After school, I went for a walk to clear my head. That feeling I got at the afterparty still lingered — low, steady, impossible to forget. I keep telling myself it's nothing, just an echo, but that's the problem with echoes: they don't leave, they loop.
The hum of a vehicle behind me broke the quiet.
"Mr. Young," a familiar voice said.
I sighed, staring at the ground. "Seriously? Does my existence bother you this much?"
Joe Wann's car rolled up beside me.
"Slow down, Kaleb," he said. "I know we didn't end on good ter—"
"No," I snapped. "Stop talking. You lied to me. I did nothing wro—"
"Did nothing wrong?" Joe cut in. "You violated the laws of physics, Kaleb. You know what you did, and then you lied like nothing happened."
His words hit, but I didn't flinch. I shoved my hands into my jacket and kept walking.
His car matched my pace, humming quietly.
"I didn't come here to argue," he said. "I need your help."
That made me stop. "You need my help? That's rich. Why?"
"We can't get the Nexus to power anything," he said. "How did you do it?"
For a moment, I just stared at him through the tinted window. Then, laughter burst out of me — sharp and hollow. "You actually think I'd help you after what you did?" I said between laughs.
He waited until I calmed down. "I can get your powers back," he said. "Not the Nexus, of course, but something. A power nonetheless."
My laugh died instantly. I walked right up to his window and said flatly, "Go to hell."
I turned and started walking again.
The car door opened. Gravel crunched behind me.
"You don't have to trust me," Joe said, his voice closer now, quieter. "Just remember who warned you first when it all goes south."
I stopped, half-turning. "Oh, so now I'm important again? Should I thank you for promoting me from test subject to consultant?"
"If I wanted to use you, I'd have done it already," he said. "This isn't manipulation, Kaleb. It's survival."
I met his gaze. "You talk like you're saving the world, but you can't even look me in the eye while you say it."
"Something's wrong with the Core," he said, ignoring the jab. "It's building patterns that weren't there before."
"Tell me, Joe," I said, "do you ever hear yourself and realize you sound exactly like the people you swore you weren't?"
His voice tightened. "You think that hum you felt was a coincidence?"
"You can't get the Nexus to work because it's been used," I shot back. "Maybe take the hint."
"You and it share a frequency," he said. "We can't even access half its readings without your biometrics."
"You want to understand the Nexus?" I said. "Try asking it why it hates you."
"I'm offering you a chance to understand it," Joe said, stepping closer, "before someone else decides you don't get a say."
"Ironic, isn't it?" I said. "How it feels when someone leaves you with no choice."
He sighed. "Help me keep it contained, or you'll wish you'd never heard the hum again."
I stared him down. "Are you threatening me? You lied to me and expect me to work with you?"
"I may not have the Nexus," I said, "but I'm not an idiot."
His jaw flexed. "Then don't be surprised when the world ends because you refused to help."
That did it. "I'm done being the middleman between your fear and your science," I said. "Whatever's happening out there isn't my job to fix. Maybe ask my father. Now get lost."
I started walking.
"You'll regret this," Joe called after me.
I turned back, walking backward now, grinning. "Joe, if you keep contacting me, I'll tell everyone you touched me."
The look on his face was priceless. I couldn't help but laugh.
He didn't.
He was on me in seconds.
His hand clamped down on my shoulder and spun me around, slamming me against the chain-link fence. My breath left in a grunt.
"Listen, you little brat," he growled, his forearm pressing across my chest, "you will help me."
"Joe—stop—" I gasped, struggling against him. "That hurts."
A shimmer rippled in the air — his force field — trapping me in a distorted cage. My arms wouldn't move.
"I think you need to be forced rather than asked," he hissed.
And then—light.
A flash so sudden it painted the whole street white.
Joe stumbled backward as something blue slammed into him, a blur moving faster than I could blink. He caught it mid-air in another force field bubble, the impact ringing like thunder in glass.
A figure stood where the blur had been — a person in a blue costume, visor cracked, arms glowing. Joe gritted his teeth, summoned a fist-shaped shield, and hurled a punch of pure force that sent the stranger flying into a parked car.
He turned back toward me, eyes wild. "It's about time we got out of here."
Before he could move, a heavy thud landed behind him. The streetlight flared gold, outlining Joe's frame in molten color.
He froze. "I didn't expect you to be here," he said, voice tightening.
"I told you," came a low, controlled voice — a voice I hadn't heard in months — "to stay away from my family."
I knew that tone anywhere.
Dad.
Ignis Rex.
The air shimmered with heat as he stepped into view, golden aura wrapping around him like a heartbeat.
Joe crossed his arms. "You know the terms of this situation."
Dad's expression hardened. "Go. Back. To. Base. Now."
Joe's jaw flexed. "Are you giving me commands?"
Dad took a step closer, fire licking up his forearms. "I'm giving you a warning."
They stared each other down — two men who'd both crossed too many lines to come back.
Joe finally broke the silence, looking from him to me. "Report back to base," he said coldly.
Dad didn't blink. "Don't count on it."
Joe's face twitched, and then — with a sharp sound like air being crushed — he vanished in a burst of light.
The street fell quiet except for my heartbeat.
Dad turned toward me, the glow fading around him. "Long time, no see."
"Hi, Dad," was all I managed.
He sighed, looking me over. "I'd better go before Sentinel picks up the energy signature. Stay safe, Kale."
And just like that, he was gone — streaking upward in a burst of gold until the sky swallowed him.
The fence behind me still buzzed faintly, metal warped from Joe's field. A few yards away, the blue-suited stranger lay sprawled across the pavement, unmoving.
I ran to them. "Hey, you awake?"
I tapped their shoulder. They jolted upright, their eyes wide behind cracked visors.
"You saved my life," I said.
They didn't speak. Just stood, dazed, then took off sprinting into the shadows, vanishing between two buildings.
"Guess they're fine," I muttered.
The night air was cold again, heavy with smoke and silence. My chest still hurt where Joe's arm had pinned me. Above, the stars looked dimmer — or maybe it was just me.
I shoved my hands back into my pockets and started home.
Mom was going to want to hear about this. Or maybe she already knew.