ve already told you every bit of information I know… which is nothing,” Lyceon growled. 

“Actually, I just want to know the reason for why my old friend just had an orgasm in his sleep,” Major West asked, tapping Lyceon’s damp crotch with his riding crop, “And don’t even think about trying to sell me some shit about a wet dream, because I’ve studied psychics for years and I know you have ways of communicating beyond words.” 

Lyceon felt his heart rate increase at the sound of that, but remained silent. 

“Well…?” Major West growled. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… old friend,” Lyceon said nonchalantly. 

The Major raised an eyebrow and said, “I see. Well, if that’s the way you want it, then I suppose I have no choice but to bring in the pressure points.” 

That’s when the Major pulled out a walkie talkie and said into it, “Bring them in.” 

Lyceon raised a suspicious eyebrow as he heard new sets of footsteps approaching the room. Major West stepped aside and who Lyceon saw being led into the cell with sets of cuffs on each of their wrists made his eyes widen in abject terror. 

“Ready to talk now?” Major West asked. 

_

Day 22, 10:11am

“Is everybody ready…?” 

Five of the six psychics rolled up to the secret base in an expensive-looking military limousine. Rafael, Jed, and Candace were all disguised as military privates while Kenna was disguised as a male Master Sergeant, complete with fake facial hair! As for Mahir, he played the small, but important role of their chauffeur while Jolene spoke to them through the radio communicators in their ears. 

“Absolutely! Sure! As I’ll ever be!” responded Rafael, Jed, and Candace respectively. 

With those final words, the sergeant and ‘his’ entourage of privates stepped out of the car and saluted the MPs who came up to receive them. 

“Master Sergeant Kenneth!” Kenna said, doing her best gruff, military man’s voice as she spoke, “I’ve been sent by General Brewster to share classified information with Major West about the missing terrorists.” 

The two MPs looked suspiciously at one another before one of them condescendingly asked, “I see, and does the Major know of your coming… sir?!”  

Kenna smirked covertly and saluted the two men, making sure to put her middle and index fingers close enough to touch her temple as she answered, “Of course, soldier! Major West announced our coming to both of you so you could show us to his office.” 

FZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 

As she spoke, Rafael and the others could hear the strange buzzing noise that usually accompanied Kenna’s power. That’s when the two MPs’ eyes went glassy and they suddenly started talking like they were hypnotized. Even the other MPs guarding the front door just a few feet away began acting the same way. 

“Of course, Sergeant, sir!” the condescending MP said, now sounding like the most enthusiastic little butt-kisser ever, “I will show you to Major West’s office and my partner can show your chauffeur to the garage for the duration of your stay.” 

“Thank you, soldier!” Kenna said with an unimpressed tone. 

While the other MP got into the limo with Mahir, the first one escorted the others into the secret facility. 

“Jolene, we’re in,” Candace whispered into her com device. 

“Good,” she said, her quiet voice accompanied by the scratching of a pencil, “Keep an eye open. I’ll let you know if I see or draw anything suspicious.” 

Candace and the others nodded at her instructions. 

The inside of the base felt like it was closing in on them as they moved down hallway after hallway with their mind-controlled escort. Rafael gripped his weapon tightly as he kept looking around the place with just his eyes, hoping to find some clue as to the whereabouts of Lyceon. Unfortunately, most of the doors in the facility looked exactly the same with the only differences being whether or not they were for authorized personnel only. 

Finally, they reached the door to Major West’s office, which their escort knocked on to make sure the man was available. 

There was no answer. 

“That’s odd,” the escort said, “The Major is usually in his office at this time. I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be in, especially if he’s expecting you, sir.” 

Rafael, Candace, and Jed all looked at each other nervously at the sound of that, while Kenna seemed to remain cool as a cucumber. She quickly saluted their escort again, making sure her two fingers were on her temple just like before. 

“That’s alright, soldier!” she said, doing her fake military man voice again, “I believe the Major gave you previous permission to allow us to wait inside for him. Correct…?” 

