17 16: Kelsie

I grab Marin's hand and let him lead me down the hall. The tone of his voice told me that whatever happened was not good.

"Can't you tell me what's going on?" I plead.

He simply says, "You'll see when we get there. Otherwise you won't believe me."

"It's not father, is it?" I ask.

The one thing I wanted to happen more than anything is also the one thing I dread. He may not be the best person, but at the end of the day he is still my father.

Marin slowly leads me farther into the secondary base and through the tunnels connecting us to the Underground's main base of operation. He turns down the hall that leads to where the dead are stored if they are found.

Leaving Marin standing outside, I open the door to see one body laying on the many tables. A body with a familiar face. One I hadn't seen in a few years. Immediately a memory comes to mind.

…

I was ten years old and it's a day I will always remember. After killing the man, I never learned his name, I dismissed myself to my room. After sitting there mutely for a while I began to cry. She stepped into my room and sat beside me on my bed, stroking my hair.

"Are you okay sweetie?"

I just turn away from her and give no response.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No. I don't." My voice is muffled by my pillow

"Okay. You don't HAVE to tell me anything." The tone in her voice was clear. She wanted to know what happened and wouldn't leave until I told her.

We stayed in our spots completely silent for a while. I finally shifted and began telling her.

"I didn't want to but I had to. The man didn't do anything wrong. He was innocent. He had a family!" I begin to cry again.

"Shh. It's okay." She pulls me in for a hug. "Doing what he asks is horrible but it's the only way to survive. I've seen him pull of parts of people while teleporting just because they refused an order."

I look up at her. "But why? Why do we have to do this?"

"Because that's who he is. He's scared of what other people can do to him if given the chance so he stops them quickly. They say he told the labs to create something new. Something that can keep a meta from using their powers and make them sick."

"That's cool and yet scary because it can be used against us. But how does it keep them from using their powers?" I ask.

"I think they said it finds a metas weakness and amplifies it. They get so sick they can't move and it can be lethal if left undiagnosed."

"That's awful. I don't want that to be completed."

"Me either. I wish I could stop him but it would only lead to my death."

...

And lead to her death it did. I knew she had been looking for a way to find out what the formula was. She even said she wanted to take it to the people who could create an antidote so there would be a way to stop whatever it did to metas.

The inhibitor had been in use for a few years now and our scientists did create an antidote for it. Whether she got it to the meta doctors in the surrounding areas is still undetermined. But it's obvious Father found out what she was doing and got his revenge.

Her body is laying in multiple pieces. Head separated from the rest of her body. Her legs and arms completely cut off. Split in half from her neck down. All the edges are jagged but the wounds are healed. A clear sign that different parts of her were tied down, she was teleported to different places which tore all her limbs out, and then the wounds were healed.

One of our medical examiners makes their way over to us. "She was alive for most of it or that's what we think."

I look at them in confusion. They seem to be newer and their name tag reads "Dr. Emerson" with "They/Them" beside it. "What makes you say that?"

"There are marks around the tops of her legs and her left arm. She tried to get the rope off but failed," They say. "Based off staining she was dead when her right arm came off. The rest was just to make a point."

I wipe the tears from my face. "How long has she been dead and is there any signs of additional torture?"

"She's been dead for around two to two and a half years. Only visible signs of torture are small scars that have been healed by an expert healer. We can't get an accurate reading yet but they could have been much larger than they look now. Once we learn more I'll let you know." Dr. Emerson turns back to the table and begins undoing the work done in the past.

Blood flows from the split in her chest and the pieces rejoin. The process gets repeated over and over again until Violet lies on the table whole and breathing. Something no one over thought possible. At least until now.

"Wh-what? How is this ev-even possible?" I stammer out.

"Temporary time reversal," Dr. Emerson responds. "She's whole again for the next few hours and I can get a better idea of what happened to her. If it was on a smaller scale she would be around for much longer and could possibly even remain alive for the rest of her natural life."

I rush towards Vi and envelop her in a hug. She hugs me right back and we stay there for who knows how long.

"I'm so sorry," I say. Tears start streaming down my face again. "I never thought this would happen. H-he said that you got relocated an-and couldn't be con-contacted."

"It's okay baby. I'm here now and won't leave you without answers," she soothes. "I wish I kept my head low but people now know what they're up against from us."

I look at Vi in shock. "You got it out? All the meta doctors around here know what the inhibitor is and how to create the antidote for it?"

"Only the ones we trust."

"Thank you Dr. Emerson!" I say. "You just gave me the best piece of new I've heard in awhile."

"Anytime. I just need Violet to come with me. I promise you can have her back before her time is up." They head back into their office.

"Promise me you'll be okay?" I ask.

"I promise. I'll come see you soon sweetie." She plants a kiss on my forehead. "Bye."

"Goodbye Vi!" I watch until she sits down in one of the chairs in Dr. Emerson's office before leaving.

...

I walk back towards my bedroom in total silence and immediately plop down on my bed.

"So that's the Violet you've told my stories about right?" Marin asks me.

My face buried in a pillow, I say, "That's the one. Great person huh?"

"Oh definitely. I just want to know what that Dr. Emerson was doing to her. "

I prop myself up on my elbows and look at him. "They said it was some kind of time reversal. It only works temporarily for such a large problem based off what they told me."

"That sounds really useful but also really dangerous. If your father found out about that he could use them to turn back time on anything. Including places that were destroyed by our enemies."

