but, before I could really do anything with the information I'd just been given.
before I could have juuust enough time to actually process the true extent of what was really going on with me.
as usual, my luck, my trade-markedly horrific, almost curse level BAD, luck, decided I'd had more than enough time without it, and, without asking me, took it upon itself to rear its head that, literally no one asked for.
and immediately signaled, no, DEMANDED, for the world to focus in on me with laser like precision, like I was the only thing that existed.
and not in a good way.
I cursed with a click of my tongue, "tch", as loud, unfortunately familiar, storm like sirens began blaring throughout Jeremy's neighborhood.
except, most importantly, the key feature of these sirens, well, it's that they weren't for storms.
they were for ability activation.
unauthorized ability activation.
unauthorized by the government, ability activation.
I almost laughed, almost found myself enjoying the stupidity of the situation of twenty years ago.
at least, that is until all around me, the windows, doors, hell, even the fucking skylights, all came shattering inwards, armed soldiers in all black tactical gear streaming in behind every fragment of glass and wood debris.
their guns raised and aimed, laser dot attachments all locked onto my semi-solid, semi-liquid body.
their green glow not even remotely diminished by my own softly emitted, dim crimson light.
I couldn't help but smile.
but enjoy how quickly I'd been completely and utterly surrounded.
a reaction I wasn't used to, but, not one I had the luxury to handle at the moment, so for now, it was on its own while I tried to piece together a solution that didn't involve destroying Jeremy's life.
which, while I was taking the time to do, my ears, on their own, allowed the back of my mind to perceive the footsteps of someone else.
someone new.
someone....strong.
someone I knew very well.
I almost cursed out loud, almost abandoned the wheels spinning furiously in my brain out of habit.
something that, honestly? was only stopped by the fact that I remember the voice's words.
"people you know will pass you by as a total stranger."
it echoed.
drawn from memory.
unwantedly yes but, it did help me suppress my reaction, my knee jerk reflex as someone I knew very well entered my field of view, their eyes cold, and focused, locked onto mine with the signature look they once had when looking at enemies.
when glaring down prey.
I shuddered, internally, all while choking down how much it hurt to see my own sister staring right through me like I was nothing more than a monster.
I thought, entirely to myself, as I raised my hands above my head, you know, as you do when literal military grade machine guns are leveled towards your face, cleared my throat, and cautiously let out, "I am an ability, my user is not conscious, I activated without wanting to in response to his life being in danger, his parents over there beat him within an inch of his life, I mean no harm." in as harmless a tone as this bloodthirsty body could manage.
which, surprisingly enough, worked.
yeah, right.
I groaned as the grip of the soldiers' hands on their guns tightened, and fingers moved onto triggers.
they weren't convinced, not even a little, and they were ready to shoot me.
I took note of while doing my best not to panic, as well as turning to face....well, I can't call her my sister anymore, now can I?...damn, well, turning to face, god this feels weird, Sasha, a commander of the ability corps, the one responsible for all ability users forcibly drafted into the military after the emergence of abilities began just a few years prior.
a tall, imposing, well-built, unfairly beautiful blonde dressed head to toe in all black combat gear of her own, save for the helmet, who, as expected to me and me alone, almost rivaled me at an impressive six foot five, her entire body radiating the aura of a soldier, no, a warrior.
that, height difference be damned, had absolutely zero fear in my presence.
which, I gotta admit, with that info from earlier in mind, WASN'T helping the situation, in fact, it was making it worse, it was making me want to do nothing more than go against her with all of my strength, to speak to her in the only way insane battle junkies know how, by fighting.
I itched.
damn near unable to stop myself as a heart I didn't actually have raced and thundered, and my fists clenched and unclenched.
I was getting excited, and it was going to damage more than this neighborhood.
I forced through my thick-ass skull, took a breath, and once again tried to reason with Sasha.
once again tried to de-escalate the situation by saying, "I truly mean no harm." while simultaneously, and slowly, getting down on my knees, my hands still raised above my head.
"I may not know what's going on here, but I know my user needs medical attention, so please, be gentle." I left with, as the moment I said it, I slowly moved myself to be lying on the floor, and then instantly withdrew back into the void within Jeremy's soul where I resode.
making it where, in an instant, the soldiers of the room, Sasha included, went from looking at a seven-foot-tall lady made of blood, to an unconscious kid, who needed help.
help that, with me "safely" gone, he was now assured to get, as I could already see them gingerly approaching, and lifting him off the floor, each man clearing space for the ones carrying the boy.
the "danger" they once had guns on.
the "danger" Sasha still didn't trust, as, I could still feel her eyes on Jeremy, in fact, from here, until the moment Jeremy was loaded onto a truck, off the truck, and placed into a hospital bed, didn't leave for a single moment.
not one.
and I knew from living with her, my entire life up until now, that could only mean one thing.
she was ready to kill him at even the slightest twitch.
and the scary part?
she had the authority, the power herself, as well as the backing, to do so.
I guess you could say it was a perk of being born and raised into the very family that commanded the entire military.
the family that, answered to one thing and one thing only, well, two things but, they're basically the same thing.
power.
and the government.
something I myself once thought of as a good thing, at least, I did, right up until the end.
I thought solemnly as flashes of the girl forced their way into the forefront of my mind, as memories of her story, her last words, her dying request, and my own sister's reaction right before I died, reminded me why I did this in the first place.
why I abandoned everything, and came back.
why I wanted to change it all, every single event from start to finish.
but, the more I exist as this ability, the more I remember my last moments as me.
the more I question that life, the more I wonder if the line between good and evil is really as clear as I once believed it to be.
the more I wondered if I really stood on the side of the line I thought I did.
and, I gotta be real, it terrified me, truly, it shook my very idea of who I was.
I mean, I've been an ability for all of five minutes, and I'm already thinking about this.
what will I be thinking about in a day, a week, a month, a decade?
hell, a century?
will I, even exist anymore?
I pondered as time passed without me knowing.
as Jeremy, after hours of rest.
finally woke up.