The poor MP’s eyes went glassy again as he pulled out his keycard. 

“Of course, sir!” he said with a salute before using his keycard on the metal box next to the door, “Please wait inside as the Major intended, sir! I’m certain he’ll be along shortly, sir!” 

The four of them all filed into the empty office as their escort closed the door behind them and it locked on its own. 

“Alright, Jolene, we’re in,” Rafael said into his coms, “Kenna, let’s get to work!”  

She raised an eyebrow at him and jokingly replied, “That’s Master Sergeant Kenneth to you, soldier!” 

The others all laughed at that, including Jolene, as Kenna moved towards the Major’s laptop, which he had left on his desk. She quickly opened it up and placed her middle and index fingers to her temple to bypass the password and find the building layout schematics. Rafael, Candace, and Jed all watched as the cursor moved at super fast speed across the small computer screen, running through file after file until it finally showed the one she wanted. 

“Got it!” she said, pulling out her phone and connecting it to the laptop, “Just need to download this and send it to Mahir for the next stage of the plan.” 

“I hope he’s doing alright,” Candace said, sounding worried. 

“You and me both!” Jed said, sounding even more worried. 

“Don’t worry…” Jolene said with elegant confidence, “…he’s doing just fine.” 

_

Day 22, 10:26am (garage)

“Nice car!” 

Mahir sat in the expensive military limousine with the MP escort who directed him to the base garage. There were two other MPs with weapons stationed outside to keep watch on the vehicle in case of any other suspicious activity. 

“Thanks,” Mahir replied, keeping an eye on the surveillance camera just a few feet in front of the car, “I like driving in it?” 

“So, how long have you been working for Master Sergeant Kenneth?” the MP asked. 

All of a sudden, before Mahir could answer, he saw the little blue light on the camera shut off with a little blip. That’s when he took a deep breath and pulled out a small, concealed tranquilizer gun with his white-gloved hands, which he proceeded to aim at the poor, friendly MP he had previously been conversing with. 

“So sorry…” he said to the man before pulling the trigger. 

“Wait, what are you-” 

PEW! 

And, just like that, the poor MP was knocked out with a small, furry tranquilizer dart in the side of his neck! 

That’s when Mahir quickly jumped out of the car and rolled to the cement floor before jumping up and shooting the other two MPs, one after the other. Just like the first one, both of them went stiff for a split second before falling to the ground unconscious. 

“Tell me psychometrics don’t make good assassins,” he said to himself with a smirk. 

Suddenly… 

WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO 

…the whole garage became filled with the ear-splitting sound of an alarm, complete with flashing red lights! 

“What the…?” Mahir asked, looking around frantically. 

All of a sudden, his attention was grabbed by the door to the inside slowly vanishing behind an inch-thick steel plate descending in front of it. Mahir quickly tossed aside his tranq gun and peeled off his velcro-strapped chauffeur’s uniform to reveal all-black sweats beneath that made him look like a traditional cat burglar. 

“HALT!!” he suddenly heard a group of MPs calling out to him from the entrance of the garage. 

“Go!” he whispered to himself as he strapped on a set of suction cups. 

As quick as a whip, the man grabbed hold of a grenade from one of the fallen MPs and climbed up the wall to the ventilation shaft on the ceiling with the suction cups. By the time the MPs got to where their colleagues were laying, Mahir had already slipped inside the vent with feline grace just as it too became sealed by inch-thick steel. 

“Fuck!” the head MP screamed realizing he was too late. 

_

Day 22, 10:31am 

“What the hell…!?!” 

Rafael and the others were all confused as the room suddenly became flashed with red lights and an alarm suddenly blared in their ears. Even more confusing, a one-inch-thick steel plate slowly covered the office door and windows, trapping them inside! 

“I have no idea what’s going on!” Kenna responded to Jed, “It must be some kind of failsafe program we didn’t account for! I can’t seem to override it, even with my powers!” 

“You gotta be shitting me!” Candace cried out, surprising everyone with her swearing. 