"Exactly! Now we need to keep them safe. Fath-Richard doesn't go down there very often so they should be okay for now."

His hazel eyes cloud over in confusion at the change in name. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what? He's not my father. I have a sister that could be alive and our parents could be out there too." I poke him in the side and he squirms away the best he can. "Right now he is just the man who raised me and the man who killed the closest thing I have to a sister."

"You make a valid point but what about him. What will happen when he finds out about you calling him a different name?"

"He won't find out because you're the only person who knows and who will know for the time being." A threatening tone begins to creep into my voice. "Know this Marin Hopper. If anyone finds out about me calling him Richard, I will end you. Got it?"

He gulps from fear. "Got it," he squeaks out.

"Good."

...

I walk back down the hall and stand outside Dr. Emerson's office. They're still talking to Vi and she looks noticeably weaker than when I left her. As soon as Dr. Emerson notices me they gesture me in.

"Hi, how's everything going in here?" I ask.

"Fairly well," They tell me. "I found out information about what was done to her since you last saw each other."

Violet speaks up. "He's done this to dozens of others. Some of them deserved it because they wanted to expose us to the world but I just wanted to keep metas around the world safe. Some of them go crazy when the inhibitor is used. We couldn't risk the death of who knows how many regular people that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

My hand flies to my mouth. "That's what can happen with them going crazy?"

Dr. Emerson nods. "I've seen it. Most are too weak to do anything but the few that are powerful enough go crazy." A whistle escapes their mouth. "We have to have them put down. Sometimes it doesn't work unless we set off an explosion."

"What would happen if we were dosed with the inhibitor?" I ask.

"Who knows. Violet could be catastrophic but you would be ten times worse. You could potentially cut off the sunlight for miles and kill off all plant life there. The result from that is too hard to figure out."

"She's the one you need to protect. I only have a little while left." Violet stands up and makes her way over to me. "Keep yourself safe. Please."

"I will. Trust me."

Carefully, Dr. Emerson says, "You only have a little while left Violet. I'll leave you two alone." They step out of the office and leave us alone.

Tears well up in my eyes. "You can't go."

"It's okay sweetie. Everything will be fine."

"I can't do it without you." At this point I'm full on crying.

"Yes. You can. You've made it this far." She wipes the tears off my face. "My time is done. You have to go from here on your own. Trust Marin. Find your sister. Can you promise me that?"

I just nod my head.

"Good. I love you."

"I love you too Vi."

She pulls me in for a hug. We remain there, losing track of time. Suddenly, she goes limp in my arms. I pull her closer and cry. Dr. Emerson comes back in and pulls me up. I grab a tissue from their desk and use it to wipe off my face. Making my way out, I look back at her one last time.

"Do you want anything special done with her remains?" Dr. Emerson quietly asks.

"Bury her with our fallen. Don't let my father know any of this."

"As you wish ma'am."

I take my leave and go back to the training room where I left Marin. He's switching back and forth between being invisible and fully invisible with everyone in the room trying to land blows in him. He moved faster than anyone in there and kept appearing everywhere but where I thought he would.

As soon as he catches sight of me he disappears and shows up beside me a minute later. Everyone looks around as they try to locate him and then groan in disappointment when they see him by me. They all scatter to their respective parts of the training room and continue whatever they were doing before Marin came in.

"So how'd it go over there?" He asks. We fall in step and start walking.

"Okay but I wish we had more time together."

"I know you do. She was part of your family and I wish I could've gotten to know her."

"Me too. She loved you and she only met you for a minute."

We continue on walking and talking. I told him stories of Violet and before we knew it we were back at the secondary base. Since it's so late, we just fell into bed and stayed there until morning.

...

"Are you sure you need coffee girl? You drink too much of it." Victoria is chiding me over the phone.

"Yes. Yesterday was really hard so I need this. Besides, I have some information to go through." I assure her. "I'll be fine."

"If you say so. Call me later."

"Okay. Bye." I hang up right as I walk into Cafe Express.

"Hi! Welcome to Cafe Express." The cheery barista greets me. "What can I get for you to- Serenity? I thought you already got your coffee."

"I-I'm sorry. My names not Serenity. You must have me mistaken for someone else." I assure her.

"Nope. You look just like her. See, she's sitting right back there." She points to where a dark head shows above one of the high back benches. "I swear you two could be sisters or something."

"Okay. I'll just take a large Strawberry smoothie then." This was a really weird encounter and I needed to check that girl out.

"Sounds good. Can I get a name for your order?"

"Kelsie."

"Okay! We'll have it ready for you in a few minutes!"

"Thank you!" I pay and then head over to where the girl is sitting.

"So, Serenity is it?" I ask as I walk up to her. A sharp breath enters my mouth. I'd know that face anywhere. My face is staring right at me.

"Yes?" She looks at me in confusion.

"I'm so sorry. I must have the wrong person." Confusion crosses her face followed by clarity.

"Do I know you?"

"No. You don't." I turn away and head back towards the counter. As soon as I get there "Kelsie" rings out around the shop. My sister looks at me when she hears my name.

I grab my smoothie and rush out the door. She follows me.

"Wait!" She calls after me. I rush down the street and turn the corner. As soon as I reach the car I sit there in complete shock.

She was still alive. She was here in Atlanta. Her name Is Serenity. I know who my sister is.

...