Rafael and Jed quickly tossed aside their weapons and pulled off their military jackets until they were only in their green tanktops and camouflage cargo pants. Both of them took a few steps back, each one preparing in his own way to either beat or burn their way out of the sealed room, until… 

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! 

…they were stopped, along with Candace and Kenna, by a hissing sound which came from Major West’s bookcase near the door. 

All of a sudden, the bookcase began opening like a door and, on the other side, was a secret laboratory lit by black and orange lights. The lab walls were lined with large plexiglass tubes just big enough for a human being to stand in. However, the thing that made all four of them freeze in horror, was the group of MPs accompanied by Major West… and his hostages! 

“Lyceon!” cried Rafael. 

“Mr, Grizzle!?” cried Candace and Jed simultaneously. 

“Dad!” cried Kenna. 

Sure enough, all three men – Dr. Vitalis, Mr. Grizzle, and Dr. Lu – were being held by Major West and two of his MPs! They had their arms and legs cuffed and their mouths taped as their captors each held guns to the sides of their heads!

“Wonderful to see you again, Mr. Solano and friends,” Major West said, stepping out of the secret lab with Dr. Vitalis, “After your little impromptu prison break, we set up a brand new failsafe to make sure that the place would go on lockdown in the event of any more ‘tech problems’. You have your dear father to thank for that, Ms. Lu, which he generously provided to us after a long, arduous torture session.” 

Kenna turned to her father with a mixture of empathy and heartbreak on her face. Dr. Lu avoided eye contact with her, but his expression was the definition of guilt in carnate. As for Rafael, he was practically seething at that point with gritted teeth and a face as red as the fires boiling within. Not only was he seething, but both Jed and Candace had similar looks on their faces as well. That’s when the temperature in the room began rising rapidly, and some of the objects on Major West’s desk began to slowly defy gravity. 

“Ah, ah, ah!” Major West said, pushing his gun further into Lyceon’s cheek, “Any of you freaks try anything, I blow your dear mentors’ heads clean off their necks, got it?” 

Rafael could feel his heart beating right out of his chest, and even a few tears starting to form in his eyes. He kept perfectly still as his gaze jumped wildly between glaring angrily at the Major and staring sympathetically at his poor mentor. 

All of a sudden… 

BUZZZZ!!!! 

…one of the MPs got a signal on his walkie talkie. 

“What is it?” he asked, picking it up. 

After another buzzing sound, the MP’s eyes widened in abject terror as he said with an uneasy tone, “Copy that.” 

“Uh… sir?” he said to Major West, “I just got a message from the garage; the fifth spy incapacitated three of our men and escaped through a ventilation shaft just before it could be sealed, sir…!” 

The moment Major West heard those words, his face suddenly became scrambled like a confused child before turning red as a chili pepper. For a brief second, he turned angrily to the MP who had told him the bad news before slowly turning his furious gaze back to Rafael and the others. 

“WHERE – IS – HE!!!!!!!” 

_ 

Day 22, 10:34pm (super computer room)

“Almost there.” 

Mahir crawled through the ducts of the base as quickly as possible. Each movement he made caused cavernous, metallic echoes throughout the ducts that he hoped wouldn’t alert the MPs to his location. Luckily, he didn’t have time to worry about it as he kept his eyes on his phone the whole time following the schematics that Kenna had sent him before the alarm went off. 

“There!” he said to himself after turning another corner. 

He caught sight of another sealed vent at the end of the shaft, which is when he pulled out the grenade he took from the unconscious MP. With all the quickness he could muster, he pulled the pin and tossed the bomb on to the sealed vent…! 

BOOM!!! 

Mahir quickly wrapped a black bandana over his face to avoid smoke inhalation as he crawled back around the corner and slipped through the giant hole he had blown in the shaft. 

The observation room looking into the super computer room was where Mahir found himself as he jumped through the giant, scorched hole. All of the scientists and MPs stationed there were now on the ground, a few either unconscious or injured. Mahir quickly knocked out the few people still awake before turning his attention to the controls before him. 

“And so begins the end…!” he said to himself with a mischievous smile. 

That’s when Mahir slipped off his gloves and began lightly rubbing his fingers against the control panel. All of a sudden, Mahir’s eyes rolled back in his head as a series of images flooded his mind all at once. He saw people pressing buttons on the control panel as part of several experiments, mostly involving making blips appear all across the country just to see if it could be done. After a few moments, he understood just how the machine worked! 

“Now all I need is to find out how to make it transmit the video on the USB stick,” he whispered to himself. 

He quickly began grabbing every object he could lay his hands on. The first was a red coffee mug, but all he saw was day after day of some poor underpaid lady scientist drinking or spilling it. He put the mug down and tried a pen instead, which offered him a new jumble of images more in line with what he wanted: The technician used it one day to take notes, but not on a day when he was testing to see if it was USB compatible. Finally, he dropped the pen and went for the clipboard he remembered seeing in one of the images. The moment his hand touched it, the last flurry of images got him smiling like a Cheshire cat…! 

“Gotcha!” he said to himself, pulling his gloves back on. 

All of a sudden… 

BOOM!!! 

FZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

…he heard a loud noise near the doors – both the one to the control room and the one in the super computer room proper – followed by a fizz of sparks seeping through the steel! 

“They’re cutting their way in! They must’ve heard the explosion,” Mahir thought as he looked down at the control panel and then up toward the super computers in the adjoining room, “It’s now or never!” 

And, with that final thought, Mahir picked up a gun from one of the unconscious MPs and let off a shot or two at the glass, causing it to go cracked all over! He then grabbed hold of the USB stick at his side and tossed the gun through the window, shattering it as he jumped into the super computer room. 

“Now or never!” he repeated aloud as he searched for the hidden USB port. 

_ 

Day 22, 10:36am 

“WHERE…!?!!?!” 

Rafael, Candace, Jed, and Kenna all stood still as statues, not saying anything. With Major West pressing his gun ever-harder into Lyceon’s cheek, the four of them began to hear only the sound of their own hearts beating faster and faster with each passing second. 

That is, until… 

BOOM!!! 

…they all heard a far off explosion coming from the other side of the base! 

“What the hell was that?” Major West asked, looking around with just his eyes, “One of you, go call the others and find out what that was!!” 

The MP behind him with the walkie talkie nodded nervously and began talking into it again. While that was going on, Rafael looked directly into Lyceon’s eyes hoping to see some kind of answer in the man’s eyes. Unfortunately, all he could see was the man gesturing with his eyes toward something that he couldn’t identify. He tried following his mentor’s gaze, but was too scared to move a muscle. 

Suddenly…

“Rafael, can you hear me…?” 

…Rafael heard Jolene’s voice through his com device! 

“If you can hear me, make some kind of noise,” she said. 

Rafael pursed his lips together and let out the tiniest little whimper in the hopes that it would alert Jolene without rousing suspicion from West. 

“Thank you…” Jolene said, letting him know she heard, “…wanna tell me why I just drew a picture of Nancy Sinatra, Candace, and a gas tank? Does any of that make sense in a way that you… and Lyceon can understand?” 

As soon as she said that, she knew exactly what Lyceon was gesturing towards! 

“That’s it!” he thought, before looking over at Candace, “Hey Candace, can you hear my thoughts?” 

Candace’s eyes drifted toward Rafael and he suddenly heard her voice in his head. 

“Yeah, I can hear you,” she said. 

“Good! Listen up, there’s not much time,” he said in his mind, “See that photograph on the Major’s desk of Nancy Sinatra…? I need you to levitate it over to me as quickly, and covertly, as you can. Can you do that?” 

She looked over at the framed photo on the desk and smiled, receiving the info about it from Rafael’s brain. 

“I’ll try,” she replied in her mind. 

Candace closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated on the picture as hard as she could without moving. After a brief few seconds, the frame began slowly moving towards the edge of the desk before finally slipping off and stopping in mid air! Rafael could see Candace turning red in the face as sweat formed on her brow, until he finally saw the picture slide out from under the desk and stop right next to his boot. Candace then opened her eyes again and looked over to the framed photo on the floor, which began levitating up Rafael’s leg before it stopped in his hand. 

“Thanks Candace!” he said as she gave him the slightest of nods and he opened his mouth to say, “Hey, Major…! Look what I got!!” 

Major West angrily turned to Rafael and, as soon as he saw his beloved Nancy in the young firestarter’s hand, his expression changed to the craziest combination of absolute terror and intense, unrestrained fury! As for Grizzle, Lu, and the MPs, they all looked between the Major and Rafael with eyebrows raised, while Lyceon smiled proudly beneath his tape gag. 

Slowly, the Major pointed his gun away from Lyceon and towards Rafael. 

“Give me back my Nancy,” he snarled. 

“You want her…?” Rafael said, “…come and get her.” 

The man said nothing and just glared at the young firestarter as he looked to Candace first and then to Kenna. Both of them smiled, hearing what he had in mind loud and clear. 

All of a sudden… 

“Major, sir! Can you hear me?! Hand me to Major West right now!” 

…the walkie talkie began to buzz and the voice on the other end frantically cried out for Major West! 

The MP picked up the walkie and asked for an explanation, then he repeated what the other MP told him, “Sir, the men have gotten into the asset room and the missing spy has been subdued. However, they say there’s something on the closed circuit TV that you really need to see!” 

Major West’s eyes widened for a second as he turned to the MP and said, “What…?!” 

That’s when he heard it coming from his own laptop. 

“Subject: Rodolfo Solano. Treatment Day 1…” he heard an all-too-familiar electronic voice say. 

The Major looked to the slightly turned laptop on his desk and saw a scientist he had once worked with speaking into a camera. That’s when the video changed suddenly to that of Rafael’s uncle, Rodolfo Solano, strapped to a cold, metal table while various scientists poked and prodded at him. As the footage continued, Major West’s eyes and mouth widened so far that it looked as though his eyelids and jaw were melting off of his face! 

That’s when the infuriated Major West looked over to Rafael whose mouth twitched in the strangest combination of fury and satisfaction. 

“NOW – YOU – DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

And, with those words, Major West tossed Lyceon aside and lunged at Rafael who let go of the picture and grabbed hold of the Major like a wrestler! 

As that was going on, Kenna quickly put her fingers to her temple and the MPs all of a sudden went glassy-eyed just as they trained their guns on her. No sooner did their eyes glass over did they immediately put down their weapons and begin undoing the restraints on Mr. Grizzle, Dr. Lu, and Dr. Vitalis. 

“Jed, get us out of here now!!” she cried. 

He nodded his head and ran at super fast speed towards the steel-plated door, which he began pushing upwards until it was far enough to squeeze through. 

“A little help here, please!” Jed cried out as he strained beneath the pushing steel. 

“Candace, shall we…?” Mr. Grizzle said to his pupil as he joined her. 

She nodded and the two of them concentrated on the steel plated door. The door began to lift all on its own as Jed busted through the office door behind it and then pulled out a tiny device like an epi-pen and injected himself with it. Kenna picked up her poor father who was still in pain and went with the others out the door, while Lyceon lunged at the Major to join Rafael in the wrestling match as the footage continued on the laptop. 

“Rafael! Dr. Vitalis! Come on!” Candace cried as she and Mr. Grizzle made their way out with the others, including the brainwashed MPs. 

“Go!!” both firestarters cried at once. 

Candace was so surprised by their response that her concentration broke and the steel plate fell down once again, sealing the three men together inside! 

“Rafael!!” 

_ 

Day 22, 10:43am (hallway) 

The team of psychics and their mentors ran down the halls of the base past steel plate after steel plate. While they were doing that, Kenna made the MPs she had brainwashed all toss away their weapons and begin ballet dancing in the halls behind them just as Jed came to help her carry Dr. Lu.. 

“Just out of curiosity…” he asked Kenna, “…what did you just do to those guards?” 

She smiled mischievously and said, “I made them think they’re professional ballerinas doing a performance of Swan Lake.” 

Finally, they reached the steel plate that used to be the front entrance. 

“Don’t worry, we can get through this!” Jed said, preparing to start lifting. 

“No, we don’t have transportation out of here through there,” Kenna said, “We have to leave through the garage, after we get back Mahir and the two firestarters, of course. Come on, let’s start making our way there so we can get ready to high-tail it.” 

As soon as she said that, they began making their way in the direction of the garage, until… 

“FREEZE!!!” 

…they turned a corner and found themselves face to face with a wall of MPs! 

“Oh shit!” Kenna said, “I can’t stop this many people all at once.” 

Suddenly, Mr. Grizzle smiled and looked at Candace as he said, “Maybe not… but we sure can!” 

Candace returned his smile as the two of them both put out their hands and… 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! 

…the MPs released a hail of bullets that all stopped in midair thanks to the combined powers of Candace Newman and Mr. Frederick Grizzle! 

The two of them dropped their hands and the bullets all clattered to the floor as they began using their powers to move the MPs into the walls. As they did that, Jed concentrated and began tearing his way through the remaining MPs as Kenna and Dr. Lu continued toward the garage. 

“Jolene, where’s Mahir?” she asked on the com device. 

“Mahir is still in the super computer room,” Jolene said into all of the com devices at once, “He needs medical attention right now, so one of you better get to him now!” 

“I’ll get him!” Jed said, injecting himself again, “Just tell me where to go.” 

As Jed ran off per Jolene’s instructions, Candace, still holding several MPs against the walls, asked her, “What about Rafael and Dr. Vitalis? What are we going to do about them?” 

“Don’t worry, Candace…” she said with confidence, “…they’re gonna be just fine.” 

_ 

Day 22, 10:48am 

“Bastard!!” 

Rafael and Lyceon both tossed Major West against the wall of his office, right next to the secret lab on the other side of the still-open bookcase. By that point, the Major’s face was covered in bruises, as well as a massive black eye concealing one of his snake green eyes. He laughed like a madman at the two of them as blood poured from his nose, as well as the side of his mouth. 

“You two… ruined my life…” he said, half-laughing and half-crying. 

“We did!?!” Rafael growled. 

Lyceon grabbed the man’s bearded chin, digging his fingernails into the man’s skin in the process as he said, “You left us no choice, Myles. You killed my husband, kidnapped the young man I love, and overtook my institute!” 

Major West spit blood into Lyceon’s face and said, “Is that the thanks I get for funding your dreams, old friend?” 

“I would’ve rather funded it myself and seen it fall than let you turn my students into your soldiers!” he said, “You’re a monster, Myles West, and you’re going to get exactly what you deserve! Right here, right now!” 

“You bet your ass!!” Rafael agreed. 

The Major gritted his bloody, broken teeth before he suddenly noticed a small hatch on the opposite wall that had been previously painted over. That’s when his eyes lit up and he laughed like a madman once more. 

“I’m not the one going down…” he said, “…you two are! HACK-PTOO!!” 

With that last statement, he spat another glob of bloody saliva, but, this time, it was in Rafael’s eyes!

“Ouch!” Rafael cried as he staggered backwards. 

As soon as he stepped away, Major West punched Lyceon in the face with his free arm and ran toward the hatch on the wall. He picked up his gun along the way and used it to break open the hatch to reveal a large gas tank inside the wall, which he proceeded to tear a valve from, causing the sealed room to begin filling with gas! 

While that was going on, Rafael finished wiping the bloody spit from his eyes and, as he faced the open doorway to the secret lab, caught sight of something bizarre. Something he wouldn’t have even known to make of if it weren’t for what he heard Jolene say in his ear. 

“Trading places…” she said, “…twins do it all the time! I’ve heard them say it’s a real out-of-body experience, if you catch my drift…?” 

Rafael was confused at first, until he looked at Lyceon lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious, but with the same smile on his face he had the first time they were intimate! 

His eyes widened as he realized what Jolene was hinting at. It was an idea that could only be described as loco! So loco, that he would’ve Major West grabbing his Nancy Sinatra photo as he took shelter in the secret lab; that is, if the man hadn’t given him a malicious face-kick on the way! 

“These boots are made for walkin’ and that’s just what they’ll do…” Major West said, smiling like a rabid dog as the bookcase closed behind him, “…one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” 

The young firestarter began to cough and grow weak and altered from the gas slowly filling up the room. Finally, he fell to the floor right next to Lyceon, whispering to himself. 

“Oh, Jesus, Oh, god, Rafael, what are you doing..?” he asked himself. 

All of a sudden, he felt a hand take hold of his own and looked to see Lyceon still on the floor next to him unconscious. However, as he saw, the person holding his hand was also Lyceon! Or rather, his spirit outside of his body smiling proudly at him as he reached down to give him a kiss! 

Once their lips parted, the inebriated Rafael looked at the gas rapidly filling the room and said, as he felt one last spark inside of him ignite, “Are you ready boots…?” 

“Start walkin’!” 

… 

BOOM!!!! 

_ 

Day 30, 12:27pm 

“It’s been a week now since the unexplained video incident…” 

Harvey Johnson grumbled to himself at the sound of the news playing on a nearby TV in the department store where he was shopping. He quickly finished unloading his groceries onto the checkout belt, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Normally, it would’ve been his dear wife, Maria, doing the shopping, but she hasn’t been at the house ever since he was called in to make an anonymous statement by his old captain, now major, Myles West. 

“Crazy thing, right?” the cashier at the register said, gesturing to the TVs, “Though, I can’t say I’m surprised that the military would do something like that.” 

Harvey growled at the green-haired, piercing-riddled college girl as he handed her his money. As he did, he also adjusted his hat, which had ‘U.S. Army Veteran’ plastered across it and then began putting his groceries back into his cart. 

Once he had finished transferring the groceries from his cart to the trunk of his car, he angrily pushed the cart into the nearest corral and started on his way home. The drive home definitely didn’t help take his mind off of the incident, or the fact that the man he had worked under for years turned out to be a monster who destroyed his wife’s brother-in-law. 

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he grumbled to himself all the way home, “I didn’t even know about it! Why’s she gotta treat me like I’m somehow responsible?!” 

Finally, once he reached the house, he was stopped dead in his tracks by a car parked on the side of the road near the house. The same car that belonged to his wife who left home a week ago! 

“Maria!” he cried, jumping out of the car without bothering to park it. 

He burst inside to find no one there, at least not that he could see, until someone came out from behind a corner and froze at the sight of him. A very small someone. 

“Eva!” he cried, trying to sound overjoyed, “Thank goodness you’re home! Where’s-” 

“Mama!!!!!!” she cried at the top of her lungs, almost in fear. 

All of a sudden, he heard multiple footsteps moving all at once and Maria came out from behind the same corner. In addition to her, there was also a young woman with auburn hair dressed in gothic clothing and a young man with bristled, light brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a black and white-striped shirt and black jeans. 

“Who the hell are you two?” he asked, noticing the two extras. 

“They’re some of Rafael’s friends,” Maria said, trying her best to sound as strong as possible, “They came by to pick up his things.” 

Harvey narrowed his eyes at her and asked, “Why…? What does he need them for?” 

Suddenly, he saw everyone look toward the door behind him and he heard someone behind him whose voice sent a chill down his spine. 

“Because I’m moving permanently to The Michelangelo Institute,” the voice said. 

The frightened man slowly turned around and came face to face with the handsome, young Latino he thought he had gotten rid of weeks ago! He was dressed in a dark gray tank top with black camo cargo pants and wearing a pair of goggles, fireman’s gloves, and combat boots. 

“Rafael…” Harvey said, almost in a daze. 

“Hola, senor Johnson,” the young man greeted him, “Sorry to just pop in like this, but I’m going to need my stuff if I’m going to be moving permanently to the institute…” 

“Well, um, I-I can see how you would,” Harvey said, removing his hat to wipe a little sweat from his forehead, “…you can feel free to stay until you have everything you need and, don’t hesitate to call anytime-” 

“…and if Eva and Mama are going to be coming with me,” he finished his sentence. 

The moment he heard those words, Harvey froze still as a statue before his face turned the color of molten lava and his hands clenched into fists hungry for a face. 

“Now you listen here, you little bastard!” he snarled loudly as he edged closer, “Your mother ain’t going nowhere and you and your freaky friends are leaving right now!” 

Rafael frowned and folded his arms over his chest as he simply said, “No.” 

Harvey gritted his teeth hard and shook as he raised his arm to smack Rafael and… 

“You little freak…! Wha-What…?!” 

…just an inch away from Rafael’s face, his hand stopped! 

Rafael’s frown curled into a condescending smile as he looked at Candace holding out an arm to stop the man. All of a sudden, everybody heard footsteps coming from behind the young firestarter and a smile spread across everyone’s faces as a middle-aged Greek man in a Hawaiian shirt stepped into view. 

“Hello, Mr. Johnson,” he said, “I’m Dr. Lyceon Vitalis, I’m in charge of the new and improved Michelangelo Institute, which will be opened in Hawaii. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve determined it would be better for Rafael’s ‘treatment’ to be with his mother and sister.” 

“You know, the family members that actually care for me,” Rafael added. 

“So, I’m afraid you’re going to be on your own for a while, my good man,” Dr. Vitalis said, “Come along, Rafael. Everyone.” 

Harvey remained frozen in place as everyone passed him by. Eva shot him the same condescending smile as her brother, Jed glared at him, Maria shot him a slightly guilty look, and, finally, Candace turned to him just before she left. 

“Oh, and, uh, if you try to call the cops and tell them Rafael ‘kidnapped’ his mother and sister, I promise you… I’ll do worse than this!” she said. 

Suddenly… 

CRKK!! 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

…Harvey’s left index finger bent backwards and broke with a loud snap! 

As Harvey fell to his knees, clutching his broken finger, Candace turned and the door closed behind her all by itself. 

Maria and Eva made their way to her car while Rafael, Lyceon, Jed, and Candace all made their way to a fancy Rolls Royce parked on the other side of the street. Once they were all packed and situated in the car, they sped on towards the airport with Rafael’s mother and sister following behind them. 

“I am feeling monumentally great!” Rafael said, sitting in the front seat while Lyceon drove, “All I want now is to get to the new institute for some, uh… one-on-one training.” 

He shot a sensual look towards Lyceon who returned it with one of his own. 

“That is, if you don’t mind, Candace,” Rafael said, sounding a bit guilty as he looked in the backseat at her. 

Candace rolled her eyes and said, “I told you before, Rafael, I really don’t mind at all, not even a little…! Especially since I have my own ‘training partner’ to enjoy a little bit of one-on-one with.” 

As she said that, she looked over to Jed and reached over to give him a chin-tickle. 

“Aw, shucks!” he said, blushing as he giggled. 

Rafael and Lyceon giggled along with them as they looked ahead toward what the two of them hoped would be their brand new future! 

“There’s still one thing I don’t get…” Jed suddenly said. 

“What’s that, hon?” Candace asked. 

Jed turned to the two firestarters in the front seat and asked, “How exactly did the two of you escape from the base when it blew up? I mean, Major West was totally nuts when the military pulled him out of the rubble, so what he says is clearly not viable, right?” 

The two men both frowned and their eyes widened as they looked at each other. As he looked at Lyceon, Rafael noticed a series of tiny numbers on his neck written in brown like a strange birthmark. He then looked in the mirror on his side of the car and saw a similar series of birthmark-like numbers on his neck. 

“Let’s just say…” Rafael told them, “…Major West left us a little parting gift he made himself.” 

Lyceon shot him a mischievous smile at that as they continued driving home. 

THE END.

Enemies and Allies by Rosily Alex, Instagram: rosily.alex Alt. Instagram: anna.jordon90